As some of you may know I am pretty new to all this. Currently I have an open fireplace and eventually thinking of going to a wood stove or a wood stove insert. Been trying to educate myself online as much as possible but thought I'd throw some of it on the forum (sorry if it's in wrong topic). What are some of the top or Cadillac's of wood burning stoves or inserts? Obviously going forward looks like EPA certified stoves are the way to go or the only way to go? I see the EPA stoves use either a secondary combustion or a catalytic combuster to maximize efficiency. Is one better then the other? Am I looking strictly at BTU's when buying for heating power? I see some mention of getting even heat vs. it being extremely hot and then very cold, is there a rhyme or reason to that, does it have to do with the stove? My other question is kinda basic but where does the stove or insert get it air supply from? Is it drawing air in from the room? Or does it have a secondary way form pulling in air? Sorry for all the questions, thanks fella's!
Woodstock, Jotul, Quadrafire and Hearthstone are all worth a look. Tons of great options out there, shopping on the high end is fun. EPA is pretty much all that's out there for new. Of course vintage is an option but big high-end stoves are going to be a little big of an adventure to find, buy, and restore. There are some real heating powerhouses out there though like the old Vermont Castings Defiant and Vigilant stoves. Keep in mind tho that and older VC, Jotul, Hartman or similar cast-iron stove will likely require some repair and restoration along with periodic maintenance every few seasons to perform comparably to some of the new stoves in sure you are looking at. On the tech end, neither cat nor non-cat stoves are superior to one or the other. It all depends on your preferences for comfort and the space you are trying to heat. Cat stoves are generally better at low and slow (Blaze King, Woodstock, etc) and non-cat stoves are good for larger spaces that require a bit more heat in a shorter period of time or for someone who wants as little maintenance on the stove as possible. I'm heating a 1200 sq ft ranch with a fairly large non-cat tho and it can be done, you just learn to build smaller fires. Firebox size (cu ft) will be the best indicator of how much heating power the stove will be capable of. More fuel = more btus and longer burn times. If you are looking for a constant temp in your home with no fluctuations whatsoever, wood heat might not be your thing. Unless you make tending the stove a full-time endeavor, there will be some variation. Your choice of stove type, stove size, and conditions within your home will determine how constant the temperature remains. All stoves cycle thermally from cold to peak output and then gradually lose temperature until you reload. Some, like soapstone stoves, dampen this effect with thermal mass. Heavy stoves take a longer period of time to heat up, but also stay hot longer once the fire begins to die down. Steel stoves tend to cycle faster, with cast iron stoves coming in somewhere in-between. The answer to this is..... yes. Most stoves will draw air from the surrounding room (Usually much less than a clothes dryer or range hood vent, and a heck of a lot less than your current fireplace draws!) but nearly all have an optional Outside Air Kit available (OAK) to relocate this air intake to outside air. Plenty of benefits to using an OAK, especially if your house is tightly sealed/well insulated. Generally shopping for your first stove goes like this: Determine whether this will be a primary heat source or not. (Tell is about why you want to burn wood!) Pick the type of stove that best suits your home and preferences. (Tell is about your house! Sq ft, insulation, layout, and where might you want to locate the stove?) Determine if the install is feasible and what type of chimney you will "power" your stove with. (Whatcha got already on the fireplace?) Chimney construction can make a great stove perform awful and make a mediocre stove perform well. There is a ton of information on FHC regarding chimney installs and the different types. From Masonry only, to lined masonry, and of course a factory built chimney setup like so many of us run already.
And of course, the best advice we can give anybody switching to EPA stoves from a fireplace, make sure your wood is dry! A FP is much more tolerant of unseasoned (green) wood than any wood stove and the less moisture in the wood, the better. 1 year split and stacked is minimum, 2 is twice as good with optimum results obtained using wood that has been Air-dried for 3 years or more. Of course some species will dry faster than others so if you maintain control of what types of wood you are using, you can get great results faster. Plenty of info on that here too.
If an insert is really how you'd rather go, I don't know if the Hearthstone Clydesdale is still available but that was one of the bigger units with some serious output. Of course if you really want to do it up right, check out Scotty Overkill's install. (Perhaps he can provide a link?) His built in isn't really an insert but it has ducted heat heading off to other rooms in his beautiful home.
If you are going to put a stove in your fireplace opening, you need to get some measurements and go from there. You may be limited to certain models such as front loaders. I believe there is a recent thread with a Woodstock Fireview installed in a fireplace, and there was room to open the side door. If you can put the stove out on the hearth, you may have more choices, but may run short on distance to combustibles. Some stoves and inserts need power for blower fans, another consideration.
