Hi! My old 1908 home is only electric for heat (& everything else) - small 1200 sq ft. lotsa windows, avg insulation. Basement down and 1 upstairs bedroom with the rest: 2 Bedrooms small bath and small kitchen off of one big living room. Never use that upstairs bedroom. That being said buying a woodburner here in town in Michigan for emergency use and/or ambiance next week. It can only go in the main living room - guy came out and said the smallest Regency cat or non cat like F1150 is a good size…. Reading for days here I wondered if Regency F 2450 would be better in case wanting to go all woodburning purely for winter heat some future year…..or if that is waaaay too big for this modest home? I am retirement age and not as spry as I’d like to be so ease of use & learning it well is important. Wood guy coming next week to see the lay of my lot and where to store etc. $ is not an issue as the store has all the units expensive it seems….overall this could be quite expensive but don’t like fretting over these blasted storms and being knocked off grid! Any recommendations or advice welcome. Lived with old wood burner for 3 seasons in the UP but it was so SIMPLE…..toss in, light and go! Now it all seems enviro friendly but complicated? Thanks
Dealer has VC, Jotul, Regency & Osborn - help please
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How open is the fireplace room to the rest of the first floor? Is the 1200 sq ft for the 1st and second floors , excluding the basement sq. ftg.?
If you go larger, be sure it will fit. What are the full fireplace dimensions front and back, including depth? Is this the only dealer? A 2 cu ft insert sounds sized about right and if the fireplace is deep enough, I'd recommend a N/S loading insert.
If you go larger, be sure it will fit. What are the full fireplace dimensions front and back, including depth? Is this the only dealer? A 2 cu ft insert sounds sized about right and if the fireplace is deep enough, I'd recommend a N/S loading insert.
Couple considerations.
If you ever plan on burning 24/7 (power outages as mentioned etc. or committing to full time heating eventually) be sure to purchase a stove that accommodates being able to sleep through the night! A stove with a tiny firebox requiring tending every 4-5 hrs is zero fun after a few days. The novelty of reloading or restarting is short lived in my experience. Food for thought when in discussion with your dealer rep.
Fear not the newer stove operation. Operator's manuals are included and normally quite accurate for honing your operation skills.
If you ever plan on burning 24/7 (power outages as mentioned etc. or committing to full time heating eventually) be sure to purchase a stove that accommodates being able to sleep through the night! A stove with a tiny firebox requiring tending every 4-5 hrs is zero fun after a few days. The novelty of reloading or restarting is short lived in my experience. Food for thought when in discussion with your dealer rep.
Fear not the newer stove operation. Operator's manuals are included and normally quite accurate for honing your operation skills.
Hi! There is no fireplace….just electric furnace in basement. 1200 is first floor per the city. BR upstairs has peaked roof…short walls - have to walk along peak or bump your head! There’s a door on first floor to close that stairwell/room off. So wood burner will be brand new install…. Only place for it is on LR wall that isn’t with windows….exiting room there’s kitchen on right, BR on right, bathroom and 2nd BR on left….kitchen also to the right…it’s all pretty compact I guess…. Not much room with the furniture in here…..but it seems like something I should do….. So the regency F2450 has 2.3 cu ft box….will come into the room more…. could get pretty darn warm in here and can see me opening windows! Maybe get the lil’ one…the F1150? I think it said 600-1200 sq ft …..?
Oh wow…good point….the small regency says up to 8 hr burn 600-1200cu ft heat in room capacity…..am nervous the bigger regency 2.3 cu ft box will always make it too hot in here? Love that bigger sized box for log placement either way….n/s or e/w….. but it’s for 1000 to 2500 sq foot space…. Thx for the tip on owners manuals…found one online! As you say maybe going bigger is better…..I am torn lol!
colin.p
Burning Hunk
I live in a century old farm house (1150 sf two story) built at a time that the term "insulation" was unknown.
I bought my Jotul F3CB back in 2006 and it has more than paid for itself over the years. I have no complaints about it's operation, however it struggled when it got down to minus 20 with an east wind and it was never able to burn with enough heat overnight. But it sure looked pretty.
