Best Wood Burning Stove To Buy
Wood-burning stoves are made from steel, cast iron, or soapstone and consist of a firebox with a chimney. They can produce up to 70,000 BTUs or more of heat, enough to warm a small home. Some are also designed to double as actual stoves for cooking. Wood-burning stoves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including stand-alone models, wall or hearth inserts, and portable stoves. This guide discusses what factors you should consider when shopping for these old-school heating appliances and reviews some of the best wood stove options on the market.
best wood burning stove to buy
The list below takes into account our shopping considerations to feature the best wood-burning stove models on the market. It includes stand-alone models and indoor wood-burning fireplace stove inserts, as well as portable wood stoves for outdoor use.
Understanding the two types of wood stoves, the materials used to make them, and their heating capacity are all vital when shopping for one of these appliances. Ahead, learn more about these and other important attributes of the best wood stoves.
Wood stoves are available in two types: catalytic and noncatalytic. Catalytic wood stoves differ from noncatalytic in that they produce fewer exhaust fumes and burn more efficiently. In addition to burning wood, catalytic wood stoves also have a combustor that burns smoke and byproducts. This design allows the stove to burn cleaner with a slower burn rate, conserving fuel. Efficiency ratings for a catalytic wood stove range between 63 and 84 percent, making them ideal options for use as a primary source of heat.
Most wood stoves are made from one of three materials: cast iron, plate steel, or soapstone. Cast iron, the most commonly used material, heats up quickly and retains warmth longer than other materials. However, it does crack more easily and is more expensive than other materials.
Plate steel, also a common material used in wood stoves, is durable and retains heat well, though not as well as cast iron. Soapstone is the high-end material for wood stoves. It retains heat better than cast iron, burns cleaner than other materials, and can burn for 24 hours or longer on a single load. Most wood stoves consist of either soapstone or plate steel with a cast- iron door.
The heat output of a wood stove is measured in BTUs (British thermal units). Wood stoves range in BTU output from around 50,000 to 80,000 BTUs. The more BTUs, the greater the size of the space the wood stove can heat. A large 70,000-BTU wood stove can warm up to 2,200 square feet. While BTU level is a great indication of how powerful the stove is, not all manufacturers provide BTU information for their stoves.
Keep in mind that the size of the stove also affects the size of wood they can burn. A standard freestanding or insert wood stove can hold logs up to 18 inches long, whereas portable models can typically handle logs that measure about 8 inches long.
It is safe to leave a wood fireplace on overnight, as long as you follow a few precautions. Allow the wood to burn for a few hours before going to bed. Before turning in for the night, add ash to the burning logs to dampen the flames and slow the burning process. Next, close the stove air vents to reduce the size of the fire, ensuring it will be safe even when burning through the night.
Yes. If the indoor wood-burning stove is not properly vented to the outside of the home, it can cause exhaust fumes to collect inside the home, resulting in carbon monoxide poisoning. If a wood-burning stove is installed properly, vented to the outside of the home, and EPA certified, it is safe to use.
Our best overall pick is the Ashley Hearth Products AW2520E-P 2,500 Sq. Ft. Wood Burning Stove, which is packed with user-friendly features and has plenty of heating power, making it an ideal choice for medium to larger spaces. If you're looking for an electric option, we recommend the Duraflame Infrared Quartz Fireplace Stove. It combines the convenience of an electric heater with the ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace for a cozy look and feel.
Yes, you can leave a wood-burning stove on overnight, however, you must do so with caution. To begin, you will need to start your fire a few hours before nighttime. Pack uniform pieces of wood closely together and shut off your wood stove's air vents to ensure a slow and steady burn that will last overnight. Make sure that any exhaust is still being directed and flowing out of your chimney and that your room is well ventilated by slightly opening your windows to help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Then reduce your flames as much as possible before you go to sleep to reduce the risk of a fire breaking out.
In short, yes. A wood stove that isn't ventilated properly can cause a build-up of carbon monoxide in your space. To avoid that, it's important to make sure your wood stove is installed correctly and that you maintain the proper maintenance to keep it clean and functioning normally. You can also install carbon monoxide alarms, if you don't have any installed already, to help detect a leak.
