# Wood stove questions



## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

We have a Fisher wood stove, plenty of flat surface to cook on, and I spent last winter trying to make a fire that didn't run us out of here, but never did well at it. I see people dehydrating by their WS and cooking on it but I guess being a city girl has left me unable to fathom the art of wood fires. I use the damper, I make smaller fires, I use the air flo knob, but I cannot make a fire that doesn't roast us. Ideas?


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

myrtle55 said:


> We have a Fisher wood stove, plenty of flat surface to cook on, and I spent last winter trying to make a fire that didn't run us out of here, but never did well at it. I see people dehydrating by their WS and cooking on it but I guess being a city girl has left me unable to fathom the art of wood fires. I use the damper, I make smaller fires, I use the air flo knob, but I cannot make a fire that doesn't roast us. Ideas?


:laugh::laugh::laugh: Sling the doors and windows open!


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

myrtle55 said:


> We have a Fisher wood stove, plenty of flat surface to cook on, and I spent last winter trying to make a fire that didn't run us out of here, but never did well at it. I see people dehydrating by their WS and cooking on it but I guess being a city girl has left me unable to fathom the art of wood fires. I use the damper, I make smaller fires, I use the air flo knob, but I cannot make a fire that doesn't roast us. Ideas?


That sounds like me, thing is I insulated our home so well that it doesn't take much of a fire to make our home too warm. I strive to make small fires but there is a point where if the fire is too small the stove won't retain a burning attitude. We use window to regulate heating, especially if it one of those days where it's not that cold but we need heating. Anyway, don't feel bad as we've been using wood heat for nearly 40 years and quite often we run ourselves out. What kind of wood are you burning? I like madrone the best, then oak and surprisingly incense cedar burns at a good rate with little ash. Madrone has the best bang for the buck, does well with a small amount of wood in the stove, has very little ash and it bunkers well for overnight heat.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

It just takes time and trial and error. A mid-winter fire needs BIG pieces of wood and a BIG bed of coals. A spring/fall fire uses smaller pieces of wood and a smaller bed of coals.

You are the right track with a smaller fire, but what size wood do you use? The winter 8" or 10"split pieces, even burned slow, will crank out some heat. They will also create a large bed of coals no matter how slow you try to burn them. Try splitting, or branches, 2", 3" or even 4" pieces. Get a nice little fire going in the front, or middle depending on the draft of your stove. Feed and burn it just like you would a larger wood fire, only with the smaller pieces. You are not looking to fill the entire stove bottom with fire, just a small portion of the stove. You will have to feed it more often though. Keep one or three pieces on the fire and keep the fire itself low. See how that goes. Once you have this down you will be able to judge how large of a piece you can put on it for an 'all nighter' and damper down.

The trick is to only have the size fire you need for the outside temperature. And yes, even doing this the window open thing will most likely be required. Like judging how much to open or close the damper, you will come to know (based on wind direction) which windows to open how much to regulate the inside temp.

If even having a very small fire in the coldest of winter nights blasts you out, your stove is too large for your home. Shop around for a smaller version or a different kind of stove like a 'parlor stove'. You can still cook on the top but it is built to not blast out as much heat as a plate steel stove.
It is all fun to experiment with though! Enjoy!!


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

Look into building a summer kitchen. Then when it's not real cold, cook out under the outdoor kitchen and you won't run yourself out of the house.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

For less heat use small diameter wood in small doses. Even if it gets too hot it will burn down quickly.

For more heat use larger diameter firewood. It will also burn longer.

It's better to have a small hot fire than a large, smoldering fire that's been choked off to keep the house from getting too hot. A cold fire makes lots of creosote which is dangerous.

I use "cold" wood in spring, summer, and fall and "hot" wood in the winter. Cold wood puts out less heat per cord. Cold wood is cottonwood, aspen, poplar. Hot wood around here is fir and larch. Generally the lighter weight the wood the less heat it will put out. Thats for seasoned wood only. Wet or green wood is heaviest but you don't want it for firewood. 

Use only dry, properly seasoned wood.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

The summer kitchen idea will help. Move the stove for the summer if necessary.

