About the only history I have with heating with wood is 18 plus years with my parents running a wood furnace. Burned 10-12 cords a year and was a lot of work . . . but the heat was steady. After college I lived in a camp across from my parents and heated the place with a woodstove that was given to me but was way too big for the small camp (I boiled my goldfish alive and still have memories of sitting around in my underwear with every window and door open in middle of a January snowstorm . . . or maybe it was a February snowstorm . . . the details don't matter that much.)
In any case like most folks I began researching pellet stoves, woodstoves, wood boilers, coal boilers . . . heck I even did a bit of research into solar heat, geothermal and the reverse air conditioners before narrowing down the choice to a woodstove, gassification wood boiler or pellet stove.
I'll spare you the details, but as everyone here I am sure knows pellet stoves in this area of the country are getting hard to find . . . at least if you want a well-known, name brand before Spring of 2009. There are still a few around and I haven't completely ruled them out . . . namely because I like the idea of buying the pellets, pouring the pellets in and then letting the stove run without a lot of fuss.
I also like wood boilers, but due to the fact that space issues would require an outside shed and the expense I'm thinking about putting this idea on the back boiler so to speak and explore this option after a year or so of heating with pellets or wood.
At this point honestly I am leaning more towards a conventional woodstove since I have access to a woodlot, have some cut up wood and know I can get and have a woodstove installed before Fall.
But . . . I do have some questions and hopefully you well-educated and experienced folks can help a newbie out. I've done some searching and read a lot of threads, but I still don't have a handle on a few things.
1) Catalytic converters vs. stoves without them: It sounds as though there are newer stoves that still burn clean without using cats . . . is there any reason to go with a stove that uses cat converters . . . I mean it seems like a no-brainer if you need to replace a $100+ part every 3-4 years.
2) I still have memories of being super-heated in the old camp. Now granted it was small and the stove was large . . . however do the new woodstoves regulate temps better? I realize that these are not pellet stoves and there will be some variation in temps, but are there stoves that utilize thermostats or similar devices to automatically deliver a degree of steady heat vs. too hot, too cold, too hot, too cold/fiddle with the damper the entire time?
3) I've read up some on the different brands . . . both here and at the websites (which of course make their brand seem to be the end-all, be-all). Are there any particular features or key components that I should be looking for or putting on my wish list for a stove?
Thanks to any and all who are willing to help this "born again woodie" see the light . . . or at least feel the flames.
In any case like most folks I began researching pellet stoves, woodstoves, wood boilers, coal boilers . . . heck I even did a bit of research into solar heat, geothermal and the reverse air conditioners before narrowing down the choice to a woodstove, gassification wood boiler or pellet stove.
I'll spare you the details, but as everyone here I am sure knows pellet stoves in this area of the country are getting hard to find . . . at least if you want a well-known, name brand before Spring of 2009. There are still a few around and I haven't completely ruled them out . . . namely because I like the idea of buying the pellets, pouring the pellets in and then letting the stove run without a lot of fuss.
I also like wood boilers, but due to the fact that space issues would require an outside shed and the expense I'm thinking about putting this idea on the back boiler so to speak and explore this option after a year or so of heating with pellets or wood.
At this point honestly I am leaning more towards a conventional woodstove since I have access to a woodlot, have some cut up wood and know I can get and have a woodstove installed before Fall.
But . . . I do have some questions and hopefully you well-educated and experienced folks can help a newbie out. I've done some searching and read a lot of threads, but I still don't have a handle on a few things.
1) Catalytic converters vs. stoves without them: It sounds as though there are newer stoves that still burn clean without using cats . . . is there any reason to go with a stove that uses cat converters . . . I mean it seems like a no-brainer if you need to replace a $100+ part every 3-4 years.
2) I still have memories of being super-heated in the old camp. Now granted it was small and the stove was large . . . however do the new woodstoves regulate temps better? I realize that these are not pellet stoves and there will be some variation in temps, but are there stoves that utilize thermostats or similar devices to automatically deliver a degree of steady heat vs. too hot, too cold, too hot, too cold/fiddle with the damper the entire time?
3) I've read up some on the different brands . . . both here and at the websites (which of course make their brand seem to be the end-all, be-all). Are there any particular features or key components that I should be looking for or putting on my wish list for a stove?
Thanks to any and all who are willing to help this "born again woodie" see the light . . . or at least feel the flames.
