I want to join the wood burning world...

[aaronmax]

Hello all,

I live in Atlanta, GA and my wife and I are about to close on a 60 y/o home. It is a single story 1100 square feet home. We are going to finish the upstairs so we can have a master bed/bath. I want to have a wood burning stove installed right after we move in, BUT...I do not know which one to choose. I had the Hearthstone Craftsbury recommended to me from a local dealer. It is actractive and looks like it will do the trick. However, I am not 100% sold on it. Since many of you live in northern climates, please note that we do have mild winters. I think we would need something in the 40kBTU range, but again I am a novice. Can you guys help me make a good decision and in what price range I should be considering?

Thanks in advance

 

[BrotherBart]

The Craftsbury would be a very nice stove for 1,100 sq. feet no matter what the climate. I am a little confused about finishing the upstairs when you say it is a single story house?

 

[Harley]

Is there any sort of existing fireplace in the house now? Or would this be a completely new addition to the house as far as a chinmey (also confused about the 2'nd story for the master bedroom).

 

[webbie]

I would go more by firebox size than a BTU rating......
If the area is really open and you can envision the heat spreading, look for something from 2 to 2.4 cubic foot

If a bit less so, look at 1.5 to 2 cubic foot.

You may have to cut your wood smaller, but you will burn less of it.....you can also perhaps find some biologs (biobricks, etc.), which are usually small.

Price? Well, it always depends on what kind of furniture you want! You can spend as little as $500-$700 on a small steel stove, or even possibly a cast one (Jotul 602?) - but to get something with good style, you probably will be starting at $1,000 up. I don't keep up with prices as well as I should!

So there is "heat for the money" and then there is "that stove is beautiful, honey". Look at some of the Morso models......neat and contemporary. Best bet is to see what brands the local dealer(s) are handling and pick from them....especially if you need installation.

 

[begreen]

Is this for an occasional fire in the evening and weekends or 24/7? I was going to recommend a Jotul F3CB for Atlanta. We're talking mild climate.

 

[webbie]

I agree on that size or smaller......it is really mild. We have our national trade show there this year - last time it was there we have mid-60's at the end of Feb with trees all blooming

They don't call it HotLanta for nothing......

 

[Cath]

The Craftsbury would be a very nice stove for 1,100 sq. feet no matter what the climate. I am a little confused about finishing the upstairs when you say it is a single story house?

BrotherBart,
My guess is that he has a cape with an unfinished upstairs.
~Cath

 

[aaronmax]

Hello all,

Wow. this is the first message group I have ever been a part of where I had so many great answers and such so quickly. Thank you all!!

To clear up and give you all more info, here is some more info:

The house is a one story home right now, but it has an unfinished attic space that we plan on finishing out and making it our master suite. It looks like the stairway will be about 5-7 feet from where the stove will likely rest. The downstairs area is, as I mentioned, around 1100 sq. ft.. The additional space we will create with the master will be another 400 or so.

The fireplace is not very deep and I think it may have been a coal burning fireplace years ago(does that make sense or am I off my rocker). I feel pretty good about being able to run the exhaust piping through the existing chimney.

As for our climate, it is mild. I think the Craftsbury or something that size will suffice. From mid-october through March, we would use it probably 60-70% of the time. Nights get chilly in October, colder in Nov., Dec., Jan. and the beginning of Feb. and then warms during the later part of Feb. and March. We will have maybe 20 days of below 30 degree days and maybe 40 days of below 30 degree nights. Mostly we hover at 40 degree nights and 50 degree days during the heart of the winter. Then the occasional ice storm where all hades breaks loose and everyone runs to the store and the power goes out. As you can tell, I don't need a monster, just a good solid little stove. I want to get off the grid, so to speak, and never turn on my furnace.

I do like the Craftsbury and the Jotul(s). any other suggestions? BTW- I gues I should mention that design is pretty important since it will be sitting idle from March to Oct.

Thank you all.

 

[TresK3]

Another issue is your source of fuel. Most people here burn wood and a good percent get their own. If you have a source of wood and don't mind doing the work, that is most economical. If obtaining wood (or storing it - you'll go through several cords a year, even with your mild climate, and that takes a lot of space) is an issue, you may want to consider pellet stoves. These can put out a lot of heat and have a fair degree of control but the ambiance and cost-factors are different.

In considering placement, do you have a hearth to set the stove on? Have you looked at inserts, which sit into the existing fireplace? What are the surrounding walls like (you need clearance to combustible surfaces, like non-brick walls, mantles and wood trim).

Can you provide a photo of the fireplace and/or drawing of your layout?

 

[aaronmax]

Here is a photo of what I am dealing with. I am certain that I will need something on which to rest it to give it the room it needs. As you can see, it's pretty a small fireplace. That is not our furniture, btw. This is from the listing pics.

I will have a good deal of outside space to store the wood and do the necessary splitting and handling. There are many people in the area who deliver wood for what seem like decent prices, 170-200 a cord delivered. Oak and the like.

 

[jqgs214]

What are the dimensions? Especially the width and depth, you got plenty of height there.

 

[jqgs214]

Oops, I'm sorry are you not going the insert route??( jusrt reread original post). never mind the dimensions then.

 

[Gooserider]

Looks like space might be at a premium, as the living room looks fairly small... Sitting a stove in front of the fireplace will require a pretty substantial hearth and intrude into the room quite a bit. I'd consider looking at either an insert or a stove that you can fit partly into the fireplace. You would still need to extend the hearth, but not by as much, and would have less to have to walk around...

What kind of burn time do you want as a minimum? A smaller stove would probably be able to give you enough heat, but you can't get a long burn out of a little stove. A larger stove would likely be "loafing" most of the time, and need to be turned down low to keep you from blasting yourselves out, but will give you longer burn times between re-loads.

Gooserider