Stove Recommendations
- Thread starter Big Schoolhouse
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Thank you! We love it but it can definitely get cold when the temperatures get below freezing. Love our heat pump in the summer but winter can be rough especially as I get older. I don't appreciate cold weather nearly as much. I really think the Drolet Deco Alto might be the one. 26" deep will leave enough room for traffic flow and still provide enough heat to take the chill off. Even if I have to sit directly in that area I will appreciate the heat when it gets cold.
Yes, the larger Deco Alto looks like a good choice. The stove body depth is 21" with the ashlip and door handle projecting further out.
Was an insert in the fireplace considered as an alternative?
Was an insert in the fireplace considered as an alternative?
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
That's a beautiful place. I'd love to see more pictures of the old schoolhouse if you don't mind sharing. Thanks for posting the pictures as they helped me understand your constraints.
Those photos do clarify why you don't want a deep stove, and I second the suggestion of making a cardboard template of the stove and putting it where it needs to go. Consider the hearth requirements and clearances, too, and live with it for a bit to see if you want to use that location. It looks good for convecting heat upstairs [perhaps even too good if you're wanting the heat to stay downstairs], but you want to have realistic expectations for using the space.
I saw that others commented on your twelve foot ceilings, but I thought I'd reiterate that those high ceilings give you the cubic footage equivalent of having eighteen hundred square feet just downstairs rather than the actual twelve hundred. The Drolet Deco Alto looks to be a good stove, and it's got a decent size to it. You'd still be pushing it hard during the cold of winter in an uninsulated space, but it would take the chill off and help out the heat pump.
[Edited: I had earlier confused the specs with the Deco Nano which looked definitely undersized for the space, so this message has been revised after I saw Begreen's comment about the Alto, and I double checked the specs for that one.]
Those photos do clarify why you don't want a deep stove, and I second the suggestion of making a cardboard template of the stove and putting it where it needs to go. Consider the hearth requirements and clearances, too, and live with it for a bit to see if you want to use that location. It looks good for convecting heat upstairs [perhaps even too good if you're wanting the heat to stay downstairs], but you want to have realistic expectations for using the space.
I saw that others commented on your twelve foot ceilings, but I thought I'd reiterate that those high ceilings give you the cubic footage equivalent of having eighteen hundred square feet just downstairs rather than the actual twelve hundred. The Drolet Deco Alto looks to be a good stove, and it's got a decent size to it. You'd still be pushing it hard during the cold of winter in an uninsulated space, but it would take the chill off and help out the heat pump.
[Edited: I had earlier confused the specs with the Deco Nano which looked definitely undersized for the space, so this message has been revised after I saw Begreen's comment about the Alto, and I double checked the specs for that one.]
Last edited:
I thought of that and there was actually an old stove in the fireplace when we bought the house. That chimney is not lined and for my first attempt I thought I would start by lining the easiest chimney. The fireplace would need some demo and more liner length so I opted for the easier route. After cleaning out 3 wheelbarrows full of creosote and debris from the center chimney I regretted that choice but its done now and the liner should be here tomorrow. I eventually want to line the fireplace chimney and keep it an open fireplace for the ambience of an open fire. Unless the stove on the center chimney does not provide what I'm hoping for in heat. If that happens I'll put the biggest insert possible in the fireplace and hope for the best.
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
I just revised my earlier post because I had looked at the specs for the Deco Nano mistakenly. The Deco Alto is rated for more square footage, so it's not so undersized as my earlier message made out. I apologize for the confusion.
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
I've had two fireplace inserts in different houses, and I loved them both. I'm in a new home now and have a freestanding stove [right at the corner where the kitchen and dining room and living room all meet and next to a staircase, though not so open as yours], and I would pick the freestanding option if the space fit it. I would say there's nothing wrong with two stoves in the same area either, though. It gives more flexibility.
Be aware that an open fireplace needs a much larger flue cross section. Generally this means that terracotta flues are used as stainless steel would get really expensive.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
I see now. You need to tape out hearth requirements and front clearances. Then add a box the size of the stoves as recommended.
So you have 6” liner for the center. But I think you should revisit the insert. The liner you have could be used in the fireplace with a coupler and extra length if needed.
Two reasons
1. you can get a 3 cu ft insert and loose zero floor space
2. Once you burn with a stove you will find an open fireplace a complete disappointment.
This leaves the center chimney open for maybe a wood cook stove in the future???
If this fits it’s probably what I would choose.
www.englander-stoves.com
So you have 6” liner for the center. But I think you should revisit the insert. The liner you have could be used in the fireplace with a coupler and extra length if needed.
Two reasons
1. you can get a 3 cu ft insert and loose zero floor space
2. Once you burn with a stove you will find an open fireplace a complete disappointment.
This leaves the center chimney open for maybe a wood cook stove in the future???
If this fits it’s probably what I would choose.
Blue Ridge 500-I | Wood Stove EPA
Blue Ridge 500-I High-Efficiency Wood Insert - EPA Certified - Heats up to 2,700 sq. ft. - 22" Logs - Up to 10 hour burn time - Proudly made in USA.
www.englander-stoves.com
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Look what the cat dragged in!
Uninsulated masonry walls means any heat radiated from the stove toward those walls is essentially lost. Your solutions are either a fully-convective stove (BK Ashford, PE Alderlea... any cast-clad steel box), and/or ensuring any radiant surface of the stove is facing an interior wall or shield.
As to sizing, it's so easy to fall into giving advice based on our most recent experience. Two weeks ago, I'd been running stoves way backed off, even running the second stove on half loads, it had been relatively warm. Then we drop to 10F this week, and I'm blasting thru wood by the wagon full, wishing I still had a third stove... or a fourth! But, since most of us probably find too much firepower a more frequent frustration than less, I'd guess my advice is to size toward your most typical needs, and just let the central heating pick up some of the deficit in those coldest weeks.
The other advice I've repeated too many times, is that you're not marrying this first stove. Many of us went thru a few different stove configurations, before we found what worked best for us. Don't sweat it, just be sure your hearth isn't built to the absolute minimums of one particular model, as you will eventually want to swap, either to change performance or just because you wore out or broke the first stove.
Similar threads
