wood stoves

[jand38]

Back on wood stoves; Does cast iron have a advantage over steel ? I see both are sold and price has nothing to do with what the stove was made from. All the infomation that you have supplied me with helps a lot Thanks MD

 

[ToadHill]

I used a steel stove for over 15 years. It was triple wall with a blower, manufactured by Buck and it worked great. I now us a Dutch West cast iron and it works just as well. I don't find any difference in the operation of these stoves. The cast iron is more decorative, with designs cast in the metal, but thats the only difference I see.

 

[Paddy]

Cast can crack. Most cast stoves are sections bolted together. I have the bolt 'ears' cracked off. Steel stoves are welded and the welds can fatigue. steel stoves with air handling capability are suseptable to noxious gas leaks.

I have steped away from wood heat. With my heat pump, the cost of buying wood is about the same as buying ele. I used to cut my wood but with my bad back I just desided I'd keep it in good shape for other tasks!

 

[WayneB]

I have a couple cast iron stoves made by Vermont Castings. We like them and they do put off a bunch of heat. Also the cast iron holds the heat for hours after the wood has burnt down.

The up side is looks for sure. The downside is there are parts that warp due to the heat and have to be replaced, mainly in the firebox. These days Vermont Castings has changed the design and added firebrick to the internal fire chamber, which eliminates most of the cast iron parts that were failing.

We have a Resolute Acclaim and a Defiant. The resolute is used in our winter home and provides most of our heat. The Defiant is at our summer place and is the only source of heat we have there. We use it in the spring and late fall.

Cast Iron Stoves by Vermont Castings

 

[Oleozz]

I sold Alaska coal stokers and wood stoves for about six years. The stokers used thin steel for quick heat transfer, the wood stoves were brutes using 1/4 inch plate steel and fire brick lined for heat retention. We didn't sell any cast iron, probably for the reasons mentioned above. We sold 20 stokers for every wood stove but we live in an area where anthracite is readily available.

 

[ultrarunner]

I would like to get a quality wood burning insert for Mom. She has an abundant supply of Oak that I split and stack for her.

Recently, the Bay Area Air Quality Mgmt District (San Francisco Bay Area) has instituted "Spare the Air" alerts which are announced on the evening news and restrict or ban wood burning. It has gotten to the point where neighbors are encouraged to call an 800 number to turn people in.

Are the days of heating with wood numbered? I would hate to spend several thousand dollars on wood heat and not be able to use it.

 

[Thomas]

Last 32 years this big old cast iron woodstove has done very well..but very hard to keep the top dough nut as they call it clean from ashes....were are considering this year of replacing w/Wood Chuck mid model.

 

[Egon]

QUOTE]days of heating with wood numbered?[/quote]

I believe there are other places that have bans on wood or coal stoves but cannot recall them off hand.

 

[scott_vt]

Are the days of heating with wood numbered? I would hate to spend several thousand dollars on wood heat and not be able to use it.

Mornin Ultrarunner,
I would think alot of that has to do with what local your at. If they tried to eliminate wood stoves in Vt you would have a revolution

 

[Highbeam]

The only benefit to a cast iron stove that I can see is aesthetics. There are planty of downsides from cracks, broken castings, and leaky seals and gaskets. They almost all need to be rebuilt in their lifetime but have you ever actually heard of someone having to reweld their quality plate steel stove together? Better steel stoves use thick plate which gives them just as much mass as the cast iron equivalent. Cripes, my plate steel insert weighs 480 lbs. If I added any more mass to it then the bugger would need to be moved by crane. The cast stoves with ornate details and a baked on enamel finish really is a nice thing to look at and through the winter you'll spend plenty of time looking at it.

Wood burning will always be a hard sell in an urban environment. There are plenty of apartment dwellers looking out their windows for something to gripe about. Those same complainers wouldn't have time to gripe if they were out cutting and stacking wood like the rest of us. I wouldn't invest in wood burning appliances if there were regular bans.