New Wood Burning Guy - Insert Suggestions and Ideas

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BrotherBart said:
The 30. We were typing at the same time.
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I would like to find a way to use that stove. Granted, my sqft is in the NC-13 specs, but with it being inside the heart, I wonder how much of the “efficiency” I will lose. I do plan on doing a seal above the stove to keep the heat in (Similar to yours)

I’m going to stop by my local HD today to look at the sizes as well as the US stove. I’m also waiting to hear back from Mike from Englanders about the NC-13.
 
JeffStinson said:
I wonder how long the burn times are? I’m REALLY trying to offset using any oil.
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It sounds like burn time is the main reason you are focused on the bigger stoves. What are your needs for burn time? Is it overnight burns or daytime burns that are important? How fast does the house lose heat? Are you okay with starting a new fire when you get home as long as the house is not too cold? Everybody has a different idea of what burn time means, so take that into account in the discussions. For many of us, burn time is when there are still enough coals to start a new fire, even if the stove itself has cooled. It also depends on your fuel, how full you stuff the stove, etc.

I'd be a little concerned if you stuff a 3.5 cf stove in your house just to get a long burn time. It may get way too warm in the house which is also very inefficient.

There are a lot of 13 and 30 owners here. It may help if you ask a specific question on a new thread to get more of those folks since you are narrowing it down.

Also, is a freestanding stove out of the loop?
 
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Sprinter said:
It sounds like burn time is the main reason you are focused on the bigger stoves. What are your needs for burn time? Is it overnight burns or daytime burns that are important? How fast does the house lose heat? Are you okay with starting a new fire when you get home as long as the house is not too cold? Everybody has a different idea of what burn time means, so take that into account in the discussions. For many of us, burn time is when there are still enough coals to start a new fire, even if the stove itself has cooled. It also depends on your fuel, how full you stuff the stove, etc.

I'd be a little concerned if you stuff a 3.5 cf stove in your house just to get a long burn time. It may get way too warm in the house which is also very inefficient.

There are a lot of 13 and 30 owners here. It may help if you ask a specific question on a new thread to get more of those folks since you are narrowing it down.

Also, is a freestanding stove out of the loop?
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As for the burn time, i work 8:30-5 and have a 30 minute commute, if i could keep a small bed of coals ready for when i get home and have a reasonable temperature in my house i would be happy. I just know the 30 have had reports of 8-10 hour times, which are awesome. I agree that the 3.5ft cf stove is a bit big, i would love some input from -13 Owners.

As for freestanding, both of those stoves are freestanding, just inserted within the lintel of my fireplace, that's my goal. I don't really have the room nor do i want to extend it out anymore in my home.

I do have forced hot air so technically a second 6" stainless chimney in the basement for my oil furnace.. Is it possible to add a wood furnace and burn through that to heat the entire house?
 
It sounds like a stove that can be installed with or without legs may work out better for you. Have you looked at the midsized Bucks or the Avalon Rainier?
 
I don't recall if this was discussed earlier, but I believe that the 13 requires a 2.0 R value on the hearth, and the 30 requires R1.5. I don't know how your hearth is constructed, but this will be a factor.
 
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BrotherBart said:
Stove is still too tall for their fireplace with the six inch legs. The stove top would then be 27" high but the flue collar/heat shield add two more inches of height. Wouldn't be able to get to the liner/flue collar to attach it.
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Couldn't you pull the liner down and attach from inside the stove. I know Regency and Osburn offer kits for doing that when there are clearance problems. I was considering one of them with my insert and low lintel height.
 
Dave A. said:
Couldn't you pull the liner down and attach from inside the stove. I know Regency and Osburn offer kits for doing that when there are clearance problems. I was considering one of them with my insert and low lintel height.
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Nope. Conventional two inch flue collar. Way back there in the stove. Besides, it would require tilting the stove back some to get the heat shield and flue collar under the lintel. With a good possibility of breaking one or both back legs. And then once it is in the the air moving over the top out of the heat shield would just slam into the front of the smoke chamber.

