choosing a small cast-iron wood stove with tight clearances

[jrousell]

I am loking for the right stove to go into a sitting area next to our kitchen.

This is not meant to heat the whole house or even be used every day. Most likely usage is 2-4 days a week just during the days.


I havee looked at the jotul and vermont castings models but I do not know much about other brands and would really like some new ideas to research

what I am interested in:
1) I have a preference for well built long lasting cast iron
2) non catylitic
3) must have a window
4) tight clearances so I don't overwhelm the room..

I do not need an ash pan. being able to cook on top of it might be a nice-to-have

any suggestions for other brands and models...

 

[moondoggy]

2) non catylitic ........... WHY? love my cat stove.
I do not need an ash pan. ....... maybe not, but its nicer to have then not have. i didnt care if my did or didnt.
after a year, i wouldnt want a stove w/out a pan

i would say VC but from what i hear, $$ are skyrocketing.
Jotul might be your best bet.

 

[JayD]

You might want to look at Morso stoves, 1410 would be sweet! lots of retailers in NY http://www.morsoe.com/us/resellers/Find_a_dealer/ny.htm

 

[STOVEGUY11]

For Cast Iron, I like the looks of the Hamptons from Regency. They only make two though. A 1000 sq ft heater and a 1800 sq ft heater.

 

[jrousell]

as a repsonse to some questions..
as for cat vs non cat... . I have used both, and if I can get efficiency without cat, then I prefer to go that route.. I usually burn small hot fires, I am not one to damper it down... Our non-cat stove is easier for my wife to use...

Morso-- good suggestion- I like the look of them- I will have to research them more...



I really appreciate all our ideas! -- keep them coming!

 

[Nic36]

I'm also looking for a small stove. I'm in a small house, so I don't need much. I was initially thinking about a Vermont Castings Intrepid, but the thought of the catalytic converter and maintenance involving the CAT is giving me second thoughts. I'm sure Intrepid owners will chime in about that and educate me. They are beautiful stoves, but their complexity makes me nervous. Since I am in the south, burning wood will be more of a casual thing and not so much of a necessity. Although, I do want to make it my primary heat source. I may yet buy one. I have yet to commit to any one brand though.

I'm now leaning towards a Jotul 3 or Nordic. They both come standard with a rear and bottom heat shield, so their clearances are superior out of the box. Both are non cat. Opinions of the Nordic seem to be mixed here. The Jotul 3 seems to always have good reviews, with the only exception is the short burn times.

There are other ones I would like to put on my list, but the dealers for those are nowhere close.

Another consideration I have made for my stove may apply to you as well, is the hearth requirements. I think the Intrepid and Nordic only require a "noncombustible" surface to sit on. The Jotul 3 requires something with an R value of 1.1 or better. So, if I buy a Nordic or Intrepid, building my hearth will be much simpler. A Jotul 3, a little more complicated, but not much. I know there is no harm to overbuild, but the more the materials, the more the money.

 

[Jimbob]

1) I have a preference for well built long lasting cast iron
2) non catylitic
3) must have a window
4) tight clearances so I don't overwhelm the room..

being able to cook on top of it might be a nice-to-have

any suggestions for other brands and models...

http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_alderleaT4.php

 

[moondoggy]

[quote

any suggestions for other brands and models...[/quote]

http://www.pacificenergy.net/product_alderleaT4.php[/quote]

i love that stove, and if there was a dealer near me where i could have seen it first i probably would have gone that route.
but i do love my vc.



edit
(just realized the other reason was the need for rear exit)

 

[tkirk22]

You would have to have an awful lot of faith in Vermont Castings to buy one of their stoves at this point:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/15690/

They are gouging their current customers on replacement parts. Availability of future parts is 'iffy' especially in a 20 year time frame.

Never catch a falling knife.

 

[jrousell]

That pacific energy model looks nice, and the clearances are very tight (a bonus for me)


how is loading? I am starting to see the light about the benefits of north-south loading and top loading on a very small stove. Might be easier for my wife to operate versus a front load where logs could roll forward if not placed the right way.

I love her- but she isn't that careful with loading a fire...

