wood stoves

[747mopar]

Just looking for some suggestions on brands. I bought a really nice wood burner insert (fireplace xtrordinair) for my fireplace years ago and am now spoiled and want something comparable for my shop, something rated for at least 1,200 sq ft. I'm looking at small units with the second burn plumbing with burn times in the 8+hour range.... very efficient for their size.

I've been looking at Lopi, Regency, US stove (not the wood eater like I have now), Drolet, Vogelzang, Quadra fire, etc. With winter coming to an end I'm finding plenty of deals already but aren't familiar with all the brands, Lopi's seam to be the most common.

Also what about piping??? I've visited some dealers and they all insist that I need $2,500 worth of this fancy pants stainless pipe.... I asked why and he says "If you don't keep the chimney hot (insulated pipe) it'll create soot and catch fire" so I ask why not use well casing and he says (it'll catch fire).... I say explain why mine hasn't in 20 years???? Am I missing something here.... $1,500 for a new stove and $2,500 for piping seams retarted to me!

 

[747mopar]

Here's basically what one looks like.

 

[bm02tj]

They are not explaining it correctly
If your vent runs cool it will creosote up and if catching fire is not good
Or plugging the vent
If not on an outside wall brick with a liner is good enough
Stay with a smaller unit so you can run hot more often to keep vent clean

 

[Photon440]

Just can't see a wood stove lasting very long once you light it.

 

[62MAX]

Have had one of these for 20+ yrs,outside flue,haven't had to clean it in 5 yrs,heads 1500 sq ft with no problem,about 5 cord of wood a year.

http://www.woodmansforgefireplace.c...Coal-Stoves/Magnafire-Mark-II-Coal-Stove.html.

 

[polywideblock]

you should look into the water heating option while you are shopping , uses the heat going up the chimney that otherwise is wasted
heres an example

 

[Xp29h]

Can you locate Ashley products in your area? Great for house, shop. Little fan over the top and they spread the heat like crazy! Don't have to stoke all the time either. Wood can be larger than smaller stoves require..here's an sample. I'm sure there are other options out there that may work as well or even better but for the money, great stove. Keeping in mind, you like wood and all that goes with that! Good luck!

http://hvacdirect.com/ashley-woodch...-aw100e.html?gclid=CJmn582q59ICFVGHswod96kMlA

 

[747mopar]

I'll check and as far as wood goes, I work at a sawmill where junk logs are plentiful. $100 and a logger drops an entire knuckle boom load at my home, last load lasted 2 winters . No brainer.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Just looking for some suggestions on brands. I bought a really nice wood burner insert (fireplace xtrordinair) for my fireplace years ago and am now spoiled and want something comparable for my shop, something rated for at least 1,200 sq ft. I'm looking at small units with the second burn plumbing with burn times in the 8+hour range.... very efficient for their size.

I've been looking at Lopi, Regency, US stove (not the wood eater like I have now), Drolet, Vogelzang, Quadra fire, etc. With winter coming to an end I'm finding plenty of deals already but aren't familiar with all the brands, Lopi's seam to be the most common.

Also what about piping??? I've visited some dealers and they all insist that I need $2,500 worth of this fancy pants stainless pipe.... I asked why and he says "If you don't keep the chimney hot (insulated pipe) it'll create soot and catch fire" so I ask why not use well casing and he says (it'll catch fire).... I say explain why mine hasn't in 20 years???? Am I missing something here.... $1,500 for a new stove and $2,500 for piping seams retarted to me!

Hi 747mopar!
I was all set to purchase a Pellet insert, wife nixed it...(so far)
However, after all of my research:
Top brand is LOPI
As far as the "insert/pipe" hmmm, Im not sure about that stuff.....
So:
Some "Top rated" brands are:
Lopi
Avalon
Blaze King (I just sold a Blaze King to my "bud" hoping to purchase the Lopi or Avalon Pellet insert)
Harman (made by Lopi)
Pacific Energy
Quadra Fire

 

[747mopar]

Hi 747mopar!
I was all set to purchase a Pellet insert, wife nixed it...(so far)
However, after all of my research:
Top brand is LOPI
As far as the "insert/pipe" hmmm, Im not sure about that stuff.....
So:
Some "Top rated" brands are:
Lopi
Avalon
Blaze King (I just sold a Blaze King to my "bud" hoping to purchase the Lopi or Avalon Pellet insert)
Harman (made by Lopi)
Pacific Energy
Quadra Fire

That's good to know seeing how I've found several Lopi's in the $500 range in really nice condition. I'd prefer new but so many people buy stoves only to take them right back out leaving a lot of deals to be had.
Really liked the Quadra fire I looked at too.

 

[coloradodave]

747mopar; Owned a stove shop for 25 years. Lopi and Avalon are made by Travis Industries, share technology and are great brands. Quadrafire and Blazeking are good brands as well. Some important things to consider:
1) The better insulated the space is, the better CONVECTION style stoves (those with heat-shields built in) work, as they heat the air between the walls and then release warm air, which can be fan assisted. My preference is to use a ceiling fan ( Big *** Fan Co. is my favorite for garages) to draw warm air up and then run it down the walls of the space. You can also reverse the fan in the summer and use it to cool you. Of course you also gain radiant heat (ceramic glass radiates as well as steel) off the front and top of the stove.
2) If not so well insulated, or you don't wish to use a ceiling fan, a RADIANT style stove is best. Think brands like Jotul, Hearthstone, etc., that produce gobs of sunshine like heat. The old Fisher, 50 gallon drum stoves, double drum stoves and potbellies are good examples, but don't burn clean, aren't fuel efficient and don't have particularly long burn times. Radiant stoves give you a 'warm' spot quicker.
As far as chimneys are concerned; in the old days we ran as much single wall pipe in the room as possible to get maximum extraction of the radiant heat. If you've ever seen the old one room schools with a radiant stove at one end and a pipe traveling horizontally for 20-30 feet before turning vertical you know what I mean. The main problem was that they had to disassemble the system weekly to clean out the accumulated creosote or risk a chimney fire. No hydrants back then... Today's stoves are so much more efficient at burning the wood once, then recirculating the smoke inside and re-burning that before letting whatever's left go up the pipe that it's important to keep some heat in the pipe to help create an uplifting draft. I recommend using double wall (interior liner is stainless) interior pipe (Duravent and Security are 2 major brands) and then switch to Class 'A' chimney (Security, Duravent and Metalbestos are major brands) to exit the roof to termination, which should be a minimum of 3' above the roof and 2' higher than anything within 10'. This will be a safe system and meet all National Codes for your homeowner's insurance. Follow up with a yearly inspection for any accumulated creosote and sweep when necessary.
Sorry for the long reply. If I can answer any questions just PM me.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

we have a Harmon pellet insert and love it.

 

[747mopar]

747mopar; Owned a stove shop for 25 years. Lopi and Avalon are made by Travis Industries, share technology and are great brands. Quadrafire and Blazeking are good brands as well. Some important things to consider:
1) The better insulated the space is, the better CONVECTION style stoves (those with heat-shields built in) work, as they heat the air between the walls and then release warm air, which can be fan assisted. My preference is to use a ceiling fan ( Big *** Fan Co. is my favorite for garages) to draw warm air up and then run it down the walls of the space. You can also reverse the fan in the summer and use it to cool you. Of course you also gain radiant heat (ceramic glass radiates as well as steel) off the front and top of the stove.
2) If not so well insulated, or you don't wish to use a ceiling fan, a RADIANT style stove is best. Think brands like Jotul, Hearthstone, etc., that produce gobs of sunshine like heat. The old Fisher, 50 gallon drum stoves, double drum stoves and potbellies are good examples, but don't burn clean, aren't fuel efficient and don't have particularly long burn times. Radiant stoves give you a 'warm' spot quicker.
As far as chimneys are concerned; in the old days we ran as much single wall pipe in the room as possible to get maximum extraction of the radiant heat. If you've ever seen the old one room schools with a radiant stove at one end and a pipe traveling horizontally for 20-30 feet before turning vertical you know what I mean. The main problem was that they had to disassemble the system weekly to clean out the accumulated creosote or risk a chimney fire. No hydrants back then... Today's stoves are so much more efficient at burning the wood once, then recirculating the smoke inside and re-burning that before letting whatever's left go up the pipe that it's important to keep some heat in the pipe to help create an uplifting draft. I recommend using double wall (interior liner is stainless) interior pipe (Duravent and Security are 2 major brands) and then switch to Class 'A' chimney (Security, Duravent and Metalbestos are major brands) to exit the roof to termination, which should be a minimum of 3' above the roof and 2' higher than anything within 10'. This will be a safe system and meet all National Codes for your homeowner's insurance. Follow up with a yearly inspection for any accumulated creosote and sweep when necessary.
Sorry for the long reply. If I can answer any questions just PM me.

Don't apologize, your just the kind of guy I want to hear from. Outside of being very familiar with stoves you've always given excellent advice on many topics so I'm all ears.

I'll fill you in on the garage, wanting something easy to cool and heat yet big enough to house everything I built a 2 story 32'X34' with a 13' ceiling (because of the lift) with an attached 24X24 parking garage. All of the work will be within the 32'X34' which all I'm worried about hearing. Walls are R19 (house wrapped) and the ceiling is R30 with a full footer and a 6ft block wall on 2 walls (built into a bank). The stove will exit out the block wall then 90 up the outside wall so the exit it easy as far as fires are concerned. I thought ahead and wired 2 fans centered over each bay so I've got that covered (I do exactly what you suggested in my home with ceiling fans).

I really like the radiant stoves, quiet and less parts to go bad plus they really put out some heat. Sounds like your recommending a blower style? What about the radiant stove with the blowers that blow over the top? I guess my big beef is when we loose power our blower style stove is worthless and I wanted to avoid that so I could at least keep warm in the garage. I'll take any advice you want to give.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

We burned wood for years.. two best tips: burn only dry seasoned hard woods to keep creosote from being a problem, and get a stove with shaker grates that can burn wood and coal. The shaker grates with a ash pan is so much easier to empty the ashes and not make such a mess. And you can do that with a fire still burning. If you can get coal, it will burn a long time , like over-night...................MO

 

[BeeKool]

Here's my shop heater. It's a cast iron coal stove, although we burn wood in it. Manufactured approx. in 1900 by Excelsior Furnace of Chicago. Purchased at an auction around 1980, it has heated our shop since. Probably a bit primitive for the liking of most, it will heat our 60×40×16 shop to 70° in the coldest of winter days. With a home engineered squirrel cage fan behind it and a large ceiling fan above it. It has a fire in it from mid Dec until mid March. I burn mainly oak, mulberry, Ash, walnut, Elm in it, it smells wonderful.

They don't make things like the use to

 

[Ghostrider 67]

there's an old store buffier that has a pot belly stove from the 18 hundreds keeps the whole place warm.

 

[KENTON]

Blaze King. King model will heat 1200 sq ft and burn 24 hrs, I have one in my shop. Plus I'm a dealer. Don't know if I can get one dropped shipped, but I could check.

 

[Thunderlugs]

We purchased a Jotul Oslo 500 42000 BTU's 16 years ago, side and front load,non catalyst. Extremely efficient leaving very little ash. Its easy to clean and regulates nicely. Needed a stainless chimney because of a cracked clay tile. The total was about 2600 installed. that was in 01. Jotul has been around over 100 years out of Norway.

 

[747mopar]

View attachment 406727
Here's my shop heater. It's a cast iron coal stove, although we burn wood in it. Manufactured approx. in 1900 by Excelsior Furnace of Chicago. Purchased at an auction around 1980, it has heated our shop since. Probably a bit primitive for the liking of most, it will heat our 60×40×16 shop to 70° in the coldest of winter days. With a home engineered squirrel cage fan behind it and a large ceiling fan above it. It has a fire in it from mid Dec until mid March. I burn mainly oak, mulberry, Ash, walnut, Elm in it, it smells wonderful.

They don't make things like the use to

We heated our home when I was a kid with coal furnace a lot like that, good furnace.

 

[747mopar]

Blaze King. King model will heat 1200 sq ft and burn 24 hrs, I have one in my shop. Plus I'm a dealer. Don't know if I can get one dropped shipped, but I could check.

Haven't looked at those yet until now, I really like the looks of that one. It has some features that i really like plus a very high efficiency and burn time. What one of those cost?