Small Cabin...what stove?

[begreen]

but the stove itself never gets up to efficient running temps if you try to do that game, so why oversize?

One can get a 2 cu ft stove up to temp on as little as 5 splits. No problem with a half-load of wood.

 

[DrOf Waves]

I seem to be the only person thus far on the site who has one, but the MF Fire Nova (1.7 ft3 firebox) would be a good fit for that size space. We love the stove and have been excited to tell people about it. I think if you go much bigger than that size stove for a 600 ft2 cabin you will heat yourself out of it. My last house had that issue where we regretted purchasing a stove that was too big. Yes, you can build a smaller fire in a big stove, but the stove itself never gets up to efficient running temps if you try to do that game, so why oversize? Anyway, we ordered our Nova online and had a local installer do the installation because we also didn't want to risk doing it ourselves. HAppy to share more about the stove if you want to know anything.

Thank you...you are in DC?

 

[Woodfire2019]

Thank you...you are in DC?

For the most part. Our cabin with the stove is not though

 

[Dmichigan]

Really? for A 600ft2 cabin? At what point do I be concerned about cooking myself out of the place?

thank you for the input.

I live in a 700qf and use a blaze king ashford 20 and think it works about right. I live in Northern Michigan and it get down to -30f.

For comparison.

Ashford 20.2 - Blaze King

Our craftsmen used the timeless medium of cast iron to create a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture with detailed relief and curves. The Ashford is available in painted metallic black, cast gray and chestnut gloss enamel. Burled walnut is carved for the door and bypass handles. This creates...

www.blazeking.com

 

[DrOf Waves]

One can get a 2 cu ft stove up to temp on as little as 5 splits. No problem with a half-load of wood.

Vermont Castings, Quadra Fire, Morso, Jøtul, Napoleon, Lopi, True North...

Out of all those brands available to me locally, which stove

I live in a 700qf and use a blaze king ashford 20 and think it works about right. I live in Northern Michigan and it get down to -30f.

For comparison.

Ashford 20.2 - Blaze King

Our craftsmen used the timeless medium of cast iron to create a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture with detailed relief and curves. The Ashford is available in painted metallic black, cast gray and chestnut gloss enamel. Burled walnut is carved for the door and bypass handles. This creates...

www.blazeking.com

Michigan,

That is great to hear as that is the stove I have decided on. Any advice you have would be appreciated. Do you have photos of your install?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Late to the party...


I have a 16x25 foot cabin in the Adirondacks. I run a 2 cubic foot stove in it. Coming into an ambient temp cabin and asking it to warm up quickly is asking a lot in the winter. I also throw on a couple electric heaters and a 15k btu propane sunflower to help the main room (12*16) warm up. You can heat yourself out of the place in mild weather, but you learn the stove and how to open windows.

Honestly, since you're a single room, you could most likely go larger. All the thermal mass of a log cabin isn't going to help you. Either is it being a single room.

 

[DrOf Waves]

And...the PE T4 is an alternate if I can’t make a plan with the BK. Thank you for the input.

 

[begreen]

Vermont Castings, Quadra Fire, Morso, Jøtul, Napoleon, Lopi, True North...

Out of all those brands available to me locally, which stove

Michigan,

That is great to hear as that is the stove I have decided on. Any advice you have would be appreciated. Do you have photos of your install?

The Jotul F45 is worth a look. Napoleon and True North have value stoves with a mid-sized square firebox. The TN20 is a good workhorse.

 

[moresnow]

I live in a 700qf and use a blaze king ashford 20 and think it works about right. I live in Northern Michigan and it get down to -30f.

For comparison.

Ashford 20.2 - Blaze King

Our craftsmen used the timeless medium of cast iron to create a beautiful and elegant piece of furniture with detailed relief and curves. The Ashford is available in painted metallic black, cast gray and chestnut gloss enamel. Burled walnut is carved for the door and bypass handles. This creates...

www.blazeking.com

BK Sirocco 20 in my 750Sq ft story and a half in NE Iowa. Only half the main floor has insulation (now that I added it). It gets brrr cold here also, as mentioned by Dmichigan. The only way you take this stove from my wife is outa her cold dead hands It flat out performs as advertised. YMMV.
There is a learning curve to figure out the sweet spot to run the BK, It has been challenging to new users occasionally. If you purchase a BK, read the manual and run it as described. Your vent system should meet BK's requirements. Or better.
Once you get the stove figured out you will be very satisfied. As you will likely with some other make/models also I might add. Do a ton of research before making your decision. Half the fun!

