Wood Stove for a 1,200 Sq Foot House in Northern VT?

[Serrinon]

Hello Everyone,

I've been searching the web for advice on wood stoves and I was fortunate enough to stumble across this forum! I'm looking to put a wood stove in my house in VT and it seems as though there are just too many options out there! My price range is no more than $1,500 and I'd like something durable that will last a while. I won't be using the stove 24/7, but I'd like to know that it's trustworthy enough to use that often. I'd been reading about Vermont Castings and Jotul. It sounds like the Jotul brand is one of my best options. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for your help!
Dana

 

[begreen]

Greetings Dana. That's a tight budget. Does it include the flue installation costs or is there a chimney/woodstove flue already in the house? For stoves in this price range, I'd be looking at 2 cu ft firebox stoves like Englander's 13NC, Napoleon's 1400, Pacific Energy's Super 27. Forget the Jotuls and VC stoves. They are not in this price range unless you are talking after the tax credit. However, if you keep coming back to Jotul, then consider the F400 Castine, shop hard for a good price and remember the tax credit come next year.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Hello Everyone,

I've been searching the web for advice on wood stoves and I was fortunate enough to stumble across this forum! I'm looking to put a wood stove in my house in VT and it seems as though there are just too many options out there! My price range is no more than $1,500 and I'd like something durable that will last a while. I won't be using the stove 24/7, but I'd like to know that it's trustworthy enough to use that often. I'd been reading about Vermont Castings and Jotul. It sounds like the Jotul brand is one of my best options. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much for your help!
Dana

There are very few stoves manufacturers today with a reputation that their product isn't trustworthy enough to run 24/7.

Jotul, Lopi, Pacific Energy, QuadraFire, BlazeKing, Woodstock, HearthStone, England Stove Works, Osburn, Harmen, Napoleon, etc. all make fine stoves that can be trusted to run 24/7. Is your price range including installation?

One suggestion is to get your wood no. ASAP.

 

[Serrinon]

I'm all set with chimney/flue and installation and the good news is that I already have a cord of wood. The $1,500 or less would be specifically for the wood stove. I guess I figured that given the small space, just 1,200 sq feet, I would be able to find a decent stove to heat it for that price. But If that's not reasonable definitely let me now. I'm new to wood stoves.

Thank you!

 

[BrowningBAR]

I'm all set with chimney/flue and installation and the good news is that I already have a cord of wood. The $1,500 or less would be specifically for the wood stove. I guess I figured that given the small space, just 1,200 sq feet, I would be able to find a decent stove to heat it for that price. But If that's not reasonable definitely let me now. I'm new to wood stoves.

Thank you!

Even at 1200 sq ft you will want a decent size stove to give you long burns. Reloading a stove every 2-3 hours gets old really quickly (trust me on this one). 2+ cubic foot fire box should be what you are looking for. And, if you have poor insulation and windows a larger stove will be needed to compensate for the heat loss.

 

[ddddddden]

Woodstock refurb ~ $1400. You are semi-local to them, and could pick up @ the factory to save a bit more.

 

[Serrinon]

I'm all set with chimney/flue and installation and the good news is that I already have a cord of wood. The $1,500 or less would be specifically for the wood stove. I guess I figured that given the small space, just 1,200 sq feet, I would be able to find a decent stove to heat it for that price. But If that's not reasonable definitely let me now. I'm new to wood stoves.

Thank you!

Even at 1200 sq ft you will want a decent size stove to give you long burns. Reloading a stove every 2-3 hours gets old really quickly (trust me on this one). 2+ cubic foot fire box should be what you are looking for. And, if you have poor insulation and windows a larger stove will be needed to compensate for the heat loss.

That makes sense. I had been looking at a "heating area" of around 1,200, but how many feet should I be looking for.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I'm all set with chimney/flue and installation and the good news is that I already have a cord of wood. The $1,500 or less would be specifically for the wood stove. I guess I figured that given the small space, just 1,200 sq feet, I would be able to find a decent stove to heat it for that price. But If that's not reasonable definitely let me now. I'm new to wood stoves.

Thank you!

Even at 1200 sq ft you will want a decent size stove to give you long burns. Reloading a stove every 2-3 hours gets old really quickly (trust me on this one). 2+ cubic foot fire box should be what you are looking for. And, if you have poor insulation and windows a larger stove will be needed to compensate for the heat loss.

That makes sense. I had been looking at a "heating area" of around 1,200, but how many feet should I be looking for.

