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[MontanaLife]

Apart from pleasant hearth (of which I have not seen much) the other brands you list are not much recommended here.

Look at Drolet for solid, lower priced stoves.

How tall is the chimney? Is it safe? Has it been inspected? Inside or outside? Insulated liner?

Dry wood is ok to store indoors, green wood is better dried where there is good air circulation.

Your avatar location says Teague2012. That doesn't compute. I am checking to see what other stove brands might be in your area. What is the nearest city to your location?

PS: if the place is reasonably insulated 3 cords may be sufficient, especially if supplemented by the primary heating system.

Haha. I don't know why location says my dogs name. I'll have to fix that. I live in the northwest corner of Montana. 60 is miles to Canada or Idaho. Mostly I will have dry standing wood to cut. Smaller larch and pine etc. I'll chop and stack it as its processed.

 

[MontanaLife]

Your stove location sounds like the *ideal* location to me. Nice!

I would advise to get a moisture meter; kiln dried boards might be good, but they might not be. Dead standing can be dry, but that also might not be. It's $30 or so and it'll allow you to be certain that 1. you have good wood for safe (less creosote) burning, and 2. gets you more heat into your home per pound of wood burned.

I think to narrow down stove choices, it's good to talk budget, keeping in mind that the flue is a significant part of that (though with a stove in the middle the most expensive part of the flue, the class A outside, will be conveniently minimized in length, so you might not meet the "stove = as expensive as the chimney" here).

And style preference.

Note that if you buy a stove that has an efficiency of 75% HHV or larger, you qualify for a tax credit of 30% - with a max of $2000, and that is for stove, chimney, AND install labor.

I'll be looking at stoves today. There is a Swedish orNorwegian brand but neither of the 2 carried locally are large enough. ? I am aiming for something that will heat 1800 feet. My dad always said buy one larger than you think you need. Th e brand is Morso and one has a small cook top. I'm aiming for 2+ k for just the stove. The hearth and installation will be done professionally also.

 

[stoveliker]

I agree with buying something a bit too large; easier to make a smaller fire in a larger stove than the other way around. But far too large might not work well, because you might not get the stove hot enough for proper secondary combustion without cooking yourself out of the home. These stoves are different than the metal boxes from 40 years ago.

Morso others have more to say about than I have.

I do believe Drolet can drop ship a stove to your home. But you'd have to find an installer willing to install it.

 

[begreen]

Haha. I don't know why location says my dogs name. I'll have to fix that. I live in the northwest corner of Montana. 60 is miles to Canada or Idaho. Mostly I will have dry standing wood to cut. Smaller larch and pine etc. I'll chop and stack it as its processed.

Would Libby be the closest city then?

I'll be looking at stoves today. There is a Swedish orNorwegian brand but neither of the 2 carried locally are large enough. ? I am aiming for something that will heat 1800 feet. My dad always said buy one larger than you think you need. Th e brand is Morso and one has a small cook top. I'm aiming for 2+ k for just the stove. The hearth and installation will be done professionally also.

A Jotul F45 or F55 would be a great choice if they sell that brand. Morso does not make a stove large enough for what you require. $2k is a small budget, which probably circles us back to the Drolet. For heating 1,800 sq ft. you could go with the larger Drolet HT3000 or a Legend III. They are good heaters with a big firebox that can be loaded E/W or N/S and under $2k.

 

[qwee]

you must live up by Carole King. I've been listening to this demo lately.

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[begreen]

you must live up by Carole King. I've been listening to this demo lately.

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She moved to Malibu, which is now up for sale. I think the Idaho ranch has been on the market for at least a decade. Back in my youth, she lived nearby in the Connecticut Bershires. I saw my first stunning aurora display driving by her converted stone barn house back then. Almost drove off the road into her place it was so amazing.

 

[qwee]

Darn, I thought I could travel north to see one of her concerts.

 

[Dix]

Jogs in

Welcome to the Forums @MontanaLife , always nice to see another Sistah here !!

My 2 cents (which will turn into 20-30 $$'s )

Get ahead on firewood NOW! 2- 3 years is ideal.

Get the biggest firebox you can, you won't regret it.

I, too, started this journey when my daughter was grown, so I hear you.

Go girl for cutting your own! Think about a splitter, and insulate that house as best as you can. When I was on the balls of my A$$, I lucked into fleece throws @ Big Lots after Xmas for $2 a piece, and turned them into curtains. Temps in the house went up 5 degrees

Again, welcome to the Forums !

 

[joop]

at 2k drolet might be best bet more size for the buck easy to use. also size does matter .on cold days or really damp ones you will appreciate extra heating capacity

 

[MontanaLife]

Would Libby be the closest city then?

A Jotul F45 or F55 would be a great choice if they sell that brand. Morso does not make a stove large enough for what you require. $2k is a small budget, which probably circles us back to the Drolet. For heating 1,800 sq ft. you could go with the larger Drolet HT3000 or a Legend III. They are good heaters with a big firebox that can be loaded E/W or N/S and under $2k.

