I have been running an old Federal Airtight - Vermont Castings for years. The house was built in 86 is about 2500 sq feet, and I can heat the whole house with it.
This is a catalytic converter stove. Once you get the converter up to temp, you close a bypass gate that forces the exhaust over the converter and re-combusts the exhaust. Very efficient, very clean, less creosote and longer burn times when you run it right. I can fill the stove before bed and just throw in some kindling in the morning. I use a small 6" table top fan to move the air and it does the trick nicely.
With your current set up, the stove will probably be the least of your expense. If that stovepipe is not running into a dedicated flue, you are looking at running metal bestos above the peak of the roof. You will definitely need to add something to protect those walls.
One of the nice things about the stove sitting in front of a fireplace is that once the brick gets hot, it really radiates. After 26 years, I can literally tell how hot my stove is running by putting my hand on the brick.
Burning pine, in general, is a bad idea. Yeah, if you dry it for a long long time, it won't produce a lot of creosote, but if you dry it that long it will burn as fast as paper. If you have to burn it a little wet, you need to burn it real hot, which means lots of air and it will burn fast.
Hardwood is best and the dryer the better. I can tell how wet a piece of wood is by it's weight in my hand. If it is not fully dried, you open up the air intakes a little and it burns hotter, creating less creosote.
Burning hot is clean. Slow smoldering fires are a recipe for disaster, although if you run a metal bestos chimney it won't burn the house down ( probably ) , but it will be like a volcano and sound like a freight train.
So there are pros and cons. I really don't run a wood stove to save money and I still burn about 275 gallons of oil every winter. ( yes, one tank). But it is a ton of work.
I do it because the wife and kids love it. It is a different kind of heat and there is nothing like it. It is very cozy. It is also much much easier to convince your wife ( girls are always cold ) to take her clothes off when she is 3 feet away from a wood stove with an exterior temp of 400 degrees. Great way to dry wet boots after shoveling as well as hats and gloves after sledding. And of course, if the power goes out during a winter storm, I can keep the whole house warm and even cook on it.
And did I mention the whole naked wife thing? Of course, as we get older I will likely opt for using more oil.
