Looking for your "Wish I knew then" woodstove thoughts.

[Dtunes]

Hi Folks,

Several years back I had a pellet stove and was semi-active on hearth.com and learned what a great resource you active members are. I've since switched careers, sold the house/stove, moved to a rural location(5+ wooded acres in NH) and my wife and I are looking to get a free standing wood stove installed. Having lurked on the site, I know a bit about the install costs, reputable brands, and realistic heating expectations.

My question isn't specific to what brand or size(though I'm happy to get into the weeds later) but more general information about the install, daily use, etc. So here it is:

**What do you know now, that you wish you knew before your install?**

It can be a specific add-on that wasn't really needed, hidden cost, operational frustration, or whatever you think is note worthy to mention to a newbie.

Just a fyi, we're looking to get a medium size stove(low-mid 2 cu foot fire box) non-cat but we haven't committed to anything. Our local stove shop sells Lopi, Regency and a few other that I've ruled out due to size/cost.

 

[begreen]

The two most common issues we hear from folks trying to heat 24/7 are: a) the wood and b) stove size or location.

The wood issues are most often problems with trying to burn unseasoned wood, or wood cut too large for the stove.

People often buy too small a stove for their first stove, thinking that it will heat them out of the house. Then the discover it won't and the issue becomes how to distribute (move) the heat.

Another common problem people run into is buying a stove with a shallow firebox that only loads E/W. A square or deep firebox will allow N/S loading which means the stove can be loaded fuller without worrying about a log rolling up against the glass.

 

[David.Ervin]

Wish I had put some sort of smooth stone hearth in front of the stove instead of brick (looks nice, cleaning's a pain). Wish I had picked a model with quieter fans!

 

[Highbeam]

I'm much happier since switching to a stove with proper north/south or "straight in" loading as BG wrote. Makes way more sense.

I am very glad that my flue system is all vertical right onto the stove so I can get the best draft and easily clean it right through the stove with a soot eater.

I am much happier since removing the spark arrestor screen from my chimney cap.

On the hearth. I have two elevated hearths now. One at 18" and one at about 10". Either make it fully flush so no tripping or up at 10" or more for looks and function.

I made a mistake and bought a stove with hinges and latches that were not durable and not replaceable. It was a hearthstone. That issue led to me dumping the stove on the used market because it wore out.

Speaking of stone, don't buy a stone stove. They look great but in my experience are very slow to make heat from cold and waste tons of wood trying to heat up.

I wasted years starting fires with various wax things, cedar things, and paper. Get a finger ignited propane soldering torch and use that to start your fires. A huge improvement in operational efficiency.

You already chose noncat so you don't need to hear about my lessons learned on that one. But choose a noncat with a durable or unbreakable baffle board on the inside top of the firebox. The common ceramic one is easy to break and you might need to remove the baffle for maintenance.

 

[Rearscreen]

Speaking of stone, don't buy a stone stove. They look great but in my experience are very slow to make heat from cold and waste tons of wood trying to heat up.

Hmmm not my experience. The top of my stove with stones flipped up is cast iron. I don't use hardly any wood to get it to 300. The big glass puts out almost immediate heat. Slower yes, stored energy. When I wake up in the morning it's still warm with just a few coals (which in my case) I throw a few sticks in and brew the coffee and like magic - flames.
I think Dtunes, like many who don't like cats - once they have one, they will love them. (the furry kind and the other kind).

 

[Highbeam]

Hmmm not my experience. The top of my stove with stones flipped up is cast iron. I don't use hardly any wood to get it to 300. The big glass puts out almost immediate heat. Slower yes, stored energy. When I wake up in the morning it's still warm with just a few coals (which in my case) I throw a few sticks in and brew the coffee and like magic - flames.
I think Dtunes, like many who don't like cats - once they have one, they will love them. (the furry kind and the other kind).

The noncat stone stoves will be getting cold in the morning and none have flip up tops! If you can keep any stove warmed up then you won’t have to deal with the slow warm up time.

 

[xman23]

Very good thread question. I agree with all the comments. Here's a few more.

Heating with wood requires paying attention to the stove. Your the manual thermostat.

Acquiring, processing the wood can be expensive and a lot of work. Especially for 24 /7 operation. With free wood and free labor you can save some in your heating cost.

