Wood stoves

[murphy1244]

Looking to replace my wood stove this year. I have never bought one before. My old one was just a big metal box called old timer.

I looked at Jodul, Lopi and Hearthstone so far and would like to hear the good and bad about them or others.

Any and all help with this is very much appreciated.

 

[CalG]

We replaced the Vermont Castings Resolute that we had for 25 plus years in the front room.

We picked out one of those soapstone jobbies from Hearthstone. We really like the way the heat comes out. Call it "softer".

It takes a few minutes after lighting the fire until much warmth is kicking off, but not bad. The comfort level in our 900+ sq foot "Open" living space is first rate.
Holds useful heat 'till morning, with lots of self banked coals. spendy though $$

The Fisher log wood stove down stairs does the lions share of heating in cold weather. We heat entirely with wood, have for more than 30 years here. Got another load of logs scheduled for delivery in a week or two.

 

[Snobdds]

Well the question becomes, do you want a catalytic or air wash system. I have both and both are reliable, but different. I think the air wash system has less manual input involved, but less control. The catalytic is more manual input, but the heat control is better. My blaze king at the house is catalytic and it requires high heat at first to get the catalyst going, then it's just set the thermostat and forget about it. I use a Vermont Castings at the cabin and it's an air wash system with the tubes. It's throw wood in and forget about it, which is nice.

If I need another stove, it will be one where I can throw in wood lengthwise, which means a deep firebox. It's only purpose will be easier loading.

Just get a stove where replacement parts are still available. Air wash tubes and the catalysts are a consumable part and will need to be replaces eventually.

 

[coobie]

Looking to replace my wood stove this year. I have never bought one before. My old one was just a big metal box called old timer.

I looked at Jodul, Lopi and Hearthstone so far and would like to hear the good and bad about them or others.

Any and all help with this is very much appreciated.

Murph,hard to beat Lopi & Jotul.We installed a Jotul propane gas free standing stove last year.Love it..

 

[TractorNH]

I've had a Hearthstone Heritage model since 2006 and it has been a great stove. The stone really does balance out the heating more since it stays hot long after the fire goes out. Mine runs overnight about an 8 hours on a load of wood, about 3 larger size pieces and I still have plenty of coals to get it going. The afterburner air wash system works great too and it's very efficient once it gets into that burn mode. The only trick with the soapstone stoves is that your first burn of the season needs to be a small fire just to get the stones warm to where you can still touch them but they feel hot. Soapstone is porous so it can absorb moisture throughout the non-burn season. You need to drive the moisture out of the stone slowly. A quick hot fire with moisture in the stone will convert the moisture to steam and can crack the stone.

 

[atsah]

Hearthstone here all the way.. They hold the heat longest and it's a softer heat compared to cast or steel..

 

[Thomas]

Have you consider combo setup...wood oil,wood propane,wood coal ?

 

[MossRoad]

I would 2nd looking for a deep firebox. While mine says it will hold a 22" log, that turns out to be on the diagonal! Which is kinda worthless. It's more like 18" side-to-side or front-to-back, and since I cut about 16", it's not a big deal. Just watch out for stuff like that.

My in-laws' stove is very wide, loads from the side, and will take 24" logs. Very nice.

Mine is a Napoleon brand.
Browse High Quality Wood Stoves By Napoleon Fireplaces

It is EPA certified, no catalyst, air wash, and single lever control. Works very well. Get a fire burning hot for about 20 minutes and shut down the air lever and it'll burn a load of locust for a good 9-10 hours.

Been heating with wood for about 10 years now.

It does NOT save you any money if you value your time. But if you have free wood, free time, and enjoy the process of finding, gathering, preparing, storing, hauling (several times), and sweeping your floors often, then wood heat is for you! :laughing:

I do enjoy being out in the woods, running a chainsaw, running a splitter, physical exercise, etc... so I do it for those reasons. But you could work the same amount of time at a part time job, pay for enough natural gas to heat your house for the year, and work a heck of a lot easier.

 

[murphy1244]

I will be using this in addition to gas heat. I am told new EPA laws come in effect next May. I was looking at a Jotul F-50 TL Rangeley, Heartstone Equinox or Mansfield and a Lopi Cape Cod.

 

[BlackOps]

woodstock soapstone. ask for mike. he is a great guy and i love my stove - had it 20yrs firewview model. they have a sale on now and offer free shipping up to $600. the owners 75th? birthday is it...

 

[joeyd]

woodstock soapstone. ask for mike. he is a great guy and i love my stove - had it 20yrs firewview model. they have a sale on now and offer free shipping up to $600. the owners 75th? birthday is it...

I second this choice. I have had a Woodstock Soapstone model "Fireview" now for 12 years and I absolutely LOVE it. Check out their website it is full of information on stoves, EPA etc. Welcome to Woodstock Soapstone

 

[ericm979]

The new EPA regs were to come into effect next May but they are looking to delay them. The new emissions limit will be about half of the current one. There are some stoves that meet it now but not many. It's a good time to buy.

A number of stove brands are owned by SBI. They have a decent reputation for support and service.

