Okay... I know a lot of you out there heat with wood... and it appears that I might have to replace my wood burner for next winter... which provides my 1500 square foot home with 100% of its winter heat...

what do you use??? recommend or would like to try???

I'm very open to suggestions...

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

Answers

Yarrow, we bought a Vermont Casting wood burner about 12 years ago and have used it almost exclusivly for our heat here in Michigan. I thought it was "pricy" at the time, but would do it again in a heartbeat.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

This question has to be the homestead equivalent of walking into your farm store and asking which tractor is best!

We first decided what features we needed in a stove, which were (1) ash tray to empty ashes while the fire was going, (2) non-catalytic (don't need it unless code requires it in your area), (3) quality construction, (4) side loading to get the maximum size logs in, (5) glass door to enjoy the pretty fire!

It helped to look at Lehmans catalog, which was the most comprehensive comparison of many stoves. We settled on a Jotul, can't find the model # (either the Oslo or the 500) which heats 2000 sq ft. Lehmans special ordered it for us, didn't charge shipping, and were $300 cheaper than our local dealer! Their current magazine doen't seem to list Jotuls!! We were tempted by a Hearthstone, which was really attractive, but didn't seem to have very good quality construction. We also considered a Federal, but were warned against it by the dealer who carried it in our area (declining quality). Vermont Castings looked good, but were mostly catalytic.It was suggested to us that Vermont Castings had been bought by a company that had priorities in open fireplaces and hence their wood stove quality had declined.

In short we did look at a lot of stoves and feel that Jotul quality was the best! We love our stove. It kept us toasty during a very nasty ice storm this winter.

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001

I don't have a wood stove, as you know, Yarrow, but if you want to find Jotul dealers near you, I found this site: http://www.hearth.com/findjotul/

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

We have a fireplace insert that we were finally able to get a couple of years ago. Our masonry fireplace has a weird smaller dimension in the back of the firebox than in the front. Forutunately, Lopi came out with the Freedom model, which we bought and had installed. It works great, especially with a blower. Lopi is a good brand, but manufactured out here, so depending on your location, would be more or less expensive considering added-on freight costs. But it's worth considering if you need a smaller sized insert with big effects. They make freestanding woodstoves too.

We have also used Country brand stoves in other locations in the past. My mom and brother have them and have found them to have been good choices.

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

I'll enthusiastically second sheepish's recommendation for Lopi. I have worked for three different woodstove dealers handling about 10 brands of stove. Lopi really stands behind their product. They have a great engineering department and always have technicians which are ready to help. Some brands have little if any after purchase support which is important with gas and pellet appliances. With wood stoves, there is usually little need for service,but it's a good feeling dealing with a reputable company. I have heard many people complain that some off brands stove 'just don't burn right'. I experienced this myself with the first two 'no name' stoves I bought many years ago. They looked similar to the quality stoves but were a pain to use due to, I would guess, poor engineering. One thing I would be wary of is a porcelain stove. They look great on the showroom floor but most of them I saw in homes were chipped. That of course will depend on those using the stove. Other big ticket repair costs which I found on a fair number of wood stoves was the replacement of catalytic converters. They are supposed to be thoroughly cleaned every year and are quite fragile. To have one replaced can run upwards of $100. Another consideration is cast iron stoves seemed to require more replacement of components due to cracking , in my experience. I recall certain models of Vermont Castings that we charged $185 to do a complete regasketing job. Another consideration is the method the mfg uses to keep the glass clean. While glass is rather standard on most stoves, it isn't much good if it rapidly becomes covered with creosote. We have friends who have a large jotul and after a short time the glass is always dirty. The Lopi's use a primary air wash system which brings preheated combustion air down across the glass and does a good job of keeping it clean. One last recommendation I would make if you are also installing a new flue for the stove. An insulated class A stove pipe such as metalbestos is the best route to go, in my opinion. They are stainless steel inside and out. Because they retain more heat inside of the flue they keep the flue gases hotter and lessen creosote formation . The air cooled type always seemed to accumulate more residue back when I used to clean chimneys. I must confess, I work for a Lopi dealer but I not only sell them, I am the technician and it is great to work on a quality product. good luck with your search Yarrow. jz

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001

I have a three year old Quadrafire. I love it. It has "ceramic glass", and it has a system in which hot, highly oxygenated gas blows down over the glass and keeps it clean, other than a light wipe with a crumped up newspaper after spraying it with windex every week or three. Crystal clear after that for days.

It also preheats air by piping it under the coals, then releases this hot air at the top of the firebox, where it gives oxygen to what would otherwise be polluting smoke going up your chimney. Instead, this smoke is burned, and this is really cool to watch! There are three or four stainless steel tubes running crosswise over the fire, with a bunch of holes drilled in them (maybe 1/8 inch holes, every three quarters of an inch) they APPEAR to be gas jets, blowing flames down onto the fire, and swirling around all over the place, rather mystically at times. But they are in fact just the smoke catching fire. Way cool. I use a lot less wood with this stove than my last one. Way less.

But it's true, there are lots of good stoves out there.

Oh, I also like one feature about my stove which is also an option on lots of other brands as well: an ash drawer. Makes cleaning the ashes very simple, and avoids all the ashes blowing all over the place, like would happen with my other stove.

This stove also burns so efficiently that I only have to dump out about a gallon or so of ashes every two to four weeks, whereas I had to dump at least five gallons per week with the old one.

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish, either Yarrow; a couple of years from now you won't remember the money you saved now; you'll only think about how you wished you had a better stove, had less firewood to cut and split, and had a warmer house...

Good luck,

JOJ

-- Anonymous, April 16, 2001