What do you guys know about wood stoves?

I am looking to buy a new wood stove to replace my old one in the garage. The one in there now is a Menards special, and it’s not very efficient. My my shop is about 1200 square feet, has insulated walls and ceiling. I am a little lost at where to even start looking. I want something that is safe and super efficient. It looks to be a great debate wether or not you even buy a stove with a cat converter or not? Any suggestions, dos, or don’t?

As always, thanks in advance

I like a wood and coal stove because they come with grates and have an ash pan underneath.I think most also come with metal box built around them with a blower witch helps a lot.

I have one in my house and one in my shed , both from menards ,made in canada , both 5 years old ,and very efficient , I'm happy with them , maybe you need to replace door seal ? fire will last 12 hours and still a good bed of coals

Mines the bolt together vogolzen stove. It just can’t be efficient

Don't get one with a catalytic converter. They only work if the wood is perfectly seasoned, if your shops like ours and gets all kinds of junk thrown in your catalytic converter will be ruined in no time. I heat my house solely with wood and I have an osburn stove, its nice and has the pipes in the top that burn off the gasses which come out of the wood, its an efficient designe.

I heat my house with wood almost 100%. I do have one of those oil-filled electric heaters in a back room for use on the coldest nights. We haven't turned on the oil burner in about twenty-years.

I've had my share of crappy wood stoves. Then I got an older Qudra-fire from a customer who said if I could get it out of his living room, I could have it. It's a great stove, super efficient and completely air-tight. At one time Qudra-fires were rated the cleanest burning non-catalytic stove on the market by the EPA.

I liked it so much I bought another used one to replace the crappy Buck stove at camp.

Both mine are the 3100 model.

If you go that route look for an older one made before automatic combustion control (ACC). Most stoves are required to have ACC now and all it does is prevent you from shutting it down hard. As the stove cools the air control automatically opens to allow more air and a hotter fire.

Also, like most everything else, the older ones are built better than the new stuff. The one I originally got from the customer weighed almost 400 pounds. And it's basically a two-foot by two-foot box. The one I got for camp is newer but still pre-ACC and only weighs about 350 pounds. They lightened/cheapened up the materials.

There's lots of good, used stuff on the market, Fisher stoves come to mind, but you'll pay a premium right now.

My Uncle heated his shop with a old house fuel oil tank, he made a door for one end and the pipe came out the other end.

I heat my whole house with a mamma bear wood stove, it’s great! Very heavy and I feel
Fairly efficient. House is around 1500 sqft and I burn around 2.5 cord a year

We heat with wood too and always have. We have an older Fisher and its been great but needs replaced. I use Blaze Kings at the lodge and is what I will replace the Fisher with.

I have a Fisher wood stove.

It has heated our entire house for 28 years.

Today it's -20 outside and +78 inside.

I get through most winters burning less than 6 cords for the season.

WS

Good quality wood stoves are getting pricey. Be sure to buy one deep enough to get at least a 16" log in from the door to the back of the stovebox.

Blaze Kings are solid workhorses. They fire right up and hold the fire about as long as I have ever seen.

For members with fisher stoves, there is all kinds of info on hearth.com . A website that discusses all woodstoves and chimneys. The fisher stove efficiency, can be improved , by adding a baffle plate in the firebox. The flame and gasses have to go around the plate before going out the chimney. all the measurements are provided, to make your baffle and adjust it. We have one at our hunt camp, our main stove. I haven't got around to adapting it . Too old to get down and do it. Lots of info on other makes. I have an RSF energy air tight that works well for us.

We had a Fisher Pappa Bear in our living room and a barrel stove in the basement. heated our old farm house for 30 years.

We have a very small house and have a very small woodstove in our living room that we heat with from morning until we go to bed, and then depend on our very efficient natural gas furnace. The wood stove we have is a Vermont Castings Intrepid. It is a small but extremely efficient wood stove. I does have a catalytic block in it but we rarely, if ever use it in that manner. It just plain does not work well when I switch it to catalytic.

This stove heats our upper house very well and we keep it at about 72. My FIL gave it to us about 15 years ago so the price was right. We also have a wood furnace in the basement that we have not used for many years, since we got this one. It is all hooked up to the ducts with a blower, etc. but given my broken old body I don't think hauling wood into the basement is a reality anymore. It is still hooked up, though, just in case we need it.

The only downside to our stove is it does not work well with large wood or anything over 16 inches. I think that if I had to do it again I would opt for a pellet stove, given how we use it. I am getting to the age that the hassle and work of cutting, splitting, and hauling wood is getting to lose its fun and excitement. It is still a lot of fun chucking in small logs and enjoying the heat this thing puts out so we will continue to use it.

