Woodstoves

Curious what everyone has a preference for, make and model.
I am looking for an alternate heat source for the home if I lose power, and I just generally sitting by the stove. Figure 1000-1500 sq ft. Thanx

At my camp I have a Drolet AUSTRAL III. I chose this specific model because it has a deep box and can hold a lot of wood for a long burn. They are made in Canada, but also sold in the US. It takes a while to heat up, but once it gets going it really heats up well.
The prices seem to have really increased in the last few years...I suppose like everything.
https://www.drolet.ca/us/en/wood-stoves/db03033/
Good luck!
G

We have a blaze king. This is the third one in 3 houses. Most efficient stove going but they are not cheap

My requirements are they have to be long and deep enough I can put wood in them not kindling. And I do like a grate across the bottom with ash pan underneath.

The one at my a frame is a Vermont castings duch west large. It can fit 22" long wood and has a grate with ash pan. I like being able to rake the ash and coals back and forth having the ash fall through much better than my inlaws where you just shovel it out.

Currently my fire box is 47"×36 & the door is 2'x2' I don't have to split n it very small or cut it short. Only to make it so the wife and bous cane handle it to load when I'm not home.

Thanx for the responses. I had been looking at the quadrafire 3100 and an empire 2100. Both pretty similar. This gives me some more options to look at, much to my wife's chagrin. That vermont castings c3 looks interesting, also the blazekings. I just wish blazeking posted prices!

I. Would look for one you can cook on top of.

Old timer here. Hard to beat.

I am fond of the old airtight cabinet style woodstoves. Several companies make versions of them, the most well known being Ashley. I like the model that will take a 24" piece of firewood. It/they have grates with an ash clean-out door where you can access the ash pan. They have a flat top that serves as a alternate to a cooking stove. I honestly rarely do more than put a big kettle of gulosh, chili, or boiled dinner on it to keep it warmed up, but a guy can cook on it with a frying pan, etc. if his juice goes off. Although I never use it, all of mine have a blower that is thermostatically controlled. I just have a ceiling fan above mine that runs 24/7 all winter. That circulates the heat just fine.

X2. I wouldn't own another stove without a shaker grate. I wish I could find a warm morning in good shape. Aren't all the new ones loaded up with epa stuff?

Any quality stove with a viewing door. I like to see the flames when I'm sitting by it. Ours is an older Avalon free standing. My only thing I would change is a stove that can slow burn at least 8 hrs thru night. Ours goes about 6(but we have electric baseboard backup so I don't HAVE to get up to stoke if I'm not feeling too cheap, lol)

Aren't all the new ones loaded up with epa stuff?

Yep, most are garbage,..tried a pleasant hearth last year,..short firebox,.couldn't heat up the house,.small house, box in the basement,floor vent with circulation.
The old timberline with blower did the job.
Blowers on the outside of the firebox does no good.

The epa stuff really doesn't seem that bad but it requires you to burn dry wood.

I have this stove and it's okay, no real complaints and it was fairly inexpensive and more importantly actually available last winter when I needed one.

https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200832989_200832989

The 22 inch log is a plus,..a blower on the outside not so much,..dry wood is on the feeder.Maybe a continuous fire burn results better,..I never found that true.

Yep, as my Gpa would say, there's one in the woodpile. Some I can see, don't see it.

I have two Quadra-Fire 3100’s, one at camp and one at home. I heat almost exclusively with them. Great stoves. Both are older pre-ACC models, I’m not sure the quality of the newer Quadra-Fires is on par with the older models.

https://seekoutside.com/tent-stoves/

If your looking for quality and light weight it doesn't get better.

None of the new models are on par with the old so called substandard ,you're not competing with them,..you're accepting their initiative.

Truth!

I don't really see what the complaint about new stoves is. What don't you guys like about them other than you can't burn wet wood?

I bought my house in jun '78, installed my Timberline and shut off the furnace, pilot light and all by early Dec ain't been on since, 44 years this winter. Cook on it all the time.

