Best Wood Stove – Choose Easily with Our Reviews for 2017
Wood has been the natural choice for domestic fires since time immemorial. To keep our homes warm so that we don’t freeze to death, wood stoves are the products to invest in! What would be better than something, that is low on cost, lasts a lifetime and often comes with an apt aesthetic sense that warms you during the winter chills? The electric ones are slaves of a particular power source (Which is very difficult to be replenished manually) and often enough have a short life span, having to rely on continuous maintenance.
Having been in vogue for a long time, wood stoves have only adapted more and more advanced technology.
Picture | Product | Power (BTUs) | Class | Review | Editor's Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Stove APS1100B “Ashley Model”
| 67000 | |||
| 55000 | High End | |||
| 77000 | Top Class | |||
| 73790 | Top Class | |||
| 152000 | High End | |||
| 68000 | ||||
| 703390 | Mid Range | |||
| 38500 | Top Class |
Reviews of the Best Electric Fireplaces of 2016
US Stove APS1100B “Ashley Model”
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US stove’s product, The Ashley Model is probably one of the best in the market in its own league. It can hold up to 16” logs and crank out 67,000 BTUs. It is EPA Certified and thus qualifies you for potential tax credits.
This is a simple wood stove that will definitely heat up your home. Weighing 250 pounds, this has a draft control right above the door, which lets you control the heat quickly and efficiently. It, however, does not come with an ash pan to accumulate the ash.
Drolet Savannah High Efficiency
Editor Rating:
Requires only a 19-inch clearance on sides and back, this stove comes with a large ash pan on the bottom. The ash keeps accumulating in the bottom and can be cleared in a week.
This model fancies a door that is made from heavy duty cast iron for stronger resistance to accidents. A thermostat is provided so that the controls for the fire can be easily understood and accessed. A lever is provided, right on top of the door for air control which grants more control over the fire.
Pleasant Hearth 2,200 Square Feet Wood Burning Stove
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This stove by Pleasant Hearth is up to date with the EPA standard, it has a standard 3.6-gram emission rate per hour. Extremely efficient, with a rating of 85%, this model can easily keep the fire burning as long as 10hours.
A well-maintained bed ensures that you pass through tough winter nights. The fire that is created inside this machine can easily heat up to 2,200 square feet of area.
This stove, however, is not extremely user-friendly. It takes time to get accustomed to, more so if you have not used a wood stove before. The controls make it a little difficult for novice users to get the air ratio correct. But once you get the drift, Pleasant Hearth will give you a truly pleasant experience.
Vogelzang Durango Stove (TR008)
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The grate, in this machine, requires to be cleaned very often and it does not come with an ash pan to collect left-over debris of burnt wood. However, it accepts logs up to 26” in length and burns for at least 12 hours.
This machine also uses less wood in comparison to others. It can heat up to 1500 square feet while producing up to 74,000 BTU’s.
It has been certified safe according to the EPA standards and comes with a 75% efficiency rate. The door is made out of cast iron. An airtight Firebox and a good quality blower make this model delightfully attractive.
Vogelzang Ponderosa Stove (TR007)
Editor Rating:
It features a solid cast iron door with a large ceramic window that provides a view into the fire burning inside the box. This adds to the larger aesthetic sense of the product.
This model can use a 22” log and heat up to 3,000 square feet. It produces around 152,000 BTU’s and has an 82% efficiency rating! Unlike the TR008, this comes with a large ash pan which makes it easier to collect all the debris and dispose them off in a proper manner. This is a non-catalyst stove.
Defender EPA Wood Stove (TR001)
Editor Rating:
Another product of the Vogelzang Company. It is a beautiful air tight plate steel stove. A ceramic window lets you take a peek into the fire, which also addresses the aesthetic beauty of the product.
In this non-catalytic stove, the first air inlet lights the wood on fire when starting it up. The second inlet pushes air to the top of the machine through ignition pipes directly above the wood. The fire is evenly spread from top to bottom. This is a very efficient way of consuming the wood and making it last while providing warmth for a longer time.
This model can easily heat up to 1,200 square feet and BTUs up to 68,000. A blower and an adjustable high speed are the icings on top of the cake.
The Blaze King Stove
Editor Rating:
At 88% efficiency, The Blade King stove is probably one of the most efficient wood stoves in the market. King allows you to get the maximum amount of heat from the wood and reduces the heating cost.
Boasting and delivering a pretty large firebox, this is most apt for households situated in colder climates, or large houses and long durations. The king can burn for more than 40+ hours on low produce and throw tremendous amounts of heat for more than 12 hours at a stretch.
It has the capacity to heat more than 2000 square feet at a time while producing 703390 BTUs at a time.
The Pacific Energy Summit
Editor Rating:
An exclusively non-catalytic stove, this one scores high on the efficiency rating scale. With a 3.9 gm/hour emission rate, it fits into the standard of EPA perfectly.
With an Air Washed Ceramic window pane, Pacific Energy fits right into the standards of the aesthetic notion of beauty that is prevalent in the Vogelzang series. A floating firebox is present in order to sustain a longer period of usage. The Extended Burn Technology (EBT) allows more heat and fire to be produced from a small quantity of wood. The self-sealing ash dump is a beneficial addition to this model. It can accommodate 20” logs and it produces around 38,500 BTUs. The internal and external air combustion technology comes really handy in producing the desired quality of heat.
