Thinking Of Buying Fireplace Woodstove Insert

[pghquest]

Originally Posted by ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?

Does anyone own and/or have experience with woodstove inserts? My home is about 1000 to 1200 square feet on one level with basement below and finished attic above.

I am considering two stoves, one that heats up to 1200 square feet, the other is bigger and can handle up to 2550 square feet. My concern is the small stove might not cut it and the burn times shorter. I am assuming bigger stoves can be banked down to heat smaller areas with addtitional heating capacity in reserve and will have longer burn times. Or will the larger stove be too much and burn wood too quickly?

Any advice would be appreciated.....

Just want to remind you, if your looking and comparing costs, check and see what ones would qualify for the government credit of 30% (up to $1500).. The 1200 sf one might not qualify, and the 2550 one might, and after the credit, it might actually end up being cheaper..

[WyoNewk]

I had a fireplace insert in my last home. It did a fine job of heating the room it was in, a 24x24 living room with a 15' ceiling. The dining room and the foyer, which were actually part of the same room (no walls other than those above 8'), began 24' from the fireplace and stayed cooler but were still relatively comfortable. It didn't heat any more of the house than that.

I wasn't that crazy about the one I had.

[jaxart]

I made the decision to go with the wood stove insert rather than the free standing simply because I already had an inefficient fireplace. I justified the $2600.00(US) installed cost by convincing myself that the fuel would be free for the taking - I live in a town in a national forest where tree thinning of properties is mandatory. I can find firewood alongside the road year around, waiting for the solid waste grapple truck to pick it up for hauling to the composting plant! When I see a pile that is manageable without further sawing up, I stop and load up the back of my vehicle.

The other factor is the size of my house and the fact that it is well insulated. I also live alone, so closing off bedrooms and other unused parts of the house does not cause a conflict. I use the wood stove first thing in the morning for about 3 hours (5am to 8am) and then let it die out. Normally that's all it needs to supplement my gas furnace the rest of the day. On extra cold days I will re-stoke the wood stove in the early evening, when there are still hot coals remaining to ignite my kindling.

IMPORTANT to my house comfort level is the circulating ceiling fan in the main living area where the wood stove is located. My house is a single story of about 1600 sq ft with a crawl space underneath but no basement (amounts to the same thing). The stove was advertised as being good for 1200, but as I said, I close off parts of my house since I have to have a cold bedroom to sleep in.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

I know this is an old thread, but I just stumbled across it. Try here for everything you could want to know about wood heating: Hearth.com Wood Stove and Pellet Stove Forums....and much more! | Powered By ExpressionEngine

I heat exclusively with wood, we have a Hearthstone Mansfield (soapstone) stove. I really like the stove, the thermal mass of soapstone absorbs a lot of heat then radiates it off slowly. You don't tend to overheat and then cool as much as with a steel stove.