Move the wood the least amount of times.

Have this years wood very close to the house and covered. Digging a path through snow to the wood is not fun. I have a week of wood on the covered side porch a few feet from the stove.

Buy the best quality stove you can afford. Mine is 18 years old and runs like new.

Besides the heat we enjoy the fire view. Locate the stove so you see it from where you spend most of your time.

 

[ratsrepus]

gone with a Blaze king from the start, not spent all the dough on Lopi's Jotul's Vermont castings.

 

[Poindexter]

I am super glad I have a straight vertical chimney - that I can sweep and inspect from the stove room without having to climb up on the snow covered roof. The short flexible rods were a few extra bucks compared to the long stiff ones, but much cheaper than a broken leg.

You too will soon be expert on handling wood as little as possible. It is easier for me to move many small pieces rather than a few large ones.

Don't be afraid to buy good tools, but keep an eye on your "savings". A good chainsaw, safety gear with a sharpening file and a gas can and some sprocket grease and a spare chain, it starts adding up quick. Better to buy once cry once rather than buy the cheap version of whatever, get it amortized and then buy the better tool and have to save the money you spent on both.

Electric splitter. Seriously. $300 OTD at Lowes Depot, consumes 2-3 kwh electricity per cord split. I get 30-50 cords out of each of mine.

 

[kennyp2339]

I wish I switched to my current stove earlier, I wish I built my woodshed that I have now years ago.

 

[Woody5506]

start stacking wood ASAP, even before you own the stove. I did do this, but I still was hurting for decent wood by the end of that 1st season.

 

[Ashful]

My issues are unique, and somewhat self-inflicted, but maybe someone can benefit from what I learned:

1. Don’t put a radiant (eg. cast iron or soapstone) stove in front of an exterior masonry wall, or worse yet, in a fireplace. The stone will suck up an enormous part of the heat you are able to generate from that stove, and radiate it to your back yard. These applications call for highly-convective stoves that put very little heat off their back side.

2. Wood stoves are not forever, and older is not better. Maybe they don’t make them like they used to, but that’s only because today’s technology is soooo much better. Like your refrigerator, which you can count on replacing each decade, don’t pretend your marrying this thing.

3. Believe what members here are saying. When you constantly hear one brand does something better than the rest, there is a reason you keep hearing that. Woodstock has fantastic customer service, BK has insane burn times, Englander makes a super-reliable budget stove... there’s a reason these brands come up, over and over, and over.

4. Don’t think you need to heat your house 100% with wood, and make your family suffer for it. Program the thermostats on your central heating for whatever temperature you want to keep your house at various times of the day, and just make it your personal game to handle as much of that overall need as possible by keeping the stove fed. Even if you burn a small amount of oil or electrons, you’re putting one heck of a dent in your heating bill, and you will maintain domestic tranquility.

 

[Pertzbro]

Deep firebox and ash lip. I have neither but i have an insert. I would love a freestanding stove with a square box and a deep firebox (not depth front to back but more bottom of firebox in comparison to the door) Some can be deep and better allow 24/7 burning. My firebox seems to fill with ash even from burning 48-55 hours (Friday night through Sunday night) I dont think i could burn 24/7 with my firebox and i would have way too much ash build up.

Most free standers have an ash box, but many seem to hate them and that they create more mess than pulling ash out of the front glass door.

 

[Ashful]

Most free standers have an ash box, but many seem to hate them and that they create more mess than pulling ash out of the front glass door.

I suspect the number of ash tray “haters” is relatively small, at least among those stoves with a well-designed system. Some systems suck, but many of them are pretty good. I’ve tried skipping the pan, and just shoveling, but quickly went back to using the pan. It’s much neater to use the pan, on most stoves.

 

[Highbeam]

Most free standers have an ash box, but many seem to hate them and that they create more mess than pulling ash out of the front glass door.

Agree that it is totally stove (ash pan design) dependent. My old hearthstone had a stupid small ashpan that I hated. I actually use the ash pan on my princess even though it is still too small for a belly load of ash.

 

[iceman2424]

Bigger firebox is always better. I got a bit swayed by looks, and glass size, and didn't pay near enough attention to the 1.8 cubic foot firebox.

I also wish I would have bought an insert that extends into the room, and therefore lessens reliance on blowers. It also allows for boiling water, which interests me greatly.

