Morso Stoves?

[justlearning]

Does anyone have experience with Morso stoves?

I have the opportunity to buy one at a substantially reduced cost, and the seller has spent plenty of time pumping these stoves up as being some of the best in the world in terms of efficiency.

The specific model I've been offered is a Morso 6143.

Thanks!

 

[boostnut]

A friend of mine has one of their small soapstone stoves, he absolutely loves it. It really amazes me, it pours out major heat especially considering its little tiny size. It appears to be very well built, I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I came across a good deal.

 

[banjobart]

Me, too. I settled for a Jotul because I could not afford a Morso.

 

[Stovemeister]

Morso stoves

Good looking stove. I like the modern style stoves, personally. I think the only downside to the more exotic looking stoves is they have limited appeal. They don't look conventional so people often shy away from them.

I heat with Hearthstone stoves and like them but, personally, I'd prefer a boilerplate or cast iron stove. My wife loves the look...so thats what we have...but the steel stoves are more practical. Soapstone can be damaged more easily than steel and I'm kind of clumsy so I'm always worried about causing it some harm somehow. So far, so good, and its been here for 12 years.

I have no personal experience with Morso but have not heard a single negative word.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

My buddy at the local stove shop had one of them as their "demo" model the Winter before last; the only thing that he didn't like about it was that the wood would tend to want to fall out, but he loaded it in a tee-pee formation, standing up straight. Your picture has it cut smaller and laying flat. I've only ever heard good things about Morso; well built stoves.

 

[myzamboni]

looks like it takes pretty short splits.

 

[logbutcher]

looks like it takes pretty short splits.

You got it. Those Morso models were designed to compete with the $$$$$ Rais "Euro" stoves. Pretty, sleek, made for the smaller trees in N. Europe, and smaller homes than here. Rais advertises: "...so efficient that there are no ashes to empty." (And, I'll love you in the morning. )
The Euro stoves all need short splits from 12" to 14" max. That's a lot of extra work cutting, stacking, loading the small fireboxes.
Morso makes many other 'normal' stoves, with larger fireboxes, and pretty in a traditional way.

 

[banjobart]

Morso also has stoves that take 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 inch logs. It is true the smallest Morso stoves take 12 inch logs. I would not buy one of those. For a few bucks more you can get a 16 inch model.

Visit the Morso website. The stoves are very interesting. The traditional models are a good value, similar to the traditional Jotul stoves. The Morsos with squirrels and oak trees cast into the sides are my favorite. I almost bought one last year but got a Jotul instead.

 

[coog]

What length wood are you using in your Nordic, banjobart? When I was using mine I ended up cutting my 16" pieces in half.Anything longer than a foot was a hassle.I sure could load a lot of 8" pieces in it, though.

 

[Split this!]

I have a friend who bought an old house, in the basement of the old section of the house, in the corner, was a 1972 model 2B Squirrel stove. I was looking for a small stove to put in my den to supplement my main stove in the living room, ( a Century Hearth Jacuzzi). He had no use for the stove and gave it to me! I started to clean the stove up the next day and found the back plate cracked, ahh, this is why the previous owners of the house had it stored in the basement. I took the stove apart and took the plate to a friend who owns a fabrication shop. He told me you couldn't weld cast, it would just re-crack when it got hot. He said he could use it as a pattern, and make me a new plate out of steel, but the steel had to be a certain kind and he didn't have any in stock, so I left the plate with him. I really wanted to get this stove up and going because it was the perfect size and I thought it was a very charming stove with the Squirrel on the sides! About 2 months later he called me and said he had the new plate ready, so I went and picked it up, brought it home and reassembled the stove with new gaskets. I made up some brackets of my own so that I could line the back of the stove with fire brick to keep the direct heat off of the back of the stove. Apparently the design of these stove, they had heat shields on the sides and top of the inside of the stove and fire bricks on the bottom but nothing protecting the back. The stove will take 25 inch pieces of wood, so the natural instinct when loading the hot stove was to toss it in and it would hit the back of the hot cast plate and crack it. This apparently was the weak link in this model stove! Since I installed the steel back plate and the fire brick in front of it, and I'm careful how I load wood, it has been a great stove. Puts out enormous heat, burn time is very long, and it is very easy on the eyes. I would have to say I'm a big fan of Morso Stoves, if the new stoves burn as efficient as the old, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one!!

 

[banjobart]

I aim to cut 14" long but many pieces are 15", which is fine. I use up my old fireplace 16" wood easily too, crisscrossing at an angle across the firebox. I use cedar kindling from old fence rails and light it in half a minute with a propane torch. No smoke or paper and instant fire. A $3 propane cylinder and Bic lighter will last me a year or two. Much easier than saving newspaper, which disappears for packing material around banjo shipments here and is in shorter supply than kiln dried hardwood or cedar scraps.

 

[woodbine]

I have a newer version of the traditional small "Squirrel" stove, it only takes 10inch logs but gives out a great heat and is obviously designed for a smaller room. This model (like all the European models) is lined sides and back with firebrick which is now being replaced ( for H&S reasons ) with vermiculite board .The vermiculite board works much better thermally than traditional firebrick ie. it doesn't expand and crack, but it is more vulnerable to physical damage ie. abrasion from log loading so a little more care is required when loading the stove . The model you are looking at has moulded vermiculite to fit the curve of the stove and whilst vermiculite board is relatively cheap and easy to obtain and cut for fitting yourself in straight sided stoves, you would be tied in to buying the Morso replacement parts for this stove.
Having said all that I have seen this stove in the flesh and it is a very stylish, classy piece of casting.

 

[samw334]

Sounds like a stove I need to check out.

 

[dolmen]

I have a Morso 1412 and my Dad has the Morso Owl, both have the tertiary air system. These stoves have a great finish, they are efficient burners, I'd certainly buy the brand again.

Cheers

 

[CTYank]

Been firing a 1440 Squirrel for 8 winters now. Haven't used the gas furnace the past 3 winters, with a wee bit of spot-heating help via Aladdin kerosene lamps. This model has firebrick lining sides and secondary air preheating chambers in rear and on top. Only the primary air is controllable. Works as a gasifier: wood on top of bed of coals is distilled, with much of the generated gas burning in the two rows of secondary air jets, smaller percentage down near the wood.
Takes about 20-30 minutes on startup to get its 140 lb up to temp, the stack heated and drawing, and heat output significant. Then I can close the door from being cracked open.

Longest sticks that will fit (laid front-to-rear per Morso) are 10", but since top slants down toward rear, I cut to 8" final length. Process: cut to 16", split to size that would be kindling for fireplace, buzz in half to 8" with cheapie 10" benchtop tablesaw from Harbor Freight.

Stove can be very clean-burning and efficient, once you figure out its MO, and note that with its airflow pattern (~nothing flowing up through grate) you feed in batches so that you have layer of purely coals below wood. It burns hardwood so slowly that you might have to resist temptation to "bale it to her." The good news is that I find it difficult to burn 2 cords/winter. And ... I've measured 750 deg F temps on the top, which makes it easy to cook spaghetti.

 

[lopro]

Just got a Morso 5660 w/blower. Looking forward to firing it up...