wood stoves

[ccomstock001]

I have been looking into wood stoves here recently due to my living room being cold and my furnace runs quite a bit. I don't really need anything to big just something to help out and to keep my gas bill lower. Seeing how I don't know anything about them what are some good brands and what are some features I should look for?

 

[Shadow]

Ashley Wood stoves are nice - any size or design - they have them . Usally lowe's and menards has them .

 

[Dirty Steve]

I'd run that idea past your homeowner's insurance company as well. Sometimes they charge an additional premium if you have a wood stove in the house.

Dirty Steve

 

[schafe]

I'd run that idea past your homeowner's insurance company as well. Sometimes they charge an additional premium if you have a wood stove in the house

And they most likely will send an inspector to the house to inspect the installation. His objective will be to nit-pick the installation to the point that you give up and remove it.
The guy they sent to my place was staggering drunk, slurring his speech, and refused to recommend endorsing the installation.
I had to make written appeals to the insurance company, citing NFPA and other authorities, before they would even consider allowing me to continue my policy, even with the exorbitant surcharge.
Finally got the endorsement, though, so it worked out.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I've been looking at a couple of models from Drolet. It's a Canadian company, and I kinda figured if anyone knew how to make a wood stove it would be the Canadians.

 

[atvdave]

If you have a fireplace already installed you can use a insert like this, but a free standing stove will put out a lot more heat. Here is the one I have, it's a Freedom Bay Lobi insert. I also know people with Buck stoves/inserts that like them as well.

 

[Porter]

I have a wonder wood burner in my living room have been very pleased with it for 8 years now. The only thing I would have done different would be to buy the wonder coal stove it just has thicker fire brick and a little more heavy duty. I believe tractor supply still carries them.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

And they most likely will send an inspector to the house to inspect the installation. His objective will be to nit-pick the installation to the point that you give up and remove it.
The guy they sent to my place was staggering drunk, slurring his speech, and refused to recommend endorsing the installation.
I had to make written appeals to the insurance company, citing NFPA and other authorities, before they would even consider allowing me to continue my policy, even with the exorbitant surcharge.
Finally got the endorsement, though, so it worked out.

I just called my insurance guy and told him I was going to install a wood stove and he sent me a company spec sheet. The spec sheet stated that if the stove was UL listed and was installed per manufacturer guidelines, it was acceptable. He came out to inspect it some time later and it was fine, even though I installed it myself. Although, part of that was the fact that I got the highest rated chimney and flue pipe I could get. I don't think my rates went up very much either.

My furnace hasn't been on at all this winter.

 

[bocefus78]

Pacific energy
Lopi
Blaze king
buck
Jotul

Those are all good brands.

Look here for all the stove info you can ask for.

Modern EPA Stoves and Fireplaces | Firewood Hoarder's Club Forums

 

[tmschuller]

are you set on a wood stove? Have you considered a pellet stove? Not quite as messy but work well and no creosote , stay away from corn. Put one in my last house and had the gas company out 2 months in a row because my bill had dropped so much.. I used an old chimney that was there and removed the entire stove in the spring , just stored it in the garage. Good luck with what ever you buy.

 

[lizerdking]

Hearth.com

Go Read the forums there for a bit.

Start buying or splitting and stacking/seasoning your firewood now, you want to start this process before your wood stove is even installed. Dry wood is nearly impossible to buy, wood must be split and stacked/covered at least a year. Wet wood equals chimney fires and poor heat.

Wood Stoves: Two major options here in EPA stoves, both are very efficient, the bonus of the cat stove is you can let it burn overnight and still have hot coals in the morning. You do as well with the other option, just not as much of a coal bed.

Cat- Catalytic convertor that reburns gas, they burn a long time (12+ hours), cat will need replaced every 5-6 years and they can be pricey.
Burn Tubes- They burn gas/smoke as well, almost as efficient, less maint, cheaper when needed.

Inserts, same as above but they usually require a blower to push the heat out of the fireplace and into the room, not quite as efficient either.

Pellet stoves, also need electricity to work, easier to vent as you can just dump the exhaust out the wall, more expensive to fuel but less work as well.


