OT: Wood stoves: Catalytic vs. non-catalytic?

[Louis]

I’m thinking of getting a wood stove to help heat my house in emergencies when the power is out (I’m all electric, no gas) and when it gets very cold. As I’ve researched them, it seems that there is a fundamental divide: Catalytic vs non-catalytic. Any thoughts on what would be most appropriate?

I’m currently leaning toward a catalytic stove from the Woodstock Soapstone Co. (http://www.woodstove.com/pages/wood_stoves.html) but am willing to listen to others more knowledgeable than I.

TIA for your help.
Louis

PS I know that recently we’ve had a proliferation of OT posts asking for advice, but I think it just shows how highly we regard each other’s opinion, so I think that’s a good thing...

[bcm119]

I'm no expert, but if you haven't read it already this epa (http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/technical.html) webpage might be useful.

Check out Vermont Castings stoves too.

[Louis]

Bump

Thanks BCM, I had not seen that info.

Anybody else out there with additional info?

[Hardlyrob]

Check your local building codes as well, many areas (like where I live) require a catalytic stove. I don't see a strong reason not to get acatalytic stove - it's better for everyone.

You will also need a building permit and inspection once it is installed to make sure you won't burn your house down. You can install the stove without a permint / inspection, but you won't be able to get a certificate of occupancy when you want to sell the house without the inspection / sign off that the stove installation is up to code requirements.

Vermont Castings makes some beautiful stoves, I also had a Jotul in a previous house that we loved - it would heat the whole house on 7 to 9 pieces of wood a night.

Good luck

Rob

[stevep]

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[BURCH]

My father has always had wood burning stoves since I was a kid and still runs them in his house. He has tried many different burners and has fallen in love with Vermont Castings. They are highly regarded by people who know about burners including my father.

We always had catalytic converters on our wood burners. I understand what they do, but not well enough to argue one way or the other.

[Chad Engle]

Hardlyrob
Was the wood burning stove in your old house piped into the furnace duct work?

Anyone have any experience with cornstoves? Never run out of corn where I live.

[Hardlyrob]

Hi Chad - no it wasn't. Since this is New England, and it was / is in a 1770's farm house, one thing we had plenty of was chimneys. It was ducted into its own chimney. The furnace and HW heater used one of the other ones.

I'm not sure ducting it into the heating system is a good idea or legal. If we didn't pay attention to the stove andl left the draft vents open for too long it could get up to 900* pretty fast. I don't know, but it seems like that might be a problem in furnace ducts.

Good luck

Rob

[CNY rider]

Hardlyrob
Was the wood burning stove in your old house piped into the furnace duct work?

Anyone have any experience with cornstoves? Never run out of corn where I live.

We have a Quadrafire pellet stove that can also burn corn. It has trouble igniting corn, so you really have to use a 50/50 corn/pellet mix. We tried a few hundred pounds of corn last winter. Even mixed with pellets, it makes the combustion a lot dirtier and you need to clean the stove more frequently.
Running just pellets, we clean only once a week. Our stove does most of the heating for a 2300 square foot home, and uses about 60-80 pounds of pellets on a cold winter day. There is only a tiny bit of ash produced.
We have been very happy with it. I like having a focal point source of heat in the living room, as oppsed to the baseboard heat. It makes it much cozier. Also, my wife likes it a lot warmer than I do, so we just have her sit closer and then everyone can be happy with the room temperature, as opposed to arguing over where to set the thermostat.

[Too Tall]

Get the most efficient stove you can afford and ditch the cat. gizmo. We have a fancy schmancy fireplace insert. Once fired up you can barely tell it is burning from the outside and packed will burn 8 hrs.

[Birddog]

I'm hoping those of you that have wood burning stoves with the flue entering and old chimney are aware of the dangers, and have taken the necessary precautions. If you dont have an insert liner in an old chimney with a wood burning stove, you're asking for trouble. Same thing goes for gas water heaters that duct into an old chimney that hasn't been relined for the purpose. As a general rule, the more efficient the combustion device, the more caution necessary.

Birddog