My fireplace is 32" high at the lintel and the installation was a bear.
 
You are going to need 4-5 full cord to offset using oil completely. Are you cool with still having to spend $400-$500, plus a lot of your effort and time? I know if I had to pay for wood, I would not have decided to heat with wood. Do you have the space to store it all planned out? Racks or whatever system you plan to use to stack it? Even if your buddy delivers one cord at a time, a cord takes up quite a chunk of space.

I am new to this game too, I was like you last year. Scrambling to chose a stove, researching liners, insulating, caps, prepping chimney, picking a dealer, etc., etc. There is a lot involved. I got it done, came out great, love my stove, but I had about three-quarters of a cord of wood ready to go and the entire season was a scramble to get wood together. I wound up with lots of subpar wood. Doesn't seem like you will have that issue, but the reason I brought it up is because I wished I had focused on my wood supply in year one, and focused on my stove in year two.

Heating with wood is awesome, but there is a lot of work involved. Willing to buy your wood supply will greatly simplify things, but kind of defeats the purpose, IMO.
 
AnalogKid said:
You are going to need 4-5 full cord to offset using oil completely. Are you cool with still having to spend $400-$500, plus a lot of your effort and time? I know if I had to pay for wood, I would not have decided to heat with wood. Do you have the space to store it all planned out? Racks or whatever system you plan to use to stack it? Even if your buddy delivers one cord at a time, a cord takes up quite a chunk of space.

I am new to this game too, I was like you last year. Scrambling to chose a stove, researching liners, insulating, caps, prepping chimney, picking a dealer, etc., etc. There is a lot involved. I got it done, came out great, love my stove, but I had about three-quarters of a cord of wood ready to go and the entire season was a scramble to get wood together. I wound up with lots of subpar wood. Doesn't seem like you will have that issue, but the reason I brought it up is because I wished I had focused on my wood supply in year one, and focused on my stove in year two.

Heating with wood is awesome, but there is a lot of work involved. Willing to buy your wood supply will greatly simplify things, but kind of defeats the purpose, IMO.
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Buying wood c\s\d is well worth it.. I only spend $550.00 a year and add if some happens my way.. Much easier and faster to just stack it but I understand those who do this.. To heat my home to 75 degrees year round with oil would cost a great deal more..

Ray
 
You may have to stretch that budget, but it will pay off in the long run to get the stove that best meets your long-term needs. The extra cost will be pretty minimal over the life of the stove and will be well worth it if you get it right.
 
1.3 square box is small, you won't get the burn times your looking for
 
Englander makes an insert version called the 13NCI .
 
begreen said:
Englander makes an insert version called the 13NCI .
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Yeah, but for reasons I still can't understand the 13NC retails for $650 and the insert version retails for $1100.
 
the small budget is killing you!!!! Concentrate on your wood supply and save up until you can afford something decent.
http://www.harmanstoves.com/Products/300i-Wood-Insert.aspx
  • 75,000 BTUs — heats 1,600 to 4,300 square feet, based on climate and home efficiency
  • 3 cu. ft. interior capacity / 20" maximum log length
  • Up to 17 hours of steady, even heat from each load of wood†
  • Standard blower to heat home more effectively
this is what i wanted but i chose to go with a flush insert.


It's alot of money but if you can install it yourself you can probably get it done in the 3500-4000 range. Or look online for something used in the spring and summer of next year when it's not about to be burning season. Create a "large wood burning insert wanted ad" on craigslist and see who chimes in.
Remember that this purchase will be saving you money, and if you invest wisely, it can pay for itself in couple years with fuel savings!

UNLESS

Is somewhere else in your house you can install a free standing stove, and leave the fireplace alone?
 
you can't use one chimney for two things.

If you want a short term solution then purchase that century from northertool. It's cheap, brand new, and will help to take the chill out. It will help with oil consumption but you might still need to kick the furnace on on cold nights. The positive side would be that you will get used to wood burning.
 
Has anyone mentioned Pacific Energy's True North TN19? It's 1.9 cf which is about the right size. Around $900. You'd have to check the dimensions for fit.
 
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