Q&A Big stove or small stove

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QandA

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Nov 27, 2012
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Question:

A friend looked at the Napoleon 1400 and 1900 (non-cat) models and immediately told me to get the 1900 if it wasn't terribly much more expensive. When I asked why, he told me that it has a longer burn time and such you need to load it less often. The 1400 has a 2.25 cubic feet fire box, the 1900 a 3.0 cubic fire box. He said smaller hot fires could be used just as easily.

I'd heard earlier to not get too big a stove as small fires don't heat it up enough and creosote is a problem.

Could someone comment and let me know which is the case?



Answer:

A smaller stove burning hotter is more efficient and easier to use, especially in a non-cat. The tradeoff is burn time, as your friend says.

However, a 3.0 cubic foot box is not extremely large, falls into the medium/large category. Most stoves today are from 2-4 cubic foot capacity.
 
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