Trying to figure out how big of stove to buy

[roadman]

I have an 1100 sq ft home. Quite small, only two bedrooms, a living area with open plan into kitchen. The bedrooms are down a 10-12 foot hall. I have added recently a 530 sq ft room that used to be the patio, but was enlarged and closed off into a man cave for me. It is lower that the rest of the house so hot air can flow up into the house, and I can facilitate that with a fan in the doorway. Tried it last winter with a vogelzang woodbox and it worked great. Got a good flow of warm air into the house. The vogelzang seems to burn wood at a huge rate and needs almost constant tending. Sooo, I'm looking to upgrade the stove. My problem is my house is much smaller that most have and the cave is only 22X24. What size stove would be good for me to buy?

 

[Fsappo]

I would buy a 2.0 +/- cubic foot firebox EPA certified wood burning convection stove.

 

[roadman]

Thanks Franks, any suggestions? When I built the room I wanted a fireplace, but the contractor, who has a wood stove convinced me to go that route. I would like to have a large view and possibly open the door and simulate fireplace when I'm in the room relaxing, but was afraid of the size of a larger box (because of overheating the room). Englander or Quadra might be in my price range

 

[Fsappo]

It's not one of the brands I sell now, but I think the Jotul Castine has a large viewing area, is the right size for your heating needs and has the ability to be burned with the door open and a screen in place for that open fire effect. Maybe a Jotul dealer/owner will chime in and confirm.

 

[gandrimp]

I have the Castine and think it would be great for the size area you have.

Im no expert as I only burnt about a month, but it makes alot of heat.

My house is around 2100 sf and the stove is to small but it helps alot, and my big concern is poweroutages. That said, I have been cutting wood like a madman so I can burn fulltime and get some return on my investment.

 

[begreen]

I love the Castine (previous stove) but would stick with the initial suggestion and get a more convective, 2 cu ft stove like the Hearthstone Phoenix, PE Alderlea T5. Or maybe a smaller Woodstock like the Palladian or Keystone?

 

[rdust]

Lopi Endeavor, 2.2 cubic foot stove, convection heat, loads n/s or w/e. Great little heater, of course I'm partial to it. :lol:

 

[roadman]

Thanks for alll the replies, Do any of these have the ability to be used in an "open door" mode, like a fire place? Looks like there's a Lopi dealer near me

 

[roadman]

Sorry just remembered Franks reply on the Jotul

 

[begreen]

Thanks for alll the replies, Do any of these have the ability to be used in an "open door" mode, like a fire place? Looks like there's a Lopi dealer near me

Many stoves offer this option, but the experience of most is that this is used once or twice to justify buying the screen and then not used again. I wouldn't place it high on the importance list.

 

[Todd]

With a small house and stove room I'd seriously consider a Woodstock Keystone or Palladian. You will still be able to sit in your man cave and enjoy the fire without getting blasted out unlike the searing heat of a steel or cast stove. They are having a Father's Day sale now with $600 off.

 

[rdust]

Many stoves offer this option, but the experience of most is that this is used once or twice to justify buying the screen and then not used again. I wouldn't place it high on the importance list.

x2, I couldn't agree more, once you start heating with the stove you will have no interest in burning it like a fireplace.

 

[roadman]

Great prices on those Woodstock stoves. I was searching for a thread I'm sure i saw about 7" to 6" flue but can't find it. Looks like it will have to be reduced for both stoves. Does that happen immediately exiting the stove or up the stack later on?

 

[daveswoodhauler]

It's not one of the brands I sell now, but I think the Jotul Castine has a large viewing area, is the right size for your heating needs and has the ability to be burned with the door open and a screen in place for that open fire effect. Maybe a Jotul dealer/owner will chime in and confirm.

What about the Jotul F3CB...its not that large, but in my prior house we always got a decent burn time out of it.
Based on the climate of the OP, I am thinking that one of the smaller units might do ok in his application.
The Jotul F3cb does have an optional fireplace screen that you can use.....wife wanted me to get it in out last home, but I think we only used it once when we have guests over and just wanted to ambiance vs real heat.

