Which cookstove for well insulated Skid house?

[Oldman47]

Look for a stove rated at more like 12k BTU per hour continuous. The heat rating is a lab value, not one you are likely going to be able to duplicate, and there are likely to be times you will want your home above 60 degrees.

 

[begreen]

Blaze King Sirocco is capable of running as low as 10K BTUs. But that sounds like even that may be too much. Also factor in chimney height. BK wants 15 ft. You might be better off with a smaller stove that you let go out between fires unless it is very cold out. Or maybe a small pellet stove?

 

[Idaho homesteader]

I've heard of the BK Sirocco- I'll have to look into that more. I didn't realize that it could go as low as 10,000 btu. In regards to getting a unit that I let go out in between burns, I imagine that it's better to have one that runs continuously so as to minimize temperature swings? Having never had a wood heater, that's something I still don't really understand.

In regards to the 15' chimney, its 9 feet from my floor to the top of the roof. That would mean about 8' of chimney sticking out of the roof- is that too much?

 

[begreen]

No, that 's not too much chimney out of the roof. It would need a brace at 5' from the roof exit. If the flue is straight up, 15-16 ft should be sufficient. An outside air supply to the stove will be necessary with such a tight home. Another alternative would be the VC Intrepid II which can run at a bit over 8K BTUs. This stove has a small firebox so overnight burns burning pine might not happen. It's also a cat stove.

 

[rwhite]

It's going to be really tough to find a balance between to much heat and a stove that is big enough to carry a fire.
Have you thought about something like a Tulikivi sauna heater or other soapstone style sauna heaters? Small enough not to burn you out but made with soapstone so it will carry heat for a while.

 

[begreen]

Interesting idea, something using mass to achieve a flywheel effect might work if sized right. Maybe a small rocket stove mass heater?
http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

 

[rwhite]

Interesting idea, something using mass to achieve a flywheel effect might work if sized right. Maybe a small rocket stove mass heater?
http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

I think some type of mass heater is going to be the only way to have a small fire bit still carry heat for a long time. I've been in uninsulated wood fired saunas before and a pile of Finnish stone (may have been soapstone) would carry heat for several hours on a single firing. The stove wasn't very big either. I would imagine in a insulated structure that can be heated by a kerosene lamp you could carry heat through most of the night. Google masonry sauna heater and you can see some pretty neat ideas.

 

[Idaho homesteader]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

Regarding a thermal mass type stove- I had done some looking into those. The only option that seems remotely affordable would be a Dragon heater brand "Castle" kit stove. You buy the core for a bit under a grand and then build the rest yourself out of off the shelf chimney sections and fire brick- it seems like it would be perfect, the only problem is I'm not sure how well it actually works. I've only been able to pull up a few reviews on it and it seems like it isn't that easy to get it running the way that it's advertised to be. I'll still be doing more research into it.

After doing the math on a pellet stove, that's not an option either. There seems to only be one brand that does not need electricity to run (I'm off grid) and at $3.50 for 40 pounds of pellets it's not really going to save me any money over propane. I really want to use wood since I have an unlimited supply of it for free.

I'm interested in the VC Intrepid II as well as the BK 20 series- I'll be doing more research into those. If they can function properly kept on a perpetual lowest setting then they may work for me.

 

[Toomb]

The rocket mass heater looks really interesting. Does anyone actually have some first hand experience with one?

 

[begreen]

Haven't burned in one but there is a lot of info on rocket mass heaters on the web. It looks like a fun project.

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A good masonry heater can be quite wonderful. But you need to think of it as a big flywheel. You don't start it heating in the morning if the predicted daytime temps are going to be above desired room temp or if there is going to be a lot of solar gain because it will continue to slowly release heat for hours.
http://www.ernieanderica.info/rocketstoves
looks like you can buy a pre-built rocket stove heater here:
http://www.zaugstoves.com/wordpress/

 

[byQ]

Off-grid, well insulated, hmmm. A small masonry heater could be built such that it has a cook stove on one side, an oven on another side, and a glass door on another side. The masons would just alter the channels around so they would flow under the cook top. In Europe and northern Asia this is a common appliance. You could even make a fourth side into a bed area. That is you would just have a big bench.

Maybe like this but smaller. (There is a glass door on the unseen side.)

 

[byQ]

The Masonry Heater Association builds a pizza oven and masonry heater in Las Vegas each year at the 'World of Concrete' convention - early February, I think. I live in Southern Idaho and went 2 years ago.

I guess they will consider building someone a masonry heater at this convention (at a major discount) - they are going to build one anyway. Sometimes they just tear the MH down after they build it.

They would probably be fascinated with designing and building a smaller heater with a cook stove. The main builders are from western Washington (and Alaska). They could drop it off on a steel pallet on a round-about way home. I'm not sure how you would get it in your house but there is probably a way.

 

[Idaho homesteader]

That Zaug stove looks neat begreen, but it appears that they aren't making them yet.

Those are also some neat heaters that you referenced byQ but they look really expensive and probably very heavy- I need something a lot smaller and lighter.

It looks like I'll probably get a Blaze King Sciroco 20 series stove. According to the math I've done that stove on it's lowest setting should be perfect. Then I also have the option of cranking it up for really cold spells or if I build an addition. I can also cook on it since the top is a flat piece of steel that directly radiates the stoves heat. Should be get for all day slow simmering type dishes.

I'll let you guys know my experience with it once I get it up and running.

 

[begreen]

Good choice. Be sure to give it an adequately tall chimney. The stove wants about 15ft of flue.

 

[revdocjim]

I'm joining the discussion a bit late but I would definitely avoid those Japanese unvented kerosene stoves. I live in Japan and can affirm that they are very popular in Japan but not good for your health at all. We have several that we use at the camp we manage but only in short durations. And Japanese buildings are very poorly insulated and drafty. Nevertheless, we have some of the highest asthma rates in the world. You might not notice the smell of fumes but they are there. After all, you are burning fossil fuel in your home with no vent for exhaust. But in a pinch they do put out quite a bit of heat!