Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
sarahf_grower

How to determine proper size for wood stove

sarahf_grower
15 years ago

I am new to the wood stove world but after several months of research have opted for a wood stove (over a pellet). I like the hearthstone and am trying to decide between the Homestead and the Tribute. I live in western - central MD. My house is 2100+ square feet, 2 stories. It is an old house so the rooms are fairly small. Each of the rooms has a passive heat vent in the ceiling. The room that I want to put the wood stove in is 180 square feet and in the center of the house, it has 2 large windows on the side with the chimney, and the other three walls have double doorways to other rooms (one up the stairway). There are also ceiling fans in the rooms. The house has the original insulation - that would be plaster and horse hair with the upgrade of drywall on top of the plaster (I don't think that we are going to need to worry about "cracking" a door or window to prevent smoke from entering the house lol).

My question is: the Homestead is for heating about 1800sq ft and the Tribute 1300. Am I going to be roasted out of my small room (180 sq ft) with the Homestead? I don't want to get it so big that we can't run it at a safe hot heat but I also want to be able to keep the upstairs warm at night. We can shut the vents during the day but the heat will still travel right up the stairs. And the house gets REALLY cold, seriously the insulation needs to be upgraded and the windows are original (I am in the process of reglazing and rehabing the windows but it is a slow process (especially with three kids under 4!)). One room does not have any heat source at all (well an electric heater but I won't use it). At night, wool sweaters, full clothes, and wool blankets will keep you from shivering - just! Of course, I refuse to turn the heat above 62 - I am a heat miser - oil heat just costs too much!

One other question. The space that the stove will take up is an issue. I want to add a rear heat shield and double walled pipe to reduce clearances but I don't know how much space the rear pipe exit on the Homestead will add to the required space. I can't really figure out what the manual says about that. Does anyone know about this??

Sorry about all of the questions and thanks so much for any help! I am looking forward to a warm winter.

Sponsored
Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars254 Reviews
Northern Virginia Design Build Firm | 18x Best of Houzz