Example: Some think the "soft heat" of soapstone is a myth. Compared to steel I think its noticeably less harsh, never owned a cast iron. Just my $.02 I wonder about secondary stoves needing a sizeable air space between the load and tubes. Seems like the tighter the area, the more concentrated the smoke/oxygen/heat, the better the burn. For the record, I've never used a tube stove. Some seem to think cat stoves produce lots more heat per pound of wood. I realize that cats are slightly more efficient. I usually do a 14 hr burn plus a 10 hr burn per day mid winter in my 1.4 cuft Keystone. I would expect the same heat from two loads in a NC 13 (at a reported 1.5 cuft), even though the burn times are half as long. Of course there would be a bigger heat swing.
Got another one, Pipe dampers "hold the heat in a stove". I'm not sure about this one and I used a pipe damper for years. I don't think they help unless you have an overdraft/leaky stove. I do think they slow an overdraft, lengthening the burn, and lower exhaust gas temps which keeps the heat from going up the chimney. I guess that is "holding" the heat.
In my experience dampers slow the draft dramatically. A few times a year we have to use it or have a runaway in highs winds. If it's a leaky stove they are totally worthless because the stove leaks. Close the damper the fire still rages and the stove pipe gets way to hot because it's not drafting fast enough to cool it down. The gaskets that leak will still allow massive amounts of air in and the tubes may slow but the fire will still rage from the gaskets causing a possible melt down if it gets bad enough.
Bricks for stove cores. They suck up the heat. I would never use them unless I would absolutely have to and had no other choice.
