Thanks begreen. I follow that now with the 140,000 BTU / gallon of oil. It is true that the ductwork is in bad shape in places, so thanks for the tip.
Advice needed on wood stove for 1200 sq ft
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Bub381
Minister of Fire
I will give you my experience with a woodstove with a 2.6cu in firebox in a 1300 sq ft uninsulated house.I had to run in at no more than 350 degrees and the creosote was dripping from my chimney cap and 1 night it caught fire and was falling on the roof.That'll scare ya.Couldn't burn it hotter because i was getting my stove room around 100 degrees with fans running.A small fire will not light off your 2ndarys so they wont be of much good.If you get bigger than a Fireview you will be sorry but hey,that's y they have their 6 month no cost to you return policy.How'd i do Dennis?
Wow, thanks Duane. That sounds pretty definite then on the size of the stove (as many others have pointed out also). I will call up Woodstock tomorrow and talk with them about things as well.
Tim
Tim
Point in comparison, we are heating a house almost 3 times the size of Chitty's with the same sized firebox. Next door neighbor is heating his old, 1600 sq ft farmhouse with a PE Spectrum and complains at times that it's too much heat."
Was just comenting on your locality and house size as compared to ours , no offense meant Begreen...
As a suggestion we use the forced air fan on our central electiric furnace to circulate the wood heat from the basement throught the house.
The BRAUN brand 20 kilowatt furnace I installed can be hooked to a dual thermostat. The 1st thermostat works as a normal stat for a furnace and the second one only runs the fan portion of the furnace. By setting the temps of the 2 stats a little offset, when the upstairs cools, the furnace fan kicks in and the intake takes the air from the basement through all the ductwork and circulates the house. Keeps the house nice and even and power usage is minimal. If the fire does not put out enough heat or dies down too much by morning the main thermostat kicks in and the electric furnace will heat the house as set. Don't wake up in a cold house not wanting to climb out of bed like when I was a kid with only wood heat lol.
Nice thing with the electric furnace is they are 100% efficient as it does not require a fresh air intake from outside. They heat by drawing in the house air, heat it and return it back to the house. Also no chimney required, and zero clearance rating on the furace itself so can be installed in a closet or whever you choose. It can be installed horizontal, vertical or even upside down depending on where you want your intake and output air ducting.
My 20 kw was $950 for the furnace and a bit for the electrician to wire in. Could be tied in to your existing ductwork and no risk of carbon monoxide from old oil furnace etc.
Again the 20kw may be a size bigger than your choice, but they make a 10 and 13 kw version I believe for a couple hundred cheaper..
Kills 2 birds as it removes the issue of having the room your wood stove in being a hot spot and replaces the old oil furnace so that you can still leave the house a few days here and there without worrying about wood heat only.
This also is our main heat for the house and the wood is our secondary heat. The savings on our house insurance up here anyway paid for the furnace the first year, as wood heat only they like to charge 50% more per year.
Have to check with your electrician to see if your main panel has enough go juice though, my furnace required a 100 amp breaker but we were also upgrading to a 200 amp service panel at the same time so wasn't an issue.
Food for thought anyway...
The BRAUN brand 20 kilowatt furnace I installed can be hooked to a dual thermostat. The 1st thermostat works as a normal stat for a furnace and the second one only runs the fan portion of the furnace. By setting the temps of the 2 stats a little offset, when the upstairs cools, the furnace fan kicks in and the intake takes the air from the basement through all the ductwork and circulates the house. Keeps the house nice and even and power usage is minimal. If the fire does not put out enough heat or dies down too much by morning the main thermostat kicks in and the electric furnace will heat the house as set. Don't wake up in a cold house not wanting to climb out of bed like when I was a kid with only wood heat lol.
Nice thing with the electric furnace is they are 100% efficient as it does not require a fresh air intake from outside. They heat by drawing in the house air, heat it and return it back to the house. Also no chimney required, and zero clearance rating on the furace itself so can be installed in a closet or whever you choose. It can be installed horizontal, vertical or even upside down depending on where you want your intake and output air ducting.
My 20 kw was $950 for the furnace and a bit for the electrician to wire in. Could be tied in to your existing ductwork and no risk of carbon monoxide from old oil furnace etc.
Again the 20kw may be a size bigger than your choice, but they make a 10 and 13 kw version I believe for a couple hundred cheaper..