If the small fire idea with small wood does not work try raising your pan. Arrange three bricks to raise your away from the the stove top. A thinner brick or other item might work better sometime.

Cast iron pans or pots?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

mosquitomountainman said:


> For more heat use larger diameter firewood.


My stove has a semi-opposite effect. A nice huge piece of Oak (that just barely fits through the door!) will burn a long time ... but not so fast that it burns too hot. The house will be cool in the morning, but I'll have nice coals available to get the fire going again!



mosquitomountainman said:


> I use "cold" wood in spring, summer, and fall and "hot" wood in the winter. Cold wood puts out less heat per cord.


I also classify by "burn characteristics". Hackberry is really crappy wood and is worthless by itself, but acts as a "regulator" when burned with Juniper/Cedar. A stove full of Juniper is a disaster because if it gets the air it needs, it burns way too hot - if choked down it makes lots of smoke and "goo in the flue". I'll add some hackberry to the mix and it slows the fire down enough I can add more air to clean up the smoke.



mosquitomountainman said:


> Hot wood around here is fir and latch.


Did your electronic device change "Larch" to "Latch"?
I always liked calling it tamarack instead 



mosquitomountainman said:


> Generally the lighter weight the wood the less heat it will put out.


Only when measured over time! 
White pine puts out TONS of heat.... 
for a very brief moment 
.
.
.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Caribou said:


> The summer kitchen idea will help. Move the stove for the summer if necessary.
> 
> If the small fire idea with small wood does not work try raising your pan. Arrange three bricks to raise your away from the the stove top. A thinner brick or other item might work better sometime.
> 
> Cast iron pans or pots?


Good idea! We use the burner grate off of a gas cook stove to accomplish the same thing. They also sell trivets that will accomplish the purpose.


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

Caribou said:


> The summer kitchen idea will help. Move the stove for the summer if necessary.
> 
> If the small fire idea with small wood does not work try raising your pan. Arrange three bricks to raise your away from the the stove top. A thinner brick or other item might work better sometime.
> 
> Cast iron pans or pots?


Not understanding the' move the stove thing' ,mine is fixed to chimney going thru roof. It has a 16 in max size wood box, no grate in it. Yes, cast iron cookware. All I can surmise from your message is raise cookware higher which is a great idea, but doesn't help me not get run out of the place from heat. I generally use fir to burn, wi th cedar kindling


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

LincTex said:


> My stove has a semi-opposite effect. A nice huge piece of Oak (that just barely fits through the door!) will burn a long time ... but not so fast that it burns too hot. The house will be cool in the morning, but I'll have nice coals available to get the fire going again!
> 
> Oak!!!! You guys use better wood for firewood and shipping pallets than we have available for furniture making! I'm Jealous!
> 
> ...


Understood. White pine has a very low heat value rating. It's a great wood for cooking though because it burns as you say it does. You get the hot fire for a short time then it's gone! Now the stove and the room can cool back down to make the house bearable.

We set our wood burning cook stove on the front porch to use as a "summer kitchen" and keep the heat out of the cabin. Of course around here summer is kind of short! We still use our main heating stove for cooking on in the winter (except for when we get lazy and use the propane cook stove! ).

We have friends who purchased an airtight wood burning cook stove that they also use to heat their cabin in the winter. It's a good stove but very pricey!

Anyone who is interested can go to this site (among others) to see how the heat values of wood compare to each other and read about wood seasoning, etc.

http://forestry.usu.edu/htm/forest-products/wood-heating

There are other sites with comparable information (or buy my book, _The Greenhorn's Guide to Chainsaws and Firewood Cutting_, at http://www.amazon.com/Greenhorns-Guide-Chainsaws-Firewood-Cutting/dp/1493648233/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1400164692&sr=1-5&keywords=steven+gregersen.)

It's important to understand that some of these sites show conflicting information due to testing procedures, dryness of the wood, etc. Even the actual amount of wood in a cord will vary according to how small or large the pieces and how tightly it has been stacked.


