Wood Stove from Tractor Supply...Any Advice?

[miramadar]

I'm thinking of getting one of these wood stoves from Tractor Supply...

United States Stove Wood Stove with Blower, Large, EPA Certified - 1015683 | Tractor Supply Company

...the U.S. Stove 2500LN, complete with the triple-wall chimney system. Total cost would be about $2000. Does anyone have any experience with these stoves? Anyone own one?

I recently built an 1800 sqft home with full, walk-out basement (about 3600 sqft total). I plan to put the stove in the basement and run the pipe through the wall and up the house. I'll need something like 28' of pipe (at about $33 a foot!). Heating bills during the coldest part of the winter last year (December through April) were almost $400 per month. I'm hoping that this stove will make a serious dent in that.

I've got lots of split wood stored up...should be enough for a couple of years. And I really enjoy the cutting and splitting process.

Anyway, I thank you in advance for your input.

 

[tmajor]

What kind of heat do you have in the house? If you were to have baseboard hot water, an add-on works very nice. The heat can be distributed via the normal radiators.

 

[dave1949]

That's a big stove; 112K btu's!

No experience with the stove, but the expensive triple wall chimney mounted exterior as you describe can be a creosote factory, which shortens the life of the pipe and looks not so good with drips and runs. If you use that method, burn well seasoned wood with a bright flame, not choked down smoker fires.

Exterior chimneys are to be avoided, but that's probably not possible in your case unless you can find a place in your floor plan to build a chimney up through. My second choice would be to have a masonry exterior chimney with a cast in place liner. If you check prices with masons, it may not be that much more expensive than replacing the triple wall later on.
Dave.

 

[miramadar]

What kind of heat do you have in the house? If you were to have baseboard hot water, an add-on works very nice. The heat can be distributed via the normal radiators.

We currently have a heat pump.

 

[tmajor]

Stoves are a nice supplement. I have a coal stove in the basement, which does 98% of my heating, but I worked on quite a few options to get the heat out of the basement room, which it's in.

It seems like you start with a "small goal" and then, after seeing what the stove is capable of, start to wonder how to improve the heat transfer to the colder areas of the house.

You might want to inquire, if there is a practical way to tie it in with your ducting, etc.. This could impact your selection of a stove.

 

[LanceH]

Not the same kind exactly, but i think my setup is what you're looking for. This is the one I have: a US Stove 1557M from TSC United States Stove Hot Blast Warm Air Furnace, 2,500 sq. ft. - 5095270 | Tractor Supply Company I hooked it up to pump one of the two 8" supply vents on top into the basement (to help heat from below) and the other is tied into my propane furnace ductwork. Like the others said, if you can vent it into an interior masonry chimney, it would be ideal. I have a guy at work with the walk out basement type house you have and he just boxed it out on the first floor and used it to make a bookshelf on the 2nd floor-keep it inside and its less likely to build up (as fast) with cresote.

 

[ayelvington]

TSC will sell you the stove, and even get you replacement parts, but they won't guide you through the install, or help you with repairs.

I strongly recommend that you find a dedicated stove shop and enlist their help. They will offer you a better range of product, and can help you with the installation.

I'm just say'n...

 

[Marveltone]

We heat about 2100 sq. ft. with a floor standing stove in our house. We have 9.5 ft ceilings and a fairly open design. A ceiling fan can do wonders!

Joe

 

[Larry Caldwell]

That's a big stove; 112K btu's!

No experience with the stove, but the expensive triple wall chimney mounted exterior as you describe can be a creosote factory, which shortens the life of the pipe and looks not so good with drips and runs. If you use that method, burn well seasoned wood with a bright flame, not choked down smoker fires.

EPA certified stoves shouldn't burn a smoker fire. They either have a catalytic converter or a reburn chamber. If you damp it down until the emission controls quit working, you will ruin the stove and waste a lot of heat. With a firebox that big, it will hold a pretty good sized log, which is how you get it to warm the house overnight.

I have a big firebox, and can load a couple 8x20 or one 8x20 and one 10x20 rounds before going to bed that will still provide enough coals to bed a fire in the morning. When I get up I load a bunch of 2" rounds onto the coals, open the draft and get in the shower. By the time I finish the shower, the stove is cranking out major heat, but the small rounds burn quickly to coals. Then I damp the stove down and go to work.

 

[NorTracNY]

Miramadar,

You may want to have a energy audit. I'm dumbfounded how you can live in a warmer climate with a similar sized house and pay over twice what I do to heat your home. There must be something wrong.