Wood Stove Ratings

[WeavingRoots]

Is there a good place to find ratings for wood stoves?
Let me pick your brain a bit. We are looking to install a wood stove in our 1200sqft log cabin. Someone mentioned recently that the cheap stoves from United States Stove Company that you can purchase at Tractor Supply (eg. Forester Pedestal Wood Stove, US2000E-P) are just as good if not better than spending the money on something nice. We are looking at the Ambiance 14. Does anyone have any information on this stove? There wasn't much to offer in the forums here. We are trying to make a decision as this process is taking SO long. And everyone has their opinions. It is getting so confusing. Any ideas?? thanks so much!

 

[bholler]

Is there a good place to find ratings for wood stoves?
Let me pick your brain a bit. We are looking to install a wood stove in our 1200sqft log cabin. Someone mentioned recently that the cheap stoves from United States Stove Company that you can purchase at Tractor Supply (eg. Forester Pedestal Wood Stove, US2000E-P) are just as good if not better than spending the money on something nice. We are looking at the Ambiance 14. Does anyone have any information on this stove? There wasn't much to offer in the forums here. We are trying to make a decision as this process is taking SO long. And everyone has their opinions. It is getting so confusing. Any ideas?? thanks so much!

Some of their stoves are not bad. But they won't last as long as higher end stoves and aren't as controllable. Honestly for cheaper stoves look at drolet not us stove company. They are made in Canada not shipped from over seas and they are much better quality.

 

[bholler]

Is there a good place to find ratings for wood stoves?
Let me pick your brain a bit. We are looking to install a wood stove in our 1200sqft log cabin. Someone mentioned recently that the cheap stoves from United States Stove Company that you can purchase at Tractor Supply (eg. Forester Pedestal Wood Stove, US2000E-P) are just as good if not better than spending the money on something nice. We are looking at the Ambiance 14. Does anyone have any information on this stove? There wasn't much to offer in the forums here. We are trying to make a decision as this process is taking SO long. And everyone has their opinions. It is getting so confusing. Any ideas?? thanks so much!

Are you talking about the ambiance hipster 14?

 

[WeavingRoots]

Are you talking about the ambiance hipster 14?

Yes. Our local Hearth Store has one and we looked at them today.

Hipster® 14

Efficient and eco-friendly, the Hipster® 14 cast iron soapstone wood stove delivers superior heat with minimal amount of wood. Get your US 25-C Tax Credit!

ambiancefireplaces.com

 

[bholler]

Yes. Our local Hearth Store has one and we looked at them today.

Hipster® 14

Efficient and eco-friendly, the Hipster® 14 cast iron soapstone wood stove delivers superior heat with minimal amount of wood. Get your US 25-C Tax Credit!

ambiancefireplaces.com

I have never seen that before but it seems like it's made by hearthstone

 

[WeavingRoots]

I have never seen that before but it seems like it's made by hearthstone

It is. They apparently redid the Green Mountain 40. They changed a few things. And since it is newer, I am having hard time finding any reviews or anyone who knows anything about it. lol.

 

[begreen]

There is a ratings section here:

Stove Reviews

www.hearth.com

Tell us more about the cabin. Is it occupied year-round or just on some weekends and in the summer? Does it have heat and power or would the wood stove be the sole source? If part-time use, what temp is it kept at when no one is there?

 

[clux]

The EPA Database is a good place to start comparing IMO.

Woodstove Database | Burnwise | US EPA

Sizing a stove for what/how you're trying to heat is probably the most important thing in choosing a new stove IMO, more than any specific model. The low end stoves burn just fine, but they're not going to be as pretty or maybe last as long as some of the higher end stoves if you heat exclusively with wood. I've burned modern stoves by Lopi, Quadrafire, Fisher, Ashley, Vogelzang, as well as antiques pot bellied cannon heaters and half a dozen others and there's some operation learning curve with all of them. Right now one of my stoves is a low end chinese U.S Stove (Vogelzang) it burns/heats just as well as any of them once I learned how to operate it.

 

[WeavingRoots]

There is a ratings section here:

Stove Reviews

www.hearth.com

Tell us more about the cabin. Is it occupied year-round or just on some weekends and in the summer? Does it have heat and power or would the wood stove be the sole source? If part-time use, what temp is it kept at when no one is there?

We live in a log cabin. It is our residence. We have a back up heat that is propane but would be using the wood stove for the main source of heat. The cost of fuel is too much these days and we have free wood as we live in the woods.

 

[clux]

We live in a log cabin. It is our residence. We have a back up heat that is propane but would be using the wood stove for the main source of heat. The cost of fuel is too much these days and we have free wood as we live in the woods.

Have you lived with a wood stove previously?

 

[WeavingRoots]

Have you lived with a wood stove previously?

Yes. We heated exclusively with wood for well over a decade. But not in the climate here in NY where it is 20 below zero for long periods of time. We had one when we lived in Oregon where it didn't get much below 20 and not for super long periods. This is our second winter back on the east coast.

 

[clux]

Buy the stove that fits your budget. Where you have a backup heat system the size isn't as critical, but IMO bigger is better than too small. You know what you're getting into, the chimney and what you feed it are more important than the appliance.

 

[stoveliker]

You are likely going to have to make a choice. Either you'll be able to heat (to the desired temperature) the cabin in the coldest day without additional backup heating - but then are likely to easily overheat in the shoulder seasons, OR you supplement at the few coldest days and do wellwith wood only in other times.

(OR you get a large stove with a laaarge turn down. Stoves with this feature are often cat stoves, and these might be above what you want to pay, from what I gather.)

Do you know how much propane you used on a midwinter cold day last year? Then you can calculate the BTU need for your home (assuming some efficiency (85 pct?) appropriate for your propane system).

Based on that you can estimate the sizing of the stove you need (after having considered the choice mentioned above).

From what I learned here, Drolet are good quality low price stoves.

 

[begreen]

We live in a log cabin. It is our residence. We have a back up heat that is propane but would be using the wood stove for the main source of heat. The cost of fuel is too much these days and we have free wood as we live in the woods.

Is the cabin lived in year-round or does it get occasional use? I ask because this will affect the stove size recommendation.

 

[stoveliker]

My understanding is that they live in it. I.e. permanent, year round

 

[begreen]

Thanks, I missed that. Too much multitasking this morning.

Based on full-time living I would opt for a stove in the ~2 cu ft range. A Drolet 1800 or a True North TN20 would be good value stove choices. In catalytics, the Woodstock Fireview and Blaze King Sirocco are good options. My preference would be a PE Super.

 

[Todd]

You may even be ok with a bigger 3cu ft stove. My log cabin is half your size and my F45 has a 2.4 cu ft fire box and heats really well.