One Hundred Dollars a Month

You have your wood burning stove lovers and your gas fireplace lovers, rarely an in between. Some people don’t like the mess of the wood burning stove while others love the smell and sound of crackling wood. Personally, I like the idea of being able to cook on top of the wood stove in case the power goes out. At this stage in my life, I don’t mind chopping firewood or storing it for our wood burning stove. Maybe when I’m in my 80’s though, I’ll feel a little differently. 😉

Basically, I can find benefits in both, but today we’re focusing on wood burning {and if I had to choose only one, I’d choose a cast iron wood burning stove any day of the week.

If you have decided that’s the right route for you, then make sure you read all the way through to the end before buying one. I’m tossing out tips right and left so you can make the right choice {there are SOOO many options out there. Who knew?!}. From brand to size to type, I’ll walk you through your options so you can choose the one that fits your space the best.

Find a Trusted Dealer: First things first, unless you are super knowledgeable when it comes to wood stoves, a good dealer can be a great resource. I’m not talking an “expert” at a big box store, unless they have been in the business for a number of years, heats their own home with wood, and can show you a showroom full of lit models. Unless they burn regularly, it’s very hard for them to learn the ins and outs from a textbook! A trusted dealer is a must!

Pick a Solid Brand: Your trusted dealer will help you identify trusted brands. More than likely, they’ll only recommend brands that routinely honor warranties, have been around for years and have replacement parts on the ready. It’s hard to trust a brand that has only been around a few years because you have no idea how their stoves will hold up long-term! {We ended up buying a Jotul 500 Oslo Woodstove for the main living area in our home.}

Decide on Type: Soapstone, steel, or cast iron?  I never realized there was such a difference, but there is! Steel stoves heat up faster, while cast iron stoves take a bit longer to heat up but retain heat longer {many people think cast irons stoves are prettier!}.

Both heat well and hold up forever, but the stone on the soapstone stove absorbs heat and releases it slowly, so it doesn’t heat well from cold. It’s not a great stove if you want to frequently shut it off and on or need a temperature adjustment fairly quickly. But if you want to run it continuously for a majority of the time, {which is what most people want in winter} it’s a great stove for you. Otherwise, go with the steel or cast iron.

Decide on Fuel: Pellet or wood. This is a big decision! Pellets cost more in the long run because of the pellets themselves, but the upfront cost of a pellet stove is much lower {My buddy Heather in Massachusetts LOVED hers}.

Pellet stoves can be used without a chimney and they produce virtually no smoke. They are more convenient because they feed themselves from a hopper to maintain the temperature you set on the thermostat {meaning you never have to get up in the middle of the night to put another log on!}.

But that means it runs on electricity, so if you lose power, you lose heat.  So a wood burning stove is cheaper to run, gives you that nice smell and crackle of a fireplace and will give you heat without electricity.

Pick a Size: There are all sorts of size options for stoves, regardless of the type you choose. There are so many factors at play here that this is a good reason to call on that handy dealer you sought out. You can’t trust the maximum heat output rating that comes with the stove because so many factors can affect it, not the least of which is climate.

You need to make sure the size of the stove you choose can heat the size of the room/house you need. No need to overdo it on size and you certainly don’t want to purchase a stove too small for your space. Your dealer will help you determine what size is exactly right for your dimensions.

Choose the Design: This one is the most fun. Find a stove that seems pretty to you. And an aesthetically pleasing stove is a big deal because it’s normally a prominent feature in your room, so you’ll be looking at it often! But this one is purely a person choice. No tips needed here!

And there you have a few guidelines to get you started on your journey to wood stove ownership. Any tips I missed? Share ’em below!

~Mavis