What is the best inside wood burning stove

[Wood Doctor]

I'll Second That...

Ford or Chevy?

I love my Jotul Oslo. We opted for the blue/black finish instead of the more traditional black. The blue/black is like an enamel but without the chipping that comes with enamel. We couldn't be happier - our oil man no longer likes us though...

Shari

If I ever change out my Federal AirTight 288 (no longer made), it will likely be with a Jotul Oslo. Meanwhile, if you can get one of these vintage brews on a bargain, buy it:

Takes up to a 24" log. Not the easiest to use, but once you get the hang of it, they are nice.

 

[lampmfg]

Kuuma Vapor Fire Furnaces

If your looking for the most efficient (overall efficiency 84%) and cleanest burning (less than 1 gram of emissions p/h) forced air wood furnace in the world (backed by Intertek testing results) do some research on the Kuuma Vapor Fire Furnace line at Kuuma (Green) Wood Furnaces and Sauna Stoves by Lamppa Manufacturing Inc..

Well it's all about safety, high efficiency, and enhancing our environment when it comes to burning wood using a VaporFire Wood Furnace. "Smokeless" burns say it all...

"NO SMOKE MEANS NO CREOSOTE AND NO POLLUTION."

 

[Fyrebug]

So as to answer your immediate questions: since most stove in the market are wider thane deeper you typically will load wood east/west. However serious wood burner would rather load Nort/south. There's not that many in the market that can do this. The exception to this is Osburn 2300 & Drolet Austral. Both good brands & value.

Most stove also come with an ash pan. Although most people eventually use use an ash bucket.

+1 on all comments to button up with house with insulation.

As far as which stove you should get, well it depends. What is your budget? If money is no object a Hearthstone or Scan are beautiful and great burners. If you are more of a value/budget guy there are too many offerings to mention here. A word of caution, some of the least expensive stove found at big box store are made in China. Quality can be spotty and warranty very limited.

Where will you be shopping? If in an Hearth shop look for brands like Osburn, Enerzone, Lopi, Pacific Energy etc. If on the Internet one of the best place to shop is Fireplace Accessories, Fireplace Doors & Screens, Firewood Rack, Chimney Caps, Outdoor Fireplaces, Gas Fire Pits-Woodlanddirect.com. They really know their stuff and Carry Osburn, Drolet & Century among other brands. You can also try Northern Tools for Drolet & Century.

Let us know if you have any questions and we'll do our best to help you

 

[CTYank]

Spend the money on more insulation once, it pay thereafter forever. Then get a fancy ambiance glass front heater. Priorities. You don't go outside with just a light jacket in the winter when it is zero out..well, neither should your house.

And, if there's a loss-reduction factor more important than insulation, it's sealing. Lot's of research has been done on this, though it seems pretty obvious. Pubs avail. from GPO.
Worst case I've seen had significant openings in the basement and the attic. Classic chimney-effect. Wife would wear coat while tending to laundry in basement. Plug those holes -> huge difference.

 

[Oldtimer]

Accept no substitutes!

Either of these is the ultimate indoor stove IMO.

[URL="http://nh.craigslist.org/for/2519793763.html"]http://nh.craigslist.org/for/2519793763.html

[/URL]Warner Wood Stove

 

[audible fart]

I got lucky on my stove. Bought it at Lowes on clearance for about $430. Huge glass door, reflective blocks inside, a cat that seems to work really well. Made in canada. I guess the name is.somewhere on the back of it. It escapes me.

 

[Hedgerow]

Either of these is the ultimate indoor stove IMO.

[URL="http://nh.craigslist.org/for/2519793763.html"]http://nh.craigslist.org/for/2519793763.html

[/URL]Warner Wood Stove

Yeah, those things are big... And can put out a ton of heat. Ugly as hell, and the OP's wife will tell him to pound sand, but I like it... (-:

 

[Fyrebug]

Yeah, those things are big... And can put out a ton of heat. Ugly as hell, and the OP's wife will tell him to pound sand, but I like it... (-:

Well yes, they are big. They are also very inefficient that is why they needed to be so big. Save your money, get yourself a new or used EPA high efficient wood stove. They will reduce your wood usage by a third guaranteed. That's a third less cutting, splitting, cording etc. That's gotta be worth something.