Plan on at least 1500$ for your chimney too, Class A pipe isn't cheap and you don't want skimp on it. Make sure you have the roof clearances requires to get a good draft, it makes all the difference in how a stove operates. Think of the chimney as your engine and the wood stove as your gas tank, the chimney powers the heat system by giving you a good strong draft.


I have a lopi endeavor in an 1800sqft ranch, haven't turned the furnace on this year and the house has been at a comfy 75-80 degrees (comfy for the wife at least). At the rate we are going we should go through about 3 cords of wood by spring, roughly 500$ worth of wood (or free if you scavange/cut split your own). Compare that to the 2500$ a year we used to spend in propane and the whole setup will have paid for itself in less than two seasons.

I called the insurance company(the good neighbor guys) and he said as long as it was certified and installed properly the insurance wouldn't go up and they didn't care, I installed it myself. The tile/stonework/platform took about a week after work to get done. The Chimney took a night after work to pop through the roof, the sections twist together, not much to it if you're a little bit handy.

 

[Leadeye]

Add up what it will take to get the wood to your house the way lizerdking is saying. I have three sections here, new, drying, and using. Easy decision for me as I live in the woods and needed the tools regardless, but might be a different question if you live in the burbs.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I looked at pellets but then thought, "what if things go horribly wrong (SHTF)"? I can cut down a tree or burn lumber, but where am I gonna to cut down a bag of pellets?

 

[HoughMade]

...the house has been at a comfy 75-80 degrees (comfy for the wife at least)....

This would have me questioning my commitment to lifetime marriage. I applaud you.

 

[olhorseman]

We have a soapstone wood stove with catalytic converter. It heats a 2,100 sq. ft. log cabin to 70+ degrees with outside temperatures in the mid 30's without the furnace ever coming on. Good ones are pricey ($2k -$3K), but if you plan on staying put in your house, it would pay for itself in just a couple of years (depending on your wood source).

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I have a lopi endeavor in an 1800sqft ranch,
The tile/stonework/platform took about a week after work to get done.

I have an endeaver also and I put mine on a basic wood stove pad-thing on the floor, but I didn't do anything to the wall behind it, since the set-back exceeded the specs. The only thing is, when the stove is really hot, the drywall gets hotter than I expected at the place just above the stove. I used the double-walled pipe, so the mfg clearance is way closer than with single wall pipe. It never gets too hot to lay your hand against the wall, but it gets pretty hot.

Have you experienced that?

 

[CathyInBlue]

As long as the drywall is not paper-faced, I wouldn't sweat that. Even a 1/2" of gypsum is gonna insulate wood studs from an excess of heat that's not too much to rest your flesh against.

Now, if it's paper-faced, that film of cellulose constantly exposed to heightened temps could result in a fire hazard.

That's to say nothing of what the heat may be doing to any kind of paint applied to the surface, or if the structure of the gypsum may be embrittled against incidental impact and you might be cruising for a large drywall patch in the future if something brushes against it.

And, of course, if it ever becomes a legitimate concern, you can just rip out the 2-3 stud-spaces of drywall behind the stove and throw up 3/4" cement-board and tile and grout. That'll not only insulate the wall structure behind the stove, but reflect more heat out into the room and act as a thermal battery if the stove is allowed to die down.

 

[mom45]

Vermont Castings are an excellent brand as well. We have an older one that we got off of Craigs List in the living room and a bigger one we bought new that has the catalytic combuster in the basement. The cat has been replaced three times since we put it in in the late 90's. I think the last time we replaced it, I found it online cheaper than I could buy it locally and it was around $180. It burns much more efficiently and we don't use as much wood in that stove so we felt it was worth the added expense.

We have an old "All Nighter" stove in our shop and it is an EXCELLENT stove...very heavy but a very good stove.

I see a lot of good brands listed above. Don't be afraid to buy a more expensive stove...you get what you pay for.

 

[looney2ns]

Maybe find and fix the problem of the living room being cold. You can do lots of insulation and air sealing for the price of a wood stove.

 

[bobbittle]

Check your attic, most likely you don't have enough insulation. Blown in cellulose is fairly cheap. Spray foam and caulk for draft sealing is super cheap.