New to Wood Burning Stoves- Looking for Wood Burning Insert

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Tars

New Member
Jul 17, 2022
5
NJ
Hi everyone,

Just joined after perusing articles on the best wood burning stove inserts. I started my search with Blaze King and the Princess model, but have decided to shy away from the catalytic stoves. I'm looking for a good looking, simple, well built wood burning insert- not too many frills, no parts that wear out and need to be replaced too frequently. I would have to heat 1900 square feet and winters in NJ where I am can get to single digits. Stove would supplement natural gas heat, but I'd like to be able to use it to heat the whole house if need be. Hoping for over 65,000 BTUs and over 75% efficiency, burn time over 6 hours and a blower. I am looking at the Osburn 1700 wood burning insert, but also saw some good feedback on the Ashley Hearth AW1820E. The stove would be inserted into a traditional brick chimney. Not sure what else to add, so please let me know if any additional info is needed to help out with the pic. Thanks for the help,

Tars
 
Hi everyone,

Just joined after perusing articles on the best wood burning stove inserts. I started my search with Blaze King and the Princess model, but have decided to shy away from the catalytic stoves. I'm looking for a good looking, simple, well built wood burning insert- not too many frills, no parts that wear out and need to be replaced too frequently. I would have to heat 1900 square feet and winters in NJ where I am can get to single digits. Stove would supplement natural gas heat, but I'd like to be able to use it to heat the whole house if need be. Hoping for over 65,000 BTUs and over 75% efficiency, burn time over 6 hours and a blower. I am looking at the Osburn 1700 wood burning insert, but also saw some good feedback on the Ashley Hearth AW1820E. The stove would be inserted into a traditional brick chimney. Not sure what else to add, so please let me know if any additional info is needed to help out with the pic. Thanks for the help,

Tars
Don’t get anything smaller than 2 cu ft. I forget what the 1700 is. Drolet is the value brand of SBI that makes Osborn too. I have the Drolet 1800i 2.4 cu ft and am quite happy with it. Blaze king make a great stove. the princess was my first choice but couldn’t justify the cost.

fireplace dimensions might be helpful and a budget.
 
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Don’t get anything smaller than 2 cu ft. I forget what the 1700 is. Drolet is the value brand of SBI that makes Osborn too. I have the Drolet 1800i 2.4 cu ft and am quite happy with it. Blaze king make a great stove. the princess was my first choice but couldn’t justify the cost.

fireplace dimensions might be helpful and a budget.
Sounds good- budget is up to 5,000 dollars and dimensions are roughly 21 1/2 inches deep, 29 inches in height, 37 inches wide at chimney opening, 34 inches in center of metal fire box within chimney. I just was looking at another Osburn and the Ironstrike Montlake 230 insert. Blaze King Princess is nice, but I would prefer a non-catalytic stove because I do not want to replace the part every 6-10 years. Thanks for the input.
 
Does your brick chimney have an insulated steel liner? If not, your budget might get tight.
As far as I understand Pacific Energy makes good stoves without much frills. @begreen runs one.

If you have 1900 sqft, I indeed would go larger rather than smaller. How is your insulation? Layout of the home? Stoves are a space heater, primarily, so heating all that space requires an optimal layout for the heat to move.
 
Agreed, the budget is going to be tight.
Sounds good- budget is up to 5,000 dollars and dimensions are roughly 21 1/2 inches deep, 29 inches in height, 37 inches wide at chimney opening, 34 inches in center of metal fire box within chimney. I just was looking at another Osburn and the Ironstrike Montlake 230 insert. Blaze King Princess is nice, but I would prefer a non-catalytic stove because I do not want to replace the part every 6-10 years. Thanks for the input.
Is the depth measurement at the base of the fireplace or at the 29" lintel height?

Tell us more about the house layout and where the stove would be located. Is the stove room area open to the rest of the house or in a room with a doorway? How many stories?

What are the inside dimensions of the fireplace chimney flue tiles?
 
Agreed, the budget is going to be tight.

Is the depth measurement at the base of the fireplace or at the 29" lintel height?

Tell us more about the house layout and where the stove would be located. Is the stove room area open to the rest of the house or in a room with a doorway? How many stories?

What are the inside dimensions of the fireplace chimney flue tiles?
Thanks for all the input, everyone- I can go higher than 5,000- that is just a starting figure and preference. The wood burning insert would be situated inside a big living room that opens up to dining room, kitchen, hallway-circular floor plan in a grand split. Four stairs up to second floor off the living room hallway with open access to fireplace. It's a forced hot air system so was also considering trying to see if I can run just the blower on the hot air system to circulate the wood insert heated air once it is recycled. The depth measurement is from the base.