More to go wrong. I chose the old coal fire model over the new higher efficiency outdoor boiler becuse it's less to go wrong, I don't have to split it as small and I can burn anything. Green pine and cherry no problem. Coon, and coyote carcasses done, goat dies toss it in the burner.

I didn't hav seasoned wood the year I bought it and didn't want to worry about testing moisture content. I didn't like the need for smaller wood either. The trais off is I burn at least t 2x more wood.

I like our Blazeking, burn half as much wood, and we cook off of it as well.

I see the benefit of a boiler that you can throw anything including green wood in but I meant for an indoor stove that really should be running dry wood anyways.

We have 3 that are wonderful.
In the cabin a good quality Ben Franklin style. I bought this at a moving sale in the summer. $50.
In the house a large fireplace insert stove with a blower. It is wonderful!
We have a spare that we plan to install in our new house when it is built. It is a large double door sort of cabinet style made of heavy steel plate. I bought it at a garage sale in the summer. $50.

None of these have the EPA restrictions. They all burn and heat well.

I have a 1986 Vermont Castings Defiant Encore. You can burn it with the catalyst engaged or not, which I really like. Really efficient. The price was right too.

My off grid cabin uses a 120 year old little pot belly stove, designed for coal but burns wood during the day. It gets about 10-15 # of coal. I get hard nut coal local for $7 per 50# bag.
When running on coal it burns with a nice blue natural gas like flame. My workshop is heated with a modified boxwood stove. Lots of folks that have heated with wood their whole life often mix green and dry wood at times for a reason.

I don’t like the loss of control that comes with any stove that has automatic combustion control (ACC). I think it is legally required with newer stoves.

Both my Quadra fires are pre-ACC. At the time of their manufacture they were rated the cleanest burning, non-catalytic stoves on the market by the EPA. They are both completely airtight. I can have a roaring fire going in them and when I pull out both air control rods it completely shuts them down to where there’s just a blue flame rolling down the glass. I can throw two, eight-inch rounds on a bed of coals in the morning and throttle them down to where I can easily get 12 hours of burn out of them. They’re not throwing a lot of heat but they’re not going out. And I hate to rebuild a fire. I usually start one at home in November and keep it going until March.

And when they’re damped down like that they really aren’t giving off much smoke or particulates. You can see a few wisps of smoke come out the chimney but you have to look hard to see that there’s a fire going. When I’m burning them at half throttle or hotter there is zero smoke.

We have the extra large dutch west nice big fire box, with ash
pan has 2 doors front door has glass in it side door is all metal
load from the front or the side.

I have seen a locally made wood stove for sale in New Market . It looked like it had a fairly large firebox and I think it was made by Broadway Metals. It didn't look too epa compliant to me. There's ways to get around the EPA compliance, you may have to make your wood stove from scratch though.

We have a Buck model 81 and love it. First thing to decide is whether you want a non catalytic or catalytic stove. We went non cat because I don't like the idea of eventually having to replace the catalyst.

I’ve always been fond of the Fisher stoves. Heating machines !

I have had 3 wood stoves and the best heating one so far has been
The fisher momma bear! Great stove i heat my 1500 sqft house solely on
Wood and I burn Around 3 cord here in northeast wi

I also have a Drolet Austral in the shop. It's real good for the money and has a big fire box (important). A quadrafire 4300 steptop for the house and is just as good or better.

(1) All stoves now are EPA regulated now. When this law went into effect, it put many stove makers out of business. I don't have any issues with either one of mine, however and are hot from about the end of Oct to April.

(2) Don't look at the room rating for size. Look at the size of the firebox instead. Unless you like cutting 6" mini logs. Both my stoves are over rated for the space they heat. You don't have to fill it up. You use airflow to regulate the heat, anyhow.

(3) The ash grate is a waste of money if someone tries to talk you into one (and it's extra money). I never use either of mine...ever.

(4) Get the fan attachment. A fan is a must. Well worth the $100.

(5) it's a great investment. I'd never have another home (or fur shop) without a woodstove.

