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ThisOldCabinNJ
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 08:00am
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Wood stove newbie here. 👋
I’m having a wood stove installed within the month and have a few choices I’m having a hard time deciding on. Catalytic, non-catalytic, and then the “Cadillac†of all stoves: soapstone.
I think soapstone is out of my budget for the time being. As a newbie I should probably start with a moderate stove and maybe upgrade in a few years if this becomes my primary source of heat. I really don’t know how much I am going to be burning but do have intentions to burn regularly.
That said, it looks like a catalytic stove is good for long burns and regular consistent use while a non-catalytic is good for all around use, quick heat up but requires more fueling?
If anyone has some additional input I’m all ears.
I’m leaning towards a non-catalytic to start as I haven’t even moved in to the cabin and for the next season or so, burns may not be consistently regular. They’re also a little cheaper and reason for a good starter stove.
Thanks for any input!
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 08:34am
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The only options I would want in a wood stove is a thermostatic damper and an ash tray. A cat burn a bit more efficient.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 09:55am
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It kind of depends on how/when you intend to use your cabin and the climate where it sits. If you intend extended stays in the winter.... if you are in a cold area, then you will need to ask yourself if you want a heat producing fire all night or do you want to get up in the middle of the night and put more wood in the stove, or get up to a cold cabin.
A regular wood stove can be filled and shut way down before bed so it will still have coals in the morning to rekindle but will put out little heat during the night. You can leave it open some to put out heat but then you will need to get up in the night to refuel it.
A catalytic stove on the other hand can be filled before bed and will produce heat all night. Another advantage is you normally only add wood to the stove twice a day, morning and evening, and they (as Brett said) are more efficient.
We live year round at our cabin. We started out with a Vermont Castings Aspen meant to heat ~800sqft - our cabin is ~900sqft, albeit slightly small for our cabin. It was fine if you added wood to it every couple of hours day and night. We could close it down and often there would be coals in the morning but the cabin would be in the 40*F by morning. I don't get up at night. We would burn about 5 cord of wood a year.
Two years ago we installed a Blaze King Sirocco catalytic stove. We fill the stove around 8pm then again around 8am. The cabin is usually in the upper 50s to lower 60s overnight (even with outside temps in single digits). When I get up around 6am I will open it up add a couple chunks then let it roar to burn out any creosote that would have built up over night. This also quickly warms the cabin. Turn it back down have coffee the stoke it for the day around 8am. With this stove we burn between 3-4cords of wood each year.
Hope this helps!
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 10:08am
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External air duct to burn outside air keeps the wood stove from drawing cold air in from around windows and doors. Double wall duct for the outside run keeps flow during low burn time. Carbon monoxide detector in case exhaust flow reverses. Duct exit on wall or roof. Some want to go though roof, some want wall exit. I'm a wall exit fan, don't want any water leaks. Others prefer straight run and have no problems with water leaks. Fan flow round burn box. A qualified woos stove installer might be a good idea.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 01:28pm
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Quoting: DaveBell External air duct to burn outside air keeps the wood stove from drawing cold air in from around windows and doors.
This is very true. I prob burn 30% less wood and have a warmer house since I put an outside air kit on mine.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 05:25pm - Edited by: ICC
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Nobody builds a new home without a fresh air intake for the gas furnace or water heater. Why should a wood stove installation be any different?
My grandfather figured it out decades ago. The old rambling adobe house I grew up in had several wood burning stoves and fireplaces for all heating. GrandDad made fresh air intake pipes for all of them before I was born. He had made some with sliding sheet metal "gate valves" in the pipe to allow shutting off the outside air when there was no fire. Apparently, everyone was impressed and happy as most of the drafts disappeared.
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Irrigation Guy
Member
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# Posted: 27 Nov 2022 08:15pm
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I have a Hearthstone soapstone stove at home. It is very attractive but I don’t think the soapstone makes much of a difference from an efficiency standpoint. It does radiate heat long after the fire dies but it also takes longer to heat up so i think it’s more of a gimmick and there is no such thing as a free lunch. BTUs are BTUs doesn’t really matter what the stove is made of.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2022 07:41am
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Quoting: Irrigation Guy It does radiate heat long after the fire dies but it also takes longer to heat up so i think it’s more of a gimmick and there is no such thing as a free lunch. BTUs are BTUs doesn’t really matter what the stove is made of.
I think people forget this. A large mass may stay hot after theres no more heat input but it's also colder longer when there is heat input. I dont think materials a stove is made from matter that much either.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2022 08:11am
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Quoting: Brettny I think people forget this. A large mass may stay hot after theres no more heat input but it's also colder longer when there is heat input. I dont think materials a stove is made from matter that much either.
Agreed, the only real advantage is your usually up during the day and can stoke the fire getting the woodstove nice and hot, and while sleeping it will keep the place warmer longer. But as said above, there is no free lunch.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2022 02:07pm
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Getting a bigger firebox makes the warmer in the morning thing null and void. I heat my home with a wood stove and never get up in the middle of the night. At this point in the heating season I wont use kindling or anything smaller for the next few months.
