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WOOD STOVE COMPARISON CHART

Sorted By: SUSTAINED OUTPUT (6-8 HOUR BURN)

Sweepy

While it might be possible to heat a large house with a small woodstove if you crank the draft control wide open and stand by to add fuel every few minutes, the preferred method is to buy a larger stove and refuel less often. The industry standard for airtights on a low draft setting is a 6-8 hour, "all night" fire, with coals left at the end of the burn to ignite a fresh load. This column shows the average output over 8 hours for models with 2 cubic foot or larger fireboxes, or 6 hours for models with 1.5 cubic foot or smaller fireboxes.

To sort the table, click the column header (ie;  Viewing Window, Stove Dimensions, etc.)

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Model
Viewing
Window
Stove
Dimensions
Shipping
Weight
Firebox
Size
Hardwood
Capacity
Max. Log
Length
Heating
Efficiency
EPA
Emissions
Maximum
Output
Average
Output
Heating
Capacity
Pacific Energy Summit
Pacific Energy
Summit LE
Plate Steel
9"t
17"w
153 sq.in.
31-1/2" T
25-1/2" W
23-1/2" D
475
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.4%
1.8
grams/hr
99,000
btu
48,392
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Pacific Energy Summit Classic
Pacific Energy
Summit Classic LE
Plate Steel
9"t
17"w
153 sq.in.
29-1/4" T
25-1/2" W
23-1/2" D
475
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.4%
1.8
grams/hr
99,000
btu
48,392
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Pacific Energy Alderlea T4
Pacific Energy
Alderlea T6 LE
Plate / Cast
10"t
18-1/2"w
185 sq.in.
29-1/8" T
29-1/4" W
25" D
585
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.4%
1.8
grams/hr
99,000
btu
48,392
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Hearthstone Mansfield
Hearthstone
Mansfield 8012
Soapstone
10-5/8"t
17"w
179 sq.in.
28" T
27" W
24" D
585
lbs
3.2
cubic ft
64
lbs
21"
77.4%
2.9
grams/hr
80,000
btu
48,211
btu/hr
1800 - 2500
sq ft
Hearthstone Manchester
Hearthstone
Manchester 8362
Cast/Soapstone
11-1/2"t
18"w
200 sq.in.
32-1/4" T
30-1/4" W
20" D
550
lbs
2.9
cubic ft
59
lbs
24"
78%
0.65
grams/hr
78,000
btu
47,654
btu/hr
1800 - 2400
sq ft
Pacific Energy Neo 2.5
Pacific Energy
Neo 2.5
Plate Steel
10-3/4"t
17"w
182 sq.in.
40" T
29-1/2" W
24" D
494
lbs
2.5
cubic ft
50
lbs
19"
81%
2.9
grams/hr
85,000
btu
40,678
btu/hr
1500 - 2300
sq ft
Hearthstone Heritage
Hearthstone
Heritage 8024
Soapstone
10-1/4"t
17"w
174 sq.in.
30" T
27-1/2" W
19" D
590
lbs
2.2
cubic ft
44
lbs
21"
77%
0.54
grams/hr
60,000
btu
37,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific Energy Super 27
Pacific Energy
Super 27 LE
Plate Steel
8-1/2"t
15"w
128 sq.in.
29-1/8" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
18"
82.6%
1.8
grams/hr
72,000
btu
32,688
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific Energy Alderlea T5
Pacific Energy
Alderlea T5 LE
Plate / Cast
9-1/4"t
16"w
148 sq.in.
29-11/16" T
25" W
25" D
515
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
18"
82.6%
1.8
grams/hr
72,000
btu
32,688
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific Energy Classic
Pacific Energy
Classic LE
Plate Steel
8-1/2"t
15"w
128 sq.in.
29-1/8" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
18"
82.6%
1.8
grams/hr
72,000
btu
32,688
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Hearthstone Shelburne
Hearthstone
Shelburne 8371
Cast Iron
10-1/2"t
16-3/4"w
176 sq.in.
29" T
26" W
21" D
425
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
20"
80%
2.1
grams/hr
50,000
btu
32,141
btu/hr
1200 - 1800
sq ft
Hearthstone Castleton
Hearthstone
Castleton 8031

Soapstone
9-1/2"t
15-1/3"w
146 sq.in.
27-1/2" T
25-1/2" W
21-7/8" D
560
lbs
1.9
cubic ft
38
lbs
18"
83%
0.96
grams/hr
45,000
btu
30,535
btu/hr
800 - 1500
sq ft
Pacific Energy Neo 1.6
Pacific Energy
Neo 1.6
Plate Steel
9-1/2"t
15-1/2"w
147 sq.in.
36" T
27-1/8" W
17-7/16" D
350
lbs
1.6
cubic ft
32
lbs
18"
81.3%
3.4
grams/hr
70,000
btu
26,129
btu/hr
700 - 1500
sq ft
Hearthstone Craftsbury
Hearthstone
Craftsbury 8391

