Total newbie -need help picking a stove for a 600sq ft cabin

[utoc]

Hi all - I'm so glad I found these forums! I've been reading through threads for several hours but haven't found one that seems to provide what I'm looking for, but if I just missed it, my apologies!

We are rehabbing and enlarging an old cabin. The cabin will be one-bedroom, 600ft total (20x30) with a loft. The living area will be open to the ceiling, about 16". The cabin is completely off-grid and the wood stove will be the only source of heat. Location is the Eastern Sierras of California, over 6000 ft. so very dry conditions, and temps do dip to the teens/20's in the winter time. Cabin will be decently insulated.

I'm looking for an easy-to-use, reliable stove that requires little maintenance (this is not an area where it's easy to get things repaired) and won't be too much stove (ie. turn the cabin into a sweat lodge). Ideally would also have a decent viewing window since the ambience is a bit part of the draw. I was looking at a Vermont Casting since that's relatively easy to get my hands on, but reading the threads here it seems like those are not well-liked respected.

One of the dealers I called was trying to push me to a brand called Quadra-Fire, while another suggested either Napoleon or Lopi (but I'm not sure which model). They do also carry Jotul as well.

Does anyone have a recommendation for me?

 

[begreen]

Greetings. Will the cabin be occupied all winter long or just on some weekends? In the Quadrafire line the 3100 Millenium. would work. So would the Lopi Endeavor.

 

[utoc]

Greetings. Will the cabin be occupied all winter long or just on some weekends? In the Quadrafire line the 3100 Millenium. would work. So would the Lopi Endeavor.

Yes, that’s an important detail! Just a weekend cabin for us, maybe a few longer stays over holidays.

 

[utoc]

Greetings. Will the cabin be occupied all winter long or just on some weekends? In the Quadrafire line the 3100 Millenium. would work. So would the Lopi Endeavor.

I’m looking at the Lopi line now. Would you recommend the Endeavor over the Evergreen? I’m not sure what the difference is between those two. And I‘m guessing the Answer is too small/burns too short a time?

 

[begreen]

Yes, that’s an important detail! Just a weekend cabin for us, maybe a few longer stays over holidays.

OK, that was what I was thinking, just wanted to be sure. For this reason, getting a bigger stove than normally necessary for a 600 sq ft cabin is ok. It takes a lot of extra heat to warm up the mass of a cold cabin. For this reason, I recommend a stove of at least 2 cu ft. Even 2.5 cu ft would be ok. The Answer is too small unless there will be supplemental heat from propane or electricity. However, if the cabin will only be used in fall and spring, but not winter due to heavy snow, then it could work.

I like the Endeavor's more square firebox better and it is a time-proven heater. The Evergreen has a shallower firebox which makes it an E/W loader. This means you can't load it as full due to concerns about a log rolling up against the glass. That said, it qualifies for the tax credit, which can be substantial because the credit applies to the cost of the whole installation.

Is there electricity in the cabin? If so, will it stay on to power a heater to keep pipes from freezing?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I have a 16x29 cabin in the Adirondack mountains. You’re going to want a 2 cubic foot stove.

You’re going to need to heat the place up from ambient temperature in a reasonable amount of time. The flip side of that is once the thermal mass of the building is up to temp, you still have a stove pumping out an overabundance of heat. It can get uncomfortable.

The cast iron clad stoves can help with mellowing out the heat delivery. Jotul and PE have clad stoves.

You may find you want to add auxiliary propane heat to help get the place up to temp fast. Propane sunflower heaters and even a propane stove can be a lovely thing when you walk into a structure that is well below 0F.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Also, a 16 foot ceiling makes wood heat difficult without electricity to run a fan. The heat tends to gather at the top. Is your off grid going to have solar/battery back up or a generator to run a ceiling fan?

Start getting your wood cut/split/stacked now. It takes time to dry and sellers typically don’t sell wood that is dry enough, even if it’s advertised as dry or seasoned. Try to get 2, even 3 years ahead. It’ll keep the chimney cleaner and provide more heat.

 

[EbS-P]

Check out the swing out trivets on the PE T5.

I’m happy with my Drolet 1800. Only item that might need replaced is the door gasket and baffle board. Easy enough to keep an extra stored away. They sell a smaller one.