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## Henry Svec (Apr 24, 2014)

It is very very important to bring fresh air from outside close to the stove, so it replaces the air used for burning. Do it and the wood stove will give you much more heat GUARANTEE. 
Henry


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

myrtle55 said:


> Not understanding the' move the stove thing' ,


If you want to cook on this stove in the summer, and if it drives you out of the house, and if there is no other option, then you can remover the stove from its current location and place it in an outside location. In the fall you would replace the stove in its original spot. This would not be my first choice but it is an option.

If you have what I think you have, this stove was made for heating not for cooking but with practice you can develop this skill. If wood cooking is your goal then a wood range would be sweet.

I have cooked thousands of meals on an oil fired range. This is built similarly to a wood range and is slightly easier to learn to cook on. You are just picking up another skill set and there is a learning curve.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

myrtle55 said:


> Not understanding the' move the stove thing' ,mine is fixed to chimney going thru roof. It has a 16 in max size wood box, no grate in it. Yes, cast iron cookware. All I can surmise from your message is raise cookware higher which is a great idea, but doesn't help me not get run out of the place from heat. I generally use fir to burn, wi th cedar kindling


I figured that cooking was secondary, we could cook on ours as well but we'd really get run out of our home with as much heat that would be needed to cook. I actually dislike burning fir, I have to "tune" our stove too much and it does really creosote the chimney pipes and the stove doors. The doors get so bad that the creosote glues itself to the fiberglass gaskets and they get pulled out of their channels. That's why I like madrone the best as it doesn't need to be watched over so much, a few logs burn a long time with a fairly even heat rate. Problem is madrone is getting harder to get a hold of because the timber industry around here has figured a way to use it for chipping for the paper industry. Make me sick at heart to see log truck come by our place with a load of madrone that would heat our place for up to 5 years or more. We used to burn a lot of chincapin/chinquapin years ago but it's gotten scarce locally. I like the idea of an outside cook shed that's what we want to do as we have a couple of Volcano Stoves that will need to be outside if used.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Caribou said:


> you can remove the stove from its current location and place it in an outside location. This would not be my first choice but it is an option.


Me either! I would just get a second dedicated stove!!



Caribou said:


> I have cooked thousands of meals on an oil fired range. This is built similarly to a wood range and is slightly easier to learn to cook on.


You talkin' about Perfection kerosene stoves?
Man Oh man, I have a lot of use with those during chicken butchering time...


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Viking said:


> I figured that cooking was secondary, we could cook on ours as well but we'd really get run out of our home with as much heat that would be needed to cook. I actually dislike burning fir, I have to "tune" our stove too much and it does really creosote the chimney pipes and the stove doors. The doors get so bad that the creosote glues itself to the fiberglass gaskets and they get pulled out of their channels. That's why I like madrone the best as it doesn't need to be watched over so much, a few logs burn a long time with a fairly even heat rate. Problem is madrone is getting harder to get a hold of because the timber industry around here has figured a way to use it for chipping for the paper industry. Make me sick at heart to see log truck come by our place with a load of madrone that would heat our place for up to 5 years or more. We used to burn a lot of chincapin/chinquapin years ago but it's gotten scarce locally. I like the idea of an outside cook shed that's what we want to do as we have a couple of Volcano Stoves that will need to be outside if used.


Fir is my favorite wood here. Understand though that our "hardwoods" are cottonwood, birch, aspen, and poplar.

The key to creosote prevention with soft wood is to season it well and burn it hot. Don't stuff the stove full of wood then damp it down. Make the fire smaller and give it air!


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

LincTex said:


> You talkin' about Perfection kerosene stoves?
> Man Oh man, I have a lot of use with those during chicken butchering time...


No, mostly on an old Olympic. They look just like a wood burning range and operate the same way except that they burn diesel fuel though kerosene would work great. If you need more heat just take the eye out and set the pot over the fire.

These were very popular on small to medium commercial vessels but I doubt they are available any more. Other brands must be available.

On most of the boats I was on, the bypass from the main engine fuel pump would fill a day tank. When this tank was full it would overflow into the fuel tank. You would have to run the engine every few days if you were in port to keep fuel in the day tank.