Most stoves on the market are good stoves, but some are even gooder. Buck, Blaze King, Woodstock, Jotul, Quadrafire, Hearthstone, all come to mind. There are more. I wouldn't go back to a pe-EPA stove, although mine burned in a very similar manner as the new one does.........just much dirtier. If you don't have an OAK, the air comes from the house, which leads to any little (or larger) leak being used to suck cold air in from outside. I've got an OAK hooked up, but 2ndary and tertiary air is provided by my nicely ventilated house (thanks to some mighty fine building techniques).
Everyone thanks so much for the info & that NZ3000 thread was just awesome, thanks for sharing, amazing work! Attached is a picture of my current FP setup. I guess we'd have to make a decision about having it as our primary heat source as I suspect I need to run some ducting into the upstairs etc. I guess for now it would be used secondary but would love to use for primary or have the potential to use for primary. Home is a traditional colonial 4bd 2 1/2 bath approx 2000 sq ft. Chimney is more or less in the center of the home. Chimney runs through both Attics which I can easy access to both. Firebox has a ash pit accessible from basement. Not sure if that could be used to run electric or not. Attics are insulated but not great low R-Value but in time I'd take care of that and air seal and put proper insulation in. Attached is a feeble and utter disgraceful attempt at drawing my home layout (please go easy on me, lol). All upper level sits above family room, garage, powder rm, and washroom/salon. Pull down attic in hallway. Upstairs is chilly! I guess it makes most sense to use what I've got in the chimney already. Family room is the place we spend almost all time relaxing and watching TV, so Ideally a good spot. However it's small room and I fear of getting overheated in that room. As we sit literally 7-8 feet from the FP. Am thinking even the smallest stove in that spot might sweat us out? I thought about putting it in the living room I could crank up and it would heat all other rooms and travel up stairs but not so sure and I would hate to put a big old chimney up through the roof in that spot. Not a fan of that big ole stainless steel tin can coming through, please no offense to anyone. And the reason why I love burning wood is kinda un-explainable. Something about it that puts you in touch with your inner manliness. Cutting, Splitting, Stacking, & the Smell all puts me in touch with our inner survival of a hunter & gatherer the way men were wired.
Do you have a raised hearth? How far out does the hearth go into the room from the face of the face bricks?
Hi Jon, it's not a very big hearth about 2ft off the rug lil less then 2ft deep, attached is are two best pic's I could find showing part of it.
Ok, so here is the Fireview install with the raised hearth thread. Fairview fireplace install question
I can't add much to what has already been written, especially by MasterMech as he did a fine job. But one thing he did leave out is that you do not have to choose between a cat stove and a tube stove because now we have hybrids that use both technologies. Good case in point is the Woodstock Progress and Ideal Steel stoves. There is also the Absolute Steel but that is a bit smaller than the other two and perhaps too small for your situation. But, these stove can throw a lot of heat and will surprise you. One good example I like to use is what we ran into the last time we were in the market for a new stove. We had always had quite large stoves but our home was a really drafty old home and we were not happy when the cold of winter rolled in big time. At the end of our search we came to Woodstock (direct sales only). But the first time we saw a Fireview up close and personal I laughed to think that anybody would think that little stove could heat our old home. But, we talked to people who had one and with the 6 month trial period and money back guarantee, we decided to buy that little stove. Ha! We never considered sending it back as we loved it and still do. We used to always be cold in winter months and even had to heat the bathroom with an electric heater before we could shower. No longer is that a problem as the little stove keeps our home 80 degrees easy. Well, there was one day in the last 9 years that we could only get it to 78 but it was well below zero with a strong wind. Still, we were comfortable. Another thing, especially with the soapstone is the radiant heat. We do most times run a ceiling fan in the stove room but many times we forget to turn it on too. It still heats the far rooms even without a fan. However, you mention a concern about the stove room possibly getting too warm. Easy fix. A small desktop fan sitting in a doorway blowing cooler air into the stove room will take care of this problem. In addition, it will get the heat to the far rooms much better and easier. Just a small fan running on the lowest speed does the trick.
Hard to tell from the pic but is that a void under the stone slab between the bricks? If so, it may be a no go to put a stove partially on that without support under it.
Thanks Dennis, great information about the fan. When folks say it heats their whole house does it heat the whole house without any ducting work? Again forgive the beginner questions. Is it really heating all the rooms upstairs? Jon, yes there is a gap there, weird I know. Great thread on the Fairview. Just out of curiosity why not throw an insert there vs. the free standing stove? Don't get me wrong I love the look for the free standing stove but not sure I'd want it in that spot. Out in an open area with a nice hearth just a classic look. Is a wood burning stove better then an insert? I have been seeing and hearing allot bout the stoves w/ soapstone.
No upstairs here; all on one level except for one room with is just a step down. No ducting at all. On insert vs free standing, most times you will get more heat from a free standing stove. In addition, an insert must have a fan.
My BIL heated his first house with an insert from the basement. It did a surprisingly good job of it. No ductwork but the house did have vents cut into the floor which is a fire code violation in most areas.
