Is there a small catalytic stove that might work for our situation?

[SciGuy]

Yes, I read the "before you post what's the right stove for me" faq

We have a small 800sf cabin located in a chilly part of upstate NY that's currently heated with a propane forced air furnace. The high cost of propane is really hard to take when there is an abundance of inexpensive wood available locally. We have fireplace and masonry chimney that's external to the cabin so there's a means to vent a stove.

The heat load seems to be only about 14,000 BTUs on a bitterly cold day so most stoves run even at a low output would overheat the place. It's my understanding that one can run a catalytic stove at a much lower burn rate without creating a creosoting nightmare as well as extending the time one can burn. Are there stoves that can be run on such a low heat output? It would be more ideal to be able to burn 18" wood as that's what's what most commonly available.

Thanks for any ideas.

Hugh

 

[toddnic]

I know that many of this forum will have various suggestions. I've enjoyed the Woodstock Soapstone wood stoves and they have numerous stoves in their selection. Here is one that may be of interest to you: http://www.woodstove.com/index.php/new-absolute-steel-hybrid

 

[peakbagger]

You may want to look at a cabin heater for boats. I dont think any are catalytic as they are so small. One thing to remember is the continuous heat load may be 14000 But/hr but if its brought up from cold it may take hours with small stove. IMHO I would look for a good deal on Jotul 602 or the small Morso and be done with it. You wont get super long burn times unless you run air starved (which is a recipe for creosote) but just get used to making frequent small fires once the place is heated up and you will be set.

 

[SciGuy]

Thanks for the reply peakbagger,

It looks like the Jotul 602 likes wood more on the order of 14" although it theoretically will accept 16" wood. The prospect of getting up at least once if not twice in the night to feed the little beast isn't that attractive to me either. The buy in price is certainly more attractive for the little Jotul than any cat stove but lifestyle affects might outweigh that first cost.

Hugh

 

[SciGuy]

I know that many of this forum will have various suggestions. I've enjoyed the Woodstock Soapstone wood stoves and they have numerous stoves in their selection. Here is one that may be of interest to you: http://www.woodstove.com/index.php/new-absolute-steel-hybrid

They're nice looking stoves and the maker is much closer to me than the BK stoves.

Thanks for the direct.

Hugh

 

[SuperJ]

Cat stoves are the way to go for low burn rates. Especially if you're looking for a 18" capable firebox. The Woodstock stoves offer excellent value for what you get IMHO. Their steel stoves have a polarizing look (I think the plain versions look the best), I love the look of the progress hybrid soapstone. You'll want some decent headroom if you're trying to bring a cold cabin up to a comfortable temperature in a reasonable time frame.


My BK Ashford manual says this:

Under specific test conditions this heater has been shown to deliver heat at rates ranging from 6107 to 28636 Btu/hr

The BTU numbers/square footages in brochures and on websites are often marketing driven, and not totally reflective or real world cord wood burn rates.

 

[Dobish]

I have really liked my VC Encore. Our house is 1900 sqft, but due to the layout, it is really only keeping around 900-1100 warm. We have had good experiences, and like the look of it.

It is a cat stove, and we are getting 6-10 hrs of burn depending on the wood and the temps.

 

[bholler]

If you want a cat stove go with blazeking none of the other cat stoves compare for low output

 

[ddddddden]

It looks like the Jotul 602 likes wood more on the order of 14" although it theoretically will accept 16" wood. The prospect of getting up at least once if not twice in the night to feed the little beast isn't that attractive to me either. The buy in price is certainly more attractive for the little Jotul than any cat stove but lifestyle affects might outweigh that first cost.

Hugh

Kudos for not going for a toy-size firebox. I wouldn’t mess with anything much under 2 cu ft. You just can’t get much wood in there, and as you have noted, it often has to be cut to extra-small size, not just shorter length, but thinner splits, otherwise you’ll be burning 1 large split with some kindling, because that’s all you can fit into the firebox.