Four Dog welded titanium if you want light and well built. Seek makes good backpacking stoves, but Four Dog blows them out of the water durability wise.

Jotul Oslo. I particularly like the door on the side of the stove for loading. I never use the front door for anything but my viewing pleasure

I’m actively engaged in trying to figure out a wood stove too in a house I’ve remodeled and will eventually move too.

I like the look of the Quadra Fires but don’t know anything about the details on these newer stoves. I am hoping to keep this thread going.

I have been running a Quadrafire 2100 step top since 2007 , I bough the floor model from the store it was a few years old at that point I replaced a few brick sin about 2009 a couple came cracked from the trip from the store and a full change in 2018 other than fire brick which wear out in any stove door seals every few years and cleaning is all


it is about 3/4 of our heat the furnace gets us through the night

only down side is the fire box is a little small

16 inch wood is about all the longer you want to cut it.

burning dry wood you clean the chimney every other year just to make sure , they burn that clean.

with dry wood you run the primary air wide open the first fire of every day , then you can choke it down safely once the flue is hot

I got an old stove at a cabin.It burns good,but no seal on the door.
It looks like there was a seal at one time,I would like to put one on it.I tried the glue on one I wire wheeled the steel before gluing,but it fell off in a short time.
Is there a better way to attach the seal to the door,or better to attach the seal to the stove?
I was thinking of some small stove bolts and washers and drill the door and use the stove bolts to hold the seal in place.

I could buy a new stove,but that one burns good,just burns a bit hot,lol.

Heat proof fiberglass type woven material that presses in the door groove.. Not sure if thickness and width varies.

I tried that.
The kit I got had a fairly thick woven cord,about an inch at least,and fit the cup around the door fairly well.Just didnt stick in place.

Red Devil Mecos, has a black tar gasketing cement, I just changed mine worked great.

I wish I had a Blaze King. I have a Ozburn now its ok but the firebox is not deep enough, and ash tends to work its way out the door, and needs cleaning often.

Thanks,I"ll see if I can find it here.

How big is the firebox on those 2100's? On my 3100's the boxes are 18" deep. I cut all my wood at 16" to keep it away from the glass.

Boco, wherever you get the new gasket should also sell adhesive, usually furnace cement, to secure the new gasket in place.

I put a small stove in a couple days ago just for the ambiance. Glass door so I can watch it burn and put my feet up and warm my toes. My lady friend is paranoid and threw a fit because the fire was "too big". I guess I won't be building any more fires until I find a different place to live.

I'd find a new lady friend. lol.

My wife is the opposite, she keeps a big fire going, keeps it at 80-85 in the degrees in the living room and kitchen even when I there to complain about it. When I come back from a week or so at camp and see an alarming amount of firewood gone I know she's kept it even warmer in my absence.

I cured a GF of this by "LETTING" her come and HELP put up a couple of cords, it was amazing how stingy with the wood she got! LOL

When I bought my Timberline, it didn't have a door gasket. Worked so well, l never bothered to get one.

Yeah, she used to claim, “The wood’s free.” Then I had her help me cut, haul, split and stack. It’s still didn’t cure her.

18 deep 16 wide unsure on height but not real high , it burns great and so clean that the mail man asked me one day how come you have a stove and all that wood and I never see you have a fire going. there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground that day.
I said I almost always have a fire going there is one going right now , look close at the top of the chimney look at the heat waves you can see the mirage . there is only smoke when I first start a fire for a couple minutes and that is in the morning before light.

I intend to cut all my wood 16 some ends up shorter and some a little longer I built a 4 foot long saw buck that is 16 on center so I cut down the stuff over 20. I also bring home limb wood in 4-6 foot lengths less pieces to load and it rides better then I back up to the saw buck and load it on and cut it to lengths when I pick it up it can go right in the shed. all about handling it the fewest times.

Well, ended up ordering the jotel Greenville. Will be feb before it comes in but really like it. Gives me time to knock wall out and get things ready!