I'm not familiar with Perfection kerosene stoves.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Caribou said:


> No, mostly on an old Olympic. They look just like a wood burning range and operate the same way except that they burn diesel fuel ...These were very popular on small to medium commercial vessels
> 
> I'm not familiar with Perfection kerosene stoves.


Interesting!

Perfection:


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## myrtle55 (Apr 1, 2014)

Cooking is indeed secondary to my inability to make the right temp just to heat the place comfortably. I have a combination propane/charcoal stove outside with a side burner, and camp stoves and camp oven (depending on propane) but could modify that if no fuel, but want to learn and get comfy with the wood stove so I could cook inside in winter, and so I could be comfy in the heat we produced from it


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

myrtle55 said:


> Cooking is indeed secondary to my inability to make the right temp just to heat the place comfortably. I have a combination propane/charcoal stove outside with a side burner, and camp stoves and camp oven (depending on propane) but could modify that if no fuel, but want to learn and get comfy with the wood stove so I could cook inside in winter, and so I could be comfy in the heat we produced from it


One thing to remember is that it usually takes longer to cook anything on wood-fired heating stove unless you want to drive everyone out with the heat! If I'm making pancakes or anything else that takes a hot fire I try to do it on a really cold day or first thing in the morning while driving out the night time chill.

My wife has done a lot of baking on the wood stove. She uses a Coleman camp oven on top of the stove. Again, it takes longer and sometimes crusts and tops of biscuits and muffins don't brown as well but they do cook all the way through.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

Caribou said:


> No, mostly on an old Olympic. They look just like a wood burning range and operate the same way except that they burn diesel fuel though kerosene would work great. If you need more heat just take the eye out and set the pot over the fire.
> 
> These were very popular on small to medium commercial vessels but I doubt they are available any more. Other brands must be available.
> 
> ...


Back in the late 1960's not long after getting out of the Air Force I was banging around job to job and one time I went out commercial fishing with an old Norwegian that had fished practically all his life, I liked being out on the ocean but we really didn't catch enough fish to take care of my financial needs but he continued to live on a fishing boat nearly up to when he died. He developed a spot in his lungs that I figure came from a small diesel cook stove he had on his last boat, I'm sure the cabin of his boat wasn't well ventilated. Interesting thing about my old friend was he had pulled so many fish lines over the years that it made the Pop Eye cartoon factual considering my friends forearms were about like Pop Eyes.


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## stpeterspioneer (Nov 10, 2014)

*Another wood stove question.*

Howdy all! I have a couple small free standing wood stoves available to me from my parents. I would like to install one in my kitchen to cook/heat the house with. My house is pretty small (about 1400 sq. ft. total). It's very drafty and not insulated well. I currently have a propane forced air furnace. Each time I fill the propane tank is At least $500. So, I know we could save money by using wood to heat when it's very cold and windy (it is very windy here all winter!). And as a bonus we could cook on it also.

My question is should I put an insert or liner in the old chimney that has been closed off for years due to cracks and was unsafe. Or should we go straight out the wall with a new one? I'm hoping someone has experienced a similar situation. I don't know how hard it would be to get a new liner in the old chimney. But I'm also not sure what all is involved with running a new pipe out through the wall. How to seal it and so on.

Also, I would probably have to put some kind of ceramic tile or stone on the floor under the stove, right? Currently the kitchen floor is just cheap vinyl stuff that would probably melt if it got too hot. This would be a great addition to our home if/when the power grid goes down and help save heating costs. Thanks so much for any info.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

stpeterspioneer said:


> Howdy all! I have a couple small free standing wood stoves available to me from my parents. I would like to install one in my kitchen to cook/heat the house with. My house is pretty small (about 1400 sq. ft. total). It's very drafty and not insulated well. I currently have a propane forced air furnace. Each time I fill the propane tank is At least $500. So, I know we could save money by using wood to heat when it's very cold and windy (it is very windy here all winter!). And as a bonus we could cook on it also.
> 
> My question is should I put an insert or liner in the old chimney that has been closed off for years due to cracks and was unsafe. Or should we go straight out the wall with a new one? I'm hoping someone has experienced a similar situation. I don't know how hard it would be to get a new liner in the old chimney. But I'm also not sure what all is involved with running a new pipe out through the wall. How to seal it and so on.
> 
> Also, I would probably have to put some kind of ceramic tile or stone on the floor under the stove, right? Currently the kitchen floor is just cheap vinyl stuff that would probably melt if it got too hot. This would be a great addition to our home if/when the power grid goes down and help save heating costs. Thanks so much for any info.