Moosetrot

Got a old hurricane stove in the fur shed , holds for a good 12 hours.
Way more of a stove than a 14x22 shed needs, but paid 60.00 dollars for it
15 years ago had to reline the fire brick in it and put a new cord on the
Blower motor.

When buying a wood stove look for a thick built stove
Hard to move around but worth it.

I love my Jotul Oslo 500. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

NOT catalytic !

One thing I've learned is not to skimp on insulation. Our house is only 1400 square feet, but I built it to R-2000 specs. 10-inch walls and R60 blown into the ceiling. That along with triple pane argon filled windows and it doesnt take much to heat. I build my trapline cabins small and tight too. Makes a big difference in summer and winter.

I have a Blaze King , with a cat. I wish it didn't have the cat , though it can be disengaged from use with a lever. It has been a good stove , just wished it has a tray for ash, like the biggest size up offers. It has a big box and a fan blower. Also a flat top to cook on, hold water for humidity, or to set anything on if needed. The pipe opening on the top, a nice straight shot right up through the roof. Any elbows in a pipe for me are horrible to worry about.

I do love Jotul and want one asap.

That's the brand I couldn't think of. I knew you had one and I knew I searched hard for one back when I bought my second Quadra-Fire but I couldn't think of the name, thanks!

Nobody wanted to part with their Jotuls back when I was looking to buy a second quality stove. They were hard to find.

Fisher wood stoves were made right here where I live. One of my brothers had a contract trucking Fisher stoves back east in the 70's early 80's. At one point he had 4 truckers working for him. When the new anti wood stove legislation came about and required certain levels of efficiency Fisher went bankrupt. My brother was still owed a lot of money for Trucking and ended up receiving many tons of Fisher stoves and stove parts from the owner.

I personally love them. I know one family that cooked their whole thanksgiving dinner on one.

Wood stoves and safes. Heavier the better.

I had a wonder wood from rual king for my first wood stove 20 years ago. It heated that drafty house and my electric bill went from 350 to $65 a month. It was cheap but worked .

My 2nd is a Vermont castings duch west large. It worked great for years but has started going through to much wood now.

I have an outside wood boiler by heat master at my form for 3 years now. It heats my uninsulated drafty 5 bedroom farm with 26 old windows. I can hear another building if I want to with it. It also heats my domestic hot water ant its wonderful. You can be #5 in line for a shower and still have hot water.

2'×2' door 46"×36" fire box means you can cut it long and don't have to split very much. No fire hazard, smoke, or wood and sash mess in the house.


Can burn any crap wood and get rid of things like dead critters if you need to. Burning old dead Jack pine now just to get rid of one that fell in the field. Turning it into heat vs a bonfire later seemed like a better idea. 2nd one cleaned up this year like that.

Down side uses a lot of wood.

We have heated with wood for over 30 years. I have a cabinet type stove in the house, and another in my shop. They are like the old Ashley cabinet stoves. I believe TSC sells the same type....called a "Wonderwood". Mine are able to handle 24 inch length wood, and have no trouble holding a fire all night. I usually burn around 10-12 pick-up loads per year, but mostly because I live in an old, drafty, not well insulated farm house. It is also fairly large, or at least spread out. A guy with a smaller house that is insulated well would go through much less wood. I have never owned a new woodstove. I always have bought used, usually for a great price. I don't think I ever paid more than $200 for a stove. I paid $80 for one a couple years ago, but it is a bit smaller than the ones we currently have inside. It was in excellent condition and I couldn't resist buying it!

I heat both my house and shop with wood stoves. One is a Drolett Aussie and one is a Quarda Fire 4300. Both are great but I'll add a couple things I've found that comes in handy when making a decision:

1). Don't even look at what they are rated for. RATHER get down and look at the fire box and get one that will accept logs you want to put in it. bigger is better. Don't have to fill it up but it's nice not to have to put 8" kindling logs in every half hour. Big logs last all night. Little stuff doesn't.

2) I have the under box ash tray on both units. They are a gimmick. I never used them....but paid plenty for them. Skip the ash tray...You'll just end up scooping the ashes out the front door anyhow as it's a lot easier.

3). Get the blower. This is the fastest way to gain and regulate heat into your space. They do make heat activated fans that sit on top of the stove, too, but it's nice to be able to control the fan speed. Fans/blowers are kind of like a thermostat once you learn how to use them and regulate the air flow for them.

4) you kind of get what you pay for and most anything now is EPA regulated anyhow. I did put one of the Vogalzangs belly stoves in a shed once to save a few bucks but it was far subpar to the ones I spent some money on. You're space is big enough you'll want a decent stove. You won't regret it. I'll never have a house without one in again. Wood heat is so much nicer than forced or water heat. Totally different feel. It's therapeutic

Agree completely about the feel and quality of wood heat. There is no comparison.

