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MikefromMichigan
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2024 10:39am
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I thinking about getting a new wood stove for my hunting cabin. I live their most of the fall and visit occasionally off season. Its about 400 square feet and well insulated. I currently have a box-wood, cast iron wood stove in it that's about 25 years old and still in decent shape. It heats the cabin well: In fact to well. I have to keep the fire low enough to not roast the place. I usually only have to put wood in two to three times a day. I rarely put wood in it overnight unless its really cold. It lights real easy in the morning. It does put out a lot of smoke and has no secondary burn chamber, so pretty inefficient. I only burn about 2 face cords of wood per year though, and have 200 acres of woods, so the amount of wood I have to deal with is not bad. My questions are:
Would it be worth it to get a new EPA compliant woodstove and if so, would I be able to burn it low enough to not roast me out of the cabin without issues?
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2024 11:30am
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Imo, no. You already have what many of us wish we had. 
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2024 12:25pm
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As grank said, you are up & running and works well. The biggest problem for everyone with a small cabin <750 square feet is getting a "right-sized" wood stove... It's TOUGH ! Not many small ones out there and they come with their own quirks & foibles + because they are not that common, they command a premium $ too.
An Example of Very Good small scale wood stoves is linked below... They are well worth the cost and if a new build without anything already in place worthy of consideration. Unless you wanna upgrade for "some" reason...
https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/collections/all
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Brettny
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2024 06:21pm
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Cubic mini would be to small for a 16x25 building to me.
I have a uninsulated 10x14 shed with a upland wood stove I found in a thrift store for $150. If I build a fire then close things off it will put its self out and make charcoal. I suspect its from about 1970s.
In our 20x32 cabin I have a 1990s vintage vermont castings resolute. Havent burned it low and dont have any floor insulation yet. This has a thermostatic damper though so as the stove gets hotter the air intake close. No power needed.
In our full time home wood is primary heat (we used less than 1gal of any other type of fuel in 1.5yrs.) I have a vermont castings defiant with a cat, ash pan and thermostatic damper.
If your getting roasted out your stove has to much air getting into it. The fix may not be getting a newer stove but may be sealing up the one you have or getting a tighter stove
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spencerin
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2024 10:38pm
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No. Keep what you have.
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Grizzlyman
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# Posted: 21 Jan 2024 07:07pm
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If you have a stove that keeps you warm that you have to feed only 2-3 times per day and doesn’t require any overnight feeding, I’d keep that baby forever!!
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paulz
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# Posted: 8 Feb 2024 10:17am
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Quoting: Brettny build a fire then close things off it will put its self out and make charcoal. .
I took note when you mentioned charcoal. I’m noticing too, and again yesterday, that when I put my night log in and close the door, sometimes there’s nothing left in the morning, sometimes a smoldering chunk that refuses to burn, despite putting new burn around it. Unsure why it happens occasionally, sometimes not.
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gcrank1
Member
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# Posted: 8 Feb 2024 11:23am
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Needs a smidge more air?
You are right on the edge of perfect, imo.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 9 Feb 2024 07:03pm
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Paul are you burning softwood?
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 9 Feb 2024 07:33pm
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Quoting: Brettny Paul are you burning softwood?
i do most of the time but before bed I load a big piece of hardwood, usually about 12-16" long and 6-8' diameter.
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redwolfguild
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2024 07:07pm
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I think I have been running my stove wrong this whole time. I don't use it a lot as my cabin is inaccessible in the winter with the vehicles I own. I have a aprox 400 sqft cabin with a Morso wood stove with a heat exchanger on the top. It heats up fast and then I turn the air down to have a flame on the wood. I always have to stoke it around 1-2 in the morning and then again at 6 when I get up. How low is too low. Are we just smoldering it all night to keep the stove warm? I might need to spend a few more nights in a row to test it out.
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old greybeard
Member
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# Posted: 12 Feb 2024 07:30pm
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my cabin is 672Sqft. Had a old smoker stove 20 years. Threw heat, ate wood like crazy. About a gallon of creosote every year. Would hold a bunch of wood, overnite cold wx burns maybe 4-5 hours, always had to feed middle of the night, especially 10 degree nights.
Bought a 3.4cuft Osburn 2300 EPA stove 3 years ago. Best thing Ive bought for years. No smoke once up to temp, burning much less wood. Getting real 10hour overnight heat. Maybe a pint of creosote in a year. Doesn't run as hot, it does take a bit longer to heat from cold. Burns small fires excellent.
Plus I can now burn pine and hemlock, great fast, hot quick shoulder season fires.
Had one chimney fire, no longer a issue.
I'll never buy a smoker again. You must however make sure your wood is dry, I store 2-3 years ahead so no issue.
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kah68
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# Posted: 2 Jul 2024 04:42pm - Edited by: kah68
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I like dry wood ( mix of hard and soft ) and any model Pacific Energy with a decent amount of stove pipe for good draw. A Vista model would work but I'd try the model 27 and just build smaller fires.
Of course, as others have said, it sounds like what you have is working just fine. Maybe let wood dry for 2 years and see if that helps with the smoke?
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groingo
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# Posted: 5 Jul 2024 10:59pm
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Sounds like your stove is working fine, maybe a little cleanup inside out and repaint and old is new again, truth is is the older stoves are much better than the new stuff!
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kah68
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# Posted: 19 Jul 2024 05:29pm
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I don't agree with ' older is better '. The new epa stoves burn less ' dry ' wood over a longer cycle.
Nothing wrong with a good working older stove, but I wouldn't say better.
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ICC
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# Posted: 19 Jul 2024 06:06pm
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Tim_Ohio
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jul 2024 06:47pm
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Maybe you are like me and might like to have one with a glass front, so you can enjoy the image of the fire. I like mine a lot. I find it's also nice not to have to open it, to check the burn. The down side is that the glass does need cleaning from time to time.
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travellerw
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# Posted: 19 Jul 2024 08:50pm
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Quoting: Tim_Ohio The down side is that the glass does need cleaning from time to time.
Ours tends to self clean, but only if we get a screaming hot fire for an extended time. So it tends to clean when we first get to the cabin and are trying to heat things up fast. Its dark and dirty when its time to leave as we have just been feeding small stuff in to maintain the temperature.
I have yet to clean it, but I think I would definately need to if we were in a little warmer climate.
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groingo
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2024 04:21am
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The only real advantage the newer stoves have is secondary combustion that they call NEW, but in reality it has been around since the late 1800's but was called "Hot Blast", first brought to market by the F.L.Kahn Co. later known as the Estate Stove Company.
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kah68
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# Posted: 25 Jul 2024 01:36am - Edited by: kah68
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Here is my Pacific, very little soot if dry wood is used, will keep heat from 10:30 till 6am
20220122_080545.jpg
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