Which would you buy?

[cuppajoe]

483

484



We are planning on building in the spring/summer a 1000 sf polebarn converted to a home. These are both rated to ''heat'' 1200sf. We need to
decide which to use.

Pros/cons/opinions on these to help decide please....Thanks

..

[NCLee]

I have the second one in my workshop. For home heating I'd recommend the first one, because that style/type is more efficient.

My box stove does a good job of heating my shop. However, it does take more tending, which isn't a problem out there. When I leave my shop, just let the fire go out. It'll be a different story, when you have to choose between banking the stove for an overnight burn and having to get up through the night to keep the fire going. Or, to simply let it go out and deal with the cold in the next morning. (The way it used to be done in the days before frozen pipes became an issue.)

These comments are based on the style of the stove, not that particular model. My neighbor has that style of stove in their 2 story log home. It's their primary heat source during winter. (They have an electric heat pump, but strive to keep it out of service all winter.)

When we visit, their home is warm and cozy with less effort in tending the stove than what I have to do to keep my shop warm. (In terms of dealing with wood, ashes, etc. they're about the same.)

If your stove budget is very tight, the box stove will work. However, if you have the budget for the first one, IMHO, that's the best one to buy.

Hope this helps.
Lee

[offgridbob]

Number one for sure. Will burn cleaner, less wood and will be overall safer. You can cook off the number one stove also.

[kaijafon]

I'd pick the first one, love to watch fire. I am hoping to get one similar to that for my home. Have to find someone who can help me install it though. We just don't have any "handyman" around here anymore. :(

[Helmar]

I too would have to say the first stove due to it will run all night closed up.
We are off the grid and heat with wood only. Been doing it now for almost 5 years. We are up in the northwestern part of Washington state and our stove runs pretty much 24/7 for most of 11 months out of the year.

The other stove, is kind of a Shop stove as you will have to keep feeding it little by little to keep it going..

Helmar

[land steward]

I too would say the first stove. If it has a catalytic converter in it get it cut out. Almost all new stove have these. They are a pain and cause a chimney to clog up. I dont like stoves that burn along time. I know that sounds funny or dumb. There is only so much energy in a piece of wood. You either get the heat quickly or not much heat for a long time. The newer stoves brag about staying lit for 16 to 20 hours. That is true but you can sit on them the entire time. Putting a damper in the chimney usually works just fine. Make sure you stove doors can be insulated. You can buy sort of asbestos cord to line the door frame with. This keep the draft down and extends the fire life.

Hope this helps. We heat totally with wood and have been for 40 years. Another suggestion if you can afford it. Is buy a wood cook stove. Our last one is ten years old. It is called a Findlay Oval. Complete with water jacket and warming oven. I only light the wood heater if the cook stove wont do the job in a big cold snap.

Good luck, nothing like a good fire.

[Trapper]

Agree w/above. Stove one is much more airtight

[Equilibrium]

I just went back and forth and back and forth over a wood burning stove. I can't count how many hours I spent deliberating over the models available and had settled on the second model you posted a photo too because of price. I ended up with a Vermont Castings Defiant non-catalytic wood burning stove after a friend told me NOT to buy retail and to start watching Craigslist because for sure I'd find a superior wood burning stove used for the money I had to spend if I was patient. Sure enough, I was able to buy a wood burning stove from a family off of Craigslist. I paid $200 and they tossed in all the piping which was a real pleasant surprise but... I had to watch Craigslist for a few months to get that deal. I could find quite a few very good used high quality wood burning stoves for around $500 but I didn't have that kind of money to spend so I had to wait it out. The only thing I was instructed to watch out for buying used was cracks and I was told they'd mostly occur near the top where it gets the hottest. It's really easy to spot cracks I learned and you can always turn the lights out in the room and toss a powerful maglight inside the stove then shut the door too. I looked at quite a few units before buying and two had legs knocked off from moving them.... they're really heavy weighing several hundred pounds and only one I looked at out of maybe 10 or so had cracks in it and the guy admitted he had dropped the unit trying to move it up from his basement to his garage. Probably not a good idea to buy a unit with cracks in it but... people do it. My unit had no cracks but.... I did have to spend like $25 buying black furnace cement and it did take us a couple hours scraping out the old cement and applying the new cement but it was our choice to do that. The stove worked perfectly fine.... we just wanted to take it apart to spray paint it with a hi-temp black matte to make it look brand new is all. I guess what I'm saying is if you've got the time.... your pocket book might thank you if you checked Craigslist or Freecycle. The friend who told me to check Craigslist picked up her wood stove for free from her local Freecycle because the people wanted it out fast so they could build a brick fireplace. She's got a wood burning stove called a Jotul all for being in the right place at the right time. It isn't pretty like my wood burning stove but it sure does heat her whole house that's over 2500 sq feet. Here's a link to all the states and cities for Craigslist if you're interested, http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites. Best wishes to you picking a wood burning stove... it sure was a frustrating process for us.... so many stoves.... so little time.