Low and Slow long burn champion? (long burn, low temp, 1000 sq feet, super insulated, climate zone 8)

[NBABUCKS1]

I'm planning to build a super tight super-insulated house/cabin in climate zone 8. 7,500 feet above sea level but quite tight in Wyoming.

I want a stove that will burn all night but at a real low temperature. Low temp in dec- feb is below zero.

Do any stoves excel at long burns but low temps? My current stove choice atm is the Woodstock Survival Hybrid but I question how long it would burn with the smaller fire box?

Thanks!

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Blaze King comes to mind first for me. Cat stove thermostatically controlled with very long burn times

 

[NBABUCKS1]

Only concern with that is with a big stove would it overheat a 1000 square foot super-insulated place?

 

[begreen]

Only concern with that is with a big stove would it overheat a 1000 square foot super-insulated place?

Most likely not with a good cat stove that can run at low output over an extended period of time. A greater concern will be having adequate draft at 7500 ft. How tall will the flue system be from stovetop to chimney cap? If it is under 18 ft you probably will need to choose a different stove, probably a non-cat.

Will there be an alternative heat source for mild weather? Electric space heater or vented propane heater?

 

[kennyp2339]

Look at the bk line, pay attention to the details, like the ability to cleanly burn ( essentially smolder the load of wood in the firebox) and release the minimum amount of btu's per hour, or when it gets really cold you turn the stove way up and burn it like any other woodstove with a max btu per hour release.
The Bk line imo is one of the best lines out there, they really have it figured out as long as you have dry wood and meet the minimum specs, the stove will take care of you for years and years.
With any stove, please incorporate an outside combustion air source with this design, since the construction is specifically high insulation w/ air tight construction, any wood burning device will need its own air source to function properly.

 

[NBABUCKS1]

"the minimum amount of btu's per hour, "

Is this a state that is published with stove? I feel like it's the key stat. Mini BTU's and firebox size. I think w/o a doubt I have to go cat in this situation.

Also a previous point...

What is the relationship between draft and elevation? A friend told me about this but when I googled I didn't find much. Any links?

I'll probably put in a cold climate heat pump too.

 

[Highbeam]

On the current epa approved stove list they also list the minimum and maximum output rates of each legal stove. Pretty enlightening. Note that small stove doesn’t always mean low output stove. I really like having a large stove with a low output setting, the firebox is just a big fuel tank.

Don’t trust sales brochures for btu output levels. Use the epa list.

 

[begreen]

Also a previous point...

What is the relationship between draft and elevation? A friend told me about this but when I googled I didn't find much. Any links?

Thinner air requires more height. There are some past threads on this. Here is a doc from the chimney mfg, Excel:

EXCEL – ICC-RSF

icc-chimney.com

Here are a couple of flue height charts based on the altitude from VC and Enviro.

 

[Highbeam]

Pretty big difference in those two charts Begreen. The VC says you need to add about 13' going from sea level to 10,000' ASL but the enviro chart tells is you only need to add 4.3 for the same elevation change.

If it was science, wouldn't they be the same?

 

[bholler]

Pretty big difference in those two charts Begreen. The VC says you need to add about 13' going from sea level to 10,000' ASL but the enviro chart tells is you only need to add 4.3 for the same elevation change.

If it was science, wouldn't they be the same?

The VC is probably much more draft sensitive and restrictive due to the down draft design.

 

[begreen]

Pretty big difference in those two charts Begreen. The VC says you need to add about 13' going from sea level to 10,000' ASL but the enviro chart tells is you only need to add 4.3 for the same elevation change.

If it was science, wouldn't they be the same?

Downdraft vs easy breather would be my guess. The VC needs a lot stronger draft for good secondary combustion versus the Enviro which will run on a 12' stack.

 

[bholler]

On the current epa approved stove list they also list the minimum and maximum output rates of each legal stove. Pretty enlightening. Note that small stove doesn’t always mean low output stove. I really like having a large stove with a low output setting, the firebox is just a big fuel tank.

Don’t trust sales brochures for btu output levels. Use the epa list.

I agree not to trust the manufacturers numbers nessecarily. But the EPA numbers are misleading as well because they are tested without a full load. They are not based on how people will actually be using the stoves.

 

[BKVP]

I agree not to trust the manufacturers numbers nessecarily. But the EPA numbers are misleading as well because they are tested without a full load. They are not based on how people will actually be using the stoves.

Howdy bholler. Hope all is well. You are correct about the loads not being full, however it is MUCH more complicated than that. First, some stoves are tested to Method 28R which is a crib fuel method (this means dimensional lumber) while others are test to the ATM (Alternative Test Method) that EPA permits.

You may recall there is a link on this site to a wood stove users survey...that is because you are 100% correct when you state "not based on how people will actually be using the stoves." We are hoping to contribute to the new method, FRM, (Federal Reference Method) being worked on as we discuss this by EPA.

Complicating the matter, ATM tested stoves do not run the test until the entire fuel load is burned (90%) whereas crib fuel tested stove burn back to zero (100%) of the fuel load. This allows a few manufacturers to hype or promote extreme Btu's derived in their ATM test results. You see the formula, while complex, is basically amount of energy input divided by hours burned. So if you have a shorter burn time it inflates the Btu's...and that goes on the marketing stuff.

We have about two weeks remaining to get as much input as possible from wood stove users. (Survey ends September 15th) So if you or anyone has a wood heater and has not responded, please do. Your responses can help to shape the test method input and that is valuable.

Thanks to Hearth.com for all their help and all of you that help customers everyday! Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast....

 

[bholler]

Howdy bholler. Hope all is well. You are correct about the loads not being full, however it is MUCH more complicated than that. First, some stoves are tested to Method 28R which is a crib fuel method (this means dimensional lumber) while others are test to the ATM (Alternative Test Method) that EPA permits.

You may recall there is a link on this site to a wood stove users survey...that is because you are 100% correct when you state "not based on how people will actually be using the stoves." We are hoping to contribute to the new method, FRM, (Federal Reference Method) being worked on as we discuss this by EPA.

Complicating the matter, ATM tested stoves do not run the test until the entire fuel load is burned (90%) whereas crib fuel tested stove burn back to zero (100%) of the fuel load. This allows a few manufacturers to hype or promote extreme Btu's derived in their ATM test results. You see the formula, while complex, is basically amount of energy input divided by hours burned. So if you have a shorter burn time it inflates the Btu's...and that goes on the marketing stuff.

We have about two weeks remaining to get as much input as possible from wood stove users. (Survey ends September 15th) So if you or anyone has a wood heater and has not responded, please do. Your responses can help to shape the test method input and that is valuable.

Thanks to Hearth.com for all their help and all of you that help customers everyday! Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast....

Yes I know it Is much more complicated than I stated. And over all I think it is good there is a more standardized test for BTUs for comparison purposes. I just wanted to make it clear it isn't really a real world representation.