Kills 2 birds as it removes the issue of having the room your wood stove in being a hot spot and replaces the old oil furnace so that you can still leave the house a few days here and there without worrying about wood heat only.
This also is our main heat for the house and the wood is our secondary heat. The savings on our house insurance up here anyway paid for the furnace the first year, as wood heat only they like to charge 50% more per year.
Have to check with your electrician to see if your main panel has enough go juice though, my furnace required a 100 amp breaker but we were also upgrading to a 200 amp service panel at the same time so wasn't an issue.
Food for thought anyway...
Thanks Chitty. I am trying to think of options for a secondary system as well. I will definitely check this option out.
In Altoona PA I would also be looking at an extra-high efficiency heat pump system. That will provide heating and cooling. If you install a mini-split system like the Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat it can be efficient down to -5F degrees. Moderator pen installed this system last year in PA. Second choice would be a Fujitsu. These units are miserly with electricity. Look in the Green Room or DIY section for more info on them.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/minisplit-ductless-heat-pump.105278/page-2#post-1391846
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/impressed-with-the-daikin-ductless-heat-pump.60963/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/minisplit-ductless-heat-pump.105278/page-2#post-1391846
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/impressed-with-the-daikin-ductless-heat-pump.60963/
Ok, so I called up Woodstock and they also recommended either the Fireview or the Keystone. I like the look of the Keystone more at the moment, the larger glass, and the ash pan. But the Fireview has the larger firebox.
Any one have good comparisons on the burn times of the Fireview vs. the Keystone?
Or any comments on whether the Keystone could heat my 1200 sq ft. house, plus any future renovations of 400 sq ft or so?
Thanks again everyone!
Any one have good comparisons on the burn times of the Fireview vs. the Keystone?
Or any comments on whether the Keystone could heat my 1200 sq ft. house, plus any future renovations of 400 sq ft or so?
Thanks again everyone!
I believe an Fv would work great in there, and the burn times are very good. Extreme example, not much heat required with moderate temps outside; I loaded a few small/ medium Silver Maple rounds and some Cherry splits, medium burn time woods. Fairly full box, but not crammed by any stretch. With the air cut all the way, stove basically idling, I still had a split shape in the back of the box at 20 hrs. This stove is extremely easy to operate, as well.
We have 1000 leaky sq.ft. and I could easily heat us out most of the time, but this climate is a little warmer than PA. I'm probably going to put the Keystone back in and most likely sell the Fv. I may offer it to my BIL but he's pretty cheap...I can hold it for you if you want. Altoona isn't all that far away.
We have 1000 leaky sq.ft. and I could easily heat us out most of the time, but this climate is a little warmer than PA. I'm probably going to put the Keystone back in and most likely sell the Fv. I may offer it to my BIL but he's pretty cheap...I can hold it for you if you want. Altoona isn't all that far away.
Todd had a Fireview and then put in a Keystone and he likes it. There are many who like the larger glass but I don't think it is a big deal. You might get an extra two hours from the Fireview but I'm not 100% certain on that. It just makes sense that the larger firebox will give you that benefit. There have been a lot of Keystone and Fireviews sold but I think the Fireview is the biggest seller.
As for the ash pan, this is the first stove we've ever had with no ash pan and I was a little concerned about it. Now I am very happy with it and if I bought another stove that had the option (like the Progress) of ash pan or no ash pan, I would go without. We did have a Progress on order and it was to come with no ash pan and the shorter legs. I think the stove looks better without the ash pan too.
Yep, a couple extra hours and a bit more output. Considering the upcoming increase in area to be heated, I would lean toward the Fv.
Does anyone know if the BK's get black glass a lot of the time? Or perhaps some of their newer ones are better with this issue?
Also, where is a good website to look at the BK stove prices? Can't find any at the moment.
Also, where is a good website to look at the BK stove prices? Can't find any at the moment.
Yes. Based on the pics and comments posted here it sounds like during shoulder season burning (low flame) they blacken the glass. This clears up pretty well when opening up the thermostat, so not as much an issue in winter burning.
I've read some comments to that effect here. The Fv glass stays clean even when I burn a load with the air cut all the way. Dirty glass can be the result of wood that's not fully dry, as well...
I only loaded my Dutchwest from the side, but the front door was small; Easier to load from the side. Front door was great for building your load for a cold start, however. Many front loaders don't have andirons, but I find them useful because you can pack the stove and not worry about a split rolling into the glass. You never have to reach over fire if you load from the side, but I seldom add wood to a going fire; It's usually down to coals when I open the door to load.
