Installing Wood Stove in Off Grid Cabin

[Lav]

i everyone, my partner is thinking about installing a woodstove in the off grid cabin that they live in and I am helping them research. They moved into the cabin when it was already built (though still not fully finished). Wondering if anyone has any advice on what type of stove to get, where would be best placement, and any general tips on installment. They have some friends who have experience installing wood stoves who could help them, but want to have some basics in mind ahead of time.

A lil more info:
-The cabin is about 300 sq ft and 1752 cubic feet.
- Where they live, low temp is around 30-50s in the winter (usually above 40).
-they are mostly needing a stove to warm the cabin at night, not necessarily all day
-included photos so you can see the layout. They are not the best photos but hopefully they give you an idea!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I would recommend against a woodstove in your situation.

A woodstove takes up a lot of room. You’re looking at the stove itself, plus the hearth. Around the stove you’re going to need clearance to combustibles. They have a good size footprint.

Woodstoves don’t turn off. You put wood in it and then the stove burns until it’s empty. You don’t need much heat in such a small structure if the low is 40. You’ll end up opening up all the windows and still sweating.

Since you’re off grid, I’d recommend a small propane heater fed off a 20lb tank. It’s easy to change out and refill that way. If you had electricity, I’d have recommended a little plug in electric heater.

 

[Lav]

I would recommend against a woodstove in your situation.

A woodstove takes up a lot of room. You’re looking at the stove itself, plus the hearth. Around the stove you’re going to need clearance to combustibles. They have a good size footprint.

Woodstoves don’t turn off. You put wood in it and then the stove burns until it’s empty. You don’t need much heat in such a small structure if the low is 40. You’ll end up opening up all the windows and still sweating.

Since you’re off grid, I’d recommend a small propane heater fed off a 20lb tank. It’s easy to change out and refill that way. If you had electricity, I’d have recommended a little plug in electric heater.

Thanks for this feedback and perspective! They do have a small propane heater, but they have told me before that it doesn’t work very well and also guzzles propane like crazy. A benefit of a wood stove is that they can harvest their own firewood on their land which is cheap and renewable. I noticed there is a market for tiny wood stoves like for tiny houses and mobile homes, do you think something like that would work well in this situation?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

This is the sort of heater I’d recommend. You’d want it to vent combustion gasses to the outside.

Martin Direct Vent Thermostatic Wall Mounted Heater 8,000 Btu

Introducing the Martin Direct Vent Thermostatic Wall Mounted Heater 8,000 Btu, the perfect solution for heating rooms up to 200 sq ft. With its adjustable heat, you can keep your living spaces heated just the way you want, and its direct vent wall heater allows you to monitor heat dispersion...

tinyhouseessentials.com

 

[Lav]

This is the sort of heater I’d recommend. You’d want it to vent combustion gasses to the outside.

Martin Direct Vent Thermostatic Wall Mounted Heater 8,000 Btu

Introducing the Martin Direct Vent Thermostatic Wall Mounted Heater 8,000 Btu, the perfect solution for heating rooms up to 200 sq ft. With its adjustable heat, you can keep your living spaces heated just the way you want, and its direct vent wall heater allows you to monitor heat dispersion...

tinyhouseessentials.com

Thank you!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It may, depending on what your expectations are. The ultra tiny stoves do not hold much wood so they do not burn for a long time. They might be getting up very frequently to reload it.

For example, a small woodstove that’ll hold about 1 cubic foot of fuel, will probably need to be refilled every 4 hours. The ultra tiny stoves look to hold much less wood. I honestly don’t know how big their firebox is.

Guzzling fuel is a tough thing to combat. The fuel has a set amount of energy in it. If that energy is needed to heat the place, it’s needed. There isn’t much that can be done with that other than insulation and air sealing so that the energy isn’t needed.

Burning wood is a lifestyle. It has to be collected and stored to dry. Depending on the species of wood, you could be looking for it to dry multiple years before burning.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It may, depending on what your expectations are. The ultra tiny stoves do not hold much wood so they do not burn for a long time. They might be getting up very frequently to reload it.

For example, a small woodstove that’ll hold about 1 cubic foot of fuel, will probably need to be refilled every 4 hours. The ultra tiny stoves look to hold much less wood. I honestly don’t know how big their firebox is.

Guzzling fuel is a tough thing to combat. The fuel has a set amount of energy in it. If that energy is needed to heat the place, it’s needed. There isn’t much that can be done with that other than insulation and air sealing so that the energy isn’t needed.

Burning wood is a lifestyle. It has to be collected and stored to dry. Depending on the species of wood, you could be looking for it to dry multiple years before burning.

This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just part of life for those who burn wood. Most of those who burn wood as their sole course of heat have 2+ years of wood stored.

The good thing, is since the place is so small and it’s in a warm area, you wouldn’t need to put up a huge (relative, I know) amount of wood.

2 cords may be enough for 3 years. It’s kind of hard to guess on that with a tiny house in your climate though.

 

[Lav]

This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just part of life for those who burn wood. Most of those who burn wood as their sole course of heat have 2+ years of wood stored.

The good thing, is since the place is so small and it’s in a warm area, you wouldn’t need to put up a huge (relative, I know) amount of wood.

2 cords may be enough for 3 years. It’s kind of hard to guess on that with a tiny house in your climate though.

Got it thanks for all the info! They live on land where the main common house has a wood stove and they along with their land mates help collect and dry firewood so they are used to all that, and wouldn’t mi d needing to feed a fire more often.

 

[stovelark]

I too second the propane stove idea, for space saving and expediency. Get a standing pilot unit too for reliability. I'm guessing no electricity? If you do have it, get the blower for the little stove (or wall hanging direct vent heater, my preference like an Empire DV215). With a wood stove, you will need a chimney, is one there now or will this be a Class A install? If so, gets expensive quick. That's why at least considering propane is a good option. It can be thermostatically controlled too. And usage wise, a gallon of propane is 93000 BTUs approx available, so a 15K BTU heater would run about 6 hours if set on high, most people will run on medium, so about 9 hours of burn per gallon would be realistic, so a 20LB tank would run approx 40-45 hours of burn time. Stay warm.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Heres a link to a small stove that seems to be reasonably well built. With the size and temps you described you may not have to feed overnight. Just a nice burst of heat before bed to keep things from getting too cold.

https://www.efireplacestore.com/fli-tctws22.html?campaignid=278778500&adgroupid=1240249422923262&msclkid=f3326a7a1d3b12a16fdd0dc5347d1fe0&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping%20Ads%20-%20TLC%20-%20wood-stoves-G899181554&utm_term=4581115211366272&utm_content=small-wood-stove

Make sure that the wood collected gets to spend around a year split stacked and top covered before burning. Collecting and burning same day rarely works well even if its dead standing. There is dry, then there is woodstove dry.