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ThisOldCabinNJ
Member
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# Posted: 28 Nov 2022 02:36pm
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wow some great information. Thanks all!
I live in northwestern NJ. It's freezing cold and snowy in the winter but it's not Alaska cold. Average temps are probably in the 20's if I had to guess.
So I guess I'm better off looking at a catalytic stove. I'm not really sure how I plan to run the stove but I can also see myself using it quite regularly to offset the cost of heating oil.
I never really thought about using a fresh-air intake. I've made plenty of cold air intakes to bring "cold" air into a carburetor, why wouldn't a wood stove need one? My old cabin is probably already so leaky; no need to cause additional drafts in the house.
Best Regards!
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Gregoire guy
Member
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# Posted: 14 Dec 2022 09:11am
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hello. we have retired to our family homestead log cabin, which is 98 yrs old. i have a photo of it only 3 logs high, with my great grandfather and his brother, cutting the logs by hand. we've added 400 sq ft to the existing 600 sq ft. cabin. all ceilings are high open cathedral. not the best when -35' we have purchased a new blaze king 'king model 40' which can take a monster load of wood in the morning and evening, (two large arm loads with room to spare). we also have a large cookstove from R.A. Roby. between the two of these we can keep pretty warm. our bedroom is in a loft, which is dangerous meaning, you're comfy warm all night, without though of what the main floor temp is. blaze king ususally has 1/2 load of wood left, with it turned down 3/4 from full. i'd recommend the blaze king to anyone relying on long burn time and great heat output. Good luck.
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Grizzlyman
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2022 12:05pm
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I have an el-cheapo vogelsong stove from
Menards. It’s not great. It’s fine for shoulder seasons- and keeps the cabin 70+ When in the 20s… so no problem with output..BUT the burns aren’t good. It needs a lot of wood to keep a good fire going. In the real cold nights I have to get up every 2 hrs or so or it will go out and I’ll wake up to 40*
I don’t regret purchasing it.. but do wish I would have spent a few hundred more for a “Good†stove. I will replace it some day but it is fine for the limited winter use it sees.
Just my experience depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.
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ThisOldCabinNJ
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2022 12:54pm
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thanks for the additional input. I like to do a whole bunch of research before making decisions and since this has become a current topic again I should probably provide an update to ya'll who have helped along the way:
I ultimately decided to get a smaller non-catalytic stove. I chose the Regency brand (per the wood stove stores recommendation) for their quality and availability. As I mentioned above, I was considering a stove with a catalyst but the stove installer and store owner talked me out of it. Their reason is that the catalytic isn't that much more efficient and is expensive to replace compared to the non-cat Regency. Regency stoves have a lined firebox and a re-burn system that helps with complete combustion. They gave me the cost of the catalysts and said to crunch the numbers; see if its worth it. They certainly could have up-sold me a more expensive stove (more $$ for him) and on future replacement parts, but they didn't. I appreciate that kind of salesmanship. I'm sure some will say I should have gone catalytic for x,y, and z reasoning but I'm happy with what I got for the time being. It's one less thing to break, clean or replace in the future.
At the moment, I don't live in the house, nor have I had a wood stove to heat with so I'm learning as I go but if I find I'm really using the stove that much I will certainly consider upgrading to something else; perhaps that SoapStone stoves.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2022 07:25pm
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Quoting: Grizzlyman I don’t regret purchasing it.. but do wish I would have spent a few hundred more for a “Good†stove. I will replace it some day but it is fine for the limited winter use it sees
I have actualy never owned a brand new stove. I am fairly picky about buying higher end used stoves. There really just a metal box and alot of people dont want to move them when there dont want them any more.
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Kamn
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2023 08:42am
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Has anyone given thought to a rocket stove? I have seen a few reviews of "The Liberator" rocket stove and its quite impressive
Food for thought
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Alpine_Junky
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2023 03:05pm
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I purchased a Canadian made Drolet HT3000 for less than $1500 off Amazon to heat a 1500sq ft cabin that has 10' ceilings - located in NW Montana. I am happy enough with the purchase. This is my only source of heat, and it is used full time now for 3 seasons; I don't want for anything more other than maybe a larger firebox at times to make packing the stove fuller a little easier. I burn <5 cords per year; all local softwoods, and generally age for around 1 year before burning (so its not the driest, best seasoned wood).
As far as a catalytic stove, when I did my homework buying what I have, I read many instances where users reported high maintenance costs when the catalytic parts need to be serviced & the way I understand, this technology is more prone to higher maintenance when the wood its being fed & tending to burn cycles isn't at a premium - as a result, I avoided (more forgiveness for error).
Brettny gave a golden nugget of advice -- buy a good quality used stove. They are often very available for very little cost - and any mistakes you make along the way will be easier to absorb.
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