Best Brand of Fireplace Insert or Wood Stove

[atsah]

Op, it doesn't matter to me what stove someone buys for there heating needs but I will provide you with some information that may be useful to you and or others.

I have been heating our homes with firewood ONLY for fifty years. I have used cast stoves, steel stoves, and stoves with cats. The soapstone stoves emit heat longer than any other metal built stove on the market. It also emits a softer heat as opposed to a metal stove, what I mean by that is you can sit in the same room with the stove when it's 0F and not get driven out of the room, another thing I like about them is they have no fire brick, fire brick takes up a lot of room in the fire box.

Stoves with cats burn slower than most stoves so they heat a bit longer than say a steel stove would. The down side to them is the fire doesn't burn hot enough to keep the stove pipe clean.

A steel stove is great for quick heat but when it goes out no more heat, a cast is an in between stove that holds the heat longer than the steel but not a whole lot better IMO.

Do some research on the soapstone before you spend a pile of money, they are worth there weight in gold to me.

I live in the North Maine Woods, I know what cold is and I know how to heat a house when it's cold. Good luck in your search.

 

[sd455dan]

EPA standards?? Who the **** cares, It heats my house for longer than any other stove and that's all that matters to my checking account.

Unfortunately -afaik the EPA has the Only standardized tests So that heat output over time and the amount of heat extracted from the wood can be compared directly between stoves-Regardless of the how clean the emissions are.. They do also publish that data to.

glad you like your stove

 

[atsah]

Species of wood. moisture in the wood, stove and chimney setup, draft conditions, air lock in the home, correct size of stove for the SF of the home, all of these things determine the efficiency of your stove. Once all of the above are achieved correctly you will have a system that works as it should.

Staying a year ahead on your firewood makes all the difference.

If a stove your looking at says for instance, "heats 2500sf" if you live in a moderate temp area it should do the trick, if you live in a cold climate like myself, buy one that says it will heat 3000sf. Buy one with the biggest firebox you can get, size matters in wood stoves, a small firebox = short burn time, less heat and more frequent loading.

Stoves cost a lot of money, take your time and research as much as you can. Good luck..

 

[jwalk2c]

Hi,
I have owned an Lopi insert for over 25 years and it has been great. It is the Freedom Bay model.
Original blower motors are still quite, and they run 6 months a year.
And I abuse this stove Eg,overheat.
Thanks
Johnny Walker

 

[wngsprd]

We replaced our 30 year old Vermont Castings stove about 5 years ago...looked at a number of vendors, and selected the Jotul, and have been very impressed with quality, ease of starting and cleaning, and how long a fire will last...I just looked at the link provided earlier, and they have 3 sizes of inserts.

We also looked at the Hearthstone soapstone stoves...very impressive, too. One thing to consider if you are letting it go out often...I understand it takes longer to get them up to temp for heat output since they warm the stones first...maybe atsah can share real experience.

Good luck with your search.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Species of wood. moisture in the wood, stove and chimney setup, draft conditions, air lock in the home, correct size of stove for the SF of the home, all of these things determine the efficiency of your stove. Once all of the above are achieved correctly you will have a system that works as it should.

Yep. :thumbsup:

Staying a year ahead on your firewood makes all the difference.

Try two years and you'll never go back.

Most people have no idea what dry wood is, because the only thing they have ever burned is 4-6 months old, and they think it's dry.

It's not.

(Unless you live in Arizona or a similar arid climate.)

 

[atsah]

Yep. :thumbsup:



Try two years and you'll never go back.

Most people have no idea what dry wood is, because the only thing they have ever burned is 4-6 months old, and they think it's dry.

It's not.

(Unless you live in Arizona or a similar arid climate.)

Some species of wood can use two years but most dry in a year if it's stacked and covered with air flow. Some hardwoods like ash, maple, birch dries in a year, if you let them dry to long it with lose density and will burn to quickly.

 

[atsah]

Yep. :thumbsup:



Try two years and you'll never go back.

Most people have no idea what dry wood is, because the only thing they have ever burned is 4-6 months old, and they think it's dry.

It's not.

(Unless you live in Arizona or a similar arid climate.)

Some species of wood can use two years but most dry in a year if it's stacked and covered with air flow. Some hardwoods like ash, maple, birch dries in a year, if you let them dry to long it with lose density and will burn to quickly.

 

[BlackOps]

soapstone is the way to go. insert re: fireplace. i love fireplaces. but with my stove i can make soup or stew if the power goes out and unless you have an old time fireplace with the cooking utensils you are screwed. the soapstone stoves from woodstock also have a dual pane glass so you do get to see a fire and does bring some light into the room too. win win win win win...

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Some species of wood can use two years but most dry in a year if it's stacked and covered with air flow. Some hardwoods like ash, maple, birch dries in a year, if you let them dry to long it with lose density and will burn to quickly.

True, it's very dependent on species. The soft maple we get around here is good in a year, punk after two.