Hoping to Add a Wood Burning Stove This Year

[neojosh]

Recently came across this site and it seems like a good place to help me get off on the right foot. Last year i built a 28x36 pole barn, 9' ceiling downstairs and vaulted (albeit not very high) ceiling upstairs. I am not insulated between floors, but the building is well insulated everywhere else. I would like to add a wood burning stove for multiple reasons, one of which is that i have access to plenty of firewood on my property and through my friend who does tree work.

The stove would be almost centered on the eastern 36' wall downstairs. Trying to figure out cat vs. non cat stove, bigger vs smaller, and possibly buy used if that isn't a terrible idea. Heathstone, Blaze King and Napolean are the only brands i have looked into so far. Ideally i would like this to be the primary source of heat in the building, and a 8-12 hour minimal burn time is a must. If i need to supplement i do have a mini split unit installed already, but its proving to be unreliable and a PITA.

I would love to hear some input as to what might be a good fit for my setup and if a used stove is/isn't a good idea. Any input would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[begreen]

Go very large or consider a wood furnace. The stove will be pushed hard for heat a lot of the time. This negates the low and slow advantages of cat stove. If clearances are not an issue, then an unshielded stove like the Drolet Austral would be a good choice. The Drolet Myriad/Legend is the same stove with shielding for reduced clearances and less radiant heat. Plan on using double-walled stove pipe with a key damper in it to control draft.

 

[Pinesmoke]

I agree with the green. Go big.

I have a big soapstone stove I have in a 56x40 living area In a structure much like yours. I can't push it as hard as a cast iron stove but once the place is warm I can easily keep the place toasty in the month of cold down here. Cold being lows in the low teens and single digits.

I came from Ohio so I can say you are colder longer than I am here,a big reason for the move.

Did I say go big?

 

[vatmark]

Go bigger. We were torn between the Jotul F500 and F400. Was told on here to go bigger and glad we did. Yes sometimes it gets a bit toasty but we just open our sliding door a little to help cool it down a bit. But we had some really cold temperatures for a straight week recently and was glad we had the bigger stove.