Look at the BTU's more than the square footage. Heating area really depends upon your weather, insulation, and floorplan. As an example; my home is 2200 sq ft. I have one stove rated at 1,800 sq ft, another at 1,600 sq ft and a third at 1,200 sq ft. Clearly I am an extreme case, but I am a great example of a floor plan causing havoc on stove ratings.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Woodstock refurb ~ $1400. You are semi-local to them.

+1 on this! You are local, Woodstock makes a great product, $1400 is a steal.

 

[Serrinon]

Woodstock refurb ~ $1400. You are semi-local to them, and could pick up @ the factory to save a bit more.

Good to know. I couldn't find any refurb prices on their website, but I'm guessing if I call them they can tell me more.

As far as looking at BTU's instead of the "heating area," how many BTUs should I be looking for? It's a ranch style house and it's pretty well insulated with "normal" ceilings.

 

[btuser]

What do you heat with now? Is it a new home or do you have a history of your heating requirements For me, 1 cord of wood = about 100 gallons of oil, although that's somewhat conservative because my house is a lot warmer heating with wood. A lot is also going to depend on your layout, and how you're going to get the heat around.

 

[Skier76]

We're running a Castine in our a-frame in Sothern VT. That stove is probably a tick above your price point, but may be a bit small for what you're looking for. Given your square footage, you may be in Oslo territory.

 

[peakbagger]

If its a seasonal structure you really need to review the heating load required for the house as the woodstove needs to be sized to the heating load not the square footage. A well built tight structure is going to require a lot smaller stove than a uninsulated "loose" structure. There is also a trade off on how quickly you want to heat the building from unheated condition. A small stove will take a lot longer to initially heat the structure compared to a larger stove but the larger stove inevitably will be too large once the structure is up to temperature.

I have visited several "ski lodge" type structures over the years with no insulation and up on concrete posts that require a whole lot of heat to be usefull during ski season.

 

[KB007]

There's a few good, inexpensive stoves out there. Englander, Regency, PE and Napoleon come to mind. We really like the basic black, no frills Napoleon 1450 we have. Good name, same basic stove as the more expensive 1400, 2.25 cuft, but comes in a "basic black" with no expensive bells or whistles.

 

[ANeat]

Here is the Woodstock info, last I heard there was a few left. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/56613/

 

[branchburner]

Woodstock refurb ~ $1400. You are semi-local to them.

+1 on this! You are local, Woodstock makes a great product, $1400 is a steal.

+2 -- the Keystone is the nicest little stove I've ever seen!

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Agree that the square footage spec is a somewhat misleading way to find the right stove- especially if you're in N. VT! Go oversized if you can

 

[Serrinon]

Here is the Woodstock info, last I heard there was a few left. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/56613/

Thank you for the link, although those things are SUPER Heavy!! I don't think I'd be able to pick it up.

Another stove that I'd been looking at was the Vermont Castings Intrepid II
http://www.vermontcastings.com/products.asp?model=intrepid

However, I'm a bit worried about getting a catalytic stove. It seems like another part to break on me.

As far as the house, it's a year round "normal" house, not a cabin/seasonal home. The home was built in 1978 and is well insulated. I heated it with oil last year and will still have that as an option. But I would like to be able to heat it with wood if all goes well.

 

[begreen]

Give Woodstock a call. If they have a Keystone left in the sale, consider it strongly. Don't worry about lifting it. We've all worked that out. Even us old coots here. There is a way for sure.

The Keystone is also catalytic, but with a much better longevity record than the Intrepid cat. The cat is not the issue as long as one burns within its constraints. On the Intrepid II, it's the ceramic refractory chamber that seems to be not as durable. The Keystone doesn't have the same design.

 

[firefighterjake]

Hmmm . . . $1,500 is pretty tight . . . I am a big fan of Jotuls, but I think the Castine or Oslo would be a bit more than that.

I would personally not buy a VC . . . for many reasons . . . they're not the same company that they once were . . . although hopefully that may change in time . . . but I would not want to be among the first folks to see if they are able to make the successful change.

As others have mentioned Englander, Napoleon and Regency make good stoves at that price point . . . and to be honest . . . in this day and age there aren't many stove manufacturers I would say are not good buys . . . stoves that will not last . . . whether you're burning 24/7 or just part time . . . which brings me to another point . . . many folks here (myself included) came here thinking we would get some research and would only end up burning evenings and weekends . . . but once you experience true heat and see how easy these stoves are to run you may find yourself burning 24/7 sooner than you think.