So, this winter, we bought a stove 3 times bigger and it can easily heat all night and no more wearing two sweaters and a toque when it gets really cold outside. I would recommend you go larger rather than smaller. You'll thank me later.
I bought my Jotul F3CB back in 2006 and it has more than paid for itself over the years. I have no complaints about it's operation, however it struggled when it got down to minus 20 with an east wind and it was never able to burn with enough heat overnight. But it sure looked pretty.
So, this winter, we bought a stove 3 times bigger and it can easily heat all night and no more wearing two sweaters and a toque when it gets really cold outside. I would recommend you go larger rather than smaller. You'll thank me later.
Thank you for posting this just in the nick of time! I like this logic very much…..it will be bigger, take up precious space in this smaller living area….but can see it might be beneficial in the long run. I would be frustrated with e/w log orientation too in a smaller regency stove. I may even raise the area the F2450 will sit on by a bricks height if they have a way to do that so it’s easier to work. Appreciate your story!
Going to a larger size in your climate zone is a good idea. You can make a smaller fire on milder days or open up the stairwell door.
An ideal stove would be around 2 cu ft. In this range, there are the Lopi Endeavor, Pacific Energy Super, True North TN20, and the Quadrafire 3100 Millenium. All of these stoves can load both directions.
An ideal stove would be around 2 cu ft. In this range, there are the Lopi Endeavor, Pacific Energy Super, True North TN20, and the Quadrafire 3100 Millenium. All of these stoves can load both directions.
Thank you very much for this help 
…. Trying to stay local to this little rural town & the store our towns chimney sweep just opened - and he doesn’t have any of the manufacturers you mention….sigh. I may check out a store 1 hour south of me to visualize some of these other options that they actually have….they said they have a big showroom. But then again should probably support the new local store leaving me Osburn, Jotul, Regency and VC. Great thought about the stairwell to upstairs! To me this is very expensive - my estimate had the project over 8k…..for regency 2450 and install. That’s barebones stove well over 4k____the lady said there’s always a yearly price hike and they just had to add it on….their showroom had under 4k so it went up a whole lot….nearly a grand. That’s why I will check out the next towns pricing!
…. Trying to stay local to this little rural town & the store our towns chimney sweep just opened - and he doesn’t have any of the manufacturers you mention….sigh. I may check out a store 1 hour south of me to visualize some of these other options that they actually have….they said they have a big showroom. But then again should probably support the new local store leaving me Osburn, Jotul, Regency and VC. Great thought about the stairwell to upstairs! To me this is very expensive - my estimate had the project over 8k…..for regency 2450 and install. That’s barebones stove well over 4k____the lady said there’s always a yearly price hike and they just had to add it on….their showroom had under 4k so it went up a whole lot….nearly a grand. That’s why I will check out the next towns pricing!
It's great to support local businesses. Maybe ask the local dealer if they can order one of those stoves. The True North TN20 is PE's value line. It's under $2000. In the Osburn line, their model 2000 is 2.4 cu ft and a good stove. It's the fancier version of the popular Drolet Escape 1800. The Oburn 1700 is an 1.9 cu ft, E/W loader, so it's hard to load to capacity, but it would still work out even if you could only load it to 1.5 cu ft with concerns of logs rolling against the glass.
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
If you want to heat mostly with wood don’t go smaller than 2 cu ft. My 1.75 cu ft jotul does ok. But when it’s cold it’s a short burn.
From your list I’d choose regency or Osborn. The Jotul F45 would be in the running too. I have the Drolet 2.4 cu ft firebox too as an insert down stairs . It’s solid. Nothing fancy. Heats well. It was the cheapest option last fall. No complaints.
From your list I’d choose regency or Osborn. The Jotul F45 would be in the running too. I have the Drolet 2.4 cu ft firebox too as an insert down stairs . It’s solid. Nothing fancy. Heats well. It was the cheapest option last fall. No complaints.
