Buying a New Stove

Just moved into a new (to us) house this month and it only has a gas direct-vent fireplace. We probably have 15 cord of wood split/stacked so the only logical thing to do is tear out the gas fireplace and replace it with something to burn wood!

We thought about a wood-burning insert but now we’re thinking a free standing stove will not only be the cheaper route but also more efficient. We’d like this to be our primary heat source in a 2400 sqft home. Coming from heating solely with an Osburn Matrix in our last home that was roughly 1600sqft we’d like to size up. We liked the styling of the Osburn stove and the wood bin underneath. Just looking for some recommendations on large wood stoves!

 

Any reason not to go with a furnace and plumb into existing ducts?

 

Plenty of large wood stoves that are very good for performance, reliability, longevity, and ease of maintenance. Buy what you like, like what you buy.

Be sure to check back and listen to everyone's opinion about the "best" stoves.

For your next thread, ask about what the next chain saw or which brand truck you should buy.

 

Yeah 2400 ft is a lot for a stove, unless the layout is pretty open, or at least conducive to heating from 1 stove...I do have a furnace recommendation, if that's an option...

 

Another vote for the wood furnace from me.

 

Half the reason we burn is just so we can sit by the stove on winter evenings and stare at the fire. The furnace would certainly make more sense and the house has a full basement.

Haha I know it’s so subjective, I just see stoves claiming 70k BTU and then stoves significantly larger rated at 50k BTU.

 

It is an open floor plan, single story. We prefer the rooms stay cooler for sleeping so it should work out well.

 

True that! There has been the occasional member on here that admits to that.

I have a wood furnace but also a wood stove in the basement for that very same reason. Nothing like relaxing on the reclining sofa watching TV while the stove is burning.

 

Some are just being more honest than others...50k is gonna be about the limit on a big stove, heck my wood furnace is rated for less than that (but I think they are being conservative with their rating too)
Keep in mind, wood heat is non stop, so a stove rated at 50k would run you right out of your house if ran at that burn rate for long...you furnace may be rated at 100k, but it also only runs for so many minutes per hour too...the stove is non stop (well, the heat output would be a bell curve, starting small, peaking an hour or two in, then slowly tapering off over the next 6-8-10 hours)
Is a cat stove of consideration? If so I know there are many fans of the Woodstock stove company on here! Woodstock Soapstone Co.

 

It sure is nice to have a back-up heat system that can run when you're not home to feed a stove.

 

You can currently receive a tax credit up to $2,000 towards the installation of a high efficiency wood stove. My Lopi Endeavor NexGen I purchased this January has an efficiency rating of 80%. Believe 75 is the minimum requirement.

 

I installed the BK 40 last fall. It was replacing a basically brand new Hearthstone Heritage soapstone stove that I found out immediately was way too small to heat my house. I took it out immediately and installed the Blaze King. Holy crap, beyond amazing! I have no furnace system in my house at all. I do run a couple 20" box fans to move the heat where it's needed. The stove is a beast, and thermostatically controlled. I would buy another one without a second hesitation. My stove is centrally located, but easily heats every area I want to heat.

Here's a link to my 1st winter experience with the BK40 from install to the final burn of the heating season. Maybe it'll give you some insight. There's a ton of excellent feedback from a lot of members!

New Install of Blaze King King 40 KE Stove on Six Inch Flue and Chimney

 

+1 on the BK 40. For that square footage for primary heat, the blaze king is is one of the few that will do it comfortably.

 

I would ignore the max btu ratings in the brochures. It’s a peak number at best, peak for a minute. Instead, if you want to use the btu specification, you would look at the epa list where they show the tested btu output range for all stoves.

I think I would be looking at the Woodstock IS if I were you.

 

You forgot: then waking up 2 -3 hours later thinking that you just dozed off for 10-15 minutes.

 

2-3 hours of uninterrupted sleep would be great!

 

My BK 40 will easily run 12 hours and my longest was 36 hours on a mild burn with 40 degree day.

 

I think you’d be fine with just about any 3cu ft firebox stove. With open floor plan I would look for a more radiant type heater especially if it is somewhat centrally located.