Sizing woodstove for small cabin

[Toyoder907]

Hi all,

Done quite a bit of looking, here, and on the rest of the web to try to find a good answer to this question and I’m getting a lot of different info from different places.

My situation:
Finishing up a cabin build here outside Fairbanks, Alaska —side note don’t let the word cabin fool you, this will be my full time residence— and I’m trying to figure out the best stove for the space.

The cabin is 12x20’, with 12’ high walls and about a 12x10’ loft, with a peak ceiling height of almost 18’. So significantly more cubic feet than a typical building of that footprint. It also has 3 large (3x5’) windows.
(Will have an additional 12x8 mudroom/Arctic entry eventually, but that’s not part of the heated area).

It’s 2x6 framed with fairly good insulation (won’t technically be insulated up to recommended levels (which is something like R50 in the ceiling and close to R30 in the walls I think) , but there’s also no building code where I’m at).

That being said, temps in the negatives are normal around here. Thankfully where I live we don’t see -40F but as low as -20F would not be unusual.

I’ve looked at both the Hearthstone Lincoln and the Jotul 602 — two options for “small” stoves available locally. I’ve also been on the lookout for used stoves, since I’m building on a budget. Most of the used stoves I’ve seen in the area seem to be significantly larger than what I think I would need.

The Hearthstone Lincoln looked like it could be a good option but I was concerned with some of the not so positive reviews.

A friend in the area has a similarly sized cabin (but with 8’ ceilings), and he has a BK Sirocco 20 which he says is too big of a stove for the space.

Any input or ideas on what a good option would be for me? Unfortunately locally available options are somewhat limited on the smaller end — there are BKs, Jotuls and Hearthstones.

I don’t need an EPA certified/catalytic stove, though I’d prefer something efficient and eco friendly!
This will be the primary/probably sole source of heat.

Side note if anyone has an experience with the Osburn 1050, a friend has one that could be an option for me to use. Unsure if it’ll be too large for my space or not though.


Any advice or input is welcome!

Thanks!

 

[Todd]

I heated a 600 sq ft log cabin with 200 sq ft loft and high ceilings with the Jotul 602 just fine but during colder temps I was feeding the stove too often for my liking. I ended up changing it out for a Jotul F45. I feel it’s a bit oversized and would of went with the F35 if it was available but overall I’m pretty happy how it heats my cabin.

Maybe look into the Woodstock Survival stove or their Keystone/Palladian models. They are good radiant heaters that’s will be a better fit for an open floor plan or high ceilings. The Drolet Spark II may also be a good fit.

 

[stoveliker]

I'm surprised the BK being too large, as it (if installed correctly) should be able to dial down to the heat output of about three and a half 1.5 kW plug-in heaters...

That is not a lot of BTUs... (a tad over 10,000 BTUs per hour).

 

[begreen]

Yes, it's a small space. Is the wood stove supplemental backup? Is yes, what is the primary source of heating?

 

[Toyoder907]

Yes, it's a small space. Is the wood stove supplemental backup? Is yes, what is the primary source of heating?

It’s his primary heat source. Think his place is at most 300sqft.

 

[Todd]

With 18’ ceiling and loft he’s probably closer to heating 500 sq ft?

 

[Toyoder907]

With 18’ ceiling and loft he’s probably closer to heating 500 sq ft?

Sorry, my place is the one that’s ~18’ to the peak. His doesn’t have high ceilings, so maybe the Sirocco would do better for me — his experience was that it was too big, but my spot is slightly more sq ft and much higher ceilings.

 

[begreen]

It’s his primary heat source. Think his place is at most 300sqft.

That's not a great plan, especially in an extreme cold climate. Any small capacity stove will need to be refueled quite frequently at below zero temps. During mild weather it will likely be too much heat. The BK Sirocco 20 sounds like a good compromise.