# Best Stove for open planned living?



## dmill (Jan 29, 2017)

I have been researching wood and pellet stoves and went to my nearest store for some advice. They recommended a Dutchwest for a fairly good price but has mixed reviews online. 

My house is roughly 2,500 square feet and I want to keep it fairly warm, especially during winter. Can anyone recommend a good model which also has reasonable running costs?


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

There is a huge range of wood stoves on the market and a fairly large range of pellet stoves, all with their attendant range of prices. A lot will depend how how decorative you want it vs. how functional. I am not familiar with Dutchwest, but keep in mind that a retailer will recommend only the manufacturers they sell.

Without knowing your location/climate and the construction of your house, it is impossible to opine on how well a single radiant heat source will heat it. The difficulty is always getting the heat away from the stove and around the structure.

Wood has no 'running cost' other than whatever it costs to source, transport, split, etc. the wood. For most people it has a high 'sweat component' - there is a lot of handling. Where I am, wood as a sole heat source would take several bush cords a season. Pellets come in store-bought bags. I have not owned a pellet stove but know others who have and I get the sense that many can be finicky. They also will not work during a power outage.


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

I love my Woodstock Soapstone stove.

I have this "FireView" stove, you would probably need a larger unit for a larger home. Or maybe two smaller units placed strategically in the house.










http://store.woodstove.com/product.php?productid=16133&cat=248&page=1

I start the fire with pine, then add juniper and oak. It can take 30 minutes or so for the stove to really get hot, but then this thing puts out a ton of heat. The soapstone holds heat much butter than cast iron, so the stove is still warm and usually has some hot coals still going in the morning. It has a catalytic converter, which does secondary combustion, so it burns the smoke particles and has near-zero emissions.

As mentioned by lenaitch, the only running costs are the cost of wood, which will vary greatly depending on where you live. Or if you have wood on your property, the cost of a chainsaw and your labor to cut and split it. That and the cost of a chimney sweep every year., roughly $150 in my area. Don't skimp on that.

Be warned, top quality woods stoves can run upwards of $3,000. My stove was the only valuable thing left behind by the previous homeowners. I'm sure they would have taken it too, if it didn't weigh 500 pounds. :biggrin2:
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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

lenaitch said:


> I have not owned a pellet stove but know others who have and I get the sense that many can be finicky. They also will not work during a power outage.


We lost power for almost two full days last week. All of my neighbors have either pellet stoves or propane. My house was the only one on the block with heat. Some of my neighbors came over and we had a bit of a candlelight party. arty:


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## dmill (Jan 29, 2017)

Thanks for the advice chaps. I was concerned about getting a pellet stove due to electric source requirement. I suppose it's always nice to know your safe during a power outage so I may have to do some research on a wood burning stove too. 

One of the primary reasons I was looking at stoves is that myself and the wife love the look of them. But of course, I don't want to just by one that looks great but has poor functionality. I was also looking at models such as the Harman and Jotul, since they seem to be popular. For instance, the Harman p38 which provides 43,000 BTUs. 

What methods do you use to distribute the heat throughout your home?


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

dmill said:


> What methods do you use to distribute the heat throughout your home?


Ceiling fans.

And I have one of these, but it isn't all that effective. It's more of a conversation piece: The fan runs off the heat, without electricity!?










https://www.amazon.com/Ecofan-Heat-powered-Wood-Stove-GOLD/dp/B007BLN652?th=1
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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

+1 on catalytic stoves. They put out a ton of heat but you have to be certain to only burn seasoned hardwood (the one we had had a diverter that bypassed the catalytic unit until the fire was established). Ceiling fans can help move air around but won't be that effective in sucking heat other rooms. I always thought those thermoelectric fans were effective. They do come in different sizes, aren't cheap and obviously won't work until the stove heats up.

An additional thing to consider is your lifestyle. After you have spent time building the fire back up in the morning, if the house is vacant during the day, your house will cool down - possibly dangerously so depending on your climate - if there is nobody there to maintain the fire. Constantly re-heating the house may burn through more wood.


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## dmill (Jan 29, 2017)

Solid points, thanks for bringing the fans to my awareness. I'm thinking of a Jotul now, something like the Castine model - http://woodstoveworld.com/wood-stoves/jotul-f400-castine, looks great, got good reviews and from a reputable brand. I now need to look if I can qualify for the Biomass tax credit and actually if it's even still running this year. Apparently you can get a $300 tax credit for buying certain stoves?


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