I'll try to sum it up as quickly as possible. I have family friends who are looking into buying a wood stove. Their home is a single story "ranch style" home around 1200 sqft with insulation that would be considered fair to good. They asked me about what I knew because they knew I've been heating with wood for some time. I could easily tell them about any wood variety in the area but with purchasing a new stove I was at a complete loss. So I'm asking any and all FHC members for advice on this topic. This is for a stove not an insert. Thanks to everyone in advance for any advice given.
Best advice you can give them is to come here sign up, introduce themselves and ask their questions.... One thing I would consider is that you can build a small fire in a large stove, but you can’t build a large fire in a small stove.. without knowing their heating requirements, it’s tough to make a recommendation except to get started on the firewood hoard if they haven’t already.
1200sqft is small, easy to overheat. I’d recommend a small cat stove for its low and slow burn capability. I chose one for the same reasons, plus my endless winter shoulder season. Works great for that and handles an overnight at 0F no problem.
We're in a similar sized house, and have a stove rated for almost twice the size. However, our winters can be chilly in Jan-Feb or so and this stove isn't really too much most of the time. As stuckinthemuck said......you can build a smaller fire in a large stove, but you can't build a larger fire in a small stove. We (I) use small kindling for SS fires. Although our place is small, it's fairly long and the heat doesn't get to the other end of the house very well. I'd agree with fox9988 on a cat stove for reasons stated, but don't go too small unless the house is well insulated or the climate is less than crazy cold.
I will give them the FHC link. I don't know if they'll use it but that's such a simple and sound bit of advice I'm shaking my head. K.I.S.S.
Lots of good stoves out there, I prefer a cat stove. Placement of the stove makes a difference for sure.
I’ll second the Fisher. We’re running a mama bear and can keep the house at a comfortable 80°. You can always open a window or the door. A hot fire is a clean fire, a cold fire will burn your house down.
Look up P²....a.k.a. Pallet Pete. The Fishers are long in the tooth, old technology for efficient , clean burns. Old. Recommended universally: Blaze King, Woodstock for cats. Jotul, Pacific Energy non cats. DBH bias = Jotul Rangely. On a budget ? Look for the above used.
I've been burning one for over 40 years! Stove temp, pipe temp, and chimney exhaust! "THATS NOT EFFICIENT"? Not to mention 80º in the house. Taken yesterday when it was 22º out. I haven't burn't 3 full cord of wood this year... Enuff said!
I would narrow it down by a few categories... 1. Cat or non cat? 2. What do the local dealers carry? 3. Size of stove for their house, and layout (I'd rather size up than have something too small) 4. Aesthetics - If it's in a main living area of a home, why not have something you will enjoy looking at for many years?? Lots of ugly stoves on the market, in my opinion. I prefer the classic looking styles. Even with the cult following of companies like Blaze King, seems to me a lot of their users admit they are ugly but it's performance over aesthetics for them. Why not have both??
Ask them to join FHC. Theres a ton of experience here. Probably should find out what the budget allows.
