What to look for when buying a wood stove...

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EXCALIBER said:
Hedgerow: drawbacks are you can't burn garbage in your stove, just good seasoned wood. A few more steps on firing up the stove vs non cat. Cat need replaced eventually. That is about it. Check out the thread I started about the EPA burn cycle there is a video showing the cat's effect on the smoke out the stack and thus burning the smoke.
Click to expand...

Cat Stoves are typically for people serious about getting the most heat for the longest amount of time. Drawback is they are much more expensive that a standard stove - Although I think this will change in the next few years.

Also, they are typically much 'uglier' than other types of stoves. Although much nicer units are starting to come onto the market.

Finally, typically a horrible air-wash. ie. the glass gets dirty much faster than a typical stove and this is hard to fix on a Cat stove.

Someone had asked the question why would anyone not buy one instead of a standard stove? Price for one.. about twice as much as a standard stove. Since the average American wants to buy a stove at a big box store for less than a $1,000 this is quite a challenge.
 
Fyrebug said:
You said it was free... dont look at a gift horse in the mouth! You would be much happier with a bigger stove or with a cat.
What you have is too small to be considered a 'primary' heat source. We get it...
Click to expand...

Yeah?? If I understand what you're saying, I think "get it" also.
If I want to use an EPA certified wood stove to heat the same area I was heating with a non-EPA stove, I have to get an EPA stove that is larger and has more fuel capacity than the non-EPA it replaced. Now that makes a he!! of a lot of sense... If I want to be "green" I have to go with a larger firebox and burn more wood to keep the same performance. And how does a larger firebox fix the coal build-up problem?

Seems to me the smarter thing would to just forget about an EPA firebox completely!
Yep, I do believe you've managed to totally talk me out of an EPA certified wood burning appliance.
Cuttin' torch and welder... here I come!
 
Whitespider said:
Yep, I do believe you've managed to totally talk me out of an EPA certified wood burning appliance.
Cuttin' torch and welder... here I come!
Click to expand...

Now that I've done my job here, maybe you can go rant somewhere else?!? :biggrin:
 
We didn't have to talk you out of it...just take the tag off!:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
 
I have quite the opposite experience as well as many others. I went from a standard 6.5 cu ft firebox to a 3.5 cuft EPA firebox. The EPA firebox blows away the old in terms of overall heat output, cleanliness, burn times and lower wood consumption. We don't cut our wood at 22", more like 16-18" so our loads have been in the 2-3cu ft range.
 
Fyrebug said:
You said it was free... dont look at a gift horse in the mouth! You would be much happier with a bigger stove or with a cat.

What you have is too small to be considered a 'primary' heat source. We get it...
Click to expand...
But if, as spidey said earlier, this stove has the same size firebox, and is being used in the same way as the one he had before, which was said to have heated the house fine, how is this one now too small? I guess I also would think it is too small, except for the that one major fact.

This is kinda like saying my old 60-70% efficient gas furnace rated at 100k BTU, which heated my house well, when replaced by a new, let's say 95% efficient one, also rated at 100k BTU, all of a sudden "is too small." From what I understand, firebox size has a lot to do with the BTU rating of a wood burner, soooo.....if the firebox is roughly the same size, and it is being used in roughly the same way (stovace) then, to my thinking, the difference must be an inferior design in the way the new one burns. I think we can all agree not all stoves are created equal, right?

Why ya'll givin him such a hard time for for tryin to tweak his a little bit? I'd be doing the same thing in his shoes, at least TRY to get it up to par. I give him props for the trying! If ya been around here for any amount of time, and read any of spideys posts/replys, the guy doesn't seem like no dummy, ya know? In the end, I'd bet he mods this thing, gets it workin! Just my 2cents...better go get sum dinner before I get cranky :hmm3grin2orange:
 
Del_ said:
Somehow in this install configuration the stove can get full of glowing coals...........and not put out any heat, it all goes up the chimney.
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That is not what I've said Del.
The box does not fill up with "glowing coals"... it fills up with dark coals (Think of the color of Cherry Cola). The only way to get any of them "glowing" is to stir them up so air can get to the top layer only... which is short-lived because once they ash-over they are no longer getting air.

You can try and make it all about the three appliances connected to a single flue; but I know better, I know how much draft I have (and you, or no one else on this board does... by-the-way, you, or anyone is welcome to stop by and check it)... and it's the draft that matters. I'm also tired of hearing the problem is my modifications... because I didn't modify anything, I basically made my own blower kit rather than buy the accessory kit (and I've tried burning without the blower running).

This ain't a "rant against all EPA woodstoves", it ain't even a rant... it started out as me simply stating, in my opinion, "What to look for when buying a wood stove...". It was only after when others started acknowledging they also had the same exact problems with other brands of EPA compliant stoves. And only after that did I start searching other thread... where I also found people with the same exact problems. I actually want to resolve this issue... but so far all I'm getting is excuses and an occasional solution that doesn't apply (or is some sort of silly work-around, like burning a dry piece of pine with damper wide open... give me a break).

I'm starting with a grate system modification... and I'll probably take the time to look for cast iron... maybe order some that fit close enough.
 
Here's what I've learned thus far...
A. If you want long burn times with high high btu output, there is no replacement for a large firebox...
B. If you don't want it to smoke like a freight train, it needs a cat..

C. If you live in Georgia, you can heat your home with 3 matches and some sterno...

D. Secondary burn tubes are excellent... If you want heat, and want it NOW DAMMIT!!! And don't really care what happens 2 hours from now...
E. Spidey ain't gonna be happy till he takes a torch to that undersized trash barrel and makes it an incinerator...
F. I still need an ash pan...
 
Fyrebug said:
On my way... but none of that Bourbon crap!
Click to expand...

Boooo!!!!! I suppose you're a crown black fan...
I won't hold it against you though...
And stuff...
Just cause your tastes aren't as refined as my Kentucky brethren...

There's a reason the Scott's pay good money for even USED bourbon barrels to put their overpriced swill in...

Just sayin...
:msp_sneaky:
 
Hey Spidey I'll offer to buy that POS from ya one more time.

Might be able to make ya a good deal on laser cut plate steel thru my work. Would have to have dimensions to get a price though.
 
Thanks for the offer Steve, but it's the wrong time of year.
Heating season is in full swing, holidays, short days, January around the corner... now if was was April...
No... I'm gonna haf'ta live with what I have threw this winter. That means I won't be taking the cuttin' torch or welder to it either 'cause I ain't gonna' un-install it this time of year. With the flue and plenum set-up, removing the wood burner takes the gas furnace out of service unless or all the openings are patched/blocked/diverted/etc. Actually, I'm pretty confident a grate will make for a huge improvement... and it can be done inside the house without requiring any "permanent" modification.
 

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