Hello to all. Just bought my house about a month ago. It has a Pacific Summit series A in the basement. Made in Canada. Wasn't sure how to use it so good old computer told me. Seems it is a good one. Haven't used it yet still putting wood in the basement. Plus, only going to use it when gets cold. place has open vents from basement to first floor so the heat can get through. Anybody have one of these.

since it doen't sound like you know much about stoves ,before you use it get a chimney sweep to come inspect your chimney and fire brick.

make sure the chimney is clean and in good repair

fire brick are all in order , he can probably give you a few tips on the stove also

Dry wood , get a moisture meter if you haven't had time to season a year under cover

Back up! Been using about a 10 year old Quadrafire 4300 steptop i bought new. Good stove, but not getting what I want out of it. My dad has had a BlazeKing Princess for around 40 years. It s a great stove and believe I’m going to sell my 4300 and get a catalyst stove. I’ve narrowed it down to a BK princess, BK Ashford 30, or a hearthstone mansfield. Man, those soapstone stoves loo good. The stove is heating my basement of 900 sq.ft. pluus 1600 sq.ft. upstairs. Around 20 ft of 6” double wall flue. Good seasoned hardwood only. Anyone use a princecess, ashford, or mansfield?

Quadrafire 2100 Millenium ACC. Heats our 1400 sq ft house pretty well. The room that it is in gets pretty warm to be able to heat the rest of the house. I have cooked on it during a power outage. Not perfect for cooking but it works in a pinch.

how are you running your air controls ?

a 4300 should cook you out of that space unless it is sided with new paper on the coldest day of the NC winter

running it with the start up air left open it burns well but sends most of your heat up the chimney

start up air for 15 minutes , burn the first fire of the day primary air wide open and 15 minutes after your reload it should be good to pull the primary air closed and let the real heat begin.

put a fan or blower blowing across the top of the stove also to push the air around some

Our house is 2x6 walls with good insulation. Normally run the AAC at a minimum and regulate the tubes at medium or closed down at night. It will run you out of the 900sqft. down stairs. I run the mnual fan on our HVAC sytem as we have two returns within 20 feet of the stove. I have closed one return off upstairs to try and suck in more air downstairs (near stove) and am considering closing off another upstairs while heating in winter. I will probably be selling this stove.I just really like the cat stoves after watching dad’s for 40 years.

Me too. My brother used to have the trucking contact for Fisher. They sold tons of stoves to the New England states back in the 70's.

Very fond of the Fisher stoves. I have the Grandpa, but can’t use it at my dwelling. I’ve owned and used Pacific Energy, Napoleon, and Lopi. Right now I’m burning the the Drolet Escape, best stove I’ve ever had.

Love my non-cat, pre-auto combustion control Quadra-Fires. I have two 3100’s, one for home and one for camp.

this sounds like your levels are well insulated from each other.

I don't think you will gain anything with a Cat stove unless your plan is to go to a much smaller stove and move the heat better, the Quadrafire burns clean as a cat but without the cat and cat maintenance.

a vent to the upstairs if you have a place you could get from the main room downstairs near the fire to the upstairs and put a grate on it. it might be your house is too well zoned with no good ways to move the heat around

I am heating a much less well insulated house in a colder climate with a smaller stove
but being that would heat was what the house was designed around with vents places through the floor the heat can get around it works.

it sounds like you have a great exterior envelope but that it might also be dividing your floors up with no way to get good convection and let the heat rise upstairs.

cutting a vent might save you a bunch of money on a stove.

Yes GCPete, after finishing my basement the Sheetrock ceilings down there stopped allowing heat to radiate through the floor upstairs. I may put something like a bathroom fan and pipe it to the upstairs. I may cut registers in floor to allow for natural rise as well.

not even sure you need a fan , the house my great great grandpa built has a trimmed in hole near the ceiling in every room down stairs and a vent up to each of the 3 bedrooms upstairs

there is a rubber backed rug in each bedroom , when company comes over to spend the night the rug is pulled back and that is all it take to warm that room right up.

one stove in the corner of the house keeps it all warm

Wow! She must be hot!

Nope, always cold.