 

[roadman]

Hey, I have one of those wagons too. Yeah, I also looked at the F100 as well. So many stoves, so little money.It's true about a smaller stove though. I have the small vogelzang boxwood now and with a lot of fussing I had the house so warm my wife actually remarked on it. And usually if you can get a woman too warm in the winter, it's a feat. BUT the thing needs almost constant attention. Or perhaps its me not properly operating the stove. It will exaust the wood in it in an hour, and then almost go out. Reading posts here though I think my wood was not seasoned enough. I grew up with a fireplace, and they are not really picky about what you put in them.

 

[roadman]

Anyone have advice on Vogelzang? Besides the little one I have I don't know anything about them, but in my area on craigslist there is a Mountineer for sale two years old

 

[ddddddden]

The Fireview's firebox is ~ 50% larger than the Keystone's (2.2' vs. 1.5'). I'm a bit puzzled by the Keystone recommendations. The standard advice around here is to buy larger. 22x24' is not a tiny room, and the soapstone soft heat mojo is supposed to prevent roasting you out of the room. Anyhow, if you think you might want a Woodstock stove, you can reserve one @ current $600 off sale price with a refundable $250 deposit. The next sale might be only $400 off.

 

[ddddddden]

. . .and +1 on not bothering with the screen door. We had one for our insert and, like everyone else, used it only a few times. The reason is that it lets all of the warm air in your room go up the chimney. How much air? 200 - 600 cfm for a fireplace, depending on the size of it (www.woodheat.org.) If your 530 sq ft room has an 8 ft ceiling, that's 4240 cu ft. All of the warm air would be sucked out of the room every 20 minutes, 40 minutes if your stove door is half the size of the smallest fireplace opening, to be replaced by cold outdoor air. This is probably the most basic reason to use a stove instead of a fireplace. An open stove runs like a fireplace. That's why most of us who buy screens for our stoves end up putting them in storage.

 

[tiber]

Anyone have advice on Vogelzang? Besides the little one I have I don't know anything about them, but in my area on craigslist there is a Mountineer for sale two years old

The jotuls and most other stoves require an 8" flue to burn open door in the US.

The Vogelzang band has "UL Listed" as a feature. This is generally a bad sign. At very least you'll need R=3 floor protection or better to run that and at some point the floor protection is so expensive its silly.

 

[roadman]

From all the posts I guess I would agree, especially considering that all my heat would be evacuated. I just found a dealer in the area that has a Lopi Republic 1250 for $450. A floor model. I know it's small but seems a good price and since I'm not going to burn overnight, it might fit the task. What do you think?

 

[fossil]

Many stoves offer this option, but the experience of most is that this is used once or twice to justify buying the screen and then not used again. I wouldn't place it high on the importance list.

x2, I couldn't agree more, once you start heating with the stove you will have no interest in burning it like a fireplace.

x3 Even if either of my woodstoves had the option of "open door burning", I'd never use it. Rick

 

[fossil]

Anyone have advice on Vogelzang? Besides the little one I have I don't know anything about them, but in my area on craigslist there is a Mountineer for sale two years old

Vogelzang sells EPA exempt stoves...like your boxwood. I wouldn't waste my money on any of them. Vogelzang also sells EPA approved stoves, which might be worth a look. The Mountaineer is not among them. Rick

 

[fossil]

From all the posts I guess I would agree, especially considering that all my heat would be evacuated. I just found a dealer in the area that has a Lopi Republic 1250 for $450. A floor model. I know it's small but seems a good price and since I'm not going to burn overnight, it might fit the task. What do you think?

I think the Republic would probably do a decent job for you. If you want extra "insurance", look at the Endeavor. Rick

 

[rdust]

I know it's small but seems a good price and since I'm not going to burn overnight, it might fit the task. What do you think?

You may not plan to burn overnight BUT when you start burning this will be something that you'll want to do rather quickly. I had a couple fires where I let the stove go cold in the fall, after that it was pretty much 24/7 burning till spring. It gets addicting rather quickly, dealing with building a fire daily will also get old fast. I planned on burning 24/7 "sometimes" when I got the stove but not for months on end like it worked out.

 

[roadman]

Good Point! See, that's why I asked questions on this forum! You get answers you can use.