Hi Everyone,
We are nearing the end of our first season with a wood stove (Vermont Castings Aspen C3), and are considering upsizing for next year based on our experience. Overall it was a successful install and we loved burning wood, but felt like this stove was good for the shoulder seasons and too small for winter (i.e. not enough heat output).
Background: Home floorplan is ~1000 sqft 1st level, then vaulted cieling with about 800 sqft of loft living areas. Stove had to be in one corner of the home, vaulted cieling directly above it. We're in central Illinois. Flue is a straight 21', 6" diameter.
We are looking for a stove that will give 100% of our heating needs, but is able to turn down significantly in the shoulder seasons. Ideally, it would have 2 cooking surfaces (or enough room for 2 pots). The Aspen has zero manual controls, and we're thinking some level of air control would be helpful for our purposes. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!!
Also, I was looking at catalyst stoves such as Vermont Castings Mansfield. It shows air controls and states you can get a 30 hour burn time...am I understanding correct that while it's rated at 80,000 btus, using those controls I could effectively turn down the heat output to 30,000 btus (our current stove) or less? If so, anything else I need to know about cat stoves, such as increases in maintenance or need to replace catalyst over time, etc? Do alternatives exist for achieving turndown, such as a 2 stage or dual burn box wood stove (I couldn't find anything)?
Thank you!!
We are nearing the end of our first season with a wood stove (Vermont Castings Aspen C3), and are considering upsizing for next year based on our experience. Overall it was a successful install and we loved burning wood, but felt like this stove was good for the shoulder seasons and too small for winter (i.e. not enough heat output).
Background: Home floorplan is ~1000 sqft 1st level, then vaulted cieling with about 800 sqft of loft living areas. Stove had to be in one corner of the home, vaulted cieling directly above it. We're in central Illinois. Flue is a straight 21', 6" diameter.
We are looking for a stove that will give 100% of our heating needs, but is able to turn down significantly in the shoulder seasons. Ideally, it would have 2 cooking surfaces (or enough room for 2 pots). The Aspen has zero manual controls, and we're thinking some level of air control would be helpful for our purposes. Any recommendations would be much appreciated!!
Also, I was looking at catalyst stoves such as Vermont Castings Mansfield. It shows air controls and states you can get a 30 hour burn time...am I understanding correct that while it's rated at 80,000 btus, using those controls I could effectively turn down the heat output to 30,000 btus (our current stove) or less? If so, anything else I need to know about cat stoves, such as increases in maintenance or need to replace catalyst over time, etc? Do alternatives exist for achieving turndown, such as a 2 stage or dual burn box wood stove (I couldn't find anything)?
Thank you!!