 

[Dmichigan]

Hey guys I'm back for a 1 year on the BK ashford 20 and have good and bad news. Good news is that it heats the house very well and 12 to 14 hr burn times. Bad news is my cat is already falling apart. No idea what's going on anyone have info? I burn maple, beach and cherry.

 

[Nate R]

Hey guys I'm back for a 1 year on the BK ashford 20 and have good and bad news. Good news is that it heats the house very well and 12 to 14 hr burn times. Bad news is my cat is already falling apart. No idea what's going on anyone have info? I burn maple, beach and cherry.

I thought moisture was best checked by re-splitting and testing the long side? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you might be seeing artificially low moisture #s by checking end grain, guessing the middle of your splits is higher.....

No idea on the cat...

 

[moresnow]

Hey guys I'm back for a 1 year on the BK ashford 20 and have good and bad news. Good news is that it heats the house very well and 12 to 14 hr burn times. Bad news is my cat is already falling apart. No idea what's going on anyone have info? I burn maple, beach and cherry.

Good to hear the stove is working out. Perhaps @BKVP can advise on the Cat deforming.

No offense but your moisture testing is inaccurate. Take a selection of your splits indoors for a day or two to get them up to room temp. Split them again and test the freshly exposed interior face. Let us know what you find out. Got any pics of your install?

 

[Dmichigan]

Just split it, cherry maple and beach, and pics of install that was to manual specs.

 

[moresnow]

Just was curious how the stove ended up looking! Nice. Spray foam ceiling insulation looks toasty warm.

Quick question's. Are you burning real small loads as pictured, normally, or loading it completely full for a long batch burn? Your stove looks like brand new inside! The glass is clean like it's burning with active flame often (unless you just cleaned it?). Are you reloading when the Cat gauge gets down to inactive or close to it? Mostly just curious what your routine is.

Sooo? You just now split the wood fresh for the test with the wood up to room temp? If so, your good and dry.

 

[Dmichigan]

I load big at night and before work, when I get home I'll just throw a few on to make it till bed time. I keep the glass clean and I clean the stove once a month. only reload if needle is getting low.

 

[Highbeam]

I load big at night and before work, when I get home I'll just throw a few on to make it till bed time. I keep the glass clean and I clean the stove once a month. only reload if needle is getting low.

Sounds great and I wouldn’t change a thing. That cat falling apart is weird and I’ve never seen it but I don’t see any reason to worry about it. The cat is a consumable item and you’ll be getting a new one anyway so I would just wait for it to wear out. I don’t think you caused it or that it will happen on your next one.

 

[begreen]

At some point in the past year was any of the wood frozen, icy or snow covered?

 

[Dmichigan]

At some point in the past year was any of the wood frozen, icy or snow covered?

No my wood is stored inside

 

[Nate R]

Nice on the wood! Dry enough. Love the shed setup, the doors and top vents are nice touches!

Curious, what's the vent at the top of the room?

 

[Dmichigan]

Nice on the wood! Dry enough. Love the shed setup, the doors and top vents are nice touches!

Curious, what's the vent at the top of the room?

That is a Panasonic whisper exhaust fan that pulls hot air to the back room.

 

[RandyBoBandy]

I have a slightly larger identical cabin. It’s full log with high cathedral ceilings. One bedroom in front and two queen beds in the loft. Cabin is in northern Michigan. Right on the 45th parallel to be exact. We have a Vermont castings defiant in there right now which is to much stove for the square footage, however, we were noobs when it was purchased. That being said I can always build smaller fires yet have the fuel tank when I need it. Over night burns are a piece of cake even when it’s in the single digits. I love having a cook top. It’s great for warming up soups, stews , chili. We do have skylights that open so if I do have to dump some heat I just crank those open. If I could do it all over I would put a BK Ashford in there or I might move my VC Encore up there and replace my house stove. I think the low steady heat output of a cat stove in a small living space is key.

 

[Highbeam]

You guys have all of these lovely sounding cabins. That’s not a big thing here in the pnw.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

A couple areas of the country have tons of small lakes. The sheer volume of lakefront land makes it possible for many families to have a cabin.

About 10-15 years ago it was possible to buy into campsites on a local 34mi long lake for about $15k. I don't think the spot was prime, probably something like an older travel trailer, but it was lakefront.

 

[kennyp2339]

Are you testing the freshly split face at room temp?