Home heating costs continue to rise. As they do, wood-burning stoves are filling a need to reduce those costs. The basic idea of burning wood for heat is old. However, that idea, along with modern advancements in wood stove efficiency, has resulted in lower energy bills for those that have them installed in their homes.
We developed our list of the best wood stoves by first identifying competitors that met basic criteria. We reviewed the 17 most widely available wood stoves from that list and scored them all based on eight different attributes. We further pared our list down to the top five wood stoves. Our ratings take into consideration factors like pricing, warranty, energy efficiency rating, ash chute/drawer, glass viewing window, EPA certified and mobile home approved. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
Another $200 buys you the optional fresh air intake, and the stove weighs a mere 312 pounds. Together, these factors make this wood stove perfect for mobile home or cabin installations.
The Deco II Wood Stove emits just 1.26 grams of contaminants per hour and is more efficient than 78% of other wood stoves. The pedestal underneath the stove makes an attractive log storage area and gives the stove a unique appearance.
Two main types of wood stoves meet EPA standards for efficiency and emissions. The first, called non-catalytic, is the most straightforward type. Non-catalytic stoves burn efficiently at high temperatures for high heat output. However, at lower burn temperatures, the emissions increase somewhat. These stoves are easy to maintain and have short, hot burn times.
Catalytic wood stoves, on the other hand, include a component that traps and burns some of the emissions and excess particles after the initial wood burning. Catalytic stoves require more maintenance, produce slightly lower BTUs, emit less creosote and feature longer burn times.
How you use your wood stove will determine the heating capacity that yours will need to produce. Smaller wood stoves with heating capacities of under 1,000 square feet are excellent for heating individual rooms or spaces, or for use as supplemental heat for your primary HVAC system.
Basic efficiency ratings for wood stoves are fairly simple to understand. The percentage rating is an indicator of how much fuel is required to produce a specific amount of heat. The higher the percentage number, the less wood is required to heat your space. To keep your labor to a minimum and conserve resources, look for wood stoves with at least 70% efficiency ratings.
The installation requirements for the stove you choose are important to maximize the efficient use of space while minimizing installation costs. If the best exhaust method for your home is through a nearby wall, choose a stove approved for that type of installation. If you have an existing masonry chimney, consider a wood stove insert to keep installation costs low.
Wood is one of the least expensive heat sources available. You can give your heating energy bills a break by adding supplemental heat from a wood stove. Wood is also a renewable source of energy, as opposed to the fossil fuels that most furnaces run on. A wood stove is more efficient, and can distribute heat better, than a traditional fireplace while providing a similar elegance.
Defining a good selling point in a home depends on what features are deemed valuable to a set of buyers. A wood stove requires maintenance, but also provides convenience. It carries a fairly low, 5% average, return on investment, but also provides elegance to the home. In general, for most buyers and sellers, a wood-burning stove is a great selling point for an otherwise standard house.
Because purchasing a wood stove is often related to saving money on your energy bills, the price of each wood stove was compared against its overall value. That ratio was used to compare products and determine the first rating parameter.
Installing a wood-burning stove is generally less expensive than remodeling a room to accommodate a traditional or gas-fired fireplace. If you need supplemental heat in your home, a wood stove might be your best bet.
This is a direct quote about wood stoves by the US Department of Energy. It perfectly encapsulates why the currently best wood stoves are so popular. Further on, you will find a list of the 4 best wood stoves currently on the market.
We will look at 4 wood stove models with the best specifications in 2023. You will find a comparison table of all top-rated wood stoves further on, followed by an individual review of each model. You can skip to the best wood-burning stoves list and comparison here:
Example: 14.31 lbs of red oak contains 100,000 BTU of heating power. If you use a 50% efficient wood stove, you will get 50,000 BTU of heat from that. If you put that same wood into a 70% high-efficiency wood-burning stove, you will get 70,000 BTU.
Wood stoves have different efficiency. In the short-term, lower-efficiency wood stoves might seem like a cheaper choice. The unit price of a 50% efficiency stove can be $1,000 lower than the unit price of a 70% high-efficiency stove. 041b061a72