I called Blaze King today and they were indeed persuasive about the Princess 29- if I have this correct, the catalytic combustion piece would need to be replaced every 6-10 years and the thermostat has some moving parts, but otherwise the insert should be relatively dependable. Could be nice to have a 27-29 hour burn time...just not sure if it will be too finicky with types of wood and under-seasoned logs.

I have to check on the insulated liner- just bought the home and having chimney inspected soon (fireplace was never used). I think the biggest decision now is catalytic or non. Will be visiting some dealers soon.

Thanks again.
 
Do talk to other dealers or mfgs too. Never spend a few thousand after only talking to one of the options...

The 27-29 hour burn time is achievable. (In a freestanding Chinoook 30.2, I have had 36 hrs.) BUT, you won't be heating your home like that in the middle of winter: fill the firebox to the gills with wood. That gives you a number of BTUs. You can spread that out over e.g. 10 hours or 30 hours. Obviously the BTU output per hour for the 30 hours will be approximately (...) 3 times as low as for the 10 hour reload schedule. That will likely not be enough to heat the home in midwinter.

It's nice though to be able to keep the stove warm, simmering, if you go away for a day.

The insert *will* be dependable, if installed correctly. But others will too. That's a feature of a(ny) reputable brand with good design.

Yes, you do want well-seasoned wood. Preferably below 20 % moisture content. That means that if you don't have wood split, stacked, and covered *now*, you won't be able to burn this winter. Pine, cherry, ash season quickly - as in 1 year. (a full summer). Maple needs two years. Oak may need three. (Yes, there'll be debate about this - but these numbers are not crazy. This is how it is for me on Long Island.)
So get your wood up *now*, preferably softer woods, so you can burn properly the winter of '23/24.

And budget for a pallet (or two) of sawdust logs (no wax or other additions) for this winter. They burn well and have good heat output. "Seasoned" wood you can buy almost always is not sufficiently dry for a modern stove.

I have no experience with modern non-cat stoves, but a stove with secondary air tubes may be a bit more forgiving in wood dryness. A bit. Not much ...

Yes, that liner is important. For good draft, but also to keep the flue gases warm enough. The princess is so efficient that very little heat goes up the flue, and you don't want stuff to condense in the flue because the temps drop too much on the way up.

**HOw tall is the chimney, from the top of the insert to the cap on the roof?**

Back to the start: yes, go visit dealers. Talk to folks. And then ask questions here about inserts or stoves that pique your interest - many folks with much experience here, and likely folks with experience with that particular insert you are considering.
 
The catalyst life is in hours. With proper care it should last 10-12,000 hrs. Someone burning 24/7 and depending on the stove as the sole source of heat will go through a cat in 2-3 yrs while an occasional burner may see 6 yrs. There are hundreds of postings by BK owners about the maintenance of these stoves in the annual BK thread that get into other areas like the thermostat, bypass gasket and adjustment, draft concerns, etc. They should be helpful.

 
Thanks for all the input, everyone- I can go higher than 5,000- that is just a starting figure and preference. The wood burning insert would be situated inside a big living room that opens up to dining room, kitchen, hallway-circular floor plan in a grand split. Four stairs up to second floor off the living room hallway with open access to fireplace. It's a forced hot air system so was also considering trying to see if I can run just the blower on the hot air system to circulate the wood insert heated air once it is recycled. The depth measurement is from the base.

I called Blaze King today and they were indeed persuasive about the Princess 29- if I have this correct, the catalytic combustion piece would need to be replaced every 6-10 years and the thermostat has some moving parts, but otherwise the insert should be relatively dependable. Could be nice to have a 27-29 hour burn time...just not sure if it will be too finicky with types of wood and under-seasoned logs.

I have to check on the insulated liner- just bought the home and having chimney inspected soon (fireplace was never used). I think the biggest decision now is catalytic or non. Will be visiting some dealers soon.

Thanks again.
Blaze kings are absolutely durable and reliable stoves. And yes you can get really long burn times. But those really long burn times are at very low BTU output. I am heating with a princess free stander and I do really like it but I almost never run over 12 hour loads. And allot of the winter it's 8 hour loads.

And 6 to 10 years isn't realistic for a full time burner at all most here are seeing 3 to 3 years
 
But then again I almost never run loads less than 12 hrs..

This depends on your home size and heat loss. And climate of course.

1700 sqft here, not counting the 825 basement where my stove is.
 
What is the current heat source? I am a big fan of the heat pump and non cat stove combination. I don’t need low and slow because the heatpump run fine down to 45 degrees(I’m from the south). A cheaper stove and a bigger 20+SEER heatpump could almost be in Your budget depending on how much DIY work you want to tackle.
 
