wood stove/insert for 300sq ft

[leadmade]

I am looking for suggestions for wood stove or wood insert to heat our 400 sq ft living room. most of the models we have seen are too large, with min for 600 to 1000 sq ft. we're in Seattle, our one story house with basement is 880 sq ft on each floor, kitchen can be closed off and bedrooms have doors. basement can also be closed off. moderately well insulated with all new double pane windows. our fireplace opening is 36" wide * 30" tall. which fits most models. looking to use this as supplemental heat for the winter. any suggestions for the stove/insert models? how much should we expect spend for install (our chimney is brick and has no existing liner)? any key items we must keep in mind? i have read most of the wikis but want to make sure i don't miss anything.

thanks!

 

[blacktail]

Why close off all the other rooms? A small insert like my 1.6cf Lopi would not run you out of the house. I heat just under 1200sf with mine in the same climate. It's not heating me out of the living area and takes some time to get enough heat out for the whole house.

 

[kennyp2339]

I would go with a stove that has the capability of heating 1200 sq ft. It would be nearly impossible to just heat one room, the benefit of the stove is the ability to heat a whole floor, I live in a raised ranch, I have my main level floor - Kitchen, living room, dinning room, (3) bedrooms in a rectangle configuration, the basement area is approx. 35ft x 25ft then garage space under the bedrooms. I installed the stove in the basement (BK princess) and I'm able to heat the whole house from it. The whole point is to maximize your heating area.

 

[Grisu]

Welcome!

As others have said, heating only 300 sqft with a wood stove will be difficult. An EPA-approved secondary burn stove will need to reach a certain temperature in order to burn clean and efficient. At that point most stoves will deliver more heat than what you will need for 300 sqft. You could look for a very small stove; Morso has several models with a firebox ~1 cu ft but those will require constant refueling and may still overheat your living room. May I ask what is the reason for closing off the rest of the house?

For a low and relatively constant heat output a small catalytic stove would be best. What are the inner dimensions of your fireplace and the depth of your hearth? One that could fit your requirements would be the Woodstock Keystone: (broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/keystone) It has a height of 28" so you could maybe partially recess it in your fireplace as long as you can still access the side door. Due to its catalytic operation you can burn it at lower temperatures which will give you long burn times without heating you out if the house. It will still probably prove too much for just one room. Some non-catalytic small inserts that may somewhat work for you: Pacific Energy Vista/T4 or Neo 1.6, Regency I1200 or Alterra CI1200, Osburn 1100. For a budget option you could look at the Englander 13NCI (although it is a bit larger than the other mentioned) or a Century CW2500.

What you will need in addition is a full liner to the top of the chimney which should be insulated for safety and better draft. The rest of the chimney should be closed off with a block-off plate: https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/make-a-damper-sealing-block-off-plate/ You will also need dry wood with an internal moisture of less than 20% for your stove. It is very rare that you can buy that so most members split and stack their own. Depending on the species and drying conditions that needs to be done up to three years in advance before you can actually burn it. If you don't anticipate burning much you can also look into compressed wood logs like Envi-blocks, Bio-Bricks, Northern Idaho Energy logs etc. They will be more expensive but much less work, guaranteed dry, bug free etc.

 

[begreen]

For a small heater, consider putting in a Jotul 602 or a Morso 2B in the fireplace. If the fire view is important that perhaps a Jotul F100 or Morso 1410.

 

[leadmade]

Thank you. i'll look into the stoves mentioned, super helpful. No specific reason to close up the house, door to the kitchen and bedroom can remain open and go to a full 880 sq ft on the main floor and additional 600 sq ft in the basement. I anticipate mostly spending time in the living room while the stove is on. I'll post the inner dimension of the fireplace once i get home. Thank you so much!

 

[leadmade]

our fireplace inner dimension measures 30" tall * 36" wide * 22" deep. the back is tapered and is 27" wide. really liked the look of jotul 100. realize while the specs looks to fit, we're not so much into the look of the regency I1200.

our chimney needs repair (tuckpoint, missing one of the chimney cap). the top of the chimney has a terra cotta top and the concrete that's supposed to hold the terra cotta cap is broken. is this terra cotta top needed with an insert? Our chimney already has a standard chimney cap. would the liner reuse that or would that all need to be ripped out? how do i figure out how much of these chimney repair work i should skip?

thanks for the note on the chimney blockoff plate, noted to make sure the installation includes one. do installation usually include it? or are these usually custom made for the specific chimney.

how much should i expect insulated chimney liner and installations be? is there a place where i can get recommendation for seattle area fireplace installation ( i looked on Angie's list, lots of info on chimney sweeps but there is little info on fireplace install) ?

 

[begreen]

Sutter Home and Hearth does a first class install. They are expensive but do good work. Aqua Req is another option.

 

[Grisu]

Many chimney sweeps will also do a stove install. You can look here for a certified one: http://www.csia.org/search
A block-off plate is rarely included. Most only stuff some (fiberglass) insulation in the damper area. However, that does not provide an airseal and is an inferior solution.

Don't expect to heat the basement from the first floor. Warm air will rise, not go down the stairs. However, 800 sqft sounds like a more feasible area to heat without overdoing it.

Installation prices can vary greatly between different areas and each install is a bit different but to give you a ballpark: I would anticipate about $1600 to $2000 for liner and install.