Wood stove/heater

[supratreo]

so, while my shop is in the architects hands i've been looking into another project that i put aside but now that its winter, is back on my mind.
we have a 5000sq/ft home which is heated with propane. we have one room down stairs that we spend most of our time in but is also one of the coldest probably because one wall is about 80% windows/sliding doors. last year we came close to running out of propane twice during the winter and it got me thinking about how much propane we waste throughout the day heating the entire downstairs (2 story house with 2 heat/AC systems).
i've insalled 2 smart thermostats and have tried everything i can and have saved a little bit but its just not enough.
a family member of mine bought a house with wood burning stove and it got me thinking about one but know nothing about how to get started looking for one or if one would be feasible for my room.
room is about 20Wx40L and about 60/40 carpet/tile. this would be on the carpet side. i do know that i would want to put it in a corner of 2 exterior walls. i will post pictures tomorrow.
that area would have to be tiled. what else should i be considering?
TIA for the help.

 

[Sumboodie]

5k house and architectured shop and worrying about heating?

Gotta pay to play.

Reminds me of my Aunt. They built a McMansion house and garage and shop... complete with underground tunnel connections so no going outside. The couple times I've visited, I don’t think it was much above 60* cause "it's so expensive to heat".

 

[Firebrick43]

The corner of two exterior walls is typically the worst place for a wood stove. I have seen many put here due to ease of chimney installation but then have draft problems due to roof height/winds. Low draft leads to creasote and even chimney inversion when the fire is low, waking up to a room full of smoke. Neighbors A frame this happened several times in the first week before they moved the stove/chimney more towards the center.

The best place for a chimney is out of the roof as close to the peak as possible.

Locating the stove more towards the center helps with heat distribution as well.

 

[jack stand]

The old masonry rule was 2' higher than anything 10' away. (horizontally)

 

[Sumboodie]

The old masonry rule was 2' higher than anything 10' away. (horizontally)

I think it's a building code for not burning the roof or the smoke coming into attic venting as well.
Also too low causes chimney drafting issues.

 

[supratreo]

The corner of two exterior walls is typically the worst place for a wood stove. I have seen many put here due to ease of chimney installation but then have draft problems due to roof height/winds. Low draft leads to creasote and even chimney inversion when the fire is low, waking up to a room full of smoke. Neighbors A frame this happened several times in the first week before they moved the stove/chimney more towards the center.

The best place for a chimney is out of the roof as close to the peak as possible.

Locating the stove more towards the center helps with heat distribution as well.

great info, thank you. this part of the roof doesnt have much of a peak. its built like a sunroom on the back of the house but its part of the house. from one side to the other id guess the pitch is about 12". i could put it on the opposite side where one wall is an interior wall if that helps. i just need to find what the requirements are as far as keeping it away from walls...
i know a centered location would be optimal but it would be in the way all the time.
appreciate the information.

 

[supratreo]

5k house and architectured shop and worrying about heating?

Gotta pay to play.

Reminds me of my Aunt. They built a McMansion house and garage and shop... complete with underground tunnel connections so no going outside. The couple times I've visited, I don’t think it was much above 60* cause "it's so expensive to heat".

well the house gets heated regardless of what the cost is. i just see no point on heating unused space.

 

[Firebrick43]

Do you have pictures of the room interior and the exterior where you want it?

Clearances to combustibles is dependent on the stove and the stovepipe/chimney. More expensive of each typically has closer clearances.

Do you have a stove type/brand in mind?

Are you interested in a nice looking stove with a glass front that stays clean for fire viewing?
Or on the more inexpensive side of the scale just for the heats sake?

 

[supratreo]

i will get pictures shortly.
i do not have any brand in mind, honestly i dont know much about them. i want it just for the heat. not worried too much about a glass front.

 

[rodhotter]

i just turned OFF my oil burner + am toasty warm on the cheep with my Harman hand fired coal stove!! wood can be good but it takes a bit of care, coal although not as easily obtained as wood is a good value in Pa. in my garage i heat only when working there its wood, fast + hot + almost free except my time-retired + some chain saw fuel + my free labor + being retired i have time!!!

