Ideal stove for ~800 square foot bungalow?

[SpaceBus]

I'm starting out with basically nothing in terms of firewood. I've felled, cut, split, and stacked (with the help of a tractor and splitter) about 8 cords so far and bought a half cord of seasoned hardwood. That's about a winter and a half for me (going by this past winter), but I really want to have three winters of wood ready at all times. Storage is a challenge as I have very little flat dry ground, but I'm managing.

 

[Highbeam]

80-100 a cord sounds like green wood pricing. Expect to pay twice that for seasoned wood but be sure it is actually seasoned. Most wood sold is not!

Remember, their "cord" is just a face cord so 240-300 canadian dollars per cord.

If spending 2000$ a year for firewood is the only way, I would be buying pellets. I wonder what they go for in your area.

 

[cappaj]

Remember, their "cord" is just a face cord so 240-300 canadian dollars per cord.

If spending 2000$ a year for firewood is the only way, I would be buying pellets. I wonder what they go for in your area.

Looks like $5-7 CAD for a bag (not sure if that's good or bad or average?):

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/canadian-pellets.170252/

She did just get a load of about 30 face cords from a veneer factory(?) for $300 delivered (which is very cheap! it's probably pretty green wood, but we'll get it stacked in her wood shed now to start drying) - they're all cut off log ends that still need to be split (her neighbours are going to help her with that).

 

[begreen]

The length of seasoning time is going to vary with the wood species. At a minimum allow 1 yr after splitting and stacking, but several species require 2 yrs.. This can be accelerated by creating a solar kiln (essentially a vented plastic tent) over the stacks. Invest in a moisture meter and learn how to use it. It'll be about $20. If buying wood, test some random samples - before the wood is unloaded. To test you'll need to resplit the wood, then test by pushing the probes firmly into the freshly exposed face of the wood, ideally with the wood temp around 70ºF.

 

[begreen]

A pellet stove will go through one to two bags of pellets a day depending on outdoor temps. Pellet stoves have a lot of advantages. Mainly that one feeds it once or twice a day and many can be hooked up to a thermostat for hands-free, even heating. Routine maintenance varies dramatically with the stove design and pellet quality. Some require cleaning every day or two and others can go a couple weeks between cleanings. Annual maintenance takes about 30-45 minutes depending on the stove and is probably not something your mom will want to do unless she also works on the car. Installation is usually easier with a pellet stove, but pay attention to sealing of the joints. The exhaust is under pressure and leaks happen in poorly sealed systems.

The downsides of pellet stoves are a dependency on electricity which can be a problem in areas of frequent, extended outages. Noise is another issue. These are essentially small wood furnaces with multiple blower systems and a roaring fire in them. Some pellet stoves are quieter than others, but they all make noise. Fuel supply can be an issue in some areas. It's not uncommon in areas that don't have a local source to run out at the end of the season. Stock up and store tons of pellets in the summer if possible. Pellet bags weigh 40# so be sure she is up to moving them twice a day in the dead of winter. Pellets must be stored dry. If they get wet they quickly turn to sawdust and are useless. The electronics in pellet stoves is a common area of failure. This is where a simpler design can be better. Always put the stove on a surge protector, this is not built-in to many stoves.

There is a lot more info in the pellet forum here. Just be aware that there will be some that think their stove is the best which it may be, for them. But one shoe doesn't fit all persons or needs. Take time to learn about the differences. Consider stoves that have lower maintenance requirements and have a larger hopper. In the winter it's nice to be able to load 60# + for less frequent reloads.

 

[matth]

how about a cat stove? i am heating similar space with a bk 20. it it does just fine even in shoulder season.
my place is an older home but has been well insulated since, r20 walls and r50 attic but it does get cold sometimes.
i live in qc a few hours away but the temperature she state (0 to -10 f) sound like daily high to me.

 

[begreen]

Yes, a cat stove seems well suited to the home now that it has had the improvements in insulation and sealing. It was suggested at the beginning of the thread.

 

[cappaj]

Sorry, I misread "cat stove" earlier in the thread as "cast stove" (I thought it meant a cast iron stove?) - anyways, my ignorance is showing and I have no idea what that is (a Google search is just showing me cat food can stoves ha!).

 

[cappaj]

Oh - I think I figured it out - a catalytic stove? I'll look into those - do they tend to require more maintenance?

 

[Highbeam]

Oh - I think I figured it out - a catalytic stove? I'll look into those - do they tend to require more maintenance?

Yes, you need to replace the catalyst every 12000 hours (3-5 years is normal) or so which is easy but costs about 250$ and can not be ignored because once it dies your stove will pollute more and operate like an old stove. Also they are more complicated to operate with a single extra step of engaging the catalyst once the stove warms up to a certain temperature and disengaging the cat every time you open the door or start a new fie. BUT, in exchange for these drawbacks you get some very valuable benefits. The biggest for me is the very wide range of available output rates. You can buy a big stove and run the dang thing at a very low output for a very long time or you can crank it up to burn hot and fast like any other stove. Imagine an oven with a temperature dial that ran from 100-500 compared to a temperature dial that just had 400-500. Sure, lots of wonderful things are baked at 400-500 but the first oven can make some dang nice things below 400.

 

[Sawset]

Imagine an oven with a temperature dial that ran from 100-500 compared to a temperature dial that just had 400-500. Sure, lots of wonderful things are baked at 400-500 but the first oven can make some dang nice things below 400.

Is that why catalytic stove owners always seem a little half baked?

 

[begreen]

A cat stove can be great for low heating requirements. When the stove has thermostatic control it can provide low heat for a long time. It is a little more complex and does have a bit more maintenance. How much will depend on how well the stove is run and cared for and the quality of the wood burned. A cat can be wrecked by not following the rules laid out in the manual. Some examples are cat poisoning by burning items besides clean dry wood & thermal shock which can happen when the cat is subject to a dramatic temperature change, say from putting some snowy frozen logs in on a hot fire. If she is burning 6 months of the year then the cat will need to be replaced every 2-3 yrs.. The best cat stove to consider would be the thermostatically controlled BK Princess or Chinook 30.

 

[cappaj]

For us, I think a non-cat stove will be more foolproof against the future, which really has some unknowns when it comes to regular maintenance/usage.

I also got some more detail on insulation status - there was more insulation blown in the attic and new windows and door installed, however, I don't think the R value of the walls is great and the floor is completely uninsulated (something we're hoping we can fix soon, budget and time allowing). But it's not perfectly insulated and the house can really feel it on the coldest days of the winter.

We're probably going to go with the Englander 30-NC, to make sure it can handle the whole winter in a simple, dependable way. Also, the two bedrooms are already wired for baseboard heaters, so we're going to get a couple of those as back-up heat sources.

A huge thanks to everyone on this forum (especially begreen!) for all the thoughtful, expert guidance - it's REALLY helped a lot and means a lot to know we've got a huge leg up now on getting my mom be set up properly.