Small Wood Stove Suggestion

[Todd Heyn]

We are looking for a small wood stove for our 12x16' cabin. The cabin is insulated with R-13 insulation in both the walls and the ceiling. We want a small wood stove beacuse of the valuable floor space that it would take up and the concern that we would not be able to regulate the heat it puts into the small space.

In the short term we will be using a Mr. Heater - Big Buddy for our heating.

What are your suggestions?

[kawalekm]

Hi Todd
I'd suggest going on Craigslist.com and looking for a stove there. Here's an example I found of one in northern NY. http://buffalo.craigslist.org/app/1983643835.html I can't recommend a particular brand, but do have a few suggestions about evaluating a stove. This is what I learned buying and installing this stove.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/FederalAirtightWoodstove.jpg
The single most important factor in selecting a stove is weight! If you can pick up a stove single handed, you should avoid it. Cheapo Chinese stoves have metal so thin, I think you can break the stove in half with one wack of a hammer.

When you look at a stove, spend more time looking at the inside of the stove than the outside. Look for cracks and burnt out areas in the metal. These may or may not be repairable with stove cement. Tap around the outside of the stove with a hammer and try to find cracks/damage that might be hidden by stoveblack.

Next, look at the venting and air control. If you look closely at my stove you see two brass discs on the front doors. Those are the air vents that you twist open and closed to let air in. The top disc is for wood, and the bottom for coal, which needs air circulating from beneath the burning coal. It is the air controls that regulate how fast the fire burns.

With my stove, even with new fiberglass door gaskets, and the air vents closed, the fire still burns a little faster than I'd like. If you notice the flue, the very first portion of flue pipe has and additional damper that can be opened and closed. This helps regulate burning even better.

Another I can suggest in evaluating a small stove is how a 16" piece fits inside. In my little stove, a standard 16" length will only fit in at an angle. It can NOT be laid flat with the door closed. That is annoying, but I have learned to cut my own firewood into 14" lengths so big pieces can be laid flat on the firebed. You might want to cut a 16" length of 2X4 and see how it fits inside any small stove you look at.

Lastly, keep in mind that your stove/chimney pipe is likely to cost much more than the stove! In my case, I carefully designed the chimney to 100% adhere to code and spend 850$ on pipe on top of my 100$ stove.
Good luck,
Michael

[sewserious]

Here is an option that, while a bit pricey, is perfect for a small cabin, especially if you want the option to be able to cook without electricity, propane, natural gas, etc. This is what hubby and I have our eye on for when we get to the point we are ready to build a little cabin.

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Stoves___Cook_Stoves___Wood_Burning_Cook_Stoves___ Baker_s_Oven_Wood_Heat_Cook_Stove___17120600?Args=

[Anon001]

One thing to look for is an "airtight" stove. They are usually more efficient. A good airtight stove will also have a heat activated "damper" or "air intake" so that a damper in the flue is not needed. An old Ashley is about your best bet and a used one can be found for a reasonable price. But... they may be a little larger than you want. I just don't want to have to get up in the night to add wood to the fire. lol

Paul

[DiggingDogFarm]

The Jøtul F 602 CB is the way to go!
To regulate the heat for your small space, cut the wood shorter and maintain a smaller fire.

http://www.jotul.com/en-us/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Products/Wood/Wood-stoves/Jotul-F-602-CB/

[MooseToo]

i don't care about any of the new "advanced features" if the unit cannot be fitted to take an outside air duct for combustion -

[384sqft]

Todd,

My cabin is about twice the size of yours. I put in the smallest stove our local hardware store had on hand it was rated for 1000sqft home. I went in knowing that it was more than I needed but am glad I chose that one. Before I had a small potbelly that I loved it kept me nice and toasty but found that I was up at night feeding it more than I really wanted to be. The down side of the larger stove is that at times it does over heat the cabin once in a while. When it does I just open a window and let the excess heat out. I have plenty of room on top for cooking and I installed it with a heat barrier so I could move it closer to the wall.

Lil

[reb]

I have Jotul 602. It heats 1200 sq. ft. in a very well insulated house as an additional heat source. I keep my heating system at 64; when it gets a bit cold inside, I fire up the Jotul. It has a cook lid on top of it, which I sometimes use.

It is perhaps 6 years old, and never given a bit of trouble. Here, it may only get 400 hours of use per year, however.

I selected the Jotul because it was the smallest wood stove I could find that had a glass door. If memory serves correct, I believe the cost was under $1,000, delivered. I intend to take it with me if I move.

At one time, in another much colder state, I had the smallest Regency stove (a welded stove). It threw out a lot of heat, and was the secondary heat source for that home, which was much less well insulated. I had zero problems with the Regency, but it would have been overkill here. Not good to use too large a stove, as they make less creosote when run near their full capacity.

[Rickhead]

Is there any chance you may add on to your camp?
Dont know where you are, here in maine, r-13 in the ceiling isnt enough. Ice damns.
Id advise, big enough to cook on, make smaller fire as needed. You may add on and replacing stoves isnt my idea of fun. They all operate differently.
Good luck, let us know what you choose. Im nosy like that. Lol

[cinok]

One thing to consider is the space the stove needs from the wall unless you are putting it in the middle off the floor. We are looking at an englander it only requires 5 1/2" space from the wall. The stove is the cheap part as others stated the pipe and the boxes and cap total more then the stove.