How efficient is my stove?

[Oldmainer]

Hi Folks...I have a mid-Moe wood stove in my basement that I have used for a number of years to provide heat along with my oil furnace. I would like to know what the efficiency of the stove is. Can anyone venture a guess? I burn a mix of hard wood ranging from wet to dry. Thanks Franklin

 

[Todd]

If it's an older pre EPA stove I'd guess about 50% with good dry wood.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yep. Around 50%. Sixty at best.

 

[Wet1]

Wet wood makes the process significantly less efficient as well.

 

[woodgeek]

I did an expt to rate my pre-EPA wood/coal insert, by burning a known weight of wood and timing how long my furnace tstat stayed shut down at an estimated BTU/h load. With less than perfectly seasoned wood, I got almost exactly 50% efficiency.

 

[humpin iron]

45 to 50 % with about 60 grams of emissions

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Didn't the Chimney Sweep have an article on this where they actually tested emissions? I looked for it but could not find it.

Matt