# epa wood stove questions



## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

I have been reading and have spoken with one salesperson and I am really scratching my head. Some make the epa stoves sound awful and some like they are better than owning gold. I have fair amount of experience with older stoves. (Actually I really miss the cookstove, nothing bakes the same.) Does anyone here have one? Do you like it? Apparently they can't be choked down like the airtight ones could, do you have embers left in the AM? Can you cook anything on top? The salesman said the tops do not get t 200 degrees so water won't boil. One website stated one could cook on top.Confusing at best. I am about ready to look at coal! I have wood available so it is more logical to go that route, I hope, after all of my reading am questioning that!


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

The EPA set standards on how much evil nasty particulates a wood stove could put out the chimney. The manufacturers met the standards by burning the smoke in a catalytic converter, something like the one on your car, or by burning the smoke by injecting hot air into the top of the stove. Both stoves are "air tight" but you can not shut down the air supply far enough to smother the fire completely. The old air tight stoves, that you could shut down the air supply enough to smother the fire, were dangerous (according to the EPA). If you shut down the air supply and waited until the flames disappeared, then opened the door, you could get a flash back situation when the air hit the hot gasses in the stove. 

I prefer the non-catalytic stoves because I don't want to have to replace the catalytic converter from time to time. The new stoves use less wood than the old non-airtight ones because they can be burned at a slower rate and they get a more complete burn from the smoke.

The temp got above freezing today so I didn't put any wood in the stove this morning. The stove stayed hot enough to heat the house from when I filled it up at midnight until about 4:00 this afternoon. I think the stove holds about 3.5 cubic feet of wood. The stove will put out enough heat, even when it's -40, to last for about 10 hours. I need my beauty sleep. LOL

My stove has two levels on top. The lower level gets hot enough to boil water and cook on. The upper level is hot enough to keep food warm or slowly evaporate water to raise the humidity in here. 

I strongly recommend that you burn wood that has been seasoned for 2 years and clean the chimney twice a year. I clean mine at the end of the heating season and during the January thaw.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Have been looking at the non-catalytic. Leaning towards cast iron although there is a good arguement for steel. Did you buy a stove that specifically stated it could be cooked on? The Vermont Bun Baker and the Napoleon 1150 both allow cooking but are expensive! Also, supposedly with the reburn, exhaust gases are very clean "almost eliminating creasote". So your chimney still needs 2 cleanings a year? Are the flue and chimney sized the same? That, supposedly, is another can of worms. Funny thing, when we had the cookstove, the chimney stayed remarkably clean. From everything I have read, that was impossible! {Grin} Sometimes real life exeriences disprove theory!
We have a wood shed that would allow the split wood to season.


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## 1shotwade (Jul 9, 2013)

My son bought an EPA stove. It had an opening in the back at the elbow and could not be shut down. It draws ambient air from the room and up the chimney allowing for a continuous draft.You could not keep the chimney clean. The exhausting smoke was so cool it formed on the liner and had to be cleaned every month.I'm not impressed with that design. It is dangerous!

Wade


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

Perhaps I am being paranoid but I clean the chimney twice a year. I don't have insurance and don't want a chimney fire.

I am partial to the thick steel stoves. I have seen too many cracked cast iron ones. I have this one.

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/drolet-ht-2000-wood-stove/0000000008059

There are stoves made for heating and stoves made for cooking. This is for heating. The top gets hot enough that you could cook something if you have to. You may be able to get a cook stove that will also heat but for here, with -60 a possibility, I want one that will put out a lot of heat. Most cook stoves can't keep a fire overnight so you wake up to a cold house.

The only complaint I have is that you have to remove the two pieces of fire brick from the top of the burn chamber to clean the chimney.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

Good info from real users. Cannot always be certain of that on some sites.

Just checked, as per code, stove needs to ne UL listed, EPA requirement not yet.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

All EPA stoves are not equal.

We bought a Regency ( Made in Canada ), and love it. It uses the "gassifer" re-burn system, not a catalytic converter. They recommended a flex stainless liner inside our masonry flue, so we did that. Total clean out of creosote from burning all winter, 4 cords of wood, would not fill a half a #10 can ! Almost nothing !


The only thing I would do different is buy a MUCH bigger one. The old 'airtight' stoves, you did not want to oversize, because you would crank the air down, simmer the wood, and make lots of creosote. With the new stoves, you want the BIGGEST firebox you can get....3.5-4 cuft or more if you want a true 8-10hr burn time.

Our stove gets plenty hot enough on the top to cook on, and we have done so. We keep a pot of water on it to help with humidity, and it will boil away when the air is wide open.


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

I guess there are differences in stoves!!!! This is worse than buying a car! So far, every dealer has a different tale. Went to a store today and the stove burning had a thermometer on it and yes, cooking is definitely an option. I liked the one with side and front load and ash pan.

Will do some looking at Regency. Some of the names that used to mean something may/may not now, for example Vermont Casting. So, am loking at all the brands trying to sort out the garbage.

Another problem, the reviews, one reviewer of a small stove complained that burn time was less than five hours. Well duh! The stove specs stated 3-4 hour burn time!


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## Moontan (Dec 12, 2010)

A really good site to learn all you could ever want to know about wood heat is www.hearth.com. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there that can give you the pros and cons of different models.
I have two Drolet stoves that I've used for the past ten years. They heat well and always have coals in the morning.
I have cooked on them on occasion and it works well. You just wouldn't want to stand near them for long. The heat will scorch clothes.


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## michael ark (Dec 11, 2013)

I have a catalytic wonder wood stove and love it.It will hold large overnight logs just fine and sips wood.You cant use it like a normal stove or you will have the house to hot. :thumb:


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