new woodstove in new house questions

oldcars · #1 01/10/12, 09:16 PM

Hi, I am new on here, but it looks like a great forum and I have already learned a few things! I live in rural north central Oregon in a town of about 300 people and I am about to begin the process of building my own home. I have built one house before, but this time I want to have wood heat. I talked to the local building codes people and for a legal wood stove, it needs to have the manufactures spec sheet, and be UL listed as well as EPA and DEQ certified. unless I can find a late-model used stove with the spec sheet, I guess that means a new stove. I am hoping for some information on the best "bang-for-the-buck" stoves out there. Also I have considered and would love to have a cookstove that would be able to bake and still heat the house.

The house is an open floorplan, 3 bedroom and about 1200 sq.ft.

any ideas? good brands? what to avoid? I have a small budget so I am looking for a good simple stove for a great price.

Thanks in advance for any information or insight !!

johng · #2 01/11/12, 03:12 PM

Check out hearth.com. Those guys can answer any question you have about wood stoves.

sassafras manor · #3 01/11/12, 03:19 PM

When we built our house 4 years ago we went with the Heat-N-Glow brand and the model was the North Star. Our house is 2 story,5 bedroom with 3400 sq. ft. and we are able to keep the house in the mid-70's with no effort. During the most bitter part of the winter we use less than 1 wheel barrow load per day and during nice periods we may only use 2 loads a week. While you cannot cook on it, it is EPA certified (even in CA). Here is a link for the model we have.

http://www.heatnglo.com/en/Products/...Fireplace.aspx

Matt

pheasantplucker · #4 01/11/12, 04:58 PM

Not that it's a cook stove, but I have a Jotul Oslo...Wonderful stove...check it out.

haypoint · #5 01/11/12, 08:41 PM

Pioneer Princess is a wood cook stove with a firebox large enough to heat your house and is air tight so can hold a fire over night.
I think they are UL approved but not sure on the EPA and DEQ. Google for info.

http://www.discountstoves.net/Pionee...erprincess.htm
http://stovesandmore.com/index.php/p...oneer-princess
E.P.A. Phase II Certified
Cook stoves are exempt.
The Pioneer Princess is exempt from EPA regulations and is legal for sale in most of the USA. However, it is not legal for sale in the state of Washington.

Spotted Owl · #6 01/11/12, 09:03 PM

Not sure what a small budget is to you, but I would be checking out Cs list. There's a ton of stoves on there. We Like Lopi stoves. In fact so much we moved our Lopi Liberty with us. Our main floor is 1500' and it will hit 80 easy, also heats the attic room where the boy sleeps.

When that burned out we went with Pacific Energy. When this one is toast we will be going back to a liberty. Stay away from PE.

Lopi makes a bullet proof stove that will and does last for years. It's not a cook stove but with t he stepped top you can cook on them if need be. Lots of cook stoves lately on Cs list also.

Owl

Molly Mckee · #7 01/11/12, 09:33 PM

You might look at Quadra-fire, made in Colville, WA. There are often some on CLand I think meet your requirements.

RonM · #8 01/11/12, 09:33 PM

I called my ins co couple days ago, they informed me it had to be installed by a certified installer and inspected by Fire marshal before they would cover it...

Pony · #9 01/11/12, 10:03 PM

We lust for the FlameView. Cooking and heat, and beautiful as well.

MichaelK! · #10 01/12/12, 09:34 AM

I'd recommend not getting a woodstove, but getting two woodstoves instead. I have two separate stoves, one designed for heating and the other a cookstove. Either can do the other's job, but it's a compromise. The cookstove digests a huge amount of wood to keep the cabin warm, and you can only put one single pot on top of the heating stove.

I bought my stoves off of Craigs list. The UL listing and manufacturers information is on a little metal plac on the back of the stove. Most stove manufacturers have a website where you can download the installation specs. You must pay attention to the installation differences between single and double wall stove pipe, and chimney pipe. I installed my used stove myself, with triple walled chimney pipe, which cost much more than the stove itself. It is definately worth the money. I can go up to the second floor and lean against the chimney pipe and barely feel heat. Gives me an incrediably safe feeling.