My dad was once leaning back on his chair against the dining room wall when he commented that the wall felt "hot." He put his ear against it and could hear the fire burning inside the walls. He got in the attic and they handed him buckets of water to pour between the walls and he got the fire out (it was way out in the country, by the time the FD got there the house would have been gone). The old brick chimney had some places where the mortar joints had crumbled and the heat from the stove had caught the attic on fire. Old chimneys can be dangerous!

I'd use either metalbestos pipe through the old chimney as a "liner" or go with a new chimney pipe (again, metalbestos) through the roof or wall. Metalbestos has good instructions on how to do it on their website and there are lots of Youtube videos/tutorials as well. Keep the number of bends as low as possible. A straight shot out for the stove's exhaust will make it draw better.

Be sure you have enough clearance between the stove and combustible materials on all sides and the bottom (see the manufacturer's specifications). Putting ceramic or cement board or whatever on the floor will not help if you don't have enough clearance between the stove and the floor. I took a stove out of one house and when we removed it the wall behind the "heat shield" was badly scorched. I sometimes put the stove up on blocks then put a heat shield over the blocks then put the stove on top of that. It's just extra insurance.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

My wood stove is in a corner and the heat shields I made for it are cement board with ceramic tile mortered to the room side and then I used lag screws with 1 1/2" square metal tubing cut about an inch long for spacing the cement board away from the sheetrock walls. As to the floor under the stove I made a pedestal out of 2X12's and 1 1/8th" plywood, screened the outside of it and mortered ceramic tile on it as a barrier for any heat from the bottom of the stove. The good thing is that our stove has a sheet metal baffle spaced about an inch away from the bottom and back of the stove which helps to keep extreme heat from getting directly on the wall behind and the floor underneath.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Our old fireplace chimney is brick, about 12" x 18" rectangular inside. I dropped a 6" diameter steel liner inside of it, from the top down. 

I welded up a steel adapter that bolts in place where the old fireplace damper vane was at he bottom; the pipe slides over this (need a good flashlight!) and the wood stove flue connects to my adapter. I made a cap from .080" thick steel sheet and angle iron that seals off the top of the chimney to the 6" pipe liner.

This setup works exceedingly well.. with good draw at all times except on days when it is warm outside but still cold inside the house and the chimney also. That only happens about twice a year. Lots of crumpled paper lit inside then quickly closing the door usually gets the draft going again!

I use two layers of 1/4" thick Hardie-Board under the stove, which sits in the center of and slightly in front of a brick fireplace.


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

I have the smallest volgelzang you can buy, I would actually like the next size up but this heats our house just fine and I cook on it and in it all winter long. 

Like others said, it takes time and practice but for keeping a small fire going constantly that won;t run you out you might try using wood no bigger than around 6 inches across. That means splitting more but also keep some bigger ones for colder and for overnight. You'll also have to check it more often but I don't mind because I don;t like it hot. Your stove may be a lot different but, what i do is start with 3 or so of the 6 in to get the fire roaring, heat the cold house and make plenty of coals. Coals are the most important thing, they keep the fire and do your cooking and baking. 

Once those burn down then just keep adding one or two as needed and I keep both the vent and flu completely shut. If your stove is airtight you might keep the vent cracked a little. This keeps us plenty warm and is enough to cook and bake almost anything. If I have a big DO of cold beans I add more wood to get them going. I guess I treat it more like a wood cook stove than a wood heat stove> I've been cooking with fire (wood stoves, fireplace and open fire) for many years but have never actually had a wood cook stove. 

Good luck with it, it's worth all the overheating and smoking out that comes from learning to live by your own hand


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

I also plan on an enclosed summer kitchen. I make soap, candles and start canning as soon as I have anything to can.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Jewel said:


> I have the smallest Vogelzang you can buy, I would actually like the next size up but this heats our house just fine and I cook on it and in it all winter long.


