Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Good, cheap wood stove, Any suggestions?

N

Nick Hull

Jan 1, 1970
0
Nick said:
Thanks

Nick..

I have a barrel stove that was very cheap and used 2 55gal drums. It
will heat my entire house easily, it puts out a lot of heat and is temp
controlled.
 
S

Scott Willing

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks

Nick..

Assuming you want to buy, not build...

Stoves are heavy; your location relative to the manufacturer or
closest stocking retailer (a.k.a. availability) will be a major
factor. I can mention a brand but we may not even be in the same
country so it's probably meaningless.

A lot depends on whether the stove will be your principle source of
heat or whether it's just for occasional or backup use. Spending more
to get an efficient stove will mean less wood / less work. Regardless
of whether you buy or harvest your own fuel, that's well worth
factoring into the "cheap" calculation if this is your primary heat
source. If you just need a place to make a fire when the power fails,
maybe that's not a big deal for you.

For a primary heating device that isn't overly expensive, IMHO you
aren't likely to go too far wrong choosing just about any
non-catalytic EPA-rated stove from the local hardware store, sized so
that it can be run hot without burning down the house. (A common
mistake is to buy too much stove for the space and have to run it
damped down and smoky, with attendent creosote, air pollution and poor
fuel efficiency.) Even if you couldn't care less about the
environment, the EPA rating is an indication that some thought has
gone into the efficiency (heat/wood ratio) of the device.

After a few winters with a first-generation airtight, we plunked down
our dough for an EPA-rated non-catalytic model made by Metal MDR in
Quebec (under the rather unimaginative "Flame" brand) and available
from Home Hardware stores across Canada. We spent about 1.5x more
than the cheapest stoves on offer but still a *lot* less than you can
easily spend on a heating appliance.

We're delighted with the thing. The combustion is so much cleaner and
better controlled than our old stove, which pretty much had two modes:
blazing or smouldering. Also helps to have chosen a much better size
for the space we have.

-=s
 
B

Bob

Jan 1, 1970
0
I bought a used one. It was a "Certified" insert. Before I bought
it, I found a local store that carried parts for it. After
replacing a couple of air tubes in the top of the firebox, it
works fine.

Bob
 
Top