What size wood stove should we install?

[LetItSnow]

Thank you for this remarkable resource, it’s been so helpful. If anyone has time to weigh in on what size stove we should buy, we’d really appreciate it.

We’re trying to decide if we need a medium (2cuft) or larger (2.4cuft) free standing wood stove.

We’ve narrowed it down to Hearthstone products, based on the stoves we’ve been able to see in person. We plan to choose between the Manchester or Green Mountain 80 or the Shelburne or Green Mountain 60 - depending upon which size we go with.

I guess we’d be interested in hearing about other stoves you’d recommend (or don’t recommend).

We don’t want a stove that makes the living room so hot that we can’t sit in it but we also have a lot of volume to contend with. I guess our priorities are reliability, aesthetics and efficiency, in that order.

Our newly renovated house is all electric with solar panels, it is heated with mini splits. So, we need to install a backup power source that could maintain livable temperatures in case of power outages. We have a good amount of firewood put up that has been seasoned for several years.

Our home is 2,300 sq ft, with lots of volume - a cathedral ceiling, a double height space with a loft and a fairly open floor plan. The house has very good passive solar and daytime heating needs are generally relatively low. The windows are new and the house seems fairly airtight, I’d say the insulation is pretty good but not amazing.

We will put the stove in the livingroom, (there’s really only one possible site for it in the entire house). The site is indicated with blue tape of the floor in the images (and a red X on the floorplan). The ceiling is 175” high at that point.

There is a ceiling fan in the living room where the stove will be and a fan at the top of the adjoining double height/lofted space. Also, our bedroom adjoins the double height/ lofted space.

Outside of possible power outages, we will mostly burn at night for fun and ambiance (though bringing up the temperature in the whole house will, of course, be valuable.)

 

[begreen]

If this is primarily for supplemental and emergency heat, the GM60 will probably be sufficient.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Thank you for this remarkable resource, it’s been so helpful. If anyone has time to weigh in on what size stove we should buy, we’d really appreciate it.

We’re trying to decide if we need a medium (2cuft) or larger (2.4cuft) free standing wood stove.

We’ve narrowed it down to Hearthstone products, based on the stoves we’ve been able to see in person. We plan to choose between the Manchester or Green Mountain 80 or the Shelburne or Green Mountain 60 - depending upon which size we go with.

I guess we’d be interested in hearing about other stoves you’d recommend (or don’t recommend).

We don’t want a stove that makes the living room so hot that we can’t sit in it but we also have a lot of volume to contend with. I guess our priorities are reliability, aesthetics and efficiency, in that order.

Our newly renovated house is all electric with solar panels, it is heated with mini splits. So, we need to install a backup power source that could maintain livable temperatures in case of power outages. We have a good amount of firewood put up that has been seasoned for several years.

Our home is 2,300 sq ft, with lots of volume - a cathedral ceiling, a double height space with a loft and a fairly open floor plan. The house has very good passive solar and daytime heating needs are generally relatively low. The windows are new and the house seems fairly airtight, I’d say the insulation is pretty good but not amazing.

We will put the stove in the livingroom, (there’s really only one possible site for it in the entire house). The site is indicated with blue tape of the floor in the images (and a red X on the floorplan). The ceiling is 175” high at that point.

There is a ceiling fan in the living room where the stove will be and a fan at the top of the adjoining double height/lofted space. Also, our bedroom adjoins the double height/ lofted space.

Outside of possible power outages, we will mostly burn at night for fun and ambiance (though bringing up the temperature in the whole house will, of course, be valuable.)

Beautiful home, and it's perfect for heating with wood, nice and open. Always get the bigger stove as you have more room and can always add less wood. It will also give you longer burn times when you need it.

 

[John Lehet]

As you probably know, the mini splits are incredibly efficient in mild temperatures. I can monitor the electricity in my house (though not the mini splits specifically, since their draw is variable). So I can see: in mild weather, the heat is almost free.

Therefore, you don't have to worry so much about the low end or shoulder season, use the mini splits then, so you don't need to worry about too big a stove for mild weather. Bigger is probably better, for when the real cold comes?

No experience with a Hearthstone but having read a WHOLE lot online this fall, it seems they get very mixed reviews. I guess it depends on how well they work with the chimney, or the user's expectations or heat requirement? Some people love them, and some people are rather in the other camp about them. Read and search a lot.

For my part, I'm going with Woodstock as a move-up from my ancient Jotul this season. I hope. Depends on whether the EPA opens, since Woodstock needs certification before they can ship the Progress. My decision to move from the Jotul was triggered by a Hearthstone Mansfield coming up for sale used in my town for a low price. "Ooh. Pretty!"" And then I started reading forums. Especially the older ones had problems with the door hardware, but even the newer ones seem to have mixed experience.