Wood Burning Stove

[HDRider]

I would like to hear your opinions on wood burning stoves - Good OR Bad.

What brand did you buy?
How big is it? Small/Medium/Large
Where was it made?
How much did it cost?
Would you recommend it?
Would you buy it again?
What do you like best about it?
What do you like least about it?

[chickenista]

We heat only with wood.
We got a Fisher off Craigslist for $150.
It is gorgeous.
It is a Baby Bear. We could go one size bigger though. We are looking casually.

We had a Vogelzang and it was hunk of junk. Thin metal, the chinking popped out the first week and it sucked air like you would not believe. You could see the fire inside glowing from all sides. Would not hold a fire or coals more than a few hours. Made for cold mornings or getting up every few hours.
When I was a kid they were better stoves with a solid, non-leaky body.

You want a woodstove with no welds and chinking. You want firebricks inside and thick metal body. You want to be able to tamp down the air intake overnight to keep some coals going. Your goal is to be able to fill it and have it stay going for many hours without needing to be fed. We cut down our wood usage a ton when we switched stoves.

Price.. we prefer Craigslist for such things. If you are patient you can get some great deals and some beautiful stuff.

[Vickie44]

I got a small New Englander, on super cheap sale at Lowes. Had seen same one advertised for 900 , I got it for less then 300. I am very happy with it and would get it again. I do wish I had done the pipeing different but I had no choice as the house is rented and Landlord didnt want me to pipe through the house so it goes out the side. This is alot of trouble and I would have pleaded with him to do it straight up if I had known . I burn ash , elm and oak
I like winter now with stove , baking bread and a pile of library books!

[Pelenaka]

We installed a Jotul F 602 CB which is a small box style stove.
I would prefer a bigger stove but we had certain space requirements or I should write lack of space requirements. It was a corner installation and needed to be as compact as possible.
It gets the job done and I've learned to adapt by using a metal stand next to it to increase stove top cooking/warming area, and I use a stove top oven to bake. Near by is a wall mounted drying rack for laundry.

It heats the first floor of a semi insulated hundred year old house well when we're able to burn quality wood. I figured that we have recouped our investment in one & half heating seasons.

As to the negatives I don't think I have any. We looked at a soap stone stove but their smallest was too big for our space.
Second that about scoring a craig's list deal.


~~ pelenaka ~~
http://thirtyfivebyninety.blogspot.c...ome-fires.html

[SparkyMaine]

I LOVE wood stoves, and will never be without one for a winter - knowing that we have heating, cooking, and water boiling capabilities in the coldest months is very comforting.

Like Pelenaka, we also installed a Jotul F 602 CB, in the fall of 2009. We also have a corner installation with tight space considerations, so a stove of that size was really our only option. Our house is new, modestly sized, and is very well insulated, so it doesn't take much to keep it warm, even on the coldest days. I cut our wood from our property, so the cost is minimal - the stove has just about paid for itself and the installation costs (I built a decent hearth and wall protectors).

I would definitely buy one again, and recommend it, though it would be nice to have something with a longer burn time. But, the stove can't really help it - because it's small, you can only put enough wood in to get a couple hours of burn time before needing to feed it again.

[willowworker]

Lopi, largest one, stands on 4 legs, not a pedestal. Has a 2 step top.....can cook lotsa good food on it.....one day I did a chicken in a small roaster, squash, pots and one other food...cant remember. Did them all at the same time. It is very well built, heats great. However, they are expensive. But, I would buy it again if needed.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by willowworker

Lopi, largest one, stands on 4 legs, not a pedestal. Has a 2 step top.....can cook lotsa good food on it.....one day I did a chicken in a small roaster, squash, pots and one other food...cant remember. Did them all at the same time. It is very well built, heats great. However, they are expensive. But, I would buy it again if needed.

I agree with Willowworker. Our Lopi is built like a tank from plate steel, not cast iron that can crack. It also uses secondary combustion to meet EPA regulations, not a catylst which can also crack or become plugged.

