ISO: wood stove specialist

[supermanotorious]

I've done my homework and found the permit for a wood stove in Maricopa County, must meet federal air quality standards so basically EPA certified

My house is about 1,800 square feet. It doesn't get terribly cold here so I don't want a large stove that over heats the house and we tend to burn it inefficiently so its not so hot that it builds soot prematurely.

I don't want to undersize it to the point we're not feeling any benefit from it.

I want to stay under $1,000 for the stove itself, preferably under $700 if possible.

I've looked so far on Home Depot, Amazon, Lowes, Northern Tool, and had a local company send me some links. The reviews are all over the place.

Any suggestions?

 

[anickode]

You're in Arizona... Wouldn't it be easier to open a window when you want heat? :Idea2:

Many wood stove manufacturer will have charts that reference home size and region for sizing. As far as brand goes, most are pretty equal these days. The EPA regs pretty well define how the stove must be built in order to achieve the certification.

 

[supermanotorious]

I guess what I want to know, if you have 2 stoves that say they heat 1,800 sq feet, and one is double the price of the other, is it necessarily better?

 

[anickode]

I guess what I want to know, if you have 2 stoves that say they heat 1,800 sq feet, and one is double the price of the other, is it necessarily better?

It's probably of a better manufacture quality, like steel gauge, ease of cleaning, quality of the coating (like ceramic vs paint) etc. Is it worth double the price? Maybe, maybe not.

 

[supermanotorious]

reviews on these EPA turds aren't giving me much confidence, since Home Depot has a gracious return policy, maybe I buy the smallest, cheapest EPA stove to get the permit issued and finalized, then return it and get something bigger

 

[kevbo22]

I have a regency h200. Its the smallest stove I could find that would fit my small fireplace. My place is about 2200sqft and in winter I never use the furnace. I burn about a cord a year.

Its a EPA stove and that EPA stuff is awesome on a wood stove!! It basically re-burns the smoke. I hardly see anything come out my chimney, and you can burn any day you like regardless of air codes. I burn hot all year and so I only have to sweep like every 4 years. Last guy that came and did a sweep for me was amazed I waited so long and had hardy any creosote.

I would imagine in Arizona, you really wont be needing a big stove (I would love a bigger one). But at the price point you ask about, I cant help. Around here a good wood stove will cost you $2200. I will say its worth every penny IMHO.

Wood stoves have the built in fans now which also really helps. I highly doubt a small stove will be undersized for you. Like I said I have the h200 which is the smallest I could find, and it really cranks out heat.

Edit: attached a photo to show you how small the stove is.

 

[Kartorbust]

I have a regency h200. Its the smallest stove I could find that would fit my small fireplace. My place is about 2200sqft and in winter I never use the furnace. I burn about a cord a year.

Its a EPA stove and that EPA stuff is awesome on a wood stove!! It basically re-burns the smoke. I hardly see anything come out my chimney, and you can burn any day you like regardless of air codes. I burn hot all year and so I only have to sweep like every 4 years. Last guy that came and did a sweep for me was amazed I waited so long and had hardy any creosote.

I would imagine in Arizona, you really wont be needing a big stove (I would love a bigger one). But at the price point you ask about, I cant help. Around here a good wood stove will cost you $2200. I will say its worth every penny IMHO.

Wood stoves have the built in fans now which also really helps. I highly doubt a small stove will be undersized for you. Like I said I have the h200 which is the smallest I could find, and it really cranks out heat.

Edit: attached a photo to show you how small the stove is.

So essentially it has EGR on it? What are you burning to get it so hot that you don't have to have it cleaned that often?

 

[kevbo22]

So essentially it has EGR on it? What are you burning to get it so hot that you don't have to have it cleaned that often?

Ya I guess it would be kinda like that.

"A catalytic wood stove is amongst the most efficient stoves available. It uses a catalytic combustion device to heat, ignite and burn off the smoke generated by the fire. This results in maximum 'use' of the fuel (wood), even steady heat, and very minimal smoke and pollutant output.

