Looking for Suggestions from Experienced Users

[coldthiswinter]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a new wood stove lover. We just bought a 1920's cabin with a very tall pointy roof, no insulation, and lots of windows. It's going to be our year round home. When we add a mud room it will be 2000 sq ft. We plan to add insulation as we can over the years. It has an open floor plan with a great room with more than 2 story ceilings. We;ll put the wood stove in that room against the wall facing Southeast. Someone suggested we install a ceiling fan to help the heat stay out of the deal the pointy roof. Any other suggestions?

Here are the models of wood stove I've identified so far, either by reviews or because I like the looks: Hearthstone Mansfield, Pacific Energy Summit Classic, Quadra Fire 3100 or 4300 Millennium. Ideally I like the European contemporary designs, but can't find any of those types of stoves big enough for our needs.

This wood stove will be run all the time during the cold months and will be the only source of heat for a while.

Question:

Given the negligible insulation, how big a stove should we get?

And is the soapstone great or does it just crack and stain?

Which is the best made stove? Ideally I'd like the best quality stove that is built to last.

Thanks.

 

[HotCoals]

I would get the biggest ..baddest stove that you can get..Blaze King!

 

[begreen]

Welcome to the forums. Have you taken a look at the Blaze King stoves made in Walla Walla? Their Chinook would be a more contemporary stove suited for our climate and wood, especially as a sole source of heating. Or if you want big, with very long burns the Blaze King King Ultra would work. Both are cat stoves with very long burn times. Next choice would be the PE Summit or the Mansfield.

What is going to be your source of wood. These stove prefer seasoned, dry wood which is hard to get at this time of year. (Is the wood ever dry on the coast?)

 

[jatoxico]

Generally you can forget about the brochures and BTU claims. Rather look at the size of the firebox as a better way of comparing heat capacity and burn times of different stoves. Is the stove to be your only source of heat? Sounds like you're situation will require plenty of output at least until you get some insulation. Depending on the layout you may be a candidate for 2!
You have a wood source yet?

 

[cmonSTART]

First, insulation can be a great investment and is an important step.

Ok, probably not having dissuaded you from going the wood stove route I would recommend a large steel stove of some sort. Englander 30, large PE, Blaze King (of course). Personally I don't think soapstone will be able to put out the brute force punch of heat you may need. This is assuming it get's fairly cold there where you are.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I agree with everyone here. Go large. Look at the Blaze King King stove. Maybe one of the large Buck stoves. The Englander 30NC is both large and affordable.

 

[begreen]

Coastal WA temps are relatively mild, but the winters are very wet and stormy. A steady source of heat is going to be mandatory just to stop the moss from growing indoors.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Coastal WA temps are relatively mild, but the winters are very wet and stormy. A steady source of heat is going to be mandatory just to stop the moss from growing indoors.

I figured it might have been mild, but I also suspected it would be quite wet. And having poor insulation myself, some of the wet mild days are just as uncomfortable as the cold ones.

Do they get a good amount of wind?

 

[BrotherBart]

The PE Alderleh T6 or the Mansfield would be my call. With that place when it does get cold you want something tough because you are going to be working that stove like a rented mule.

 

[BrowningBAR]

The PE Alderleh T6 or the Mansfield would be my call. With that place when it does get cold you want something tough because you are going to be working that stove like a rented mule.

I like the T6 option, but he might want to go larger than the Mansfield since the usable firebox is under 3 cu ft. I think the firebox is just a bit larger than the Jotul Oslo.

 

[BrotherBart]

Do they get a good amount of wind?

Ever seen a coast that doesn't?

 

[BrowningBAR]

Do they get a good amount of wind?

Ever seen a coast that doesn't?

No, but I figured I'd ask before I assumed.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the storm that blew thru there early this week packed 60-70 mph winds and dumped about 6" of rain.

 

[coldthiswinter]

Wow. Thanks everyone. Feeling so supported right now.

Yes it is very wet even though it isn't super cold, it feels cold.

Yes it is very windy too.

Wondering whether to go cat or non cat?

Lots to think about here. Thanks for the ideas.

You all are convincing me to go bigger than I thought before!

Warmly,

chillygirl

 

[BrowningBAR]

Wow. Thanks everyone. Feeling so supported right now.

Yes it is very wet even though it isn't super cold, it feels cold.

Yes it is very windy too.

Wondering whether to go cat or non cat?

Lots to think about here. Thanks for the ideas.

You all are convincing me to go bigger than I thought before!

Warmly,

chillygirl

In regards to the cat or non-cat, I think you'll be good either way as long as you go with a large stove. You will have to oversize by a good amount if you are under-insulated and drafty. Pay attention to firebox size and less attention to BTU ratings.

 

[gyrfalcon]

Hi Everyone,

I
And is the soapstone great or does it just crack and stain?

Soapstone is fantastic and does not "crack and stain." Not sure where that thought came from. But soapstone stoves are slower to heat up (and slower to cool down) and generally can't be run at the high temperatures a steel or cast stove can. They do give a fabulous soft heat that's a great pleasure to be around.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Welcome to the forum coldthiswinter.

