Which of these is the best woodstove for 900 sq/ft rental cottage in NW Ontario Canada

[kenora]

Hi; great site...I spent the last couple of days reading through hundreds of posts and have learned a lot...thanks already!

I joined because I would like to learn more about wood stoves, I will be building a retirement home on the side of a little lake about 5 km north of Kenora Ontario in about 5 years. I have 8 acres crowded with birch and pine with more dead fall than I can keep up with so wood supply shouldn't be an issue. In this area it regulary gets to -30 c in the winter and its not a "real winter" unless we get a cold snap at -40 for 10 days or so.... today its -8 c ( about +12 f) and thats very warm for November 20th.

The retirement home will be heated with a lake loop (geothermal) system and will have a wood stove as "emergency heat" and to provide some ambiance'. That property is adjacent to a rental cottage I also own, it is heated (oil forced air) and is used by hunters in the fall and snowmobilers and ice fishermen (persons) throughout the winter. The most frequent request I get from fall, winter, spring quests is that I add a wood stove so.......

The facts; The cottage has 2x6 walls with R20, triple pane windows and R40 min the ceiling. It's about 900 sq/ft on a heated 4 ft concrete crawlspace. The wood stove is planned for the living room which is about 225 sq/ft with a sloped pine ceiling. there is only one door into the room (from the hall), a patio door leads to a deck. The stove would go against the interior wall (back against center of cottage). That means about 7 ft to the exterior wall (to left) and 7 ft to an interior wall (to right with the door). The flue would go straight up to the sloping ceiling (gets higher from left to right); at middle of room where stove would go its about 12 ft to ceiling. There is a parallel truss roof (6/12 pitch) with R40 insulation here. The lakeside of the cottage has sloped ceilings, the other side has regular 8 ft flat ceilings.

I had given some thought to a Vermont Castings Intrepid II but ruled that out since it has a catalyst and would likely be screwed up pretty quick by a variety of renters (I don't think on purpose but it sounds complicated for a 1st time user to get comfortable with during a weekend rental), so I am now looking at a Jotul F3CB (I don't believe that has a catalyst (am I right?)). I liked the top loading feature of the VC and don't see that available on the Jotul line (at least on anything appropriate for my size cottage).

Local prices on the VC Intrepid II are $1200 (on sale from a regular $1600) and $1800 for the Jotul. That is for the stove alone, double flue pipe etc with installation brings the totals up to $3500 - $4000 so I don't want to make a mistake in either the size of the stove or its utility (is a catalyst a good idea in a rental?).

fwiw; there is no additional cost to insure the cottage with a wood stove (surprised me).

I would appreciate your thoughts to help me make this decision. I am bound and determined to add a wood stove (hey, my family uses the cottage when its not rented...we love the idea!) and it makes sense since thats what my customers want.

Thanks.

 

[kd460]

Kenora, welcome to the forum. I am mainly answering so your post gets bumped back to the top.

As far as the rental, I think those are nice stoves you mentioned. Maybe too nice! Perhaps something on the lower end price like an Englander. Here is a link:

http://englanderstoves.com/wood_stoves.html

http://englanderstoves.com/13-nc.html

They get good reviews on this site, have a good reputation for quality and customer service, and the price is very fair. I am concerned about how your stove will be treated by your renters. There is a potential for abuse such as overfire, burning trash, etc. So your decision to stay away from a cat is a good one. I think a plate steel unit would be best for that application. The other concern is the glass door, so whatever unit you go with, have spare glass, gaskets, and firebricks on hand at all times.

For your home (which sounds very nice), perhaps the stoves you mentioned. A cat would not be a problem in your own home, so the sky is the limit as far as that goes. Just keep reading this website and the reviews section, do your homework, and then choose. Here is another helpfull link:

https://www.hearth.com/ratings/search.php

Use the $$ you saved on the Englander and apply it to your unit so your choices may improve a bit

Regardless, good luck. KD

 

[Jimbob]

The vista would go good in there:
(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_vista.php)

And so would the Drolet Adirondack:
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=168)

Both have low clearances to combustibles, which means they can be installed fairly close to the walls.

