That's what is nice about a cat stove...hard to get one too big. It is also hard to build a big fire in a small stove...but easy to build a small fire in a big stove.
Hopefully my stove will play second fiddle to a boiler in the next 5 years...until then size is my friend. It is hard to heat a house from the basement. My stove is none too big.
Everyone kept telling me how my house size should only need a stove the size of maybe an Englander 13, but I knew gooder. I want a decent sized stove I can run low and slow. Go by box size more than BTU ratings. The 30 can run fairly low, which surprised me. I normally run it no more than 500, maybe 550, although it's been up a little higher. Don't need it, and the just goes away too quick.
Ok so far what I've gathered is I may be ok maybe not lol Are there any other stoves that I should look into maybe a bit bigger but still get long burn times & cut wood use?
Oh, and if you can, go and look at the stove. Measure the firebox. The 30 isn't really a useful 3.5 cu. ft. stove. 20" deep by 20" wide, and about 12" tall, is about the max, and I don't use all of that. That's only about 2.75 cu ft., so I think maybe the marketing folks get a little carried away.
Unless your house is a sieve, and you can feel cold air blowing through, you should be fine. The Princess, Sirocco 30, and the Ashford 30 are all about the same size. The Sirocco and Ashford have the same firebox, but different skin. How often do you see below zero temps in MD?
Between the Princess and the Woodstock Ideal Steel I think it would be hard to make a wrong choice. The IS will be cheaper but there is a waiting list and they ship direct so you would install or hire someone. Woodstocks customer service is second to none. The princess might edge it out a tad on long low burns but in colder temps at medium low to medium high burns - hard to make a wrong choice.
…….lol Hi Woodheat, have you thought about or looked into any more cat stoves ? One your leaning towards ? just wondering
I finished by boiler this past fall and I fired up the stove one time since then because my daughter wanted a fire. The house is more comfortable, it takes less effort and I used zero oil.
