Wood Stove thoughts

[7thswan]

We bought this stove last year on clearance. It says it is 65% efficient. Not sure what that really means, so how much efficiency are say a regular wood stove? We have a Waterford enameled cast iron right now. Before that an Old Round Oak Parlor type stove. It was the best of the two. What say you about a stoves "efficiency"?http://www.usstove.com/proddetail.php?prod=1557M

[The Paw]

There is an explanation at this link, below the chart:

http://chimneysweeponline.com/wscompe.htm

Based on a gander at the chart, I would say that a 65% efficiency rating sucks....

I guess it is not a big deal if you have a ready supply of wood and need the exercise, but if you have to pay for wood, whatever you saved on the stove will likely go up the chimney pretty quick.

[cbcansurvive]

Originally Posted by 7thswan

We bought this stove last year on clearance. It says it is 65% efficient. Not sure what that really means, so how much efficiency are say a regular wood stove? We have a Waterford enameled cast iron right now. Before that an Old Round Oak Parlor type stove. It was the best of the two. What say you about a stoves "efficiency"?http://www.usstove.com/proddetail.php?prod=1557M

I have a similar unit made by Englander Stove Works:

http://www.englandsstoveworks.com/28-3500.html

It's plumbed into my existing duct work and distributes heat throughout our 2 bedroom ranch. As far as efficiency goes, basically what it means is that 65% of the BTUs (heat energy) of the wood you're burning ends up in your house-the rest of it goes up the chimney as unburned gases and escaped heat. There are more efficient stoves and add-on furnaces that you can buy that utilize a secondary air supply in order to burn up some of those gases before they make it up the chimney. This allows you to get more heat out of the same amount of wood. There are a few add-ons that use this technology (I think Blaze King and PSG are the only ones)-they're a lot pricier than the one you or I have, but they use a lot less wood, so its a trade off. In any event, as long as you have an existing ductwork system you'll notice a big improvement over your Waterford stove immediately. The fact that you can easily move the air around the house makes these furnaces a good choice for heating an entire home. My neighbor struggles with his stove to make a dent in his propane bill, but in order to heat the rest of his house the stove has to be running full bore which makes his living room almost unbearable to be in. I am able to use wood as my primary source of heat and use the oil furnace as a backup.

Originally Posted by The Paw

Based on a gander at the chart, I would say that a 65% efficiency rating sucks....

I get what you're saying, but it's a little apples to oranges-those are all wood stoves, not furnaces. The fact that you can distribute the heat evenly with the furnace and you're not just heating one room makes a big difference. I burn between four and five cords of wood per year to keep my home (1000 square feet or so) at 70 degrees in northwestern New Jersey which basically means burning part time from October to November, full time from December to mid-March, and on and off in April. I don't buy wood, I get it wherever I can find it (asking permission to cut on others' property, Craigslist, tree services, and shipping pallets), so even at a low efficiency it's worth it to me. The first winter in our home we spent nearly $2000 on fuel oil-never again!

[The Paw]

Sorry, I hadn't clicked on the link and was going off the OP description as a stove as opposed to a furnace.

No doubt, having a system to distribute the heat means it is an apple & oranges kind of comparison. I used to have a wood/electric furnace, and it is a good combo.

I don't know what typical efficiencies are for wood furnaces, but I found a link that says almost all manufacturers claims for efficiency are much higher than what is practically achieved in the home. It claims 30-40% efficiency is typical for wood burning furnaces.

http://www.furnacecompare.com/wood-furnaces/

[cbcansurvive]

Originally Posted by The Paw

Sorry, I hadn't clicked on the link and was going off the OP description as a stove as opposed to a furnace.

No doubt, having a system to distribute the heat means it is an apple & oranges kind of comparison. I used to have a wood/electric furnace, and it is a good combo.

I don't know what typical efficiencies are for wood furnaces, but I found a link that says almost all manufacturers claims for efficiency are much higher than what is practically achieved in the home. It claims 30-40% efficiency is typical for wood burning furnaces.

http://www.furnacecompare.com/wood-furnaces/

I wouldn't be surprised. I've toyed with the idea of adding a secondary burn to my Englander, but God forbid if anything ever happened as a result of it I'm sure my homeowner's insurance wouldn't hesitate to cancel my policy. When we build new I'm going with a gasification boiler-the efficiencies range from 75%-80% and the fact that you can store heat in large water tanks means you only need to fire the boiler for a few hours a day.

[7thswan]

Thanks, we also have a free sourse of wood. I'm figureing it will use about the same as we have to keep the Waterford burning on high, which meens many small fillings. The box is just not big enough when there is a bed of ashes, then it has to be split small to get enough in there. It has a small door. I really have no way to gestamate the effiancy. Lots of work putting it in just to find out how well it will work. It sure put off alot of heat when I burned off the "new" outside.

[shanzone2001]

No advice, but my thoughts are that they are cool and I REALLY want one!!!

[ET1 SS]

Efficiency ratings are beasts in themselves.

The efficiency of the carburetion [how the fuel and air mix to give 100% oxidation of all combustible fuel] is a difficult rating to beat. Solid wood does not really burn as much as the gases burn as they boil off from the wood. Stoves that capture those escaping gases and burn them a second time, make for much higher efficiency ratings.

So you need a stove that has total control over intake air, that handles the gases leaving the hearth in a manner to direct them into a secondary combustion chamber, and then directs fresh [though pre-heated] air into the secondary chamber.

Now another matter to be discussed is th efficiency of what you do with the heat. We heat water and circulate that heated water through our radiant floor system. So while the wood stove does throw out a lot of heat directly, it also heats our floors.

[FarmerRob]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

Now another matter to be discussed is th efficiency of what you do with the heat. We heat water and circulate that heated water through our radiant floor system. So while the wood stove does throw out a lot of heat directly, it also heats our floors.

How do you have that set up?

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by FarmerRob

How do you have that set up?

50-foot of 3/4inch copper tubing coiled inside the upper chamber of our woodstove. I have posted photos here before, when the coils were on the outside. I since moved them inside.

All of the floor of our house has PEX tubing ran underneath with tin sheets to help spread the heat. I did all of this when I was building the house.

We have one loop that circs water from our thermal bank and through our floors. and a second loop that circs water between the thermal bank and the woodstove.

These systems have been discussed many times previously on this forum

[next1]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

50-foot of 3/4inch copper tubing coiled inside the upper chamber of our woodstove. I have posted photos here before, when the coils were on the outside. I since moved them inside.

All of the floor of our house has PEX tubing ran underneath with tin sheets to help spread the heat. I did all of this when I was building the house.

We have one loop that circs water from our thermal bank and through our floors. and a second loop that circs water between the thermal bank and the woodstove.

These systems have been discussed many times previously on this forum

Just reading through this thread and I am impressed on how you designed this system and how well you explained the efficiency of a wood stove. I am looking also for a small wood stove (1500 sf area to heat) that will fit into a 55" by 45" area. I looked at cute Jotul and Morso stoves but the price/installation of these "little" stoves is exorbitant. Are you familiar with Englander 17-VL or any other small stove?

[ihuntgsps]

i can attest to the fact that the new englander nc13 model is an awesome little stove. Installed one last year in the basement of my ranch style house.
that little stove can heat my entire house (main floor 1600 sq ft. 70 degrees) and basemet where stove is located is 76 degrees on a 15 degree day.
Only downside is small firebox and no overnight burns.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by next1

... Are you familiar with Englander 17-VL or any other small stove?

No I am not familiar with them.