As WW mentioned, a Lopi is great to cook on with its two-shelf top. The upper shelf will "slow cook" stews, chilis, soups, etc. and keep coffee or cocoa warm. The lower shelf is good for frying, boiling, coffee making, etc.

I used to have a Fisher stove. Of course, they are no longer made. The Lopi is as close as I could find to a Fisher.

IMHO, the American-made Lopi is one of the most bulletproof woodstoves sold in the USA.

[Jolly]

I've had a Hearthstone for 25 years. Not everybody likes soapstone stove, but I do.

They no longer make my stove, but they make one very similar:

http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/woo...s?product_id=3

[ginnie5]

We got an older one off freecycle. made good and has firebricks inside and a blower. MUCH better than the vogelzang we used one year. Wood is all we heat with too. Ours is an Ember Hearth.

[gone-a-milkin]

Our stove is a Lopi Leyden.

We have used it for 2 winters so far.

It holds a fire for upto 12 hours, depending on the wood size and variety.
I NEVER have to chop kindling.
The blower fan really moves the heat out away from the stove too.

One thing I love about this stove is that you can load it from the top.
No more bending over and opening the door. The ashes do not fall out all over.

It also has the non-catalytic 'reburn' combustion so it is very clean to use.
There is barely any smoke from the chimney.

Yes, they are expensive. We bought ours in July and got a good discount, and the guys brought it out to us and installed it.

I would buy this stove again in a heartbeat. It is my best friend, we are very close.

[gila_dog]

We have a Regency 2400. Made in Canada. Cost about $1500 (+ another $1000 for the chimney kit). We really like it. Very well made. It has a glass front so the fire is visible. It has an ash drawer which makes cleaning the ashes out pretty easy. It has outside combustion air coming into the bottom. I think this is very important. Otherwise the stove sucks its combustion air from within the house. The only place it can come from is thru cracks around windows and doors, so cold air gets pulled thru the house toward the fire. That's what's wrong with most fireplaces, too. This is prevented when the stove has outside air piped into it.

One thing we've noticed is that if you "choke" it down to let the fire burn slower, it smokes up the glass more. It's probably making the chimney dirtier, too, when it does that. So we let it burn pretty hot. Since we have lots of thermal mass in the house (adobe walls), the house doesn't overheat.

[christie]

Weve had so many Stoves. And moved a few times, and we cannot be with out a woodstove. So everyhouse we move to we put in a stove. we only burn would from oct-april. Our stoves never get a break or a relight we keep them going!
1} was a Jotel, there biggest model, got it cause it was pretty and was to have a good burn time. It heated our 1500 sq' home very well, though burn time was not as advertised, and 2xs a log rolled into the glass and broke it.
2} Volgolzane {sp} $100> Had just moved to a 1900 sq" split level but couldn't afford a good stove yet. We tried this stove out. It actually heated the whole house great. But like the other poster said, all 4 sides got glowing red, It was scary!!! My hubby could not get that thing to stop sucking air at night. He wold wrap it up with tin foil in all the cracks. So that thing moved to the barn, for occasional quiet burns....
3} My faiv stove was a HArman! It was the big boy top loader. That thing had a 16 hr burn time. Load it at night and sometimes I would not get to loading it in the mourning till 10. Still had plenty of coals!!
It has a lil grill that hung inside the stove for cooking too.
4} Our current stove is a Lopi, the big model thats cast iron. it has a top loader. and its a pretty stove. The burn time is great definitely what it advertises it at. Though we have a bigger house, 2200 sq ft', and the stove is in an exterior room, { like a 3 season room w/ tons of windows that has been finished} so it hard for it to heat the whole house. But it heats it well enough for me not to turn the heat on. Though with other homes and stoves, we would be wearing T-shirts and have the windows. open. I know this stove would be great in other circumstances, I just have to get some fans to blow the heat around. Oh, Im not crazy about the dble doors in front. Prefer a single door. You have to put a glove on or use a tool which may nick the porcelain, to open the doors. Though most the time we use the top, but sometimes like when cooking you need to open the front... Jus saying!