 

[atsah]

I will be using this in addition to gas heat. I am told new EPA laws come in effect next May. I was looking at a Jotul F-50 TL Rangeley, Heartstone Equinox or Mansfield and a Lopi Cape Cod.

Equinox if you want to do it right..

 

[Jstpssng]

I would 2nd looking for a deep firebox. While mine says it will hold a 22" log, that turns out to be on the diagonal! Which is kinda worthless. It's more like 18" side-to-side or front-to-back, and since I cut about 16", it's not a big deal. Just watch out for stuff like that.

My in-laws' stove is very wide, loads from the side, and will take 24" logs. Very nice.

Mine is a Napoleon brand.
Browse High Quality Wood Stoves By Napoleon Fireplaces

It is EPA certified, no catalyst, air wash, and single lever control. Works very well. Get a fire burning hot for about 20 minutes and shut down the air lever and it'll burn a load of locust for a good 9-10 hours.

Been heating with wood for about 10 years now.

It does NOT save you any money if you value your time. But if you have free wood, free time, and enjoy the process of finding, gathering, preparing, storing, hauling (several times), and sweeping your floors often, then wood heat is for you! :laughing:

I do enjoy being out in the woods, running a chainsaw, running a splitter, physical exercise, etc... so I do it for those reasons. But you could work the same amount of time at a part time job, pay for enough natural gas to heat your house for the year, and work a heck of a lot easier.

On the plus side wood is more steady heat than any petroleum based source that I know of. Working up wood is good exercise, I once heard that Ali used to work up wood as part of his training regime. Unlike a part time job, you can work wood up at your leisure, and (so far) the IRS hasn't found a way to tax it.

I agree with having a firebox big enough so that you can put it in end first, as the wood burns it rolls sideways and you will have a lot fewer coals resting against the door to fall out when you open it. In order to do that with mine I need the sticks to be <12", but mine is a small place and a larger stove would have me sleeping outside.

 

[ruffdog]

I have a Country woodstove for many years and it has been a very dependable family member.

http://ironstrike.us.com/country-collection

 

[cholland]

I have a Hearthstone Tribute. One of the smaller models but it works great in our small house.
I'm not a fan of the door latch on mine. If the alignment is off at all it doesn't close securely. I contacted the dealer I purchased from. He referred to the company and they sent me additional spacers right away. Problem solved. Customer support is great.
I would buy the same one again.

 

[dnw64]

It does NOT save you any money if you value your time.

Depends - do you value your time at $0.10/hr or $1,000.00/hr? It DOES make a difference...

Also, it DOES make a difference whether you value your time Calling Customers at $0.10/hr and Relaxation at $1,000.00/hr. Or vice versa, or something else entirely. Everyone is different - different life goals, different life situations.

So the question really comes down to: What kinds of tasks are you doing and what do you value them at? What tasks can you eliminate that are low value and what kind of tasks can you add that are high value?

Dollars and Cents do not always equal Dollars and Sense.

 

[Oaktree]

I have a Harman Oakwood that I got 12-13 years ago when we moved here. Mine's not a catalytic stove per se, but there is some sort of afterburner device on it that can be bypassed if you open a damper. It'll easily take 20" logs, maybe an inch or so longer if you wedge it in. The only complaints I have on it are the ash pan is a bit small (and sometimes a PITA to remove), and it gets in this weird backpuff mode sometimes if it gets starved for air. Otherwise it's great...heats the whole house even in sub zero weather and doesn't create a lot of soot.

Had a Fisher Mamabear at my previous house, it's in my shop now (wife thought it was ugly). I've been heating with wood ever since I bought my first house.

It does NOT save you any money if you value your time. But if you have free wood, free time, and enjoy the process of finding, gathering, preparing, storing, hauling (several times), and sweeping your floors often, then wood heat is for you! :laughing

Doesn't save you any money if you buy your wood cut & split either. I'll buy log-length loads, ~10-11 cords and cut/split myself. Would like to cut my own, but not enough easily accessible hardwood on this property.
I hear you on sweeping often! Still, wouldn't have it any other way. It's just such a pleasant warmth that you can't get from some form of central heating.

 

[dnw64]

Doesn't save you any money if you buy your wood cut & split either.

Actually, depending on the (continuingly variable) prices of coal, oil, NG and LPG, even cut/split/delivered (but maybe not stacked on your 4th floor walkup) CAN be substantially less expensive.

Especially if you consider the TOTAL COST of installing and maintaining a system.

Disclaimer - I have, in the past, heated almost entirely with (personally cut, split and... delivered) wood, however for the last 20 years I have relied almost entirely on fossil fuels. Nonetheless, I feel that burning with wood is a GREAT option and sorta wish I had the (easy) option of doing so. BTW, I have 30 acres of woodlot, and three fireplaces, but... the fireplaces were converted (by the previous owner) to LPG, and the forest is in "Current Use", meaning that harvesting can only be done according to a State approved plan.

 

[atsah]

It saves me $2,500 in propane cost a season buying cut split delivered firewood. between my brother and I we can stack five cords on my porch in a day with two wheel barrows. Not to mention the benefit of dry heat..