Fireplace Lowdown

Jøtul F 373, a Cast Iron Wood Stove That Can Stand Anywhere

When you think of wood stoves, you probably imagine them inserted into a fireplace or perhaps taking up a corner in the living room.  Well, the Norwegian Jøtul F 373 can stand anywhere and look good.

Some of the snazzy stove's features include:

• an elegant pedestal
• it can be rotated 360⁰ when it is installed with a top flue outlet, making it possible to view the flames from all angles in the room
• efficient, "clean burn" stove
• optional front glass lowers the surface temperature on the glass door (probably important so people don't get burned if the stove is in the middle of the room where it might be bumped!)
• optional soapstone top (soapstone is great for getting extra warmth from a stove even after the fire has burned down)
• optional decoration panels for the side windows give the stove a unique look

I had to admit, this stove is a little too cool looking for my home, but if you're looking for a beautiful cast iron wood stove that can be admired from all sides, this may be the one!

Jotul

Soapstone Wood Stoves Give Off Heat All Day

Soapstone has long been used for fireplaces, wood stoves, pizza ovens, fireplace liners, and masonry heaters because it of its natural heat retention properties.  It does a great job absorbing heat while the wood is burning and then radiating it out into the room long after the fire has gone out.

Soapstone is quarried like granite or marble, and it's comprised of magnesite, dolomite, chlorite, and talc. The talc makes it feel soft to the touch, so the stone feels like rubbing dry soap. 

If you're looking for an energy efficient way to heat your home this winter, a wood stove made from soapstone could be a good bed. 

This picture is from the stove gallery over at the Vermont Marble, Granite, Slate & Soapstone Co. and you can read more about the various stone options for fireplaces and other home use.

Soapstone Surround Makes Stoves More Efficient

Whether you've got a wood stove or a pellet stove, you probably bought it to heat your home (people who just want a little ambiance tend to stick with traditional fireplaces).  The more efficient it is at converting fuel into heat, the more money you save on your heating bills.  That's why a soapstone surround can be a smart idea.

As shown in the picture here, a soapstone surround captures heat otherwise lost behind the stove and radiates it back into the room.  It's the same sort of a principle as a fireback; metal or stone captures and stores heat much better than brick, glass, painted drywall, etc.  A soapstone surround (this stone is especially well known for its ability to retain heat and radiate it out hours after the fire has burned out) can continued to heat the room long after the fire has died down.  And while the fire is burning, this method increases the amount of warmth that is sent into the home.

This picture is from Green Mountain Soapstone, a company that specializes in fireplace surrounds and other residential soapstone products.

Cast Iron or Welded Steel Wood Stoves?

So, you've decided to buy a wood stove to help lower the cost of your heating bills this winter.  Congratulations.  You'll have a handful of decisions to make when you're out shopping for your stove, and one of them will be choosing the type of material it's made from.  Wood stoves are typically built from welded steel or cast iron.  Which, you might wonder, is best?

According to an article from Woodheat.org, there's no serious advantage to one material over the other.  Both heat equally well, so the choice comes down to aesthetics and price.

Thanks to their graceful curves and artistic relief patterns, cast iron stoves are handsome; it's just like putting a good-looking piece of furniture in your home, and if your stove is going to be a focal point (in a location where everyone will see it), you may want to go this route.  Of course, you'll pay extra for looks.  In addition, cast iron stoves need to be "rebuilt" every few years.  This involves sealing the joints between the panels so there's no air leakage, which would allow the fire to burn out of control.

Welded steel stoves don't require rebuilding, and they cost much less.  The downside is that they're not nearly as pretty.  If function is more important to you than fashion, there's nothing wrong with a welded steel stove.  These days, there's not much difference in durability, and both will last your house for years to come.

Source

Wood or Pellet Stove, Which Is More Eco-friendly?

Even in our increasingly technology-driven age, more "old-fashioned" fuels such as wood continue to be popular for heating the house.  Many times a wood-burning stove or a pellet stove can save you money over traditional gas or electric heating.  This is especially true if you can make use of "zone heating."  This is where you use the stove to heat the main living areas (i.e. kitchen, dining room, living room, great room) and leave the heat off in the bedrooms (during the day) or guest rooms, which rarely see use.  But if you're going to buy and install a stove, which is the most environmentally friendly choice? 

Wood stove?  Pellet stove?  Maybe even a corn stove?  Which option is more eco-friendly?  Are any of them better for the environment than natural gas?  Are some easier to find fuel for?

This recent news article answers these questions and gives you some information about your options:

Corn Stoves, Pellet Stoves Provide Homeowner with Heating Choices

Wood-burning Stove or Wood Insert?

If you're thinking of using wood to supplement your household heating this winter, you may be considering buying a wood stove or an insert.  Which is better?