IIRC, we have measured my firebox ~ 1.8 cu ft of “usable space.” I love the stove, but often wish it had a bigger firebox, just to eliminate the need to play jigsaw puzzle when loading irregular splits. . .and this is considered a medium-size stove. BTW, you can’t go by mfr’s specs for firebox size. Those ratings are good only to tell you if a stove is S, M, or L. The specific cu-ft rating often seems to refer to the amount of air a firebox will hold. Some mfr’s specs are closer to amount of space usable for wood. There is no standard for this measurement.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-big-is-your-stove-really.51736/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-about-a-firebox-capacity-and-dimensions-database.105691/

 

[Woody Stover]

If you want a cat stove go with blazeking none of the other cat stoves compare for low output

Doesn't sound like low output is what he needs here..

I wouldn’t mess with anything much under 2 cu ft.

My little Keystone at 1.5 cu.ft. usable will easily burn overnight with decent heat on a load of med-high output wood such as Red Oak or White Ash. In NY he will have even higher-output woods like White Oak or Hickory available I would think. Yes, it takes a little longer to get the stone warmed up and tossing big heat, but not that much longer to be concerned about. He may get lucky and find a used Keystone or Palladian for cheap. IMO, the grated ash-handling system and cheap parts is well worth the trade-off for a slightly longer ramp-up time. We live in a cabin and the radiant heat within sight of the stove will warm your bones. You've heard of "comfort food"..well, this is comfort heat. It keeps you warmer while you are waiting for room temp to rise.

 

[RobbieB]

Even with a small stove you will be using a lot less propane than you did before. No need to go completely wood heat and always good to have a backup plan.

 

[jotul8e2]

The Woodstock Keystone does appear to be a good fit for your application. The factory is not an unreasonable distance away.

The two smallest Blaze King stoves should work as well, but require a little shorter firewood.

 

[bholler]

Doesn't sound like low output is what he needs here..
My little Keystone at 1.5 cu.ft. usable will easily burn overnight with decent heat on a load of med-high output wood such as Red Oak or White Ash. In NY he will have even higher-output woods like White Oak or Hickory available I would think. Yes, it takes a little longer to get the stone warmed up and tossing big heat, but not that much longer to be concerned about. He may get lucky and find a used Keystone or Palladian for cheap. IMO, the grated ash-handling system is well worth the trade-off for a slightly longer ramp-up time. We live in a cabin and the radiant heat within sight of the stove will warm your bones. You've heard of "comfort food"..well, this is comfort heat. It keeps you warmer while you are waiting for room temp to rise.

14000 btus is pretty low

 

[Woody Stover]

14000 btus is pretty low

Yeah but he needs to get up to temp and the Keystone is rated at higher peak output.

 

[bholler]

Yeah but he needs to get up to temp and the Keystone is rated at higher peak output.

Yeah but once it is up to temp he wants to be able to run low. Dod you tead his post at all? He is looking for a stove with very low output. And from cleaning chimneys on both brands the bks run much better low.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Is the cabin well insulated or not? Are you heating it up from outside Temp?

I have a 16x25' cabin in the southern Adirondacks that gets hit by some awful winds. I heat it with a 2 cubic foot stove with a cast iron surround. The iron softens the heat. Above 32 degrees I have to watch fire size and crack windows. Tonight it will be 1 degree up there and the stove would be just right.

 

[begreen]

If you want a cat stove go with blazeking none of the other cat stoves compare for low output

Hmm, actually the Woodstock Keystone is rated a bit lower than BKs at 8,500 to 35,000 btus. It works well in smaller homes.

 

[bholler]

Hmm, actually the Woodstock Keystone is rated a bit lower than BKs at 8,500 to 35,000 btus. It works well in smaller homes.

Yes but from what i have seen in their chimneys the bks works much better run reslly low. And i am far from a bk fan boy but that really is what they excell at. I am by no means saying woodstocks are bad stoves or that one would not work well just that i fell a bk would work better in this case