Which Woodstove to buy??

[Mikey350D]

Newbie question:
What type of wood stove should I buy: 35-1 or EPA certified??
(Small house, 950sq ft with 1950's Schrader wood stove.)

Looking to get more heat recovery as wood is getting harder to find.

thanks

 

[Todd]

EPA all the way! More heat with less wood. It will pay for itself.

 

[begreen]

EPA for sure in WA state. I'm surprised you can buy a 35-1 here. With an EPA stove you won't be excluded with every stage 1 burn ban. I'm surprised to hear that wood is getting hard to find in Everett Too many stove owners there already?

 

[thechimneysweep]

Washington State doesn't allow the 35-1 exemption. Everything bought, sold, or installed must be tested and listed to Washington's emission standards: 2.5 grams/hr for catalytic stoves, 4.5 grams/hr for non-cats. This even includes solid fuel burners that are exempted by the EPA and allowed to be installed in other states, like furnaces and manufactured fireplaces. Still allowed are site-built masonry fireplaces, although these are rumored to be on the chopping block in the near future. Interestingly, the State Air Quality people have decided to take a "permissive" stance regarding masonry heaters (like the tulikivi), wood cookstoves and "decorative" antiques not intended for heating.

 

[RedRanger]

. I'm surprised to hear that wood is getting hard to find in Everett Too many stove owners there already?

Probably a similiar situation as here where logging is sporadic. Firewood sellers used to run ads on a continuous basis,now they place an ad in the paper and then are usually busy filling orders for weeks--and search as ye may, but no wood offered for sale.It has become more important now than ever before to keep at least a minimum 2 year supply on hand at all times.

 

[InTheRockies]

Even in areas that may not have an outright ban on burning non-EPA compliant stoves, I would recommend that a buyer only look at EPA stoves. It's only a matter of time before the EPA ban on using non-compliant stoves is nationwide. (They're about to implement new standards on allowable emissions for gas-powered lawn mowers. The regulatory march to limit emissions of any/all kind will simply quicken with time. Yep, I expect to see gas-powered chainsaws and splitters covered at some point, too)