It took one weekend for two of us to install the stove. Day one was spent cutting the hole in the roof, installing the collar, and inserting the pipe. Day two was spend connecting the stovepipe inside and connecting the stove. One more day to let all the cauking dry and the stove was ready to be fired up. I shined up the used stove with a 50:50 mix of cleaned lard and powdered charcoal. Made the stove look like a museum peice!

haypoint · #11 01/12/12, 02:25 PM

Older model wood cook stoves are not air tight and most have small fireboxes, causing them to digest a lot of wood. They won't be UL or EPA approved either.

Pony · #12 01/12/12, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

Older model wood cook stoves are not air tight and most have small fireboxes, causing them to digest a lot of wood. They won't be UL or EPA approved either.

Yup. I'm about ready to move the cookstove to the kitchen (space is tight and we've been cooking in the dining room), and get the Lincoln parlor stove into the dining room.

haypoint · #13 01/12/12, 03:22 PM

Since you are building this place and have already planned to have a wood cook stove, I would like to suggest you plan the stove's location somewhat central. Plus if you can, a back wall of brick or concrete blocks. It allows you to have less space behind it as you do with most wood stoves, plus the mass of brick or concrete helps a house maintain steady temperatures. The brick wall will get hot and give off heat long after the fire is gone.

oldcars · #14 01/12/12, 03:56 PM

Hey, thanks so much for all info so far, I have alot of research to do! I would love to have an old antique kitchen stove and another one for heat, but since it's a new house and needs to built to code and inpected, the antiques are out. I need an airtight stove for efficient heating, and it will be centraly located in the house. I will check out the others listed, thanks again!

miboje · #15 01/13/12, 07:30 AM

I do have an older, probably vintage, Baker's Choice cook stove. It is UL listed, which was required by my insurance company. It does not consume a lot of wood. The firebox is much smaller than the Pioneer Princess. It will hold a fire overnight if you fill it. It kicks out tremendous heat, plenty to heat our 1,568 square foot ranch home, but we have R-19/R-19/R-38 and Low-E windows and live in western PA. Not sure about the EPA thing, but it's worth checking into.

haypoint · #16 01/13/12, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miboje

I do have an older, probably vintage, Baker's Choice cook stove. It is UL listed, which was required by my insurance company. It does not consume a lot of wood. The firebox is much smaller than the Pioneer Princess. It will hold a fire overnight if you fill it. It kicks out tremendous heat, plenty to heat our 1,568 square foot ranch home, but we have R-19/R-19/R-38 and Low-E windows and live in western PA. Not sure about the EPA thing, but it's worth checking into.

Baker's Choice is a nice stove, but it isn't vintage. I believe they started production 25 years ago and are still manufactured.

miboje · #17 01/13/12, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haypoint

Baker's Choice is a nice stove, but it isn't vintage. I believe they started production 25 years ago and are still manufactured.

Ok then...it's not really new or really old. Does that work better for you?

And they aren't really nice stoves, either. In fact, there is not one pretty thing about them. They are, however, one heck of a workhorse and fit into today's smaller kitchens better than their gargantuan vintage (less than 100 years old) and antique (more than 100 years old) counterparts.

haypoint · #18 01/13/12, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miboje

Ok then...it's not really new or really old. Does that work better for you?

And they aren't really nice stoves, either. In fact, there is not one pretty thing about them. They are, however, one heck of a workhorse and fit into today's smaller kitchens better than their gargantuan vintage (less than 100 years old) and antique (more than 100 years old) counterparts.

While it may seem we are nit picking, I'm just trying to be helpful by being clear.
I agree with you they are not "pretty", but they a built solidly, are air tight, bake well and have a good sized firebox. I think that is "nice"

I'm 60 years old, vintage wood cook stove to me is a pre- 1940 model. They have small fireboxes, aren't air tight, aren't UL approved and weigh a lot.

Perhaps a person that is 30 years old might see a 1990 model as possibly "vintage".

Recently, I bought an Elmira Oval. It gives me a large fire box, air tight fire control and the classic look of an antique cook stove. But, I think they aren't being built anymore and they are quite pricy when you can find one used.

If I haden't found the Elmira, I would have bought a Poineer Princess. In a warmer climate, I might have gone for a smaller stove like the Baker's Choice.