 

[zogger]

You need a heat exchanger though

And, if there's a loss-reduction factor more important than insulation, it's sealing. Lot's of research has been done on this, though it seems pretty obvious. Pubs avail. from GPO.
Worst case I've seen had significant openings in the basement and the attic. Classic chimney-effect. Wife would wear coat while tending to laundry in basement. Plug those holes -> huge difference.

Or some kind of demand and planned air in and out. It is quite possible to seal a house so much that you start to run out of O2. But ya, heat loss is significant with the cracks, they all add up.

I haven't built it yet, but my yardsale special heater has two separate air intakes, I am thinking of adding a direct connection to the outside world with one of them, to help eliminate drafting from all the cracks here.

This ain't my house, else it would have been gutted and reinsulated/rebuilt a long time ago. It's an ancient cabin, to say it is leaky is being kind....the owner wants to keep it "original"...sorta fries my grits seeing as how I am so much of an alternative energy and superinsulation guy, but......gots no choice in the matter. There's nothing-zero- in the walls and the smallest possible amount of insulation you could put in a ceiling and still call it insulated...

 

[Oldtimer]

Well yes, they are big. They are also very inefficient that is why they needed to be so big. Save your money, get yourself a new or used EPA high efficient wood stove. They will reduce your wood usage by a third guaranteed. That's a third less cutting, splitting, cording etc. That's gotta be worth something.

Bull.

My brother has used the bigger one (Warner) in his home for years now. It's absolutely every bit as efficient as any modern EPA strangled junk. (And I have owned a "modern" EPA recommended junk stove.)

How can it not be, since he can kill the fire dead by cutting off the draft, and he can go all winter and not have to clean his stove pipe or chimney? And he burns 4 cords a year in a remodeled 24 x 65 doublewide...and it's his primary heat. He has a K1 monitor that uses maybe 75 gallons a season, kicks on when no one is there to put wood in the stove.

I am telling you, these stoves are THE SHIZZ to heat large spaces. No worry about over-firing it either. PLATE STEEL baby!

 

[Misfit138]

Here's my Country Stove S160:

It used to be the cleanest, most efficient stove a couple years back. Now it is advertised as 'one of the cleanest, most efficient stoves on the market'..
It is rated at 68,000 BTU and burns clean as a whistle. I just cleaned out my chimney, and there was almost zero carbon and zero creosote to speak of after a full burn season from October 2010 thru April 2011.
Country Stove was bought out by Lennox hearth products, another good name in heating. They make units rated to heat up to 3,500 sq. ft. Definitely worth a look.

I would generally recommend a steel, EPA-rated stove piped into a straight and simple steel chimney if you can get it. When it comes to wood heat, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

If you want to go a completely different route, you can also build a simple barrel stove fabrication project. A 55 drum, some fire brick, barrel stove kit from Vogelzang, 1/4" steel plate and some 3/4" black pipe can build you a 150,000BTU beast with functional secondary burn that will heat a whole house for very little money.
‪Barrel Stove with secondary air tubes‬‏ - YouTube

 

[PA Plumber]

Free standing Pacific Energy Summit - Non-Cat.
Heat approx. 2400 sq.ft. and use about 30 gallons of fuel oil per winter.
When temps stay in the mid teens, and lower, the oil fired forced air heat might run once per day.
Great stove.

 

[sunfish]

Spencer, we have a Jotul 118 and absolutely love it!

It's not large, but takes 24" wood and is almost too much for our 1200 sq feet.

Have had a number of different stoves in 30 years and this one is by far the best.

