Wood stove, wood furnace, wood boiler pro's and con's... Post them here.

[chadihman]

I would like this thread to fill with info on as many brands and styles of wood burners and what you like and dislike about it. Chimney setup would be nice to know also.

I have an epa wood stove. Quadrafire 5700. 25 ft masonry chimney with an uninsulated single wall ss liner.

Pro's- gets a good 10 hour or better nice heat output, 24" wood can be loaded easily, the stove is heavy and hold heat for a good amount of time, the secondary burn system really gets tons of extra heat from the wood, super clean chimney that I clean once a year and would not even worry about 3-5 years if I'm burning dry wood.

Cons- The ash pan is useless because there is no grate in the bottom of the stove and a plate must be removed from the bottom of the stove and then a trap door opened to allow the ash to fall into the ash pan. I haven't used the ash pan in three years. Smoke pours from the stove when starting a fire when its cold. The smoke goes into the secondary burn tubes and exits the side of the stove out of the manifold for the air tubes. I'm gong to add a door to shut the secondary air tube intake to prevent this.

 

[chadihman]

Nothing??? I thought maybe we could get some good input. I don't want a my Stove is better than yours b##ch match just the good the bad and the ugly.

 

[mainewoods]

By no means a modern stove, but it sure does put out the heat for a smallish firebox. It will take a 24" piece of wood, and with careful maneuvering can hold quite a bit, once loaded. The secondary combustion is me filling it. Believe it or not I heat a 2 story farmhouse with it, and it cooks any meal you can throw at it, or in it. Once the entire surface of the stove has been heated it holds the heat for a surprisingly long time. Yes the modern stoves are more efficient, but don't sell these guys short if you ever run across one. Stove completely disassembles with a wrench and screwdriver. It sure does make some delicious biscuits, pies and old fashioned baked beans.

 

[Teddi]

I'm in my first year burning with a Fisher Grandpa Bear I got from craigslist last year - refurbed for $375. I welded 2 3/8" targets together to make a baffle plate that sits just below the flue hole (rear exit).
I've had it up to 700 degrees several times, but usually burn between 400 and 600. It's not as efficient as I'd like, but the price was right and it does put out a lot of BTUs. I looked at Jotuls, but the one I wanted, F500 Oslo, was around $2,000.
I looked at outdoor wood boilers, and I would have liked to go that route, but it would have been close to $10,000 for the whole setup. Friend of a friend (certified mason, not diy) did my entire masonry chimney for $1,500.
At some point in the future, I may get a Jotul or an efficient EPA stove - the way this winter has been I expect to go through between 8-9 cords by the time April rolls around.

 

[flotek]

Drolet heat max EPA wood furnace

Pros : -----long clean burns over 10 hrs ,auto thermostat control ,far less wood than other wood furnaces , and all for under 2 grand

Cons: ---/does not cut it's own wood or walk my dog

 

[boxygen]

That's a beauty Clint. Im still waiting for the invitation for those biscuits and beans. Damn, does it get any better on a snowday?

 

[Chris-PA]

The big one is a US Stoves Magnolia in the basement. Inexpensive welded sheet steel secondary combustion stove, with a nice door with a big window. 30' insulated 6" SS flex liner inside a old stone chimney. The stove is sitting in the large old cook fireplace surrounded by stone. The stone holds heat well, but I end up using a fan to move air back into the firebox, and the blower, air handler and ductwork of the old oil fired system to move the heat around the house.

The small brown enamelled Hampton H200 is upstairs in the living room, also set into an old fireplace and surrounded by stone. Shorter 8" SS flex liner inside a old stone chimney (don't ask, it was supposed to be a working fireplace). I chose the H200 over a couple of other stoves (needed something that would fit in the fireplace opening) because it had much simpler firebox liner parts then the others

Both stoves work extremely well and I have no complaints at all about their performance. The Magnolia was less than $800, and the glass door makes it look much better than a sheet steel stove might. Adding the H200 upstairs has turned out to be a great improvement, as now I have extra capacity when needed, can run at a lower output on warmer days, and can use wood of a greater variety of lengths. The less than ideal flue has not been an issue.

If I had my druthers the H200 would not be in a room directly above the Magnolia, but on a flue on the other side of the house as I had originally planned. Then I would not run the blower so much and could have heat over there passively. To me the beauty of wood heat is a totally passive stove in the living space with no power needed - minimal complexity. My system will work that way but the far side of the house will get pretty cold. That's mostly because the house is a couple of old structures joined together rather than something well planned.

 

[dave_376]

Avalon 1196, circa 1991. It is an early epa certified insert 2.5 cuft firebox. Its old and not so pretty but it has saved me tons of money on oil. I picked it up off craigslist for $400. I cleaned it up a bit and put some new paint on it before I installed it. 23ft insulated smooth wall flex liner that I hauled up on the roof by myself and then slid it down the chimney to the stove by my self. That day sucked up and down the ladder several time trying to get it hooked up.

