What wood burning stove is recommended?

[esshup]

I have a friend that is wanting to buy 2 stoves. One for the "cabin", the other for the house that they will be building in the near future. It won't be used as primary heat (propane will be primiary) but he wants it to be able to heat the buildings if push comes to shove. There is enough good wood on the property - they are in the area of east Texas that has Oaks growing.

Criteria are:
1) No electricity needed to run the stove.
2) Not "fancy" for the cabin.
3) Could be "fancy" for the house.

Cabin is around 1200 sq. ft. No idea on the house.

If it matters, location is around 60 miles E. of Dallas, Tx.

 

[flotek]

I would get an Englander nc13 for the cabin and the NC30 Englander for the house . They work great made in America with awesome customer support they look good they offer long clean burns and best of all very affordable. They are more utilitarian in looks than ornate but only a third of the price of the competitors

 

[sachsmo]

I've been looking at stoves for years.

The Woodstock Progressive Hybrid is one fine piece of hardware.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Budget numbers?

Wood stoves run the gambit from a few hundred $ to a few thousand $. No doubt you'll receive the suggestions and recommendations to match.

Based upon my experience selling wood for 30 years, plus what's in my basement, and what stood in my Mom and Dad's house for 20 plus years I highly recommend Jotul stoves. They're well built, easy to run and produce a lot of btus for their size. Non of my wood customers that have Jotul stoves have ever said a bad word about them other than the initial expense of purchase.

Another consideration is boiler plate or cast iron construction. Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages. A good stove shop with a knowledgeable staff can walk you through all the pluses and minuses.

Once again based upon my wood customers experiences the one manufacturer I personally would shy away from is Vermont Castings. It seems very few of my customers that have them are happy, one has a 10 year old stove, model escapes me, and she can't get a part(s) for it.

Another thought is a catalytic stove vs. non-cat. A catalytic stove will require well seasoned firewood, all stoves do really, but it's my understanding that cat stoves don't do well with wood over 20 % moisture.

This is my own opinion and experience. I'm sure others have experience(s) 180 degrees apart from mine.

Take Care

 

[pro94lt]

I would get an Englander nc13 for the cabin and the NC30 Englander for the house . They work great made in America with awesome customer support they look good they offer long clean burns and best of all very affordable. They are more utilitarian in looks than ornate but only a third of the price of the competitors

Can't beat Em in my opinion.

 

[daveffemt130]

I use a squire 50500, kinda fits in both. ..it does have a blower but does fine with it off

 

[Gavman]

Blaize king princess, just starting our second season with it as our only source of heat, its just awesome, loaded it up last night at 8pm, just looked at it a few mins ago and its still purring along,(its now 8'20 am) will reload it in another or so, 12 hour burns are easy with this stove.

 

[esshup]

I didn't ask about his budget, but he seemed OK with the numbers when I told him my sister spent between $3K and $4K for the one that they have in their house. Also, he'd prefer to get a non-cat stove. He's even willing to purchase both stoves at the same time just so he'd have a non-cat stove in his house once it's built.

 

[mn woodcutter]

I know spider really likes the new pacific energy models!