Wood burning stove? (oil, sold, better)

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

I always wondered how much radiant heat was lost due to those stoves sitting back in. Most homes up here that I have seen don't have a fireplace. I think that is due to the fact that they are very in-efficient and send most heat up the spout verses into the home.

A Rumford fireplace is almost as efficient as a woodstove. But most fireplaces these days are not Rumfords, not made for heating.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

ImAHobbit - sorry for the confusion I noticed the Shelborne model is cast iron, but I'm so in love with Hearthstone's soapstone models that I started babbling about those. I doubt we'd be cooking every single meal on the woodstove, but knowing that I could is a big selection point. Good to know the temp range at top-center of the Shelborne is that high. I think I'll be investing in a couple of thermometers, at least one for the top and definitely one for the chimney.

Hopefully we won't need fans to circulate the warmth around since the stove is in the center of the main floor and there are very few internal walls. Has anyone had any luck distributing heat with ceiling fans in a loft/cathedral situation?

I thought these doorway fans were pretty nifty for moving the warm air down hallways and into bedrooms etc
http://www.woodheat.org/planning/doorwayfan.jpg (broken link)

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by ImAHobbit

Two clarifications:
I do not have one, but I have recently seem a fan in a friend's house that runs on the heat from the stove. It's kinda funky looking with these vanes sticking up out of the back and I don't think it really moves much air, but it does function only on the heat radiating from the stove.
Check out : Caframo Ecofan, Wood Stove Fan, Gas Stove Fan, Oil Burning Stove Fan at Wholesale Tool Company | Industrial Machinery + Tool Supply

That's similar to what I was looking at but it just generated power. Same concept though..

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

A Rumford fireplace is almost as efficient as a woodstove. But most fireplaces these days are not Rumfords, not made for heating.

It's good to see someone finally appears to be addressing this issue. I always liked the environment that a fireplace creates. To keep the concept and make it more efficient is a good thing. Especially for those people who have the older fireplaces. I would assume from looking at their site that they could "re-model" an existing fireplace with their system.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

I installed two pellet stoves in our home back east.. but, they are different than the wood stoves.

From what I have read I plan on setting the stove in the living room against the far wall. The pipe will run up about 16 feet or so directly through the roof. The ceiling is open so the only place I need to worry about a thimble is going through the trusses. As far as power is concerned. I saw one of those electric sources that run off the heat of the stove.
I will need to run a pipe for ventilation as well.

RayinAK, you have a very sharp installatio there

I made the hearth for our stoves back home and I will probably do the same thing here. I little black slate tile, grout, fire board and sub floor glue and you can come up with an awesome looking hearth. Cheap as well compared to the store bought ones.

I do have a question about alternate electricity. I saw something somewhere, can't remember what it was called, but it generated electricity off the heat from the stove. It looked like you just laid the thing against the stove. Has anyone used one of these to run the stove if the power goes out?

Did or do a lot of you have the pressure and airflow problems in the house like some have mentioned here?

We don't have ceiling fans to move the air around but we certainly could throw two or three in while we are making changes. It it really helps move the heat around I am open to it for sure.

There are electric fans that don't use commercial electricity, nor batteries (these have no cords).
Caframo Ecofan, Wood Stove Fan, Gas Stove Fan, Oil Burning Stove Fan at Wholesale Tool Company | Industrial Machinery + Tool Supply

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

ImAHobbit - sorry for the confusion I noticed the Shelborne model is cast iron, but I'm so in love with Hearthstone's soapstone models that I started babbling about those. I doubt we'd be cooking every single meal on the woodstove, but knowing that I could is a big selection point. Good to know the temp range at top-center of the Shelborne is that high. I think I'll be investing in a couple of thermometers, at least one for the top and definitely one for the chimney.

Hopefully we won't need fans to circulate the warmth around since the stove is in the center of the main floor and there are very few internal walls. Has anyone had any luck distributing heat with ceiling fans in a loft/cathedral situation?