I did, too....

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/storm-power-outages-26338/#post371009



LincTex said:


> Use pieces of tin foil to seal the cracks. That stove isn't "airtight" and you'll find that making aluminum foil "seals" will slow the airflow down a lot and actually let you control the fire! I heated the house for two years using one and got pretty good at running it right.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

stpeterspioneer said:


> It's very drafty and not insulated well.


You will see a DRAMATIC reduction in energy costs if you make the home a little more sound, first.

When it's cold & in the 20's (like last week) I could heat my insulated B-O-L with one burner on a propane camping cook stove on low-med.

I tried two burners on "low", but it got too hot in there!


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

LincTex said:


> I did, too....
> 
> http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f2/storm-power-outages-26338/#post371009


I'm not positive but I think the volglezangs (sp?) are supposed to be like that. I've seen several and they were all the same. I traded for this one so it was used and the guy had sealed all the joinings with a CI caulking type stuff. He gave me a little tub of it with the stove. But it wasn't nearly as efficient as I thought it should be so I did a little searching on them and I think they're designed like that. The CI caulk started to dry and fall out on it's own so I used a screwdriver to quicken the process. Our house is around 800 sq ft and this little stove can run us outside fast with very little wood used.

We lived in an earthberm house before this and had an airtight stove. I think it was the smallest CI Buck stove. I would say this one is equivalent to that one in efficiency and a little smaller overall. This one is longer and can take up to 18" sticks, the other took 14" but wider and taller. It could hold my smaller DO and coals inside, this one cannot so I've learned to bake bread on top.


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

stpeterspioneer said:


> Howdy all! I have a couple small free standing wood stoves available to me from my parents. I would like to install one in my kitchen to cook/heat the house with. My house is pretty small (about 1400 sq. ft. total). It's very drafty and not insulated well. I currently have a propane forced air furnace. Each time I fill the propane tank is At least $500. So, I know we could save money by using wood to heat when it's very cold and windy (it is very windy here all winter!). And as a bonus we could cook on it also.
> 
> My question is should I put an insert or liner in the old chimney that has been closed off for years due to cracks and was unsafe. Or should we go straight out the wall with a new one? I'm hoping someone has experienced a similar situation. I don't know how hard it would be to get a new liner in the old chimney. But I'm also not sure what all is involved with running a new pipe out through the wall. How to seal it and so on.
> 
> Also, I would probably have to put some kind of ceramic tile or stone on the floor under the stove, right? Currently the kitchen floor is just cheap vinyl stuff that would probably melt if it got too hot. This would be a great addition to our home if/when the power grid goes down and help save heating costs. Thanks so much for any info.


There's a thing in most areas that you can sign up for and they will come help insulate your house. I don't do charity myself but I accepted this and never regretted it. If all they do is insulate your attic, you'll see a big difference in heating and staying cooler in summer.

On the over hand, and i don't know anything about anything so do the research yourself  I prefer to have a few drafts over an airtight house. I believe it's actually healthier. Not as cost effective but healthier.

Also, like others have said, a chimney with cracks is a terribly dangerous thing. I've lost loved ones to similar. It's not too hard to run pipe out a window. Just be sure to research it well and do every safe thing called for. I love fire but, like many good things, it can be painful and deadly.

Much luck to you on it all!!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Jewel said:


> Our house is around 800 sq ft and this little stove can run us outside fast with very little wood used.


"It's running you out" because it's burning the wood too fast, and any stove that burns too fast is getting too much air flowing through it. 
The Vogelzang MUST have caulking in the seams of "parts that don't move" for it to be a safe stove. The aluminum foil "seals" I made for the BX26 were for around the front feed door perimeter, and that silly little sliding "ash door" below the front door that is such a bad place for air to leak through. I eventually found that most of the time when I fed wood, I just dropped it in the top and left all the front door business alone.