 

[drewmo]

I know you're looking for other options than Jotul at this point, but I'll say you can't go wrong with the Jotul F100. We're using it as our only heat source in a 750 square foot home. Our only complaint is the burn times, but since you're looking for quick burns, I think you'd be impressed with the heat it can put out. Might be difficult to use as a stove top - not too much room. Loads E-W, but we haven't had much difficulty with keeping the logs in the box. Great little stove with a beuatiful design.

http://www.jotul.com/en-us/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Products/Wood/Wood-stoves/Jotul-F-100-Nordic-QT/

 

[CBBaron]

Brand new owner of a Quadrafire Yosemite. It is a small stove with a cast iron look but a steel fire box. From what I have read on heard there is no real reliability differences between a good steel or cast stove so it was more a matter of looks for us.
Craig

 

[jrousell]

reguarding Jotul... I am not necessarily not interested in Jotul. I am .. I am just loking for other ideas and oiptions so to cover all my bases...

the smaller jotul stoves look nice. I might prefer fire-brick lined instead -- but I am sure both will work fine...

I didn;t know much abotu MORSO or the Pacific Eneregy stoves so it was good to hear those recommendations ....

that T4 stove by Pacific Energy has very tight clearances, and that would snuggle in tight to our planned hearth location. As would a Jotul 602 or VC aspen...

 

[rover47]

We have a jotul 602 CB in our kitchen. I has a glass door, looks great and we actually have cooked on the top. The only down side is it takes small splits. But for a small stove you can't beat the heat out put!

 

[rover47]

make that 702

 

[rover47]

It's one of those daze 602CB

 

[jrousell]

I ony live a few hours drive from you. I am curious-- How much did you pay for your Jotul? Did you like teh dealer?

 

[stathouse]

This is my first year with the smallest Morso, the 1410. Amazing performance for its small size. Yes, it's a bit fussy, meaning you need to check it often and adjust airflow and feed it every few hours when you want the maximum heat/efficiency ratio. And of course, there are the small splits, 10". I call them "barbie" splits. But the unit has a small footprint, has super tight clearances (with the rear and bottom heat shields) and a nice sized viewing window. I assume the other Morso's are built just as well.

I liked the Jotul's, and even their smallest units take standard sized splits (as far as length) but this also means the unit takes up more floor space and juts into the room more. Many of the Morso's take splits W to E and don't stick into the room as much.

Keep us posted when you decide!


kb

 

[jrousell]

well.. we still have not decided...

I like the Jotul 602 for it's look, north-south loading, and cooktop plate. but it's side clearances aren't that great making the hearth area take up mroe space than you would think for a small stove...I have to beliueve that if the same style stove used firebrick it could lessen the clearances...

The morso units all look great, just hvaing a hard time deciding... the 3410 might be a good fit albeit with reworkign my log length a bit... ( I like the 2110 but the clearances again are not great)

The PE anderlea T4 has very tight clearances, and while it is not the look we like, it would fit i nicely in the small space...


anyone suggest any other north-south small cast iron stoves (like teh jotul 602) that I shoudl look at before we make the jump?

 

[JoeyD]

OK, I'm new here and starting to wonder why there is no on mention of the stove I bought, Naploleon 1100c. It looks like a cast iron stove but has a very tight clearance to comestible's. Not a big fire box but for small living areas it seems like a good compromise.

 

[Nic36]

I ended up going with an enamel black Pacific Energy Vista Classic for my small stove. I really like the looks of it, although it's really not made for cooking on like the T4. The clearances are really good too. Also, it does not require an R rated hearth-just a noncombustable to sit on. You could perhaps cook on the plain Vista model if you needed to. I can't comment on the stove's performance though since I have not used it yet.

BTW, I ordered mine from chimneysweeponline.com, and I see both the Vista models are marked down a little. I have no affilitation with the company, but my buying experience with them was very good. Top notch customer service.

 

[jrousell]

I looked at the Napolean EPA gourmet model a bit- because it looks like you could use the top as a cookstove. But you are right in that the 1100c has a much more traditional cast look that we like... Doesn't look like that top would get very hot( for cooking) though given it's convection style-- have you tried that?


It also looks a bit bigger- but with those tight clearances it would fit the bill rather well -- I will have to look into that model in more depth

 

[begreen]

The PE Alderlea models have swing away top trivets that expose the top of the stove directly. It should be fine for cooking and you have a warming shelf on the side.

 

[backpack09]

Morsoe 7110 has excellent clearences with the heatshield on the rear.

 

[jrousell]

I looked ta eth 7110 in depth.. The rear clearanmces are awesome-- but- for some reason eth side clearances are not that great. Or at least not better some of teh other small cast stoves

but yes- it is a viable candidate