Wood stove for a small space?

[skookumchuck]

I'm converting an outbuilding into a home office. It is octagonal and approximately 120 square feet inside, with approximately 8' ceiling. There's power to the building but I don't know capacity (right now there are three lights and one outlet). Building is insulated just ok. I can easily add insulation to the attic.

This being Montana, winters can be rather cold. Daytime temps can be below zero but are more often in the 0-20 degrees range.

Is even a mini wood stove too much heat? Are there small wood pellet stoves that would be better? No gas available and I'm leery of electric unless I can find something super efficient (I'll be using this all day, 5 days per week, year-round).

I welcome any thoughts and feedback.

 

[moresnow]

Your probably going to want continuous round the clock heat I would guess. Can't imagine going into my office and freezing until I got it warmed up. Pretty much rules out a tiny wood stove unless your staying in the office 24/7 to feed it! I heat a well insulated one stall garage/shop with a single ceramic fan heater. We figure it runs about 30 bucks a month at most. Easy, clean and a space saver.

 

[skookumchuck]

Your probably going to want continuous round the clock heat I would guess. Can't imagine going into my office and freezing until I got it warmed up. Pretty much rules out a tiny wood stove unless your staying in the office 24/7 to feed it! I heat a well insulated one stall garage/shop with a single ceramic fan heater. We figure it runs about 30 bucks a month at most. Easy, clean and a space saver.

My preference would be to only heat it when I'm using it. I realize that creates some challenges first thing in the morning but I'd rather not pay to heat it when I'm not in it, and yeah I sure won't be there 24/7 to feed a stove!

 

[dougand3]

My situation has some similar attributes. I'm in one house from noon-6pm each day - VC Resolute Acclaim in 1400sf rancher. I run the stove hard from noon-6pm - LR gets to 86* and MBR gets to 76*. Reload fully with air down upon leaving. Next day at noon - lotsa red coals for easy restart. Temp drops to 58-64 in the house but our lows are 20s-40s. The small VC RA heats well. You'd need to build small fires even in it not to get run out.
A big variable - can you get free wood? Free fuel is free fuel.
If not, an electric, kerosene or propane heater may be better. However, I just bought kerosene and it was 5.29/gal - way too expensive.
We had a diesel heater in the Army - worked well in a tent.

 

[skookumchuck]

My situation has some similar attributes. I'm in one house from noon-6pm each day - VC Resolute Acclaim in 1400sf rancher. I run the stove hard from noon-6pm - LR gets to 86* and MBR gets to 76*. Reload fully with air down upon leaving. Next day at noon - lotsa red coals for easy restart. Temp drops to 58-64 in the house but our lows are 20s-40s. The small VC RA heats well. You'd need to build small fires even in it not to get run out.
A big variable - can you get free wood? Free fuel is free fuel.
If not, an electric, kerosene or propane heater may be better. However, I just bought kerosene and it was 5.29/gal - way too expensive.
We had a diesel heater in the Army - worked well in a tent.

I don't get wood for free but in my area it's inexpensive. One challenge with a smaller/mini stove is I'd need wood cut to a smaller size than what I get for my house stove.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

A woodstove in a room like that will be horrible. As you know, you can't just turn the heat off once you reach the desired room temperature. You need the fuel to burn out. You further compound the issues by wanting to turn the heat off when not using the room. This forces you to oversize the heater to overcome the cold within a reasonable period of time. The colder the room gets, the larger the heater has to be.

I think your options are electric or some sort of gas/oil. You may even find a thermostat that allows you to drop the heat at night, and then automatically raise the temp before you arrive in the morning beneficial.

 

[gthomas785]

I'd go with a moderate sized, highly radiant stove. That will give you the quickest heat. You'll probably light it in the morning and run it hard for a few hours then let it go out.

 

[moresnow]

120SqFt area? It's the size of a ice fishing hut. The Cubic Mini Grizzly wood stove might work? Any standard size stove seems like it would make your work space into a weight loss room! There is a ongoing thread on the other wood stove site that is covering this model.

 

[Mainely Saws]

Hello ,
I would suggest a direct vent Lp thermostatically controlled heater such as Rinnai ( but it does require electricity) or if there are possible power outages ,a direct vent Lp heater with a standing pilot that does not need electricity . The advantages are that they are very low maintenance, dependable and that you can maintain a minimal temperature via the thermostat when you aren't there and can simply increase it to a comfortable level when you are there . I don't know what LP is priced at in your area but I can't imagine that it would cost much to heat . If you let the office go totally without heat such as a long weekend , a trip ,etc , then it would take any heat source longer to heat more than just the air and may cost more in the long run ..........

Bob

 

[peakbagger]

If you do not drop below zero very frequently a cold climate minisplit heat pump an option to consider. Down in those temps the COP is probably in the 2 to 2.5 range but that means its still twice as efficient as electric resistance heat. Throw in chunk of strip heat for the really cold days and you are done.

 

[skookumchuck]

Thank you, all. Lots of good thoughts.