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## Jewel (Sep 6, 2014)

LincTex said:


> "It's running you out" because it's burning the wood too fast, and any stove that burns too fast is getting too much air flowing through it.
> The Vogelzang MUST have caulking in the seams of "parts that don't move" for it to be a safe stove. The aluminum foil "seals" I made for the BX26 were for around the front feed door perimeter, and that silly little sliding "ash door" below the front door that is such a bad place for air to leak through. I eventually found that most of the time when I fed wood, I just dropped it in the top and left all the front door business alone.


That's just me saying wrong :nuts: It doesn't run us out unless we get it too hot, which was only when we first got it. Now that we're used to it, it runs wonderfully. Not that I'm disregarding the foil idea at all 

That ash door thing is odd! I thought ours was broken at first.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

I remember the V stoves, they were a product of the 70's along with Jotul. If you pushed them and got them cherry, they would warp or worse, crack. There was another little box stove they looked like, can't remember the name though.

Jotul had two hanging plates inside, on each side, that would take the heat. I have one in the shed now that that plate is cracked, couple hundred for a new one!!! Still very usable if I do not push it.

The real workhorses of my era, the 1970's, were the Fisher stoves. Mama and Papa bear plate steel... {insert Tim Allen grunts here} IF you can find one, buy it. They might not have been the most efficient air tight units, but you could not kill them and those babies would pump out some heat! They were not for the feint of heart, once you got them rocking and rolling.... They would drive you out of a small place. That is a lot of metal to heat up.

But, the Jotul is a beautiful stove with the secondary combustion chamber up top. Mine is the green forest scene.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

LincTex said:


> "It's running you out" because it's burning the wood too fast, and any stove that burns too fast is getting too much air flowing through it.
> The Vogelzang MUST have caulking in the seams of "parts that don't move" for it to be a safe stove. The aluminum foil "seals" I made for the BX26 were for around the front feed door perimeter, and that silly little sliding "ash door" below the front door that is such a bad place for air to leak through. I eventually found that most of the time when I fed wood, I just dropped it in the top and left all the front door business alone.


A couple of years ago my stove was over firing. Last fall I took it completely apart and put all new gaskets and caulked. Now I can choke it down and hold a fire for days. I also add wood though the top rarely open the front doors.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

hashbrown said:


> A couple of years ago my stove was over firing. Last fall I took it completely apart and put all new gaskets and caulked. Now I can choke it down and hold a fire for days. I also add wood though the top rarely open the front doors.


What stove do you have?


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

This small Sweet Home stove heats 1,300 sq. ft. runs all night on three small pieces of firewood and if not dampened down will make us open a few windows. My wife surprise the me and the dealer by throwing out an offer that they accepted, they were planning a price reduction anyway. I think that Grover Electrical Supply was trying to close out carrying wood stoves as they no longer sell them and now I'm not sure the Sweet Home stove company makes wood stoves anymore, probably stove emmission laws put them out of business, too bad these little stoves are made to last,3/16ths and 1/2" steel make them dang heavy. As you can see I have a piece of styrofoam, to pad my boney butt, that I sit on to warm my back on cold days. We got this stove somewhere in the mid 1980's, it's the best stove we've ever owned.


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## Cotton (Oct 12, 2013)

A couple of years ago I finally had a chance to get my “emergency stove”. Tractor supply was having a winter close out sale. There it was, model 2421 by the US Stove Company (heats up to 1600sq ft). Years ago I worked in TN and a friend had one. A great little stove that heated her whole house. I wanted one, little did I know that twice a month I drove by the US stove co (work).  (same location a Lodge! South Pittsburg TN)

Anyway, I got the one at tractor sup. for about $230. I brought it home, mounted it where my grandfathers stove had sat. I cut and assembled all the flu pipe, ready to go. I dis-assembled everything, wrapped it all up and stored it over at the old barn. I’m waiting for the day the propane truck stops running. My elderly dad still uses his fireplace. I cut his firewood so I’m ready! 

They are great stoves if anyone is in the market.


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Woody said:


> What stove do you have?


Vermont castings


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

Cotton said:


> I cut and assembled all the flu pipe, ready to go. I dis-assembled everything, wrapped it all up and stored it over at the old barn.


Have you thought about putting it all back together and doing a trial run?