Basically, do whatever you can to maximize heat.

 

[firefighterjake]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/jake-s-woodburning-faq/

On a personal note . . . what do I know now that I wish I had known back in 2008?

1) I wish I had splurged and got the blue black enamel instead of being frugal and getting the matte black. Matte black has been fine and the stove has been near bullet-proof, but at the time I was thinking "I need a cheap way to provide heat" instead of thinking "Should I spend the extra money now on something that will be a focal point in my living room for years to come?" It isn't a huge deal, but it is perhaps the one thing I wish I had spent a little extra money on.

2) I wish I had put in an in line damper. There are maybe two to four times each season when I find I need to slow things up a bit. Again, it's not a huge deal as I crawl underneath and use some aluminum foil to restrict the incoming air which slows everything down . . . but I sometimes think it would be easier to simply turn a damper.

 

[Ashful]

This thread should become a “sticky”, if there ever was one.

 

[Highbeam]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/jake-s-woodburning-faq/

On a personal note . . . what do I know now that I wish I had known back in 2008?

1) I wish I had splurged and got the blue black enamel instead of being frugal and getting the matte black. Matte black has been fine and the stove has been near bullet-proof, but at the time I was thinking "I need a cheap way to provide heat" instead of thinking "Should I spend the extra money now on something that will be a focal point in my living room for years to come?" It isn't a huge deal, but it is perhaps the one thing I wish I had spent a little extra money on.

2) I wish I had put in an in line damper. There are maybe two to four times each season when I find I need to slow things up a bit. Again, it's not a huge deal as I crawl underneath and use some aluminum foil to restrict the incoming air which slows everything down . . . but I sometimes think it would be easier to simply turn a damper.

I don’t know Jake, I own a damper section and removed it from my system. Unless you really need it a lot I think you’re better off without the damper from a cleaning and complexity standpoint. Your solution of blocking the intake is superior. Maybe add a little sliding cover so you can quickly choke it?

 

[begreen]

Agreed. I had an inline damper section and removed it. It didn't help anything much once I got my burning habit dialed in and it added another thing to remember. Definitely a hassle for cleaning too.

 

[MAD MARK]

Will echo what others have said with my Englander 30.

1. I'm only 35 but switched to 18" high hearth (blocks) instead of 10" last year. Plus the pedestal puts it at about 30". Easier on back and knees.

2. Had fire starters, wax this and that. Propane torch with autolit is the way to go.

3. Stove is corner install, but not perfectly in corner (4" more on left side) so I could have stack straight up. Wouldn't change that.

4. Glad i went with big box. Fits 20" NS no problem. A 25" might be thrown in crooked at end of day...who's watching?

5. Wish I would have installed a stack through the roof on someone else's roof before mine.

6. Wish I didn't install mine in January of last year. Was 22°F when cutting hole in roof.

7. Wish I didn't spend money on a cheap IR gun and Thermometer....rutland....

Pretty much share every idea with Highbeam seeing how I based my install on his. The blocks, the stove, the convection deck and I even have the magnetic rheostat ready to install.

 

[Tom Cat]

I bought my stove 4 years ago for a ski house. I wanted to keep the cost low and don't mind the effort of keeping the fire going since it seems like part of being in ski country. Now I'll be spending a lot more time in the house and I'm wondering if I would have been better off with a cat stove that can go much longer. I also put an insert into a fireplace that is in one corner of the house. A more centrally located stove would heat better ( but also wouldn't be where I would see it)

Some of the things that I would do again:

I went with a shop that I felt comfortable with.
My insert does stick out a bit
I have a fairly large window to see the fire
I bought and stacked wood before I bought the stove
I learned a lot from this site

tom

 

[Dtunes]

Wow thanks so much for the replies everyone. I'd have thanked you all sooner but my cat(furry variety) came down with something nasty and his care has been all consuming.

I appreciate all your words of wisdom and I've learned a ton from everyone.

 

[Ashful]

Wow thanks so much for the replies everyone. I'd have thanked you all sooner but my cat(furry variety) came down with something nasty and his care has been all consuming.

I appreciate all your words of wisdom and I've learned a ton from everyone.

begreen will tell you that all cats, furry or ceramic, are high-maintenance.

 

[begreen]

Yeah, you should try maintaining a polecat.