Plan on a damper if you go with the 1800 it’s an easy breathing stove. And double wall interior pipe. Once up to temp you will be burning much lower temps and the extra insulation will help keep the flue gas temps up and help prevent creosote.

Of what you listed I would chose a Lopi.

 

[utoc]

OK, that was what I was thinking, just wanted to be sure. For this reason, getting a bigger stove than normally necessary for a 600 sq ft cabin is ok. It takes a lot of extra heat to warm up the mass of a cold cabin. For this reason, I recommend a stove of at least 2 cu ft. Even 2.5 cu ft would be ok. The Answer is too small unless there will be supplemental heat from propane or electricity. However, if the cabin will only be used in fall and spring, but not winter due to heavy snow, then it could work.

I like the Endeavor's more square firebox better and it is a time-proven heater. The Evergreen has a shallower firebox which makes it an E/W loader. This means you can't load it as full due to concerns about a log rolling up against the glass. That said, it qualifies for the tax credit, which can be substantial because the credit applies to the cost of the whole installation.

Is there electricity in the cabin? If so, will it stay on to power a heater to keep pipes from freezing?

Thank you so much! Yes, we will have solar power for electricity, and after some discussion this past weekend, we will have propane for the water heater and stove. I was hoping to keep everything electric, but it's just too much power draw. We are also installing quick drain system for the pipes so we can winterize the plumbing if we leave for months on end.

 

[utoc]

Also, a 16 foot ceiling makes wood heat difficult without electricity to run a fan. The heat tends to gather at the top. Is your off grid going to have solar/battery back up or a generator to run a ceiling fan?

Start getting your wood cut/split/stacked now. It takes time to dry and sellers typically don’t sell wood that is dry enough, even if it’s advertised as dry or seasoned. Try to get 2, even 3 years ahead. It’ll keep the chimney cleaner and provide more heat.

Yes to solar with battery back up. And the loft will have windows at each end for some help with air circulation.

 

[begreen]

Yes to solar with battery back up. And the loft will have windows at each end for some help with air circulation.

The air circulation issue is when heating with the stove. The heat will want to pocket at the ceiling peak making the loft hot while the main floor is still cold. A ceiling fan is typically used to circulate the air.

 

[utoc]

Yes, thank you! I understand about the fan. I meant that the windows and skylights in the loft, if my calculations on placement are correct, should create a circulating draft that will help suck air upwards and out. We've carefully designed window placement for maximum passive cooling/heating.

 

[begreen]

OK, but we are only talking about heating here. Dumping it outdoors at zero degrees while the cabin is heating up is very wasteful and it won't get the main floor warmer any quicker. A couple of thermoelectric fans on the stovetop may help circulation a little.
Will the cabin be wired for 12v only or will there be an inverter to make 120v? There are 12vdc ceiling fans, but a high-efficiency 120vac one will be easier to get.

 

[utoc]

Yes, there will be an inverter and 120v. I was assuming the Lopi Endeavor had an optional fan kit, but now that I'm looking at their site, I don't see it mentioned. Do you have to purchase one afermarket for Lopi stoves?

 

[begreen]

There is a section on the optional blower in the manual. In this case, I'm not sure a stove blower would help or be worth it. This is a small place. A ceiling fan can use less power and would be more effective.

Lopi Endeavor: added a blower, thoughts and mini-review

My dad e-mailed me yesterday and told me he had purchased a blower for our Endeavor. He said if it performed well, he would probably add one to his mother's Liberty for the next heating season (if not this one). I keep telling him he'd be closer to retirement if he'd just get his two kids off...

www.hearth.com

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I find my blower helpful. It moves the heated air off the stove faster. I use small doorway fans to move air into back rooms.

 

[Nate R]

I have a 520 SF single story cabin in process.....
I originally was going to be off-grid, and was making plans surrounding that. Ceiling fans was something I spent some time looking at, and started buying...... you may want to look at the Minka Aire Simple fan... something like 32W on high. It's got a DC motor (but runs on 120V AC), 6 speeds, and very low power use (down to 9W, IIRC?) To me, it was one of the best options for low power use and reliability in a ceiling fan.

We ended up getting grid connected, so I am using an electric wall heater now in addition to our wood stove...... I agree with others...you may want to use propane additionally to get things warmed up, and then "coast" along on the wood stove.