The simple answer is that both work fine.  If you have an existing fireplace, retrofit it with an insert.  If you don't, buy a free-standing unit. 

More important than the stove vs. insert question is how much space do you need to heat?  For each square foot, you'll need 25-30 BTU.  For example, a 500 square foot room will need a 15,000 BTU insert or stove in order to heat it effectively.  (You  may also see that listed as .015 million Btu or M/Btu--it's all the same thing.)  Also, check the unit's heating efficiency rating, and make sure it's above 70%.

As long as you take those things into consideration, either a wood-burning stove or a wood insert will serve to keep you toasty this winter.

Source: "Supplemental Heating" from the Sept. 2006 issue of Home Magazine

Wood-stove & Fireplace Buying Tips

Here are a few tips for choosing the right stove or fireplace that came (from all places) out of a Montana real estate book (I suppose with their winters, keeping the house warm is important):

• When shopping for a stove or fireplace, ask yourself whether the intended purpose is comfort or ambience?  (Fireplaces aren't very energy efficient, but they look pretty; on the other hand, a quality stove can heat up the whole house, sometimes for less than the price of gas or electric.)
• Decide beforehand if the stove/fireplace will "drive the design of your whole room" or if it needs to "fit into the existing decor."
• Ask the dealer for advice before you buy, because you don't want to get a unit that's too big or small for the size room you want to heat.
• Especially with stoves, make sure the unit's heat output can be adjusted to keep the room from getting too hot.

Pros & Cons of Wood Stoves

Thinking of buying a wood stove?  Here's a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages, which might help you make a decision:

Pros

• Price -- Though there's an initial outlay, a wood stove can help you save hundreds of dollars on heating via an oil furnace, and sometimes it's even cheaper than natural gas. (read the post on: Heating Costs: Wood vs. Oil Vs. Natural Gas)
• Looks -- Unlike furnaces, which are ugly and clunky and hidden in the basement, wood stoves have a quaint, rustic look that can make them handsome focal points in your living room.
• Adaptability -- Wood stoves aren't a snap to install, but they're not exceedingly difficult.  It's usually less work than installing a furnace or fireplace.

Cons

• Mess -- By nature, wood stoves are messy.  Expect dust, sawdust, and bits of bark everywhere that wood visits (combat this problem by keeping a woodbox near the stove and leaving a broom and dustpan handy)
• Work -- Let's face it.  Keeping a fire burning requires more effort than simply adjusting a knob on a thermostat.  Make sure you're up to the effort before investing in a wood stove.

Source: Guide to Wood Heat

Wood Pellet Shortages?

This year, more people than ever are using pellet stoves as an alternative to turning the gas or electric heater on.  This is leading to higher prices and pellet shortages in many areas.  Usually, you can buy pellets at place like Home Depot and Walmart, but if they run low, what are you supposed to do?

Treehugger blogged about the subject this week and lists a few other sites you can check out if you can't find pellets locally: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/11/wood_pellet_sup.php

Corn Stoves Can Save You Money

With heat prices rising, people are looking for heating alternatives like never before.  Enter corn stoves.  Corn stoves, you say, sounds whacky.  They're pretty simple though and work a lot like pellet stoves (but since pellets are more widely used and in demand, pellets usually cost more; corn is becoming popular but is still relatively new so the fuel sells cheaply).  Unlike wood, corn is an easily and quickly renewable resource.  Unlike some of our other energy sources (cough, oil), corn is grown in the U.S., so using it means you're not subsidizing the nation's reliance on the overseas petroleum industry.  Pricewise, corn stoves are comparable to pellet stoves and gas inserts.  Expect to pay $1,800-$2,500 for them.

Articles with more information on corn stoves:

A-maizing Results from Corn (a news article talking about a couple of homeowners who bought a corn stove a couple years ago and liked it so much they started selling them--lots of basic details on the price of corn fuel, etc.)

I Burn Corn (one homeowner bought and installed a corn-burning stove in spring of 2005, then decided to put up a web site detailing his experiences)

Beating the High Cost of Energy (a NPR article from four years ago that points out a couple of things worth remembering 1) corn stoves aren't new--they come into style every time energy prices rise and 2) corn isn't always the easiest fuel to find--though with the proliferation of Internet-based suppliers I suspect that's less true in 2005 than it was in 2001)

How Pellet Stoves Work

It occurred to me after publishing my last post (corn or pellet stoves?) that I've never talked much about pellet stoves on here, and some people may be interested in information on them.

According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association web site, pellet stoves are relatively clean-burning fuel and a renewable energy source.  Though they're made from wood, pellets are essentially compressed sawdust--a byproduct from the timber industry--that would otherwise end up in landfills since the sawdust is too small to be used for anything else.  Pellet fuel generally comes in 40-pound bags, and they're consistent in size.  You don't need to monitor a pellet stove like you do a wood-burning fireplace; instead, you pour the pellets into the stove's hopper.  From there, they are automatically fed in.  A single load can burn 24 hours.