I thought these doorway fans were pretty nifty for moving the warm air down hallways and into bedrooms etc

With a cathedral ceiling, a ceiling fan can do an excellent job moving air around. Just keep in mind that during the summer the blades should turn one way, and during the winter the opposite way (I don't remember which at the moment, but you can find the answer on the Internet).

Outside air doesn't really cool the fire that much. Maybe a little at the beginning, but once the fire is hot and there is enough firewood in the firebox, you have to reduce the amount of air coming to the firebox with the stove's damper, or the stove will burn too hot. With the stove I have, I monitor the temperature as recommended by the manufacturer, by placing two or more magnetic thermometers on the stove's top plate, right at the corners. Some stove manufacturers recommend that you place a magnetic thermometer at the pipe within a certain distance from the stove.

The stove damper usually has LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH settings. At the beginning the damper is fully open (HIGH) to start the fire, and once the fire is going you start adding small fire logs to build it up, and the fire get hotter and hotter. As you see the temperature rise on the thermometers, depending on your stove design it may run the most efficient (less smoke) from perhaps 450-650 degrees (all depends on your stove). Once it reaches 525 degrees or so, 450 will come soon after, so you want to start regulating the air coming in with the stove's damper. Once the fire is hot on my stove, I keep pretty much the same amount of firewood in the firebox (to keep the fire hot), but bring the air damper toward medium or low depending on the situation.

Cast iron stoves like the one I have take a while to get real hot, but once they are hot they radiate heat for a long time, even after the fire has died. Since I run the dryer's flexible pipe that brings outside air to the stove though the insulated box used for the stack, once the stack is warm, the air in the box is warm too, and so the flex pipe. By the time the flex pipe reaches the stove, the air is also warmer than outside air since the stove itself is heating the air between the wall and its back wall where the pipe comes through. Outside air is highly recommended in the interior of Alaska, specially for tight homes.

[akvarmit]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

Oh, and I have a "splitter" she's called akvarmit.. She will thank me when she is all buff and the home is nice and toasty during our long winters...

It's nice to hear how multi-talented I am .......even tho' I drive ya nuts!

Remember loading 8 ton of pellet bags on our old porch in PA each year - after 7 trips to pick them up?

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Crossfire600

It's good to see someone finally appears to be addressing this issue. I always liked the environment that a fireplace creates. To keep the concept and make it more efficient is a good thing. Especially for those people who have the older fireplaces. I would assume from looking at their site that they could "re-model" an existing fireplace with their system.

Old fireplaces could be modified, depending on how they were made. A common issue is a lot of fireplaces are shorter than they should be which requires enlarging if the same width opening is to be kept (Rumford openings are perfectly square) or, accepting a much smaller fireplace. You don't need to buy the commercially made parts (throat, etc.) but have it made on site by cutting the bricks correctly, etc. (a bit time consuming forming the proper curve, and the mason needs to know what they're doing). It's all in the proper shape and proportions. Rumfords were invented in the 1790's. You'd think builders would catch on by now that these purely decorative, inefficient fireplaces they build (often non-square opening, deep firebox with wrong shape, poorly designed throats, etc.) are stupid and there's something better.

[blueflames50]

these units are fabulous for utilizing the heat you would normally loose up the pipe to the chimney!! they are about $160.00 called Magic Heat Reclaimer for wood, oil or coal stoves and come in different sizes for the size pipe you are using.

[Crossfire600]

Originally Posted by akvarmit

It's nice to hear how multi-talented I am .......even tho' I drive ya nuts!

Remember loading 8 ton of pellet bags on our old porch in PA each year - after 7 trips to pick them up?

There is something to be said when your spouse sits on one couch, you sit on the other and carry on a conversation via a series of forum posts..

Yes sweetie, I remember very well... Gotta admit though, those pellet stoves kept that big house nice and toasty