I connect my Ks with a 7" to 6" reducer on the flue collar. Woodstock says no problem doing this, and the stove drafts fine into my 6" liner.
Not sure If anyone lists BK prices online, however I got a Scirocco 20 with legs, back heat shield, and ash pan on hold and it was $1700. I was quoted the same stove from the same place last fall at $2400.
Lots of good advice.
We had the large Pacific Energy stove in our last house, and burned it hot, full time during the middle of winter. We had no problem with overheating during the fall and spring, we just loaded less wood. Either way there were plenty of coals and a hot firebox left after 10 to 12 hours to start the next load of wood. Actually it would hold a little heat and a handful of coals over the weekend if there was a heavy ash layer in the stove
It DID have a mild peaked burn pattern when burning like this, as you needed to have the draft open for half an hour or so to get the next load of wood going well before damping it down, but it was mild, and the effect was non existant if you were actually home and could throw in one stick of firewood every couple of hours rather than four sticks every eight hours.
That may be true for all wood stoves to some degree. I'm really unfamiliar with catalytic stoves so I can't comment there.
Buying again, and based on the good reviews here, I would strongly consider the Englander for half the price of the PE.
We had the large Pacific Energy stove in our last house, and burned it hot, full time during the middle of winter. We had no problem with overheating during the fall and spring, we just loaded less wood. Either way there were plenty of coals and a hot firebox left after 10 to 12 hours to start the next load of wood. Actually it would hold a little heat and a handful of coals over the weekend if there was a heavy ash layer in the stove
It DID have a mild peaked burn pattern when burning like this, as you needed to have the draft open for half an hour or so to get the next load of wood going well before damping it down, but it was mild, and the effect was non existant if you were actually home and could throw in one stick of firewood every couple of hours rather than four sticks every eight hours.
That may be true for all wood stoves to some degree. I'm really unfamiliar with catalytic stoves so I can't comment there.
Buying again, and based on the good reviews here, I would strongly consider the Englander for half the price of the PE.
Not any inconvenience at all. If you want front loaders, Woodstock's new stove will be a front loader. Personally, I prefer the side loader.
Here are a couple pictures so you can see that glass in the front. First picture is the Fireview and second is the Progress.
![[Hearth.com] Advice needed on wood stove for 1200 sq ft](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/101/101578-61d8311d615a124986ed5c131ea9eea1.jpg?hash=4EAbp-7yw3 "[Hearth.com] Advice needed on wood stove for 1200 sq ft")
![[Hearth.com] Advice needed on wood stove for 1200 sq ft](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/101/101579-760ebd423c637f4e3a65e825f11a2692.jpg?hash=ulkhKg0rkm "[Hearth.com] Advice needed on wood stove for 1200 sq ft")
I'm not picky, I'd like two doors -- front and side
. Seriously, I thought there were some stoves like that with a front door for general access -- removing ashes, maintenance, and maybe a cold start and the side door for reloads.
I know the top loaders also have the front door. I'd think having only the one side door might make it harder in certain situations like if you want to have it centered inside a fireplace or put it tightly in a corner. Nothing against the Woodstocks, they otherwise seem pretty good, but getting the impression that they are about the only ones without a front door or make you choose either front or side.
Edit: Don't get me wrong. I really like the idea of the side door for loading and the andirons in front of the glass (to prevent logs rolling against it) with a stove that is made to load EW. Just can see that there are certain situations where access also through a front door has advantages.
. Seriously, I thought there were some stoves like that with a front door for general access -- removing ashes, maintenance, and maybe a cold start and the side door for reloads.I know the top loaders also have the front door. I'd think having only the one side door might make it harder in certain situations like if you want to have it centered inside a fireplace or put it tightly in a corner. Nothing against the Woodstocks, they otherwise seem pretty good, but getting the impression that they are about the only ones without a front door or make you choose either front or side.
Edit: Don't get me wrong. I really like the idea of the side door for loading and the andirons in front of the glass (to prevent logs rolling against it) with a stove that is made to load EW. Just can see that there are certain situations where access also through a front door has advantages.
The Union will be welcome. Side loading is not ok for corner installs and front load is the only option for some fireplace installs where the stove sits in the fireplace.
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