Things to look for in a wood stove

This post is for people who are looking to purchase a wood stove. When I bought my first stove I was completely overwhelmed and had no idea what I wanted or needed in a stove. I relied upon the advice of varies salesmen when I bought my first stove. Honestly I don't think any of them took heating with wood very serious.(ie not 24/7 burners)

Since a lot of us have owned multiple stoves maybe people can learn from our *mistakes* and we can help them get it right the first time. I'm not looking to make it brand specific, just looking for things you like in your stove or other stoves and general advice.

Here are a few of mine to get it started.

Deep belly-I hate having ash fall out when I open the door. First stove only had an inch or two below the door.
Better to oversize than undersize.
Take a tape measure with you and measure the usable size of the firebox.
Ability to load stove n/s(straight in). This isn't a must for a lot of people but I won't look at a stove I can't load n/s.

 

From my perspective:

Be honest about you insulation, or lack of. If you don't know how well your house is insulated or if you think your house is "kind of" drafty, it probably is worse than you realize. This means a bigger stove will be needed.

Ignore BTU ratings and claimed heating capacity. If you have a 2,000 sq ft home or more, you will need a stove with about a 2.5 cu ft firebox, at least. Usually.

This may sound insulting to dealers and stove salesmen, but, odds are, they know very little about the product, and are just try to get you to purchase what they think you can afford. Not all stove shops are like this, but many, many are.

 

I really like having a blower.
Blower for mine was extra and worth it.

 

THE BLOWER FOR THE 30 IS KIND OF LOUD BUT IT WORKS WELL! FORGIVE ME IF I AM SHOUTING, BUT THE BLOWER FOR THE 30 IS KIND OF LOUD... BUT IT WORKS WELL!

 

Did BBar just say something?
Must be hearing things.

 

Just the opposite of Dave, I need a stove that will heat without a blower. Between the noise and the electricity being out for up to 19 days at a time (ice storm). I don't want mediocre performance or a $40/day generator fuel bill.

 

"the electricity being out for up to 19 days at a time"



We have had outages... But nothing like that !
+1 Has to work without the electric
I can stay in my house without electric......but not without heat

 

The fan is great & most of the time power is on for me here,
I went 6 day with no power, near zero outside, house wasn't even temp but was above 60 degrees
Everywhere .

If just a back up stove for emergencies, just about any decent stove
will keep your house warm , in your area. Any woodstove puts out heat without electricity.
Rarely run my fan in shoulder season

Blower for a stove used to heat 24/7 is a great feature. IMO

 

I would have disagreed with you up until this winter. The blower is really extending the burn cycles of the 30. Not just that, but I am getting the stove room up to higher temps with less wood... not that I really need the higher temps, but it is comforting to know that it is easier getting this place warm.

 

I do heat %100 wood 24/7
Agreed you are in a much colder climate. But it gets a little cool here at times. Forecast Sat. morning-9F snowing and blowing. Probably only gets into the negatives 1/2 dozen times a year. But it's at these times I need to be able to count on my stove, I can't count on Ozark Electric thats for damm sure. I mentioned 19 days no electric- ice storm 2009, also went 13 days in ice storm 2000. Countless other shorted periods.

I have an easy to heat 1536 sqft house. The ceiling fans in the vaulted living room and kitchen, where the stove is, never get used. The bedrooms on the opposite end of the house from the stove stay about 4F cooler, perfect for us.

Edit: That dash 9F Not neg 9F

This is just my preference, most people seem to prefer a blower. If I lived in AK I might too.
Edit: Thats dash 9F not neg 9F.

 

Nice to have a house that heats evenly with a woodstove.
I have the forced air fan come on every 30 minutes
to move air around.
Generator back up for the water well & football.
We Run the fans when gen is running

 

Sometimes bigger really is better.

 

Mass. My ex and I hated that we wasted so much heat.

 

F

Forgot about overnight burns. Thats a absolute must have for me.

 

Well built, efficient, low maintenance, no electricity needed.