What is the current heat source? I am a big fan of the heat pump and non cat stove combination. I don’t need low and slow because the heatpump run fine down to 45 degrees(I’m from the south). A cheaper stove and a bigger 20+SEER heatpump could almost be in Your budget depending on how much DIY work you want to tackle.
Current heat source is natural gas-
 
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Blaze kings are absolutely durable and reliable stoves. And yes you can get really long burn times. But those really long burn times are at very low BTU output. I am heating with a princess free stander and I do really like it but I almost never run over 12 hour loads. And allot of the winter it's 8 hour loads.

And 6 to 10 years isn't realistic for a full time burner at all most here are seeing 3 to 3 years
Okay, good to know- they seem to be reliable but the burner runs about $350 and based on what you're saying if run full time can last around 3 years...
 
Okay, good to know- they seem to be reliable but the burner runs about $350 and based on what you're saying if run full time can last around 3 years...
The one I bought the beginning of last season was right around $200
 
As others here will certainly agree, no one should ever burn unseasoned wood. Regardless of the technology employed, the amount of particulates increases greatly with increase in moisture content. Throwing wet or ice laden pieces of wood into the fire can cause thermal shock. Thermal shock in a catalytic wood stoves is when the combustor is exposed to a rapid change in temperature. Thermal shock can also occur when there is a constant room air leak into a firebox. Thermal shock can occur to all sorts of substrate materials (metal and ceramic) and also to other metals used in wood stoves.

It is often suggested in threads that catalytic wood stoves are less "accepting" of fuel that is not properly seasoned. A friend of mine that owns a stove company once pointed out during his comments to EPA during the promulgation of the 2015 NSPS, data that showed catalytic wood stoves are LESS sensitive to increased moisture content that other technologies. NESCAUM, a New England based environmental agency, just posted to their site (nescaum.org) several (6) reports. In those reports, the data supplied to EPA by my friend is verified that in fact, catalytic wood stove emissions are influenced less than other technologies when subjected to higher levels of MC. They are also less "fussy" about species of the wood being burned, in terms of emissions. I point this out only to say there is data to support my friends contention...and not just his own.

Also, to be abundantly clear, DO NOT BURN UNSEASONED WOOD regardless of what wood stove you select. While it is true PM (particulate matter) does contribute to the formation of creosote, we must all be good stewards of wood burning. Someone that does not burn wood driving by a house with smoke pouring out of the chimney can still vote!!

There are several other good data points in the studies referenced above making them a good read. As to combustor lifespan. I have written this many times before, combustors are like tires. On day one, traction is amazing. Depending upon how you care for your tires and maintain air pressure, accelerate etc., you can influence how long the tire will last. And no matter how well you care for the tires, they will one day need replacing. If you drive race cars you can tell the tires need replacing sooner than let's say a regular motorist. These professionals are, for all intent and purpose, one with the car.

Well, here on this site, we have some race car drivers. Many of them are in fact engineers. They are very educated, experienced and contribute to wonderful degrees of wood stove academia. If I were researching a wood stove for my home, this site is the first site I would visit. We get hundreds of phone call every day, from all over North America. Very often these callers reference this site as a contributor to their understanding of wood stoves 101. I am 100% certain lives have been saved, homes preserved and burning practices improved from these contributors. But it is still a very tiny subset of folks that burn wood. (It is growing)

The actual lifespan is of course measured in hours, as pointed outed out by others. However, the vast majority of BK owners experience much greater lifespan than just 3-4 seasons. Applied Ceramics or Clariant (the only 2 actual manufacturers of wood stoves combustors based in the USA) can both verify this point. To be 100% clear, combustor do diminish in efficacy over time. 90% of BK owners experience 8-10 years, that is why we offer a 10-year, 100% warranty (not against manufacturers defects) but against any failure. We see these limited failures as a teachable moment. Thankfully, many here also help to remind stove owners to maintain a tight door seal and burn properly seasoned wood, both are contributors to thermal shock. But even if you do everything correctly, you will at some point, need a new combustor.

There are a few BK owners here that regularly suggest they are willing to purchase a new combustor at specific intervals to save on the amount of fuel burned and produce less PM (smoke).

The data just produced by NESCAUM states there are 12.5 MILLION wood and pellet burners (households) is the USA. If this is accurate and assuming there are 500 "contributors to all the above", that means 0.0004% of households are sharing their experiences here. We need more. We send thousands of folks to this site each year. Some are looking for parts for other stoves, looking for a used stove (we do not sell them), input of stove placement etc. We also send folks that have issues here because they want a second, third or more opinions.

And don't even mention backwards spring or decals with numbers, that really gets the nest humming! Seriously, a incredibly finite, less than 5 people a year (of stoves with varying age) have any issues at all with the thermostats. Many of those are our fault because the set screw in the black knob was not torqued correctly and when fixed, the problem is resolved. That's not to say we should have gotten it correct in the first place!