Disagree about the ash pan. My Jotul has one and it works well and is simple to slide out and dump it. I NEVER open the front of my stove. I can feed it from the side

The largest style Blaze King has an ash tray. Years ago, I bought the next size down , still a big one with plenty of heating power. I wish I would have just paid a bit more to get the largest with the tray.

Particular about ash dust , I run my vacuum to catch any floating fine particles in the air as I scoop out. I'm even careful in the timing of loading wood vs. smoke factor. Load fast with no or little smoke before the new wood catches .

Ash or soot on my art projects , or furniture isn't acceptable for me.

Sometime, the next stove I get, looking for a Jotul, will have a tray . I am tired of the shovel .

Sounds like everyone has their favorites. It does seem like non cat is the way to go. I think I’ll
Start looking for a used one somewhere and wait for a deal of some sort

We have a big Blaze King with ash drawer and catalyst. Like both features. Have had it 19 winters, on its 2nd catalyst. Clean catalyst each summer. More heat and significantly less creosote in chimney. I burn split, dried birch and spruce. It works quite well for us. Would buy another. Only gripe is I wish ash drawer was bigger. I fill it approximately 2 1/2 times each time I empty stove. I can shut the stove down enough to put out fire. Don't get a stove with a firebox that only accepts logs "sideways". If logs within roll, you want them to roll against the sides of the firebox, not out the door. Hope that makes sense.

That does make sense! Thank you

I would not buy a stove without an ash pan and I will 2and a big fire box. Nothing less than 20-24" length and large enough to fit several 6-8" across pieces of wood. Don't let them be you into a small box. You don't want to have to split all your wood small or cut it short.

I always liked the ash try, but you gotta keep on it, or else you have to do the scoop out through the firebox door thing....smoke city. As for the front loading stoves......a lot of folks love them, especially the ones with glass so you can watch the fire when you have your Hot Toddy in the P.M. I never liked them for the reason 30/06 states. Also, the ones without a ash pan seem to take more fussing around....it was a pain de-ashing without letting the fire go out. I ain't about letting the fire go out til spring. I do love the feel of wood heat. There isn't much to be said for coming in after wallering out on Beaver flowages and spudding out the traps, then getting home and backing up the the baseboards or floor registers to warm your hiney!

I never had a stove with an ash pan. I guess I don't know what I'm missing.

We light a fire in October and it doesn't go out until late March/early April. I've gotten really good at doing hot clean outs. I let it burn down to coals after the ash bed gets to be about five inches deep. The ashes always settle to the bottom after a couple of stirs with the poker. I slide the ash shovel along the bottom firebrick and get a heap on it. A gentle back and forth rock loses and coals on top of the heap and I put the ashes in the ash bucket. Repeat as needed until there's about an inch of ash under the bed of coals. Easy peasy.

The only real drawback is you have to lower the shovel and dump it into the ash bucket slowly or fine ash can float and settle everywhere. My wife hates that...so I've learned to do it slowly.

Clean out about once a week depending on how hot she keeps it in there and wood species.

Burning oak around the clock I can get by cleaning out 1x every 2 weeks.

If I burn junk wood like soft maple, boxelder, poplar I need to shovel ash out every morning. I quit burning that years ago and save it for the outdoor fire pit.

WS

Kuma makes good stoves. Had one at my old house, and bought a new one for my new place. The 2020 epa regs messed with em. The old stove was better. They are made it idaho.

Same here WS. I was gonna mention it but didn't think folks would believe me. I don't know where all the ash goes when burning good seasoned oak but I can go at least two weeks, sometimes three or longer without cleaning ashes.

Any other species it's about once a week.

And that's burning 24/7.

Lug nut. With an ash pan when its burned down to coals you just rake them back and forth with your shovel and they drop in the pan below Remove the pan and go dump it. No ash dust, hot knuckles, or danger of loosing a hot coal while transferring ash to your bucket.

My in laws stoves didn't have ash pans and tending theirs made me appreciate mine with them.

for efficient , I like my quadrafire it does not have the biggest fire box ,16 wide 18 deep about 10 inches high but it burns very clean , have gone 2 years without cleaning the chimny and probably could have gone 10 , burn dry wood and it makes a very clean chimney. I don't go more than 2 without cleaning more as a matter of inspecting.

mail man said about a year after I got my stove in 2007, how come you never have a fire going I see all the wood and I see the chimney we have snow on the ground, but never any smoke , had to tell him there is a good fire going right now , and had been every day for over a month look closer you can see the heat bending the light but , it burns that clean you don't see smoke.

Getting a new stove is the least of your worries! First, get a new home in another state!

black-dogs , the stove you have is the worst stove you can buy , it eats wood !!!!! , a friend has one