[canfossi]

I have a Pacific Energy woodstove. Is the medium sized one, not sure who makes them. I think it was around $1500 or maybe it was $2400, can't remember. Yes, I move it, and would definately buy another one, it heats the house very well and I can cook on the top of it. Good luck! Chris

[sidepasser]

I bought a Fisher Pappa Bear or Big Bear, whatever it is that is bigger than the baby bear for 400.00 brand new from a lady who used it one time and said that "wood stoves make too big a mess" and she wanted it gone. I got the piping and the stove for the same price as she did not want to have the pipe in her attic either. lol..

Things I like - I can cook on it if I have to. Makes a nice fire easily and is lined with fire brick, easy to clean.

Thing I wish it had - the airtight quality that newer stoves have so a fire will truly "last all night", I usually have to get up at 3 am to put more wood on the fire. Other than that, I love the stove and have had it for more than ten years now. I plan to move it to storage so I will have it for my new farm in TN along with my wood cookstove. Can't stand electric heat!

[ET1 SS]

"What brand did you buy?"

We have a Vogelzang double-barrel free-standing woodstove.



"How big is it? Small/Medium/Large"

Large, roughly 200kBtu.



"How much did it cost?"

Less than $200.



"Would you recommend it?"

Yes.



"Would you buy it again?"

Yes



"What do you like best about it?"

I installed it in 2006, when I did I lined the bottom barrel with fire clay and it has not burned through yet. We used food-grade drums [simply because they are available and cheap]. So we thought they would only last 1 or 2 years.

Our upper barrel is filled with 50' of 3/4" copper tubing coils which heats water. We circulate that how water through our radiant floors.

It really throws out a lot of heat.



"What do you like least about it?"

They offer two models, two price ranges. First we bought the cheapest. The door did not seal good. After a couple years, we replaced it with the more expensive door. It seals real good now.

[HDRider]

Thanks everyone. No one can argue the economy and comfort of a nice wood fire.

I want to shift gears a little. What about an outside wood furnace? Like http://www.hardyheater.com/

Is this a better alternative to an inside wood stove?

My main considerations are:
Comfort
Convenience
and Cost

What is the best choice?? - A) An inside wood stove? or B) An outside wood furnace?

BTW - Why can't I post an image?

[Elie May]

New Englander
Off of Craig's List
Around $300
Best thing we ever added to this house! Love it!

[mary,tx]

Originally Posted by HDRider

BTW - Why can't I post an image?

Your image first has to be uploaded to an image hosting website like photobucket or imageshack or even facebook.

Then click on the "post image" icon above (sixth from right) and post your image url between the [img] and the [/img]. (or just type that without using the icon.)

Our woodstove is a DutchWest and we love it. Our only regret is that we let the salesman talk us into a medium when we wanted a large one.

[TSYORK]

I have an outside wood broiler stove, and LOVE IT! It heats my water and it heats my house. I don't have to buy oil, natural gas or use electricty for a hot water heater. My stove is EXTREMELY efficient and doesn't "eat" wood at all. The last year I heated with oil/gas, it ran me around $2,200.00, and the year before that was near $1,800.00. I purchased a good but very economical chainsaw. I don't mind the hard work and it's very good physical exercise cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. A few gallons of gas and a few bottles of 2-cycle engine oil will cut a lot of dang wood.

[HDRider]

Originally Posted by TSYORK

I have an outside wood broiler stove, and LOVE IT! It heats my water and it heats my house. I don't have to buy oil, natural gas or use electricty for a hot water heater. My stove is EXTREMELY efficient and doesn't "eat" wood at all. The last year I heated with oil/gas, it ran me around $2,200.00, and the year before that was near $1,800.00. I purchased a good but very economical chainsaw. I don't mind the hard work and it's very good physical exercise cutting, splitting, and stacking wood. A few gallons of gas and a few bottles of 2-cycle engine oil will cut a lot of dang wood.

What brand do you have?

Was the plumbing (air and water) extensive (expensive)?