 

[larry_g]

I assume that you are in the bay area of Ca.? If so do you have a source of wood? I have heated with wood for 30+ years but I have wood on the property so the cost is just gathering and putting up. If I had to buy wood I probably wouldn't heat this way. One option you have is a pellet stove. Typically a cleaner install and cleaner operating. Wood stoves by nature are dirt generators. Hauling in the wood brings in dirt, cleaning out the ashes generates dirt and dust. both of those are somewhat mitigated with a pellet stove.

If you want a wood burner there are many on the market and I suggest that you study what is available in your area and legal to install in your town. Some places are no longer allowing woodstoves to be installed. Do your due diligence checking with the town and your insurance company.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[mepstein]

When I replaced our propane furnaces, I installed more efficient hybrid systems. Heat pumps with a propane burner for when it gets below about 25 degrees. We've saved a ton on heat expenses. Maybe add a heat pump to the system, if possible. Maybe go to geothermal heat. If it's a matter of just heating up that one room while you are in there, maybe something that directs heat on you instead of trying to heat up the whole room. I live in the woods and love wood burning stoves but I'm way too lazy to stoke a fire all winter. It would be fine in a vacation house or as an occasional thing but I'd rather adjust the heat from the app on my smart phone.

 

[supratreo]

here is a picture of the room taken about 30' back. the left corner is where i was thinking about installing it. the wall at the back is an exterior wall and to the right is into the rest of the house.
i live on the outskirts of sacramento in a more rural area. wood isn't too hard to get.
my dad is the one who uses that room the most and he has no problem maintaining the fire all day, it was actually his idea haha.

 

[Mzungu]

For the lows you get there I wouldn't even look at burning wood. A cold climate mini split will be way more efficient and easier to install and maintain. If you are worried about blackouts get yourself a propane generator.

 

[supratreo]

thats a great idea, never thought of that. i'll look into it.
i'm also researching generators, something i've been wanting to get for years. we dont really have too many blackout here but the way this states grid probles are going, i dont know what the future holds.

 

[Mr.N]

do you have a source of wood?
Some places are no longer allowing woodstoves to be installed.
Do your due diligence checking with the town and your insurance company.

Great points.

My dad had a wood stove with easy sourced wood and two teenagers to cut, split, and haul it... he loved it.
My Ex Brother-in-law had one installed. Would buy split wood and his sons were too young to haul it... he hated it.

 

[yeldogt]

Wood gets old fast ... the odor and the mess from comming in and out .... where is the door?

Is your currect system also a heat pump ?

 

[jar944]

5k house and architectured shop and worrying about heating?

Gotta pay to play.

Reminds me of my Aunt. They built a McMansion house and garage and shop... complete with underground tunnel connections so no going outside. The couple times I've visited, I don’t think it was much above 60* cause "it's so expensive to heat".

I get it, worry is not the correct word. Burning propane is ******* money away. People generally dont get large homes by making poor financial decisions prior. Just because you have a large house doesn't mean you don't complain every time you get to pay for the propane refill. Like the Op I am strongly considering a woodburner for supplemental heat and also in a large room.

The only difference being it was 21 degrees here this morning and I'm guessing it wasn't close to that in Sacramento.

Wood gets old fast ... the odor and the mess from comming in and out .... where is the door?

The only thing that smells better than a wood fire is a coal fire..

 

[yeldogt]

I get it, worry is not the correct word. Burning propane is ******* money away. People generally dont get large homes by making poor financial decisions prior. Just because you have a large house doesn't mean you don't complain every time you get to pay for the propane refill. Like the Op I am strongly considering a woodburner for supplemental heat and also in a large room.

The only difference being it was 21 degrees here this morning and I'm guessing it wasn't close to that in Sacramento.



The only thing that smells better than a wood fire is a coal fire..

One of my early places in PA had an outbuilding with a great old coal stove .... order the coal from a local supplier north of me in coal country. It was amazing how long the burn -- now getting it going was another matter. There was a mess factor with coal as well

 

[jar944]

One of my early places in PA had an outbuilding with a great old coal stove .... order the coal from a local supplier north of me in coal country. It was amazing how long the burn -- now getting it going was another matter. There was a mess factor with coal as well

I've never burned anthracite, but hear it's hard to start and doesn't smell like soft coal when burning. My grandfather burned a bit of coal, easy to bring a pickup load home whe you are an operator at the coal mine. A lot of the neighbors burned coal. It's all soft coal in the western part of the state.