Cast Iron
9"t
13-1/4"w
120 sq.in.
26-1/8" T
22-3/8" W
17-3/8" D
300
lbs
1.5
cubic ft
30
lbs
17"
81%
3.0
grams/hr
40,000
btu
24,407
btu/hr
*
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific Energy Vista
Pacific Energy
Vista LE
Plate Steel
8"t
13-1/4"w
106 sq.in.
28-3/4" T
25-3/4" W
17-1/2" D
310
lbs
1.6
cubic ft
32
lbs
18"
78%
1.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
22,858
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific Energy Alderlea T4
Pacific Energy
Alderlea T4
Plate / Cast
9-1/4"t
15"w
139 sq.in.
28" T
26" W
17-1/2" D
450
lbs
1.41
cubic ft
28.2
lbs
18"
80.7%
2.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
22,858
btu/hr
*
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific Energy Vista Classic
Pacific Energy
Vista Classic LE
Plate Steel
8"t
13-1/4"w
106 sq.in.
28-3/4" T
25-3/4" W
17-1/2" D
310
lbs
1.6
cubic ft
32
lbs
18"
78%
1.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
22,858
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Hearthstone Tula
Hearthstone
Tula 8191

Plate Steel
15"t
12"w
180 sq.in.
41-3/4" T
19-7/8" W
17-3/8" D
325
lbs
1.15
cubic ft
23
lbs
17"
88%
2.5
grams/hr
30,000
btu
20,329
btu/hr
*
400 - 1200
sq ft
Hearthstone Bari
Hearthstone
Bari 8170
Plate / Soapstone
15"t
12"w
180 sq.in.
44" T
19-1/2"
Diameter
560
lbs
1.25
cubic ft
25
lbs
17"
80%
3.57
grams/hr
35,000
btu
20,088
btu/hr
*
400 - 1200
sq ft
Pacific Energy Neo 1.2 
Pacific Energy
Neo 1.2
Plate Steel
10"t
18"w
180 sq.in.
32" T
27-1/8" W
13-1/2" D
265
lbs
1.2
cubic ft
24
lbs
16"
79.6%
2.9
grams/hr
30,200
btu
17,124
btu/hr
*
200 - 600
sq ft

To visit any stove's page, click its photo in the table above.

Sweepy Note: Output ratings can be confusing. To read about the difference between EPA ratings, Maximum Output ratings and the 8-hour burn ratings shown in the blue column above, click here.

There appears to be a contradiction in the chart: the Hearthstone Heritage, Homestead and Shelburne models have a higher average btu/hr output than the Pacific Energy Energy Super 27, Spectrum, T5, Fusion and Classic models, yet the Pacific Energy Energy models are rated to heat a larger area. This is due to the two different ways the heat is delivered. The Hearthstone models are primarily radiant heaters, meaning the heat enters the room directly through the body surfaces of the stove. The Pacific Energy Energy models are primarily convection heaters, meaning they're of double-wall construction and deliver most of the heat in the form of heated air. Since heated air is easier to move around the house than radiant energy, a larger area can be heated with fewer btu's/hr using a convection heater.

* The small area heaters at the bottom of the chart have very small fireboxes, so use only high-density hardwood and bank the fire carefully to ensure an all-night burn. For best results, choose from the species whose BTU ratings appear in red on our firewood comparison chart.

The Hearthstone soapstone models (Tribute, Bari, Craftsbury, Phoenix, Heritage, Mansfield, Equinox) will continue to radiate heat hours after the fire has gone out due to the heat retention properties of their soapstone panels. You may have to build your next fire from scratch should you oversleep, but at least you'll be warm!

Mathematicians: In order to compute the heat output of a given wood stove over a given period of time, we need to know the heat value contained in a full load of wood, the efficiency at which the woodstove delivers that heat, and the duration of the burn. We derived our sustained burn comparison figures using the formula below:

( firebox size in cu. in.) x ( 0.015 ) x ( 6200 ) x ( stove efficiency ) / ( burn time )

To get the firebox size in cubic inches, we multiplied the cubic foot measurement from the chart above by 1728.

The 0.015 is the weight of the load per cubic inch. To get this number, we used an average of the top 60 species from our firewood comparison chart, and adjusted to compensate for airspace between pieces.

The 6200 is the available BTU (heat) content per pound of fuelwood at 20% moisture content.

For stove efficiency, we use the manufacturer's published rating.

For burn time we used 6 or 8 hours, depending upon firebox size, which is an industry standard we know all our woodstoves can meet (even the little guys, if you're burning top-of-the-chart hardwoods).

Note that the average btu/hr rating derived by this formula does not reflect how the heat is actually delivered over the course of the fire. In the real world, a fresh load of wood delivers much more heat toward the beginning of the fire when the gasified resins are being consumed, then gradually delivers less and less heat as the fire proceeds through the charcoaling process. This actually works out quite well, as it takes more btu's to bring a cold house up to temperature than it does to maintain that temperature.

 

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