ᐅ Experiences with Choosing a Wood-Burning Stove?

Hello everyone,

We are just starting the shell construction of our project, a KfW55 single-family house, turnkey.

We are installing a fireplace and are currently deciding which wood-burning stove to choose. Due to long delivery times and rising prices, we would like to buy a stove soon.

The stove will be connected to the chimney in the living room. The living and dining rooms are open-plan and together are about 35 sqm (375 sq ft). The house will have underfloor heating, an air-source heat pump, and no central ventilation system. The stove is primarily intended to create a cozy atmosphere.

We have already visited two stores, but the advice was not very helpful. It seemed more like they wanted to sell stoves from manufacturers they have contracts with, which weren’t necessarily suitable for our situation.

The first stove offered was a Rika model called "Nex," with a nominal output of 8 kW. According to the dealer, it could also be operated at 4 kW by using less wood. This stove could also be ordered with a 6 kW rating, but the dealer said it was identical to the 8 kW model, just with a different label.

We like this stove’s design very much, but we wonder if we received proper advice and whether an 8 kW stove makes sense for our relatively small living/dining area.

In the meantime, I have done a lot of research online, and the general consensus seems to be that a stove with a lower nominal output, around 4 kW, would be more appropriate for our size.

I found some models from Justus, for example the Mino Top 2.0—which is roughly the design we like—though it already has a nominal output of 5.5 kW.

Now I see that Justus stoves are also sold at Obi, but "DIY store quality" is generally not recommended. Besides, I wouldn’t know who would install it if we buy from a hardware store.

Through a post in another forum, I came across Morsoe stoves, specifically the model 7343 with 4.3 kW, which might be a good fit and likely not "DIY store quality."

At another dealer, we were shown models by the Czech manufacturer Romotop, namely the Laredo F 02 and 04a, each with 4.0 kW, but the door and handle felt less high-quality.

At this point, I’m quite unsure which direction to take with the stove purchase. What would you recommend? Does buying from a DIY store make sense and how would installation be handled? Which brands, models, and nominal outputs can you recommend? Our budget limit is around 3,000 euros plus installation, chimney pipe connection, combustion air connection, and delivery.

I would be very grateful for any guidance and concrete recommendations.

Best regards,
Sandra

The challenge with fireplaces is that to maintain comfortable warmth for a longer period, you need to add fuel evenly. This means the stove should always be operated roughly at its intended output level. Otherwise, it won’t burn efficiently, leading to more soot buildup and potentially a shorter lifespan. I would definitely make sure that the kilowatt (kW) rating matches the size of the room you want to heat. For KfW55 standard and 35 square meters (375 square feet), 4 kW should be more than adequate, as there aren’t many models with much lower output anyway. We use a budget La Nordica Super Junior (5 kW) in our 40 square meter (430 square feet) open-plan kitchen-living area for similar purposes. However, we live in an older house. Initially, I didn’t want to spend too much to see if investing in a higher-end model in this performance range would be worth it (we liked the Austroflamm stoves). But this stove burns so well and cleanly that we no longer want to replace it. Although I just noticed it now costs about 100 euros more than it did a year ago.

There are many different types of stoves; just try searching for "Kachelofenwelt" and stove types online.
For well-insulated houses, a basic storage stove is sometimes recommended. These are available starting at 2 kW power and cost from about 3500€. You can, for example, use various online stove shops to filter by the desired "nominal output" and browse all the available models there.

We also have a wood-burning stove that mainly serves to create a cozy atmosphere. It is from the Czech brand Hein-Ofen. Our stove fitter from the local area installed it. Including delivery and installation, the cost was 4700 EUR. Maybe you would like something like this?

For 35 sqm (375 sq ft), I would also recommend less than 8 kW and specifically the Skantherm Elements S with 4 kW. It looks similar to your favorite model and can raise the temperature in a 40 sqm (430 sq ft) room by about 3-5 degrees Celsius (37-41°F) with one load of wood. The large glass window also makes it very attractive visually.

The installation was carried out by the seller’s partner/tradesperson (specialist stove retailer).

Steffi33 schrieb:

We also have a wood stove, which mainly serves to create a cozy atmosphere. It’s a Czech brand called Hein-Ofen. Our stove fitter from the region installed it. Including delivery and installation, it cost us 4700 EUR. Maybe you’d like something like this?

Don’t you have a hearth pad? Was it possible for you to install it without one?