The 1196 is rated for 2200sqft and I have 2700sqft so it struggles when the mercury dips below 15F, but it generally keeps my colonial at 72 first floor and 68 second floor. I am hoping that Blaze King comes out with a bigger insert so I can upgrade.

 

[Tim in NY]

I've loved our Hearthstone II since we put it in back in 1989. Figure we've put well over 125 full cords through it since then, to heat our old farmhouse. It holds a fire overnight and all day while we are at work. Still looks pretty darn good too, even with a few dings in the porcelain.

Tim

 

[farmer steve]

That's a beauty Clint. Im still waiting for the invitation for those biscuits and beans. Damn, does it get any better on a snowday?

same here.

 

[farmer steve]

pros: Baker falcon,non epa.firebrick lined w/blower. traded 2 cords of wood for it.older stove made about 15 minutes from here. was supposed to go in the house but the wifey didn't want the "mess". it now heats my 30x40 shop.10-12 hour burn time. shop has been around 70* all winter. now the wife says "shoulda put that in the house"
cons: same as Flotek post #5.

 

[Eric K]

We have a Lopi Leyden it does a great job. We get 10 hr. burn times easy. Since 2007 the propane furnace has not ran except if we go out of town. It has a great secondary burn chamber and a flue bypass. Loads from the top as well as front if you wanted to. Never have. Lastly a very functional ash pan and fan to circulate the heat.

 

[naturelover]

Englander 30 on 8' of 6" black pipe to 9' of Ameritec triple wall insulated to roof heating a garage.

Really throws out the heat, large viewing window, large enough to throw good size chunks in there or stuff it for longer burn times, pretty much smoke free, great price for what you get, made in the USA, seems really well built, easy to contact customer service if needed, and they have a rep on another forum that has stood behind his product.

Takes a little bit to get that hunk of steel up to temp on a cold start, and really likes dry, seasoned wood. Perfect for a garage, but may not be as fancy on the outside as more expensive stoves, if that matters.



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[Bushmans]

Shrader Fireplace/Woodstove. Traded for labor. Valued around $400

Pros: Easy to use, excellent burn times (8-10 hours) still hot after 12, with coals to relight.
Stainless, insulated double wall encased in a 15" outer flue pipe left over from old fireplace and all that is encased in a chimney chase. Great draft even with two 90 degree bends and a 4 ft horizontal. Large firebox will hold 6-8 splits.
Blower at rear of stove blows air through a built in jacket and out into room. Controlled with a snap disc thermostat (added on) Firebrick lined bottom and sides are one brick high. Heats entire 2000 sq ft house very nicely. This cold winter with below and singles for average highs I kept it burning 24/7. Lately temps have reached the 30s during the day and one fire in the morning is all I have been burning. Let it go out at night and restart in morning.

Cons: Has no factory baffle so I added my own. (Huge difference) No Secondaries (in process). Depth of stove is too short for my liking, if I load a 16" split front to back then the door handle hits the split. I save some of the short pieces to fit in this part of the load. Biggest con for me is no glass. I don't need it but would like it. Also would be nice to see secondaries once installed.

 

[blades]

Hot blast add on in basement of ranch(2k sqft), pro cut heating bill about 1/2 when first purchased house, not tied into heat duct work due to codes, cons appetite like 3 teenage boys, on a good day maybe 4 hr useful heat out put. PITA getting wood into basement to feed it, can't trust combustion air controls, very easy to have over fire. Haven't used it since addition of 30NC.
30NC no explanation needed, on main floor covers 90% of heating factor - not its fault work inprogress on insulation and building lay out is a problem of course in moving heat around.

 

[Ironworker]

Lopi freedom insert with blower that I am very happy with, heats my 3200 sq ft center hall colonial with ease

 

[Axfarmer]

Fisher papa bear, It is a wood eater but really heats my entire house from the basement! It looks like it overheated but it was a crappy paint job from previous owner.

 

[Deleted member 116684]

osburn 2200. It does fine until we get down in the twenties, then my seriously under insulated hundred year old house wins. I think I have like R 25 in the attic at most and none underneath the house. Its this years project. I want a bigger stove, but until I get the house ready, there's not much point. Pros- saves me money and keeps my house warm as my old outdated heat pump. cons- not quite big enough for my house, burn times aren't as long as advertised. I bought it half price, so I wont complain too much...

 

[Ronaldo]

osburn 2200. It does fine until we get down in the twenties, then my seriously under insulated hundred year old house wins. I think I have like R 25 in the attic at most and none underneath the house. Its this years project. I want a bigger stove, but until I get the house ready, there's not much point. Pros- saves me money and keeps my house warm as my old outdated heat pump. cons- not quite big enough for my house, burn times aren't as long as advertised. I bought it half price, so I wont complain too much...

If you do your insulating and get some things sealed, stuffed , etc, you may not need a bigger stove.....................unless you just want one!

 

[Deleted member 116684]

If you do your insulating and get some things sealed, stuffed , etc, you may not need a bigger stove.....................unless you just want one!

I think you're right ronoldo, thats why I'm gonna spend so much stinking money and time on insulating.
But a bigger stove wouldn't hurt, you know....