Yes Libby is my hometown. Ace Hardware has some wood stoves ranging from 1099 to 5k. I will look around some more. My brother in law has a used huge Blaze King but he wants 2k for it.

 

[MontanaLife]

I agree with buying something a bit too large; easier to make a smaller fire in a larger stove than the other way around. But far too large might not work well, because you might not get the stove hot enough for proper secondary combustion without cooking yourself out of the home. These stoves are different than the metal boxes from 40 years ago.

Morso others have more to say about than I have.

I do believe Drolet can drop ship a stove to your home. But you'd have to find an installer willing to install it.

I'll have to hire an installer anyway. We have about 1152 feet but I'm not sure if that includes upstairs.

 

[MontanaLife]

Jogs in

Welcome to the Forums @MontanaLife , always nice to see another Sistah here !!

My 2 cents (which will turn into 20-30 $$'s )

Get ahead on firewood NOW! 2- 3 years is ideal.

Get the biggest firebox you can, you won't regret it.

I, too, started this journey when my daughter was grown, so I hear you.

Go girl for cutting your own! Think about a splitter, and insulate that house as best as you can. When I was on the balls of my A$$, I lucked into fleece throws @ Big Lots after Xmas for $2 a piece, and turned them into curtains. Temps in the house went up 5 degrees

Again, welcome to the Forums !

Thanks for the welcome. I have access to a lot of wood actually. My brother in law is retired and cuts wood to keep himself active. He has a splitter. I have access to the kiln dried board loads for 25 dollars. Employee benefit from the lumber mill I used to work at. I can buy wood all over town...literally any parking lot has a truck load for sale. But I will cut my own as much as possible because that's just how I am. Lol
And I bought insulated drapes off Amazon. Huge learning living here after 7 years of semi tiny home life.

 

[begreen]

I'll have to hire an installer anyway. We have about 1152 feet but I'm not sure if that includes upstairs.

It's important to know how large of an area the stove will be heating. If there is an open stairwell then some heat will convect up it unless it is far away from the stove room. If the stairwell is open and close by, then it's best to include the upstairs area too.
Can you post a simple sketch of the floorplan indicating the proposed stove location, doorways, and stairwell location?

 

[MontanaLife]

It's important to know how large of an area the stove will be heating. If there is an open stairwell then some heat will convect up it unless it is far away from the stove room. If the stairwell is open and close by, then it's best to include the upstairs area too.
Can you post a simple sketch of the floorplan indicating the proposed stove location, doorways, and stairwell location?

I attached some photos I took during move in.. The pantry cabinet will be moved and the stove and hearth will be there, unless the installer says otherwise. The kitchen is to the left. Hallway leads to a bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom. The dining area and living room are directly in front of the kitchen and stairway. Upstairs is the master bedroom and bath.

 

[MontanaLife]

A few things.

The knowledge on this forum and its helpfulness is unlike any other I’ve ever been on.

Invest some time to learn. It will really pay off.

Will this be a DIY installation?

Most wood takes more than a summer to dry. Make a plan that will allow multiple seasons of wood to be stored and dried. Unless everything goes perfect your first year won’t go as smoothly as those that come after. We all learn as we go.

Plan on chimney costing as much as the stove (or more if get a value oriented stove).

If I were buying a new stove and I was planning on heating 100% with wood it would be a blaze king Ashford. That’s probably the most expensive stove on my list. After that a pacific energy. And because I’m cheap my last stove was a Drolet. It’s solid. Plan on adding a manual key damper above the stove as you will have 20+ feet of chimney.

It will be installed by a contractor. I'm looking at Drolet and Kuma so far.

 

[EbS-P]

It will be installed by a contractor. I'm looking at Drolet and Kuma so far.

I think all kuma stoves are catalytic. If that matters. Drolet claims the 1800 is tax credit eligible. If that matters As I think is the Kuma is too. Kuma is probably a higher end stove. Both burn wood well and get hot I’d be happy with either.

 

[EbS-P]

I attached some photos I took during move in.. The pantry cabinet will be moved and the stove and hearth will be there, unless the installer says otherwise. The kitchen is to the left. Hallway leads to a bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom. The dining area and living room are directly in front of the kitchen and stairway. Upstairs is the master bedroom and bath.

View attachment 311450 View attachment 311451 View attachment 311452 View attachment 311454 View attachment 311455

Lovely! Go bigger than your square foot mage suggests. There will s a lot of volume there. Have you thought about locations?

 

[mari]

I think all kuma stoves are catalytic. If that matters. Drolet claims the 1800 is tax credit eligible. If that matters As I think is the Kuma is too. Kuma is probably a higher end stove. Both burn wood well and get hot I’d be happy with either.

Kuma is eligible for a 30% tax credit including the installation up to I think $5,000. Mine is the Aspen and it has a combustor. It heats about half of my 2,000 sq ft but I have a lot of walls and the stove is not centrally located.

 

[stoveliker]

Up to $2000

 

[mari]

Up to $2000

Thanks for refreshing my memory. To be clear, the tax credit is based on the full cost of the stove and installation, with the credit itself being capped at $2,000.