Kong
ArboristSite Member
We have an old wood stove, made by the Earthstove company, we've heated with it for over 30 years. The stove is large and made of heavy steel; 32" tall, 30" wide, and over two feet deep, it uses an 8" stove pipe too. Over they years its been over heated and cooked on, the top is scared and there were cracks. Last summer I welded it back up, straightened the door, put in new gasket material, and it cooked like new, but of course it isn't.
Our stove is inefficient, I know that. It is a wood hog compared to new EPA-mandate stoves, and I am sure it's thermal output is puny for its size, particularly in comparison to modern cast or soapstone stoves.
Here's the problem. Considering how much improved today's are just how do you decide how much stove you really need?
Back when we bought ours you just bought the biggest stove you could afford and fed the beast. But today's stoves burn so much hotter (ours is absolutely blazing at 400 (f.) degrees stovetop temp) that I presume a smaller stove may make more sense. Our stovetop is only 200 degrees when the stove is basically idling as it is now with the outdoor temperature at about 30. We will be burning the stove hot tonight when it drops down into the teens or single digits.
If I buy a new modern stove (we are looking at a Jotul 600) will I be making a mistake buying a large stove and then running it essentially shut down much of the time or would it make more sense to buy a smaller stove that we burned hotter? Oh, and what about the safety issues of having a 400 degree black box in the room compared to our current 200 degree box; we have grandchildren who sometimes get excited and run around like puppies.
When I look at the manufacturer's claims about BTUs and room square footage heating capability I always feel like I'm looking at meaningless sales hype and of course with the old stove I have no numbers so there is really no way to compare.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on replacing old stoves that work well with new stoves? How do you compare them, if the new stoves run hotter can they be run colder or is that a mistake? What about safety issues? Tell me what you know and what you opine; I'm interested to hear both before I go lay down a grand, or two, or three.
Our stove is inefficient, I know that. It is a wood hog compared to new EPA-mandate stoves, and I am sure it's thermal output is puny for its size, particularly in comparison to modern cast or soapstone stoves.
Here's the problem. Considering how much improved today's are just how do you decide how much stove you really need?
Back when we bought ours you just bought the biggest stove you could afford and fed the beast. But today's stoves burn so much hotter (ours is absolutely blazing at 400 (f.) degrees stovetop temp) that I presume a smaller stove may make more sense. Our stovetop is only 200 degrees when the stove is basically idling as it is now with the outdoor temperature at about 30. We will be burning the stove hot tonight when it drops down into the teens or single digits.
If I buy a new modern stove (we are looking at a Jotul 600) will I be making a mistake buying a large stove and then running it essentially shut down much of the time or would it make more sense to buy a smaller stove that we burned hotter? Oh, and what about the safety issues of having a 400 degree black box in the room compared to our current 200 degree box; we have grandchildren who sometimes get excited and run around like puppies.
When I look at the manufacturer's claims about BTUs and room square footage heating capability I always feel like I'm looking at meaningless sales hype and of course with the old stove I have no numbers so there is really no way to compare.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on replacing old stoves that work well with new stoves? How do you compare them, if the new stoves run hotter can they be run colder or is that a mistake? What about safety issues? Tell me what you know and what you opine; I'm interested to hear both before I go lay down a grand, or two, or three.
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