If I was still in PA I'd strongly consider a coal stove.

 

[yeldogt]

I've never burned anthracite, but hear it's hard to start and doesn't smell like soft coal when burning. My grandfather burned a bit of coal, easy to bring a pickup load home whe you are an operator at the coal mine. A lot of the neighbors burned coal. It's all soft coal in the western part of the state.

If I was still in PA I'd strongly consider a coal stove.

I still see bags being sold in some of the feed stores and I know you can still order anthracite in my area of Bucks County. My grandparents had a very large home in Montgomery county PA -- coal storage room and auto feeder for the boilers. All those big stone houses used coal when built up and into the 20's.
A few years back I took a wood working course and the guy heated his shop with coal. The fire is very hot -- you can feel the difference.

 

[PoorUB]

Put a min split in the room, turn down the heat in the rest of the house.

We just started running our heat about 10 degrees colder at night. What prompted it was my dad had a heated mattress pad on the bed when he was here. We decided to toss another blanket on the bed and set the heated mattress pad on low if we needed it. I am thinking the few watts of heat from the mattress pad will be less money that heating the whole house. Time will tell if it works or not.

 

[supratreo]

thank you all.
def doesn't get to 2 here haha but we do see mid to low 30s. this solution would only be day use, about 6am-10pm when the fire can be maintained/watched. outside of that we will be using the heater.
i've never heard of anyone here using coal, highly doubt you can even get it here, they're getting stricter on wood burning here so i'm sure coal would be out of the question.

@PoorUB i'm not too worried about the bed rooms as they have individual temp sensors so the heat/ac doesnt run as much during those times. curious if you ever checked to see how much wattage your heat blanket pulls. i have a small one, about 12"x18" that i use for my back and was surprised to see how much power that little thing used.

 

[PoorUB]

@PoorUB i'm not too worried about the bed rooms as they have individual temp sensors so the heat/ac doesnt run as much during those times. curious if you ever checked to see how much wattage your heat blanket pulls. i have a small one, about 12"x18" that i use for my back and was surprised to see how much power that little thing used.

I should check and see how much power it uses. I looked it over when I bought it and I was surprised there was not a thing mentioned of the watt rating. Every thing I see says around 60-120 watts per side. I should grab my amp meter and see.

Edit - I found out the spcs, 150 watts, and I assume that is one high, so less on low.

We have yea to leave it on all night. We turn it on right before we hop in and then shut it off, just warm up the bed. So 1/2 hour at ~100 watts is better than running the furnace for 1/2 hour so I find it hard to believe it is not less money. Plus the house never gets to 65 degrees over night, at least now it doesn't. -20F in the middle of January will be a different story!

 

[Zeke]

You probably don't want to install a wood stove w/o a permit for a variety of reasons (insurance). Thing is, you won't be allowed a permit for a wood stove in CA unless it's super efficient meeting EPA standards that are measured by the weight of particulate produced over the course of an hour. Anything over 2.0 to 2.5 grams of particulate released over the course of an hour is considered environmentally unsound. CA doesn't even want us to burn natural gas.

So your new wood stove will have a catalytic converter or something to greatly reduce emissions. Some cities even have ban days. Unless you show that wood is the only heat source you have, you will not be allowed to burn.

 

[rzims]

We heat our 800sf basement with a wood stove. For us it works because we have land and trees so free fuel. It probably not ideal for limited time use due to the time it takes to warm the space, the effort and mess.
I personally love it, but ours rarely goes out in the winter...
I had one on the bay area, but with all the burn ban days and the cost/hassle of getting firewood...it just didn't make sense

 

[fitter30]

Geo thermal the most efficient system out today. Have friends in the st. louis area 5 k house 5 k sq ft two systems built right never had a utility bill more than $150 .

 

[supratreo]

thank you guys for all your help. i'm glad i come here first. i never thought about the permit/insurance stuff which is pretty important to me so i think i wont be going with the wood burning.
will start looking into mini split or geo thermal.

thanks again.