Thankfully the troops here rise to the occasion and regardless of what stove you select, they all truly want you to be happy, safe and warm!

BKVP
 
Have you done the ROI on wood heat vs natural gas in NJ. I'm being held hostage in NJ and would love gas heat. Always assumed I wouldn't primarily heat with wood if I had gas. I have oil.
Keep in mind the wood storage/seasoning/work required to just get the fuel to the stove/insert.
You'll need at least 6 cords of stacked rotating wood on your property assuming burning 2 cords per yr. May require, a splitter, maul, trailer, tractor etc.....
 
You can do 6 cords with a maul, a splitting axe, a pickaroon, and a wheelbarrow if you can get the logs delivered to your driveway. If they are log lengths (which is ideal), you need a chainsaw too. For this small amount an electric saw works fine.
Trailer, tractor, splitter (the high-$ items) are not really needed.

My investment (other than for the woodshed) is $400 (let's say $100 each for the axe, maul, pickaroon, electric chainsaw - which is a high estimate). In 2020 I put up about 8-9 cords, got ahead by three years, using only these tools.

ROI is less than 1 year this way. (Again, woodshed taken out of the calculation.)
 
You can do 6 cords with a maul, a splitting axe, a pickaroon, and a wheelbarrow if you can get the logs delivered to your driveway. If they are log lengths (which is ideal), you need a chainsaw too. For this small amount an electric saw works fine.
Trailer, tractor, splitter (the high-$ items) are not really needed.

My investment (other than for the woodshed) is $400 (let's say $100 each for the axe, maul, pickaroon, electric chainsaw - which is a high estimate). In 2020 I put up about 8-9 cords, got ahead by three years, using only these tools.

ROI is less than 1 year this way. (Again, woodshed taken out of the calculation.)
Remember your time has a value also. Most can not or will not split 6 cords of firewood every year with a maul.
Its a lifestyle. If you enjoy the hard work its worth it.
 
True. But one should not do this if one does not enjoy it. And if one enjoys it, it's a hobby and counting my time in dollars does not make much sense to me.

6 cords was for 2 years, in your example, I thought, so 2-3 per year is a lot more doable.

But yes, it does cost time.
 
True. But one should not do this if one does not enjoy it. And if one enjoys it, it's a hobby and counting my time in dollars does not make much sense to me.

6 cords was for 2 years, in your example, I thought, so 2-3 per year is a lot more doable.

But yes, it does cost time.
Some, new to this life style don't appreciate the amount of work and time involved. He'll need a couple of seasoned cords for the first year. Most think you can just call and get it dropped off in the driveway!
 
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Remember your time has a value also. Most can not or will not split 6 cords of firewood every year with a maul.
Its a lifestyle. If you enjoy the hard work its worth it.
Consider it a replacement cost for a gym membership! It's hard work and I need the workout!
 
This also depends on what wood you have to split. Straight-grained wood split green is usually not bad. Some species are actually quite easy to split. But some knotty woods are not easy. We had a gnarly big-leaf maple that was a bear to split. I could not have done large parts of that tree by hand. And then there are elm and eucalyptus limbs with a spiral grain that can be a pita even with a power splitter.
 
Remember your time has a value also. Most can not or will not split 6 cords of firewood every year with a maul.
Its a lifestyle. If you enjoy the hard work its worth it.
Consider it a replacement cost for a gym membership! It's hard work and I need the workout
This also depends on what wood you have to split. Straight-grained wood split green is usually not bad. Some species are actually quite easy to split. But some knotty woods are not easy. We had a gnarly big-leaf maple that was a bear to split. I could not have done large parts of that tree by hand. And then there are elm and eucalyptus limbs with a spiral grain that can be a pita even with a power splitter.
That big leaf maple is now the fuel being used in cordwood method test development. In WA state, mfgs would pay you for it!
 
Consider it a replacement cost for a gym membership! It's hard work and I need the workout

That big leaf maple is now the fuel being used in cordwood method test development. In WA state, mfgs would pay you for it!
If it comes from a straight trunk or limb it's not too bad to split, but our tree branched off into 5 trunks about 6 ft off the ground. That bottom 6 ft was not fun. I gave some of the joint wood to some local bowl turners that created some handsome pieces from it. We'll be burning some more maple soon. We have another large one that 3 trunks, one of which is dead and will get clipped in fall along with a safety trimming of our elm.
 
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That's what I do too; pieces that look interesting but are hard to split, I give away. It's easy to get more wood for me. Why be frustrated with a knotty piece when I can make someone happy for a week with one piece.

I had a guy drive an hour and a half to pick up a piece. And then an hour and a half back... Based on my Craigslist pic. That's telling something.
 
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