The catalyst itself is a ceramic honeycomb or waffle shaped plate coated with a metal (platinum a/o palladium usually). It is heated to very high temperatures so that when the smoke and ash pass over it, they are also heated and ignited, causing more of this by-product to be burned off, generating more heat and less creosote and venting less smoke to the outside. Again, minimizing waste and maximizing heat (energy) output equals high efficiency."

I burn all kinds of stuff. Generally like to start off with soft wood full throttle until I hit around the 700 degree mark. Then I switch to hard wood and damper down.

The reason I dont get a lot of build up is because of the stove itself with the EPA catalyst and because I make sure to burn hot.

My h200 doesnt have the honeycomb, but it does use something that does the same thing.

 

[Kartorbust]

Ya I guess it would be kinda like that.

"A catalytic wood stove is amongst the most efficient stoves available. It uses a catalytic combustion device to heat, ignite and burn off the smoke generated by the fire. This results in maximum 'use' of the fuel (wood), even steady heat, and very minimal smoke and pollutant output.

The catalyst itself is a ceramic honeycomb or waffle shaped plate coated with a metal (platinum a/o palladium usually). It is heated to very high temperatures so that when the smoke and ash pass over it, they are also heated and ignited, causing more of this by-product to be burned off, generating more heat and less creosote and venting less smoke to the outside. Again, minimizing waste and maximizing heat (energy) output equals high efficiency."

I burn all kinds of stuff. Generally like to start off with soft wood full throttle until I hit around the 700 degree mark. Then I switch to hard wood and damper down.

The reason I dont get a lot of build up is because of the stove itself with the EPA catalyst and because I make sure to burn hot.

Okay, I got it wrong, it's more like a catalytic converter rather than EGR. I forgot that was now a thing with wood burning stoves. But for a couple thousand dollars, it's pretty affordable I think.

 

[anickode]

So essentially it has EGR on it? What are you burning to get it so hot that you don't have to have it cleaned that often?

More like a smog pump. It introduces fresh air into the top of the combustion chamber to get a complete burn from the byproducts.

If you look at an EPA stove, they have tubes running across the top with holes drilled... Looks like the burner for a gas grill. Air is introduced there.

A throttled-down traditional stove does not achieve a complete burn. The heat gassifies the wood, but there is insufficient oxygen to complete the combustion process. That's why you'll see the flames dancing around the firebox, above the fuel. The unburned gassified material condenses in the flue as creosote. Epa stoves allow it to burn off in the top of the firebox before entering the flue, leaving relatively clean, low emission gases as the exhaust.

 

[supermanotorious]

ok fair, maybe these EPA stoves aint so bad, my next concern would be one that I dont have to tend to more than once overnight

 

[anickode]

ok fair, maybe these EPA stoves aint so bad, my next concern would be one that I dont have to tend to more than once overnight

Have you considered a pellet stove at all?

 

[Kartorbust]

I was bored and found this to be an interesting read. https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/home-heating-systems/wood-and-pellet-heating

 

[supermanotorious]

I haven't considered pellet given the tons of free oak I have access to

 

[supermanotorious]

One thing I don't understand, chimney pipe sections are specific lengths, what do you do when they don't perfectly fit from stove to ceiling, say you need exactly 2.5 pipes?

 

[kevbo22]

ok fair, maybe these EPA stoves aint so bad, my next concern would be one that I dont have to tend to more than once overnight

By "tend to" do you mean reload?
If so I would be looking at a firebox size of about 3 cubic feet.

check out lopi stoves. In my neck of the woods they are the best stoves you can get.

 

[Rob711]

Don’t be shocked. There’s a forum for wood stoves
www.hearth.com

 

[supermanotorious]

Well I decided on the Englander 1,800 sq foot from Home Depot, mostly for the deep review pool and overall rating, I've submitted the permit to county, sucks that has to be done but whatever, they're still reviewing the technical details

 

[landuse]

Well I decided on the Englander 1,800 sq foot from Home Depot, mostly for the deep review pool and overall rating, I've submitted the permit to county, sucks that has to be done but whatever, they're still reviewing the technical details

So you have to get a permit to have a wood stove??? Why?

 

[supermanotorious]

many layers of government landuse, federal, state, county, and for most but not me, city