New vs Old

[jacksnipe]

Do the new epa compliant stoves radiate as much heat as the old smoke dragon type stoves, & if not, why? The other question is what would users rather have radiant or convective heat from a wood stove

 

[begreen]

Good question. Yes, there are many EPA stoves out there that are great radiators. And there are many that are great convectors. Neither are better, it all depends on where the stove is installed and how it's used. Where clearances are important, like our living room corner install, having a stove that doesn't radiate a lot of heat from the back or sides is a real benefit. But if a stove is installed on a big stone hearth in a bigger room than our living room, you might want a stove that radiates intensely in all directions. That way the masonry can soak up some of the heat and radiate it back slowly into the room.

 

[karri0n]

The Thermal mass re-radiating action doesn't really help out much with my hearth. I've got a really huge mass of brick & concrete, the thing looks like it's BEGGING to have a masonry heater just built into it. As far as soaking up heat from the stove, it sure does, but I think it conducts the heat upwards along the masonry chimney more than it radiates it into the living space.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, an 800 degree stove doesn't care if it is EPA certified. When you say "radiate" heat do you mean make heat? So long as you properly size the stove, the new EPA stove will make just as much heat as your old one. How the heat is delivered can vary depending on construction of the stove. Many of the modern stoves are built with heat shields so that they radiate less heat into the hearth and convert that heat into hot air with blowers. Many of the modern stoves are just like the old ones with a single wall of steel, brick lined fireboxes, and then the modern twist is that they inject air into the smoke above the fire and get it to burn again. This second stove will perform more like your old stove.

Bag the insert and get a freestanding stove, a big one, and you'll be happy.

 

[jacksnipe]

Yes, an 800 degree stove doesn't care if it is EPA certified. When you say "radiate" heat do you mean make heat? So long as you properly size the stove, the new EPA stove will make just as much heat as your old one. How the heat is delivered can vary depending on construction of the stove. Many of the modern stoves are built with heat shields so that they radiate less heat into the hearth and convert that heat into hot air with blowers. Many of the modern stoves are just like the old ones with a single wall of steel, brick lined fireboxes, and then the modern twist is that they inject air into the smoke above the fire and get it to burn again. This second stove will perform more like your old stove.

Bag the insert and get a freestanding stove, a big one, and you'll be happy.

Bagging the insert has been on my mind quite a bit lately, A big firebox in a modern non-cat wood stove like the Englander NC 30 has been on my radar for a while. The interesting point here is, when I have been researching the various mfg. websites & checking the specifications on the clearances to combustables on the sides it states 20" whereas my old fisher is like 40+ This looks to me like it isn't throwing much heat on the sides or back, only the top & front. This confuses me with the modern day standards..

 

[karri0n]

The newer stoves have shielding for the specific purpose of reducing CTC. That being said, I'm not entirely sure where that heat is going when not used in conjunction with a blower to distribute it.

 

[kenny chaos]

Do the new epa compliant stoves radiate as much heat as the old smoke dragon type stoves, & if not, why? The other question is what would users rather have radiant or convective heat from a wood stove

My stove has the shields on the sides and back. Off of the front I get radiant which is great when I get out of the shower in the morning. The convection caused by the heat shields is sent to the other rooms via a variable speed blower. Utilizing both makes it much more efficient/easy/comfortable at heating a larger space.

 

[pen]

there IS a difference. For instance, my uncle sold a perfectly good Earth Stove that had secondary air and heated the house well because it "did not feel right" to him.

In other words, being an insulated stove, it didn't give you the radiant blast of heat next to it like the old one did and he wasn't happy. So, he essentially gave away this stove to replace it with a 30 year old kodiak that is not nearly as efficient but gives him that "kick" next to the stove that he was missing.


pen

 

[jacksnipe]

Pen: I'm hearing this alot, especially from some of the old timers. They seem to have the notion that if the stove doesn't radiate like a 30 year unit, it isn't worth a damn, especially in sub zero weather like we had a few weeks ago. I have convective + radiant in the fisher insert, but I don't know which I would rather have in a wood stove WITHOUT A BLOWER.
I know a few up in NW WI. that have 30 year old Fisher Grandpa Models that would never part with them, they heat a very large area & can out perform my insert by a bunch, I'm guessing because it's a free standing model

 

[swestall]

You have to get a new unit that is rated to heat your space, plus a little most times. The old stoves put out so much because they are burning a lot of wood. You have to burn a bunch of wood in the new stoves too; that is to get the heat out of them. But, BTU for BTU the new stoves will put out more because the burn the smoke/gas as well. And, your chimney won't be a collector for that black creosote that is so dangerous.
The Fishers will put out a lot of heat. My brother replaced one with an Englander 30 from HD last year. He is heating the same house and using about 1/2 the wood; I think that's the point.
Some of the old stoves are just nice to look at; but they don't have the nice window either.