It's less stress to learn a new device at times when you don't really need it... than to be forced to learn how to operate one under times of stress when you really, really need it.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Viking said:


> This small Sweet Home stove heats 1,300 sq. ft. runs all night on three small pieces of firewood and if not dampened down will make us open a few windows. My wife surprise the me and the dealer by throwing out an offer that they accepted, they were planning a price reduction anyway. I think that Grover Electrical Supply was trying to close out carrying wood stoves as they no longer sell them and now I'm not sure the Sweet Home stove company makes wood stoves anymore, probably stove emmission laws put them out of business, too bad these little stoves are made to last,3/16ths and 1/2" steel make them dang heavy. As you can see I have a piece of styrofoam, to pad my boney butt, that I sit on to warm my back on cold days. We got this stove somewhere in the mid 1980's, it's the best stove we've ever owned.


That is really similar to the Fisher stoves I mentioned, and sounds built the same. The front is exactly the same, two drafts, handles and doors. Heating machines.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

hashbrown said:


> Vermont castings


Beautiful, well made stoves! I don't know about the current ones but 30 or so years ago, they were the thing to have. I just could never afford one. The Fisher's and similar stoves are strictly utilitarian, Vermont Castings brought back style with their stoves. Is it by any chance a soapstone model? I never owned one but spent time around some and would go home and have wet dreams about owning one. They throw such a nice even heat.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

LincTex said:


> "It's running you out" because it's burning the wood too fast, and any stove that burns too fast is getting too much air flowing through it.
> The Vogelzang MUST have caulking in the seams of "parts that don't move" for it to be a safe stove. The aluminum foil "seals" I made for the BX26 were for around the front feed door perimeter, and that silly little sliding "ash door" below the front door that is such a bad place for air to leak through. I eventually found that most of the time when I fed wood, I just dropped it in the top and left all the front door business alone.


I have a Rathbone & Co, NO 2, made in Albany, patented 1852, box stove with that sliding ash door. Firebox is 9" x 10" x 17", three legs and one lid.

It is what would have been used by anyone going west in a Conestoga for heat and cooking in their first "home". That and the fireplace. Those westerns we see where every little sod home had a nice big cookstove in them, are not set in reality. They could not afford to haul 400# of stove when they needed so many other essentials. From a prepping standpoint, look around any of those homes in the movies. You will see dressers, cabinets, china cabinets... If you had to haul everything you needed to support your family, AND a new home, for a few months across the prairies, pulled by two horses... Would you take a 400# stove and grandma's china cabinet, or would you take a few bags of seed corn and an extra axe?

Anyway... The ash door is pretty much useless today. It does let in a lot of air, but when the stove was fired you NEEDED all the heat it would give you so really didn't air down on it. You could open the front door, slide out the ash pit cover and use a shovel, or piece of flat wood, to go under the existing fire and remove ashes. The fire could be kept going, to keep you warm, and with the bottom ash removed, have more room to stack on wood. The ash pit door gives you more of an angle to get under the fire, and hot coals. Opening the door to scrape them out, you have too steep an angle to do it efficiently.

You could then dump them in the ash pit, by the stove (remember, you are living in a dirt floor place) or an ash bucket, if you could afford one. When cool, out to the garden, or make soap, or tan hides.

Bottom line. It is used to remove ash without waiting for the fire to die down, you can do it with a going fire so you do not freeze. I don't know why many modern stoves would have one, especially if it does not seal!


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## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Woody said:


> Beautiful, well made stoves! I don't know about the current ones but 30 or so years ago, they were the thing to have. I just could never afford one. The Fisher's and similar stoves are strictly utilitarian, Vermont Castings brought back style with their stoves. Is it by any chance a soapstone model? I never owned one but spent time around some and would go home and have wet dreams about owning one. They throw such a nice even heat.


Mine is a 1986 Encore, It's on my main floor and I have the Vermont Castings Defiant model in my basement. Our home is 3200 ft and 3 levels I never start a fire in the Defiant in less it is going to be sub zero for several days. Then Encore was a catalytic model, when I overhauled the stove I removed the converter and didn't replace it do to the cost. I run it with a pipe damper now.


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