Vista sells for ~ $1000
Drolet sells for ~ $700

Might be worth the drive to Winnipeg, as prices might be better than out there.

Also worth checking out, are the "flame" series of wood stoves from home hardware, father-in law has the "NXT-1" and it works well for him, looks to be well built, too. Installation clearances are a but further, though.

 

[Hogwildz]

I agree with the thought you should consider a lower cost stove. Not to say they aren't good stoves. Englander is already proven here.
But keep in mind that some of your renters may not really know how to use a stove, or the particular stove. It may get over fired frequently. It took many of us at least a season to know our stoves.
Something to think about when considering purchasing a higher priced stove.

 

[begreen]

Am I the only one skeptical about putting a wood stove in the hands of renters? Better surround that stove with a very oversized hearth.

 

[kd460]

BeGreen raises a good point. Extra large fire resistant surround/hearth, fire extinguisher close by, smoke detectors in every room, etc. Then there is wood storage. While you may be carefull about storing wood indoors, renters won't care. Any wet, dirty, or bug infested wood has the potential to just sit around inside. May end up being a problem there as well.

I still think it is doable. I would love to be able to rent a cabin for winter recreation that has a wood burner in it. Just has some potential problems that need to be addressed. KD

 

[jpl1nh]

Might be a good idea to make sure each renter also has basic stove operating instructions, such as using dry wood, no trash, basic air supply and control operation to regulate stove temp, info on avoiding overfiring, etc.

 

[kenora]

Some great points and YES I have already ruled out the stove with the catalytic converter. I think a less expensive plate steel stove might just do it. I live in Winterpeg opps I mean Winnipeg so I'll check out the usual suspects (Flame and Comfort (they had the Intrepid I was looking at), Prairie Fireplaces (they had the Jotul) and a place at Ellice (or is it Sargent?) and St James though I can't recall the name for the steel stoves. I gotta admit though I LOVE the look of the Intrepid II but I'll save that for the house next door.

As far as renters and a wood stove go I suspect my "damage deposit" will have to increase to $500 to cover minor issues. I already have a huge clean dry supply of birch and was planning on stacking a bit of it (say 4 ft wide x 2 ft high) under the deck which is attached to the living room with explicit instructions NOT to keep more than a few splits in the cottage (in a box?).

I know its risky renting a place with a wood stove but its what my customers want, most of our business (90%) is in the summer months and we are looking to attrack more folks in the off season, since this is what they are asking for; provided it makes sense finacially and from a safety perspective, I am going to try and make it happen.

I was planning a hearth about 4 ft wide and having it extend about 2 ft past the front of the stove. I guess that will be my next question...how do I build a hearth? Should I start a new thread?

fwiw if anyone is interested in the cottage send me an [email protected] (can I post that?)

This is a view o0f the lake side, the deck is off the living room and I would put the small wood supply under the deck.

 

[begreen]

My main concerns would be smoke damage, over-firing and/or glass breakage. Detailed instructions, safety equipment and dry wood will help. A high temp alarm wired to the stove would be great here.

Hearth construction depends on the stove. Some just require a non-combustible barrier, others require a bulletproof shield. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation in the manual. Though if you are planning on upgrading at a later date, it wouldn't hurt to exceed requirements.

As to the stove, I'd consider a small Englander, PE Vista (steels stoves) or Jotul 602, VC Aspen (cast). You want a pretty bullet proof, easy to operate stove. Preferably one that logs can't roll out of.

 

[Jimbob]

Another place in Wpg to check out is Embers on the corner of Dublin ave & St.James street.

Flame and Comfort has the Vista mentioned earlier. That's where I bought my Summit, ask for Dave if you go there, he seems to know his stoves.

RONA has the DROLET stoves.
(broken link removed to http://www.rona.ca/product/wood-stove_drolet_p1243011_wood-stoves-fireplaces_stoves-fireplaces_heating-ventilation-air-conditioning_shop)

A nice EPA stove from Home Hardware, for $720, enter cat. number 5531-437 into link below
(broken link removed to http://www.homehardware.ca/app/eFlyer/catalogue_process)


Jotul, Morso, and Vermont Castings might be a bit pricey to be beat on by renters..... :smirk: