After several days of single digit temps and multiple power outages, I've finally convinced my husband we need a wood stove (I've wanted one for years). Now that I'm looking online I am finding so many different brands and kinds, I sort of feel overwhelmed and don't want to make a mistake w/ my purchase. I want a freestanding with a glass door to see the fire, non-catalytic. My home is 1000sq ft, so don't need anything huge. I don't want something poorly made or that isn't going to last - I want this thing to follow me into retirement. Most local dealers suggest the Buck Stove NC21, which seems like a great stove. Are there any others similar in quality & price I should consider. The Buck is at the top of my budget, so if there are comparable stoves that may cost less, I'd love to know about them.
Best wood stove for my dollar?
- Thread starter Awilson4130
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
What is your budget?
Is your floor plan open or really cut up into little rooms by narrow doorways? How tall would your chimney be?
Is your floor plan open or really cut up into little rooms by narrow doorways? How tall would your chimney be?
Probably the best bang for your buck is the Drolet line.
Welcome to the Forums
! Always nice to see another Sistah here 
There are a lot of things to consider besides square footage.
House layout, insulation, heat requirements, needed burn times, hearth / clearance requirements, and more. (Chime in, guys!)
I f you are serious, I have 2bits of advice, and they will be the most recurring ones you will hear.
1. Start on your firewood supply NOW. Get pallets, and start stacking
2. Get a larger firebox than you think you will need. You can build a smaller fire in a larger box, but not the reverse.
Again, welcome to the forums
! Always nice to see another Sistah here There are a lot of things to consider besides square footage.
House layout, insulation, heat requirements, needed burn times, hearth / clearance requirements, and more. (Chime in, guys
!)I f you are serious, I have 2bits of advice, and they will be the most recurring ones you will hear.
1. Start on your firewood supply NOW. Get pallets, and start stacking
2. Get a larger firebox than you think you will need. You can build a smaller fire in a larger box, but not the reverse.
Again, welcome to the forums
The house is basically cut in half - one side is an open floor plan with living, dining and kitchen, and then other side is 2 bed/bath. Would like to put stove in living room & pipe straight up thru attic and out roof. I’d like to stay around $1500 if I can get a quality stove for that price.
Thanks for that info!Welcome to the Forums
There are a lot of things to consider besides square footage.
House layout, insulation, heat requirements, needed burn times, hearth / clearance requirements, and more. (Chime in, guys
I f you are serious, I have 2bits of advice, and they will be the most recurring ones you will hear.
1. Start on your firewood supply NOW. Get pallets, and start stacking
2. Get a larger firebox than you think you will need. You can build a smaller fire in a larger box, but not the reverse.
Again, welcome to the forums
How old are you? If not able to bring in the wood consider pellets. I gave up wood because of disability. Nice not having the mess and bugs. I had Blaze King King. It was great stove. Hard to control heat is only downside. But yes get your wood collecting yesterday. I had 6 cords when we switched to pellets. All split and stacked out of weather too.
Best tool to help is Log Splitter. Anything beats Ax or Splitting Maul
Best tool to help is Log Splitter. Anything beats Ax or Splitting Maul
I’m 45 and pretty strong at the moment. I help my parents cut trees and get their wood pile stocked for them every year, so I know the work that goes in. I’d like to think I’ve got another 20 years in the tank 😆
Ok. Is that budget for just the stove? Your chimney could easily cost more than that alone, especially if you are having somebody else install it.
To stay within budget as best as possible, look at the Drolet Spark II the Deco Nano. These are great value stoves for about $1000.
www.drolet.ca
High Efficiency Wood Insert | Escape 1800-I
The Escape 1800-I is an EPA certified high efficiency wood insert. Easy to install thanks to its size, it will transform your old mansonry hearth.
www.drolet.ca
yes, that's just the budget for the stove alone. I know the installation and stainless steel piping will be expensive too, but that's ok if done right and safe.
Boil&Toil
Burning Hunk
If you can find something that suits, "used" (i.e. secondhand, sometimes "refurbished" if the refurbisher does not have excessive markup) is generally the best bang for the buck. But that depends on what you want and what you can find and a good deal of researching what you can find to see if it's really what you want. There are both good stoves and hunks of junk you shouldn't take for free out there.
Depends on where you are but TN isn't a hot bed for quality used stoves, you might find an older Buck or Fisher used. If you're serious about a stove now is the time to start cutting and splitting, most you cut and split now won't be ready for next year.
One of my neighbors has the Spark II and they run very well. Very little fussing. Puts off some decent heat but they assist with a fanTo stay within budget as best as possible, look at the Drolet Spark II the Deco Nano. These are great value stoves for about $1000.
High Efficiency Wood Insert | Escape 1800-I
The Escape 1800-I is an EPA certified high efficiency wood insert. Easy to install thanks to its size, it will transform your old mansonry hearth.
I'm not sure if you have the heatilator ws-18 over there. It's one I'm looking at. It's incredibly efficient and clean burning but more expensive than the Drolets.