Get more wood . . . if you find yourself wanting to burn more you'll have wood (although it's getting a bit late now to get seasoned wood) . . . and if you just burn evenings and weekends you'll have extra wood for next year.

The '70s were a funny time . . . some homes are well insulated . . . and others not so much . . . if youv'e got a well insulated house and good windows you're doing well. A stove just a tick larger than what you think you need is a good idea though.

Final thought . . . if you like the look of the Woodstock and they have one in stock that fits your size requirements that may be one of the steal deals for you.

 

[branchburner]

However, I'm a bit worried about getting a catalytic stove. It seems like another part to break on me.

Not to worry. It simply requires you to pay a bit more attention in understanding how your stove works when you first learn how to use it. Once you learn and understand it correctly, as long as you don't abuse it you'll be fine.

A catalytic stove will give you more ability to "dial down" the heat in the fall and spring months, which will be nice in smaller, well-insulated home. It will allow you to extract more heat from less wood, which will be nice if you don't have a wood fairy that cuts and stacks an endless supply of seasoned wood. (My wife and kids have finally realized the wood fairy doesn't exist.)

The most important thing is to get a quality product from a quality dealer. Woodstock is right at the top on both counts.

 

[VTHC]

Hi Serrinon!
Welcome to the forum! lots of great advice here.

I'm in northern Vermont too, and had to get a new stove this past January. We decide to go with a Hearthstone cast iron stove - the Shelburne, and have had great results! We are heating a 1900 s.f. house, and the stove has done a pretty good job (although a bit undersized for 24/7 burning). It would be perfect in 1200 s.f. ranch. The stoves are made in Morrisville, VT and don't come with all of the baggage of the Vermont Castings corporate/quality juggling in the recent years. It also uses secondary burn if you are weary of the catalyst style stoves. They also have the soapstone line of stoves that are pretty popular on this forum. Give them a consideration if you can: http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/wood-stoves/stove-details?product_id=11

If you are using the tax credit i think the price may be within your range. We bought ours at the Chimney Sweep in Shelburne, VT where we dealt with Paul - he was really helpful, and worked within our price range.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Here is the Woodstock info, last I heard there was a few left. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/56613/

Thank you for the link, although those things are SUPER Heavy!! I don't think I'd be able to pick it up.

Another stove that I'd been looking at was the Vermont Castings Intrepid II
http://www.vermontcastings.com/products.asp?model=intrepid

However, I'm a bit worried about getting a catalytic stove. It seems like another part to break on me.

As far as the house, it's a year round "normal" house, not a cabin/seasonal home. The home was built in 1978 and is well insulated. I heated it with oil last year and will still have that as an option. But I would like to be able to heat it with wood if all goes well.

Yes, they are heavy and that is one of the things that make this stove great. That extra weight is because of the stone. That stone heats up and continues to radiate heat as the fire cools down.

You sound like me when we last shopped for a stove. I wanted to stay away from a cat stove. After all, I'd heard and read bad things. Long story short, we bought the Fireview and it has a cat.

We had it shipped to our local tire shop (because they had a fork lift to unload from truck onto our trailer). I unloaded that thing (500 pounds) from the trailer by myself onto a furniture dolly. It did take 3 of us to get into the house and up (16") onto the hearth.

We were still unconvinced this stove would be enough to heat our drafty home and unsure about the cat. Those fears were proven very wrong really fast. Not only does it heat our old drafty home, but we now stay warmer.......and.....we use only half the amount of wood we used to burn!

One other great point about Woodstock is their guarantee. 6 months to use the stove and if not satisfied, return it for full refund. Who else would or could give such a guarantee? This simply is a great company to deal with and they will go well out of their way to satisfy you. Give them a call as they have an 800 number.

 

[Serrinon]

Thank you for all of the advice!

Right now I'm looking into the Jotul F3 and V500 and the Woodstock stoves, but I still have no way of picking up the Woodstock stove, it's just too big.

The Jotul F3 looks to be the front runner right now. It only weighs 265 and claims to be good for up to 1300 Sq feet, so that works out well, and after the Energy Tax Credit I'd be looking at a cost of about $1,120 (1600 up front).

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Serrinon, could you please explain your statement that the Woodstock stove is too big? You have no way of picking it up too. Do you mean to pick it up physically or pick it up from the factory?

I ask this because I did the picking up using a Pontiac Vibe and a small trailer. Even with my bad back I was able to get the crate off the trailer and onto a furniture dolly. Picking it up off the floor and putting it onto the hearth was done with help of a couple of neighbors. (We did not uncrate the stove until we had it directly in front of the hearth.)