#asknostr Wood stoves

Hello friends! I’m looking for any insights about wood stoves that you might have. We’re looking for one for a small space, primarily for heat although 2 cooking burners on top would be great. I’ve put more about the building below. If you use a wood stove: any favorite (or not) brands? Anything you wish you had known or considered when you first bought yours?

^As of December. It's 16 x 24. Concrete pad, brick stem walls, above which we'll build a lumber frame which will be filled (about 9 inches deep) with straw and mud, so no thermal mass but excellent insulation. It's on a part of our land which now has electric access, but we'll be heating with wood and probably expanding our current solar set-up for most of our other energy needs. Eventually we’ll build a larger cob house (hopefully with a rocket mass heater!), but this shed will be multipurpose for the next few years. One large space, likely with a sleeping loft.

Wood that we burn: primarily ash, birch, poplar. We have lots of little black locusts that eventually we’ll use for firewood as well as a ton of pine, which I know isn't ideal but is sometimes in the burn pile.

#woodstove

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Discussion

If you don’t have to pass building code the old wood stoves are better (at least in the US). Regulations killed the better ones.

We have a Jotul, it works good but I wish we would’ve gotten a larger one. The salesperson did size it for us but we do need a little more

What was better about them / what made them better?

It’s been a few years but some sort of regulation from some government agency passed that made them less efficient. I’m not sure if it was state, or federal but that was the case here in SC.

When we went in to buy one the store had a bunch of old ones on discount cause they couldn’t be bought for homes anymore. The owner was pissed to say the least

I’ve been in houses with the older ones & they definitely put out more heat than mine

Did you check paul wheaton's stuff?

I have 3 in my house, 2 Jotuls & a blaze king. We do not cook on any of them.

The blaze king is my favorite as we can essentially heat the whole house with it. Ours is the princess fireplace insert. Compared to the fireplace this is amazing. It’s extremely efficient.

This is their current offering

https://www.blazeking.com/product-category/wood/

I would look at what Ben Falk is recommending these days. Can’t remember the exact model since I’m in the south and get by with a fireplace

Liberator. Missouri made RMH. UL certified

Thank you! Will look it up.