About Wood Stoves
They trap heat and distribute it better throughout the house. Secure models are turning up which prevent accidents from taking place. Wood stove companies have also focused on building more ‘pleasing-to-the-eye’ models! Easy ash removal, interior cleaning mechanisms, and better log burning mechanisms are being put in place.
Environmental Protection Agency of the United States of America has set an emission bar of 4.5 gram of gas per hour. Stoves that do not abide by those standards are not allowed to be introduced in the market.
I have made sure that all the necessary information is available to you. Aspects such as how much area is to be heated, the number of logs it can hold at one point of time, the size of the logs, the different techniques used by different wood stoves have been explained in detail in this article.
How efficient these are machines have also been pointed out for your benefit. I have also included concise product reviews so that you could gauge the metric used when one goes to buy a wood stove in the market.
Advantages of Using Wood Stoves
Wood Stoves are not dependent on artificial power sources and cost quite less than what an electric heater or one that uses gas would cost you. Most households can be easily heated by two cords of the log a year. A wood stove is an easy way to save money.
A zero-worry method of warming the entire household, wood stoves can be installed in any place of the house. The fire can be contained easily and the mechanism does not shut down whenever the electric supply goes off. The ones that are dependent on blowers might not do so, but even then they manage to keep the room it is set in comfortably warm.
These products are not heavy on the wallet. One 16” log will help you survive the cold beautifully. Catalytic and Non-Catalytic stoves have different advantages and efficiency quotients.
Two Major Types
Catalytic
A catalytic converter or a catalytic combustor is used in a catalytic stove to reduce the temperature that smoke catches fire at. It takes around 1100 degrees for the smoke to catch fire, Catalytic stoves lowers the temperature to approximately 500 – 550 degrees which make the smoke catch fire easily. The amount of wood required to reach that certain amount of warmth is decreased which consequently increases the burn time of the logs.
Non Catalytic
Stoves sans a catalytic converter generally use an air injection method. Streams or jets of pre-heated air are injected in the stove. The jets then fan the smoke to turn into beautiful flames. These machines require less constant attention than the catalytic stove. Non-Catalytic stoves work most efficiently in terms of a moderate temperature. It is beneficial to have them in large spaces which require a lot of heat to be spread around.
Selecting the Right Wood Stove
Material
Cast iron and welded steel are the two main options in terms of the material your stove is built with. It is in aesthetics and price where the difference lies, in terms of heating, both perform somewhat similarly. Graceful curves and artistic relief patterns make cast iron stoves pleasing to the eye, just like fine furniture for home heating. Welded steel stoves are plainer, but cost less.
Cast stoves used to be generally more durable, but in order to keep up with the tough competition, steel stoves have started to invest more in making their parts more resistant.
Efficiency
The far higher efficiency delivered by advanced certified stoves is definitely relevant in day-to-day use. Although this higher efficiency is a by-product of mandatory emissions limits, this EPA certified stove is a winner for both the environment and stove users.
The efficiency rate is increased to a 75%. The heat output is adequate for a spacious room and the amount of saving it can do on the fuel that you buy is astonishing. It is nearly one-third of the cost of running regular heaters.
These stoves are not dependent on electricity and thus does not fall unnecessary prey to sudden blackouts, thus keeping you warm even at the darkest hour.
Heat Output
Heat output listed by most manufacturers is in British Thermal Units (BTUs), for popular stoves, this falls in the 25,000 to 80,000 BTU range. The average medium-size house needs 5,000 to 20,000 BTUs per hour of continuous heating power. Non-Catalytic stoves tend to produce a higher peak heat output. A good quality blower must be present with the stove in order to actualise optimal dispensation of heat. Otherwise, the warmth will not spread equally.
Heating Capacity
Companies always advertise how many square feet of area will the stove keep warm.
The degrees required for different places vary according to the dimension of the space. The quality (softwood or hardwood) of wood you use in your stove also determines the amount of heat that is spread throughout the building.
Small Stove – Suitable for heating a large room and small constructions. The firebox volume is around 2 cubic feet.
Medium Stove – A medium sized house can be easily warmed through one of these. The firebox volume is around 3 cubic feet.
Large Stove – Residents of Big-Leaky houses will find this machine to be of quite some use. The firebox volume in this one ranges from 3 cubic feet and above.
All of the above should be considered along with the size of the house, the location it is in, the overall temperature and the sort of fuel which is available.
A good look at things such as how much log the stove can hold, how long it will take a single log to burn and the shape of the firebox, is a must. Only after taking all or most of these guidelines in consideration, you should invest in a stove!
Parting Note
Wood Stoves are important in the manner in which they keep homes warm within your budget while keeping in mind the quality and the decorative aspect of such things.
This product can be looked as a piece of furniture which is quite essential during a freezing weather.
Like you would always try to make sure that your chair or the big living room settee looks good as well as makes sure that it serves the purpose, similarly the wooden stove should look good as well as keep the entire household warm so that you can make an informed choice in terms of what you want in a wood stove.