That sounds like a beautiful place and when you finally get it insulated you will really enjoy it even more. I'll go away from what others suggested although their suggestions are definitely not wrong. Those are good stoves they have recommended. However, it sounds like you've considered soapstone and because we have our first soapstone stove I can speak some about it.

When we bought our soapstone stove or house was not insulated much at all and was an old and drafty thing. We were heating with a big steel stove at the time we decided to buy the soapstone stove. Wow! what a difference. With the soapstone cat stove we suddenly were staying warm in the house in all types of weather and were amazed that we found ourselves burning only half the amount of wood we had been burning. Talk about satisfaction!

On the cracking and staining: I've heard of a few stove that cracked but very few. Some can crack and still be useable. They will stain if you are not careful when cooking on the top of the stove. However, some 0000 steel wool rubbed lightly will remove that stain. They can scratch easy too but again, that can be fixed really easy.

If you wait until the cabin is real cold before starting the stove, then the soapstone will take a bit longer to heat the whole house because it is a radiant heat but that time is not critical and over-rated by many. We get warm quite fast when we light out stove. And yes, the stove will not cool as fast as a steel or cast stove which will prove to be of some benefit. One of the big benefits is that the heat does feel different from a soapstone stove. We kept hearing about this "soft heat" from the stoves and thought it was just marketing hype. Wrong! There is a difference!

On the ceiling fan, yes, with that type of room you should have one. However, rather than trying to blow the heat down, suck the air up and the air will circulate much better. The same thing goes for a floor fan. Don't try to move the warm air. If the house has a hallway or rooms far from the stove, use a small desktop fan setting on the floor. Run it on low speed and blow the cool air into the stove room and it will heat the further rooms much, much more and faster too. It is amazing how this works.


On the soapstone stove, if you look at the Woodstock line you will find several sizes including their newest stove which is huge! You can look them up at (www.woodstove.com). Woodstock sells direct only so you won't find the in local showrooms. One big benefit of this is that Woodstock guarantees that stove will work for you and if it doesn't, you will get a full refund. No other company will do this. Also, Woodstock's customer service is second to none. They are a great company to work with.

Good luck.

 

[coldthiswinter]

Hi Dennis,

I just looked at Woodstock again and it does look great. The customer service is pretty important to me too. I also saw your pictures and they look great. You like this better than the Mansfield, is that because of quality control? Fit and finish? Cost? Amazing that it costs less than the Mansfield too.

I'm wondering now if we need two stoves. But thinking about starting with yours, or a Blaze King, or a Pacific Energy (I love how these look).

Thanks for your ideas. Thanks to everyone. Much appreciated.

Kiki

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Kiki, the Mansfield is bigger than the Fireview. The Progress is a beast! We do like the Woodstock stoves and especially the way they treat their customers and overall the customer service. As stated, second to none.

When we bought the Fireview I have to admit I still had doubts if it would heat our old drafty place but knew I could get a full refund if necessary. As you know, we did not have to return the stove and are still happy with it. We do have a Progress on order but are not sure we will complete the purchase simply because we may not need the larger stove. Although we put an addition onto the house this past summer, we also added insulation plus new doors and windows. The Fireview is about roasting us out right now but we're hoping to get some serious cold early in December to see how it will do. If need be, we'll cancel the Progress. In a way that will disappoint me as I really have high hopes for that stove and would love to be one of the first to test it.

I can understand how you feel about how they look. One thing I usually like to state is, "How will it look next summer when not in use?" Will it look like it belongs? Ours looks almost like a beautiful piece of furniture. But looks can be personal; one looks good to one and another looks better to someone else.

 

[oldspark]

I would get the biggest ..baddest stove that you can get..Blaze King!

That is a Winston Churchill stove, walk softly but carry a big stick. ;-P

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Shouldn't that be open door softly and insert big stick?

 

[oldspark]

I was trying to give it some personality. You have it covered on how to run it.

 

[coldthiswinter]

Fun. Thanks everyone. I'm now thinking we need two stoves! First I'm ordering a Wookstock Progressive. Because why not?

Wondering about which side the door should open on. At my current house the stove opens on the left. Is that regular for righties?

Thanks,
Kiki

 

[coldthiswinter]

Dear All,

OK I am listening to your suggestions and now thinking about a Blaze King King Ultra and a Woodstock Progressive Hybrid. I still like the Pacific Energy 4100 too. Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

Warmly,
Kiki

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Congratulations on your decision. I have to tell you we were at the Woodstock Open House and saw that stove in action. Awesome! We had also seen it while in R&D and were impressed that time too but the final product is really nice for sure. Be sure to keep us posted.

Left or right most folks can easily get accustomed to it. Seems to me that you usually see a whole lot more rh doors than left on all stoves. With me, I prefer rh simply because I don't see with my left eye and it concerns me with possibly burning an arm more doing it that way as with the rh door, that is my sight side so no problem. Still, I doubt I'd have a problem getting used to a lh door.

With you, if you are accustomed to lh door you might be more comfortable with that side. Yet, take into consideration how you come to the stove with wood. If you have to carry it around the stove, then I'd change.