 

[Misfit138]

Steve's barrel stove is inspiring. This is probably one of my favorite fabrication videos ever.
‪steves homemade wood stove the sequel‬‏ - YouTube

 

[wendell]

So you guys are telling me that on a glass front stove you load them to where the end of the wood points to the door not the side of the wood

Only if your stove is deeper than it is wide. Jotul, PE, Quadra-fire, Woodstock, etc are all good choices. Morso makes fantastic stoves but they do have smaller fireboxes so you will not get much of an overnight burn.

To get the most efficient burn, you don't want to "add a log" on your way to bed. Best to always let each load burn down to coals before you reload.

 

[promac850]

Only if your stove is deeper than it is wide. Jotul, PE, Quadra-fire, Woodstock, etc are all good choices. Morso makes fantastic stoves but they do have smaller fireboxes so you will not get much of an overnight burn.

To get the most efficient burn, you don't want to "add a log" on your way to bed. Best to always let each load burn down to coals before you reload.

Is Lopi good? I has one...

I reckon I already know the answer to that one... It's a good little stove. You'll know it when you have to move it down a flight of stairs, and place it on the hearth...

All we've done so far is replace an old ass door seal. Otherwise, we haven't had a problem with it, so far. I heard the secondary burn tubes on many stoves will eventually rust out and need to be replaced. Door gaskets are the other thing.

 

[Fyrebug]

Is Lopi good? I has one...

I reckon I already know the answer to that one... It's a good little stove. You'll know it when you have to move it down a flight of stairs, and place it on the hearth...

All we've done so far is replace an old ass door seal. Otherwise, we haven't had a problem with it, so far. I heard the secondary burn tubes on many stoves will eventually rust out and need to be replaced. Door gaskets are the other thing.

Lopi is a good brand.

If you're concerned about the glass & tube, only Osburn & Enerzone brand that I know of offers a lifetime warranty on those. They will go so far as replace the glass even if you do something silly like closing the door on a log.

 

[Fyrebug]

Bull.

My brother has used the bigger one (Warner) in his home for years now. It's absolutely every bit as efficient as any modern EPA strangled junk. (And I have owned a "modern" EPA recommended junk stove.)

How can it not be, since he can kill the fire dead by cutting off the draft, and he can go all winter and not have to clean his stove pipe or chimney? And he burns 4 cords a year in a remodeled 24 x 65 doublewide...and it's his primary heat. He has a K1 monitor that uses maybe 75 gallons a season, kicks on when no one is there to put wood in the stove.

I am telling you, these stoves are THE SHIZZ to heat large spaces. No worry about over-firing it either. PLATE STEEL baby!

I don't know you're brother specific set up, so I'll speak in generalities. The reason why the old air tight needed a cast iron damper and were so big is they burned so hot & fast. another way you know they were inefficient is they needed to be vented on a large chimney 8" or more. If you don't believe me ask your brother to read the flue temp at about 18" above the stove on high fire. It will read between 600 - 800 F or more. Back drafting was hardly ever an issue since they sent so much heat up the chimney.

Now an EPA wood stove is so efficient is burns the smoke ( also a fuel), the flue temp on high fier should not be much more above 350 F. Which means more of the heat stays in your house. Also you save major coinage since you only have to vent it on a 6" chimney. I can almost guarantee if your brother were to switch to an EPA stove he will not look back. Don't believe me just ask all the users on this site who went from an old smoke dragon to a high-efficient unit.

I agree with you plate steel is good stuff. Most EPA stoves are made with it. Osburn for example uses 3/8 top plate steel which is probably thicker than your Brother's stove.

 

[sachsmo]

Woodstock Fireview is a super stove.

 

[Billy_Bob]

I'm glad I bought a "larger" wood stove as opposed to a "smaller" wood stove. And larger meaning it is deeper than it is wide on the inside.

With that woodstove, I can load long pieces of wood. I don't need to cut everything short so it will fit.