If you want more information on how pellet stoves work or more specific details, here are a few related links:

http://hearth.com/what/pelletstoves.html (a basic article from one of the best fireplace sources on the web)
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/wood_pellet_sto.php (a short blog article, but there's a lot of information to be gleaned from all the reader comments)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051018/lf_nm/bizfeature_woodstoves_dc (I'm not sure if this link will work indefinitely, but it's a Yahoo news story on how pellet stoves are in fashion this year due to rising heating prices)

Corn or Pellet Stoves?

As people look for cheap and environmentally friendly ways to heat their homes, the interest in heaters like pellet stoves and corn furnaces increases.  In doing some research on the topic, I stumbled across a long forum thread with people chiming in on their pellet stove experience (a few people had experience with using corn as fuel too).  If you've been considering either a corn or pellet stove, I recommend browsing through people's posts.

The link is: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/energy/msg100552595580.html

Used Wood Stoves?

Someone left a comment asking where they could find used wood stoves?  My initial response was, uhhhh.  The classifieds section of the paper?  I did a search on eBay though and found a few up for auction.  Most were for local pick up only, but many had great prices (such as free) since homeowners were just set on getting rid of them.  So, if you're looking to get a deal on a used wood-burning stove, watch eBay.  (You can set up alerts so you'll get email notices if something matching your description comes up for sale in your area.)

Used Wood Stoves

Child Safety Around the Woodstove

A visitor asked about child safety & woodstoves.  I dug around a bit and here's what I found on the web:

Wood stoves have never exactly gone out of style, but with the rising prices of natural gas and oil, more homeowners are turning to alternative heat sources, like wood stoves.  The hot surfaces of the stove can be a problem for homes with children, though, as it's easy to pick up a nasty burn. 

For older children, it's possible to teach them proper behaviour around the wood stove.  The American Burn Association offers some workbooks that teach children fire safety: http://www.ameriburn.org/edres/edres2eb.htm

For younger children, you can try something like the ConfigureGate from KidCo Inc.  Unlike gates that span doorways or stairs, this one is wall mounted and can be configured to fit around irregular spots, such as for fencing off your woodstove.  Here's a link:  http://www.kidcoinc.com/gate_dis.cfm?Gate_ID=g80

Fireplaces vs. Clean Air

It's hard to beat the ambience of gathering around a traditional wood-burning fireplace, but unfortunately they pollute the air, both indoors and out.  Older wood stoves are also culprits for pollutants. 

Fortunately, today's wood stoves live up to higher standards (anything built after the mid-1980s when the Environmental Protection Agency developed pollution standards for wood and coal-burning stoves should be OK).  Not only do they burn cleaner, they are far more energy-efficient than old-fashioned fireplaces.  To make sure you get an environmentally responsible stove, look for a label that denotes EPA certification when shopping.

Even cleaner options are gas and electric inserts.

Source: Ideas for Great Fireplaces

Wood Stove Inserts May Need A Chimney Upgrade

Many people who have existing wood-burning fireplaces choose to upgrade to wood stoves since they put out more heat and use fuel more efficiently. When you already have a fireplace, getting a stove insert makes a lot of sense. One thing you need to look into, however, is seeing if your chimney may need an upgrade. Since wood stoves put out more heat than regular fireplaces, you should consider having your chimney relined.

Source: Fireplace: Decorating and Planning Ideas

Stove Basics

No fireplace with your home?  A stove might be the answer. Wood stoves sit on the floor of your home (usually on a heat-resistant pad of stone or tile) and unlike fireplaces are not built into the wall.

Installing a fireplace is expensive if there is no pre-existing chimney system.  A contractor must break through walls in order to build one.  Stoves require significantly less effort. Wood-burning stoves and gas stoves need a chimney but the prefabricated metal chimneys that are available are less of a hassle to install. Electric stoves and even some gas stoves don't need chimneys at all.

Stove inserts are popular even in homes with fireplaces since they are more fuel- and heat-efficient which makes them more environmentally friendly (and finances friendly) than traditional fireplaces where most of the heat escapes up the chimney. Stoves must be certified by the EPA, so you know you are getting an efficient unit.

Stoves come in many sizes, shapes, and finishes. Depending on the model you buy, they can burn wood, coal, pellets, or run on gas or electricity.  Wood-burning stoves are by far the most popular. Though gas and electric stoves have become very realistic in recent years, people still favor the snap and crackle of logs. However, if you frequently have burning bans in your area, a gas or electric stove may be the perfect answer.

Source:
What's In Style: Fireplaces

Recommend further reading:

Wood Burning Stove Tips
Installing a Wood Stove