gdk84 said:My Brother has a hearthstone mansfield soapstone. It is a great looking unit, works as advertized other than being on his 3rd stove under warrenty because of cracked stones (all the way through) and other shotty workmanship. But thats neither here nor there, many people are happy with them. But when you think about it 35 pounds of wood of the same species loaded into a cast, steel or soapstone is going to net the same BTU ratings no matter what type of stove and is going to give you that amount of heat. Its how the heat is stored and realised that is different. Sure there are other things like stove effieciency that can make a difference, but most modern day units are pretty darn good somwhere in the range of 75-80 percent area. Its all on personal needs and likes/dislikes... and of coarse cost.
Not true at all! 35 pounds of wood in two different stoves can indeed give off different amounts of heat; that is, usable heat inside the home. Case in point; our present stove uses about 50% of the amount of wood we used to burn and we stay a whole lot warmer. Same type of wood and all wood has been dried for many years. Methinks you will also find variances in present day EPA stoves.