We actually heated primary with wood this season with our PE Vista and small 1.6 firebox. Was not the plan but our NG furnace barely ran unless the kids were in the finished basement where there is no stove. The Vista heats our 1,800 sq ft cape very well. Had one long cold snap this winter with -12 windchill -30 and no issues keeping the house warm. Main Floor can get to 78 and bedrooms upstairs 71-73. Having a well insulated house is key so no need to have a big stove, we can load at 11 pm and house is still 67-68 at 6 am . Yes we do more cold starts but that is by design. House holds heat well so don’t need to keep reloading or I just add less fuel when doing so. In mild temps like today we let it die out. Every house is different some need bigger stoves to provide adequate heat and some don’t. Also never had a split roll into the glass. It’s all about split size and placement so that has not been an issue for us. The novelty of cold starts has not worn off. I actually enjoy it. The most cold starts that I have ever done is one in the AM and one at night. Not a big deal and takes me about 5 minutes.
Thank you! That is very cool how you guys fared well in a crazy winter! Glad to hear the e/w log orientation works well….Back around 2000 I lived off the grid for 3 years with a small simple stove in a small…very small one room cabin in MI Upper Peninsula & relied solely on birch bark for cold starts…it worked like magic….now without it I fear I will have troubles lighting a fire lol! This house here has minimal insulation and a number of windows…keep electric furnace at 65 and am comfortable though…. Big learning curve ahead to get my act together…soon though it will be very warm outside so might not be able to practice fires very well! It is a small home here as I downsized…..hard for me to adjust to it - I thank you for your input on a smaller stove!
Thanks! Studying the Osburn brochure tonight….trying to find the smallest stove by measurement to fit the room but still heat the whole house if need be. I think the 2000 is too much/big size wise…maybe the 1700…. Need the depth to be a lower number so it doesn’t come out into middle of room so much! I appreciate your comment…it helps!
Ok….thank you!. I am getting gun shy as my project cost out at about $8,500 for the medium regency stove installed in the living room……that’s a lot of cha-Ching for what will begin as a fun novelty….used for leisure…or rare emergency full time use for hopefully short duration….but once you get hooked it can supplement my elec furnace and then maybe full time use…..I am no spring chicken as they say so need to think this out - I will compare dimensions and try to find the smallest stove for my small area that could heat the other areas also small ….. Osburn looks good as Jotul…..not sure the prices of these so will call my store and see!
I saved $1500 for install for what turned out to be about 1 hour of work. Once I knew where I was going and thought it out in my head..that took the longest as I wanted to be sure.
I saved another $1-1.5k on stove pipe by going to northline express and ordering everything online sans a few pieces that I got from Amazon even cheaper.
The stove, well I had to pay retail for that but used a $100 coupon they had in store.
You are a great shopper__that’s awesome your savings on the work you put in to order and collect items…. I am not stove savvy yet so am gonna lean on the store for the whole thing….. in other areas of the home I try to do as you!
I will ask what kind of chimney is included with my quote….thanks for bringing this up!
Only problem with leaning on the store is while some know what they are talking about, many dealers do not. Even if they do know what they are talking about, they are trying to make money, not get you exactly what would work best for you. And if your planning to buy wood do it yesterday or it doesn't matter what stove you get, you will be disappointed in it.
My installer also itemized everything, each piece of Excel, roof brace, labor etc. very transparent. Having him back this spring to do the clean out. Also explained building codes and how it will be installed and the importance of a good draft.
Also when buying wood my advice would be to vet the sellers first. I visited their locations, checked online reviews and settled on a retired neighbor who likes to process wood for a hobby and a local tree service which sells over 700 cords a season. Honest place.
Thx! My store was recently opened by the county’s chimney sweep guy…so hoping he knows more than an avg sales person. My wood person is coming out Sunday to help me get set up…. I will visit another showroom near me or 2 - they are all an hour or more away but for due diligence ….then order local - that’s the plan anyway! This is a process for sure! Thx again
Hi again…. Does it sound ok …. My local dealer told me to not get the Regency F2450____but get the F2500 instead for the tax credit…. He said the cat was added as an afterthought so to speak…..and can be removed with no harm done if I want….and at least I’d get the tax credit……the F2450 is cheaper….no credit…..the F2500 more$ but the credit will be mine. I work a part time job only and it’s low pay…… not sure if the credit will do much ….. Do I get that credit every year??? So if I get back to a regular job maybe in a year or 2 will that credit be mine for year after year? Not sure why this dealer is pushing the 2500 so much
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