On a budget, I would buy what I have, a USSCO camp stove. My house is about the same as yours, but I have 2 floors to heat. The cellar doesnt get heat, the attic does cause warm air rises. Its not a nice stove per se, like a new enameled one, but its rustic, it looks good, and it works. I have been using mine for 3 years now, basically. Its cheap, made in China,but what isnt anymore? Granted its a small stove, with a cook top. BUT its been called a POS on here, so maybe its not for you. I love mine. Im using mine now actually. Its 72 in here, but 40 outside its not cold out.
Dude, after all the advice and help you were given this week regarding your stove --and the advice you were given was to upgrade and replace your stove as soon as possible, I think it is a disservice to this new person to suggest they purchase the same stove that you have. Just saying.
That's a poor recommendation and not what she is looking for. She is not trying to go cheap and risky. She is trying to do this right while on a budget. Her allocation for the stove is adequate to get a good stove.
The space is not large and the 13NC is no longer made. They no longer sell a small stove. With management shifting, it might be good to wait on Englander. In the current market, I'd recommend a Drolet or a True North to stay within budget with a decent stove.
mdocod
Burning Hunk
In the price class of the Buck Stove NC21 I would also probably have a look at the Pacific Energy stoves based around their 1.6 cubic foot box. Similar price point but some more styling options that might be interesting....
I believe those would be the Vista LE, Vista Classic LE, NEO 1.6 LE, Neostone 1.6 LE, Alderlea T4 LE
Maybe someone here with experience with those stoves could chime in. Any well engineered stove that can burn wood clean, make heat, and last a long time, is a good thing, but there's also the issue of it being something that is going to be a visual centerpiece of the room for many many years. Make sure it's something you like the look of!
I believe those would be the Vista LE, Vista Classic LE, NEO 1.6 LE, Neostone 1.6 LE, Alderlea T4 LE
Maybe someone here with experience with those stoves could chime in. Any well engineered stove that can burn wood clean, make heat, and last a long time, is a good thing, but there's also the issue of it being something that is going to be a visual centerpiece of the room for many many years. Make sure it's something you like the look of!
Its WAY harder to just replace a unit, unless you are buying it for me. I must be the only poor person on here. And I said my stove is China made, it might not be for her. It was a suggestion. Every time I post on here, all I get is negativity. I will keep my thoughts to myself I guess. Shhheeesh
mdocod
Burning Hunk
Wood burning is like gardening, hunting, fishing, woodworking, etc. In the modern world, it's more of a hobby than a means to and end. Lots of people on here will try to claim otherwise but most are actually just rationalizing/romanticizing. Most of the folks who "have" to heat with wood have created the conditions to force that requirement through choice. Wood burning is largely a "luxury" in the modern home, not usually a necessity. Having a wood burner in a home as an alternate heat source is good preparation for power outages, but burning every day in those homes? Most of us don't need to do this, we choose to do this because fire is nice.
I bring this up, because, some people go down the rabbit hole of wood burning as a means to "save money." Ultimately, it's unlikely that you will actually save much money through wood burning compared to "normal/modern" heating methods, and more than likely the effort put into it, if put into a career, would generate far more money than the wood burning would save.
The point I'm getting at.. is that, yes, you won't find many "poor" people in civilized parts of the western world burning wood as a serious endeavor unless that is their hobby that they are willing to funnel the majority of their disposable income into it. Similarly, look at hunters, fishers, woodworkers, gardeners.... With some exceptions, this usually takes the form of thousands of dollars thrown at a process that generates hundreds of dollars worth of produce/meat/widgets.
If you buy an expensive stove and have everything installed by someone else at a high cost and you live in a mild climate where you only have to heat from just freezing temperatures for a couple of months and you buy your wood then your assessment is accurate.
for those of us who heat 24/7 for 7 months of the year and even need heat at times in the other 5 months and who do the install ourselves and buy a stove for a heating appliance not a decoration and have readily available wood on our own land (which is essentially nearly free) and own the required tools regardless of firewooding and have the time to do the whole wood thing your assessment is wildly inaccurate.
in my case, payback is about one year. Natural gas and electricity are very expensive here. And neither one is 100% reliable. When the wind is blowing at -40 I could be in REAL trouble FAST without RELIABLE heat.
everyone's situation is different and entirely valid in their own life.
Oh, and if BillBurns is heating his world with a cheap stove (that he knows how to run safely) because that's what he can afford then good on him. Hopefully he got a "good one" that lasts him a long while.
for those of us who heat 24/7 for 7 months of the year and even need heat at times in the other 5 months and who do the install ourselves and buy a stove for a heating appliance not a decoration and have readily available wood on our own land (which is essentially nearly free) and own the required tools regardless of firewooding and have the time to do the whole wood thing your assessment is wildly inaccurate.
in my case, payback is about one year. Natural gas and electricity are very expensive here. And neither one is 100% reliable. When the wind is blowing at -40 I could be in REAL trouble FAST without RELIABLE heat.
everyone's situation is different and entirely valid in their own life.
Oh, and if BillBurns is heating his world with a cheap stove (that he knows how to run safely) because that's what he can afford then good on him. Hopefully he got a "good one" that lasts him a long while.
Last edited:
and they are N/S loading, which is a very big plus I have come to realize. Especially in a small stove. I think all of the 1.55 ft3 drolets are N/S loaders, so you can add the escape 1200 and fox to the list if I am not mistaken.
- Status
Similar threads
