wood burning stove

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inkjunkie

inkjunkie

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I will be installing one in the future. Catalytic or none? And why? Have been reading that the catalytic units need some maintenance, and the units themselves need to be replaced every so often. Is one more efficient than the other? It will be used as a primary heat source, so I do not want some finicky pos. Local dealer sells Majestic, Vermont Castings, Buck Stoves as well as a few others. Any and all input/suggestions would be welcome.....
 
The only heat in my home is a wood stove which takes up something like 18 inch long split logs.and I haven't a clue what its called outside of a wood stove, its does however have a double glass front with a side entry. My Shop however does have a heat pump and A/C unlike my house. So now you know where my priorities lay.
 
Not sure about the catalytic but our wood stove gets the house hotter faster than the gas furnace. I can have the house up to 80* after 2-3 pieces of wood. Make sure that you get one with a fan on the back it makes a world of difference and is worth a few bucks more!
I make sure to get up on the roof and clean the chimney about every 2 months with a chimney brush not one of those POS cleaner logs.
 
I had a catlytic wood stove several years ago and it was finicky. Had to be fired up just right to get the catlyst heated. If the fire cooled too much it would plug. Then the catalytic core had to be removed and cleaned. They also have a tendancy to totally quit after they've plugged a few times so they must be replaced. I eventually got tired of that and sold it. I replaced it with a regular Arrow and have been happy since.
 
i really like my vermont castings,its propane (but looks just like wood), it is well built and good quality.
 
got free for the garage love it
 

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check out this forum. they will answer your question i'm sure.. http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/



personally i went with a non-cat stove. a cat stove just sounded like something else that could go wrong and more maintenance.

i went with a small soap stone stove. we love the thing. my 275 gal. oil tank lasts over two years now.. gotta love that. the last three years we have burned nothing but free wood. and i have enough for probably three more years out back ready to be split.


this is the little one we have. warms the entire house in the dead of winter.
http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/wood-stoves/stove-details?product_id=4



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product_main_photo_4.jpg
 
I heat my house with wood, 3 to 5 cords a year. I have two Vermont Castings wood stoves, one with catalyst and one without. I love these stoves, they heat well and look great. The maintenance on the catalytic stove is more than the non-catalytic. I have had to replace the catalyst twice (in about 10 years) and they are expensive. I would vote for the non-catalyst.
 
I'm old school and couldn't even tell you what a catalyst wood stove is. I heat strictly with wood and have for 12 years now and my 25+ year old Fisher works very well for me. Fire wood is plentyful around here so I doubt I've spent more than 200 bucks for wood in the last 12 years combined.8)
 
I have a pellet stove with blower for my Mom who lives in our guest house. She absolutely loves it. Gets warm very quick and has a light show just like wood! The Blower kicks the heat out very nicely.

I have a wood burning stove in the main house with a blower on it. It will heat the whole downstairs of the house which is 5700 Sq ft in a few hours by itself. Works awesome!
 
Purchased a Clayton 1600 wood furnace (non catalyst) at Rural King 3 years ago and love it.No wood smoke smell in the house so the wife likes it to!Its built in Chattanooga,Tn I believe.
 
I have an Alaska Wood stove with catalyst that I heat my house with. I only have about 1200 sq ft..takes me about 2 cords a year. I have had the catalyst plug once in the 5 years I've had the stove. Other then that clean it once a year along with the chimney and good to go.
 
The house I grew up in heated 100% with wood for the last 10 years we lived there. We had a Franklin, then moved the Franklin to the basement and got a Buck. When I went away to college, Mom made Dad hook the gas furnace back up! When I got out of school, my first house (very small) had a small cookstove. Don't know the brand, but I think it was supposed to be decorative. that first winter, I had a waterbed (heated) so I'm toasty warm, reach for a glass of water on the nightstand and it is solid ice! Two cats and a dog in bed with me UNDER the blanket. There is nothing worse than getting out of a warm bed to start a fire, then leave for work without getting to enjoy it!

My parent's new house has a fireplace, and they use it quite a bit, it kicks out some heat, but is not their primary heat source (Dad travels a lot and Mom did her time). Our house also has a fireplace, and it will make you sweat your eyeball out, but go into the next room and it's cold as ice. I love to have a fire going once in a while, but not as a primary heat source. Some people love it, some people hate it. I'm a hater. Usually if I want a fire, I'll go fire up the grill, or light the chimnea on the back deck and enjoy a cigar (only allowed outside).
 
We use a 'Wonder Wood' wood stove. Burn 5-7 cords a year. Been up and running for the last month. It feels so good to come in from the cold to instant warmth. A few years ago I added ducts and an inline fan and ran a duct from the room were the wood stove is the the living room. Keeps the whole house warm plus it draws out the heat in the wood stove room and helps keep it a moderate temperture.

GregH
 
I found a VERY nice old Yotul out on CL that predated all that EPA B.S. It burns anything but coal and much of the year keeps me burning old, free pallets and junk mail. No cat, no probs! -LY
 
By the sound of the replys, your refering to inside wood heat. Not my cup of tea. Insurance companies aren't fond of it either. I have 3 heat sources at my place. Outside in the back yard is a Hardy wood burner that heats water and sends it underground to radiators in the house and shop and then a blower sends it into the central system. I also have propane backup and a heat pump. No ashes or wood smell in the house and very clean. Not good for a lazy person as it does take some loading on cold days. Burns lots of wood but i get it free from jobs that have trees that need removed. I did buy some de barked slabs this year to see how the would work. They tell me bark is where you get most of the ashes. I'll get some pics.
Small Block
 

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We use a Lopi wood stove to heat the house . We use around 3 cords of wood but I love to watch it burn (has a ceramic glass window) , the stove looks great also .
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We just bought and installed a Kodiak by Enviro fireplace insert wood stove. Very few catalytic stoves are sold anymore as they have figured out how to reburn the smoke using air tubes at the top and meet the EPA emissions limits. They also installed a stainless steel chimney liner, so cleaning the flue is a breeze.
 

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Outside in the back yard is a Hardy wood burner that heats water and sends it underground to radiators in the house and shop and then a blower sends it into the central system.
Click to expand...


those are cool. but ya have to watch because a lot of towns are banning them because of neighbor complaints of the low hanging smoke. not a problem if your neighbors are a mile away but if they are close you better check to see if they are allowed first.
 
Had nothing but wood heat my whole life, been through a lot of woodstoves........

There are three kinds of woodstoves........

OLD Blaze King (pre-cat) is the BEST
OLD Jotul (pre-EPA)
OLD Earth stove, with the spin vents.

I have a Blaze king, with dual fans, non cat. (the biggest baddest thing built by blaze king)

Heats a 2400sq ft house, that blows heat into a 1000sq ft garage, burns 25 cords a year. (remember, winter is from OCT to MAY here)

Find an old Blaze king, cant go wrong.
 
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