# Are there any wood burning stoves designed to be used while the doors are open?



## WDT (Aug 18, 2013)

I am a newcomer when it comes to wood burning stoves so forgive me for my ignorance. I love the atmosphere of a fireplace but also like the efficiency of a wood burning stove. Are there any stoves designed to have the doors open (with a mesh metal screen of some sort) at times? I understand having doors open would not be as efficient and stoves in general are not designed for such, but are there any that are specifically designed to do such. Is it dangerous to have the doors of a wood burning stove open?

Also, my fiance and I are in the process of buying a house. Some of the possibilities have a fireplace. If we purchase such a house, we are thinking of having a wood burning stove as well. Is this just overkill or should we just convert the fireplace to a wood burning stove? I imagine some of the possible answers depends upon how the first question is answered. 

We really appreciate any responses.


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## webby3650 (Aug 18, 2013)

There's alot of stoves out there that offer a screen for open door viewing. The modern stoves have a beautiful view with the door closed to, the glass stays nice and clean if it's operated properly. I have a fireplace and a stove, well 2 stoves. I use the stove to heat the house and the fireplace on spring and fall days, when it's just a little chilly. I love having both and highly recommend it!


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## Michael Golden (Aug 18, 2013)

I have a Jutol Oslo and I thought at first it would be nice to run the stove with the doors open. I did it once even ordered the screen, but then decided it was just as nice with the doors closed! I called and cancelled the screen.....


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## begreen (Aug 18, 2013)

I think you will find that about 9 times out of 10 that folks buy the screen, try it a couple times to justify the purchase, then put it behind the stove where it gathers dust. That is what happened with our F3CB. I never asked about the screen option again for the next stoves.


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## webby3650 (Aug 18, 2013)

To me, the fire view in a stove with the door closed is even better. It's so much different than an open fire, but I understand that an open fire is nice too. Thats why I love the fireplace. Oh, and i'm a total pyro!


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## rdust (Aug 18, 2013)

My Lopi Endeavor could be burned with the door open.  I thought it was a big deal when I bought that stove, I can honestly say I never used that option.  I have an open fireplace in my living room(stove is in the family room) and can count on one hand how many times I've used the fireplace in 5 years.


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## teutonicking (Aug 18, 2013)

rdust said:


> My Lopi Endeavor could be burned with the door open. I thought it was a big deal when I bought that stove, I can honestly say I never used that option. I have an open fireplace in my living room(stove is in the family room) and can count on one hand how many times I've used the fireplace in 5 years.


 
I recall that the Harman Oakwood can also be burned with a screen. Here is a video of it in action (go to the 5 minute mark to see the screen):


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## webby3650 (Aug 18, 2013)

There are probably more that have an available screen than don't.


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## Grisu (Aug 18, 2013)

WDT said:


> Also, my fiance and I are in the process of buying a house. Some of the possibilities have a fireplace. If we purchase such a house, we are thinking of having a wood burning stove as well. Is this just overkill or should we just convert the fireplace to a wood burning stove? I imagine some of the possible answers depends upon how the first question is answered.
> 
> We really appreciate any responses.


 
Regarding the fireplace: It will a lot depend upon what kind of fireplace your new home will have. If it is an old-school masonry fireplace that is large enough, you can easily put in a fireplace insert. That is essentially a stove designed to work in a masonry surround. However, many especially newer homes have a so-called zero-clearance fireplace which is a metalbox in a wooden chase. That design is more complicated as only some inserts are approved for installation in a ZC fireplace. Another option would be to put a stove in front of the fireplace and run the pipe up the chimney. That will depend on the hearth being large enough or the option to enlarge it. If you are serious about heating with wood and want to know whether the house you are interested in would be a good candidate just post some specs and pictures here and we will be happy to give you some ideas what is possible.


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## MishMouse (Aug 20, 2013)

The most if not all the Harman wood stoves can be used in Fireplace mode.
One thing to note, a wood stove in Fireplace mode will not produce as much heat as it would In normal operating mode.


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## ScotO (Aug 20, 2013)

I bought a screen for our Napoleon NZ3000 and it's dang near impossible to use, the way the secondarys are set up in that stove, no matter how good of a draw you have going, it spills smoke into the room....
I have often thought it'd be nice to have one for the Napoleon 1900p in the kitchen, maybe listening to the fire crackling while eating, but like BG and others have mentioned, it'd end up sitting behind the stove 99% of the time gathering dust and cluttering up the place.....
These new stoves are mesmerizing to watch even with the doors closed, secondary and CAT stoves have dancing flames that you don't get with an open fire.  Don't get me wrong, I like open fireplaces....but I also love the massive heat you get from a sealed off firebox!


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## eclecticcottage (Aug 21, 2013)

We tried to buy a screen for our stove.  There isn't one-the one for the Endeavor doesn't fit it.  Funny enough, the screen for our old Fisher we sold (we never used that stove, it was here when we bought the place) does.  And we used it twice, it's a PITA (gets hot and not fun to remove) and the stove just doesn't burn as well.


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## Oregon aloha (Aug 22, 2013)

We tried to use our old Fisher with the doors open, as there is no window to view the burn. The stove sucked all the heat out of the room (My wife always has windows open).

We have camp fires in out yard all summer long and we are installing a new wood stove right now, so we can enjoy the flames all winter long as well.


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## firefighterjake (Aug 22, 2013)

A bit curious . . . what is the draw to burning with the woodstove door open? In my opinion, with many woodstoves you get a pretty decent view with the large amount of "glass" . . . having a closed door may muffle some of the snap, crackling and pops of the wood burning but I balance that out with the amount of heat that is cranking out to keep me warm.


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## eclecticcottage (Aug 22, 2013)

It's the snapping, crackling and popping.


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## begreen (Aug 22, 2013)

Get some Rice Krispies and Pine Sol.


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## HDRock (Aug 23, 2013)

I thought about it for a second but, na  why?  The snapping, crackling and popping in the summer while campfire drinkin satisfies me


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