Wood Stove Reviews - Archive

Browse Stove Reviews Contributed by Wise Heat Visitors

Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by stepwill47 on Jan 01, 2009
This is only our second woodstove - so I'm no expert. But the previous reviewers are correct:-
- The air control valve is almost useless, especially
when the ash pan is getting full.
- I operate it for about 30 mins with the front doors ...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by Glen NY on Jan 01, 2009
Try lighting a very high flame paper fire before atttempting to burn wood. I light the paper in several areas and let the flame get high. Close the doors and open the ash pan if necessary. You should see the drsft start right up. Once that draft is e...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by Glen NY on Jan 01, 2009
Awesome stove! I have experienced some of the problems listed in this blog, but it just takes some getting used to. I have had all Vermont Castings (2-resolute and a vigilant) and I have to say I like this better. I have some tips for avoiding a smok...
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Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by Stephen Avis on Dec 18, 2008
The Bennington took some time to get used to. All of the comments above are correct but once you determine a pattern for fire building and stick with it, it's simple.

I now start the fire with the front doors both cracked open about 1". This p...
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Morso 7110
Review and ratings contributed by Craig Scott on Dec 06, 2008
I bought this stove as I liked the slightly contemporary look. I have a traditional styled home that I am remodeling in a modern style. The design of this fitted great without looking out of place.

The fireview is great and the glass stays real cl...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by dale on Dec 06, 2008
Very good stove. fire will not last more than 8 hours and the draft could be better when starting a fire. it appears that all new stove have a smaller firebox to allow for additional space for energy efficiency parts. no prbelm with the glass, burn...
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Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by tdonahueMaine on Dec 31, 2008
Don't believe the hipe about this stove. I've been using wood stoves of many types since the 60's and the quality of this stove is very poor - scary, in fact. I have used this stove for three months and the side load door has fallen off, the m...
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Blaze King Princess Ultra PEJ1006
Review and ratings contributed by David Poppe on Dec 23, 2008
We live in Nenana, Alaska, and are heating a 1400 sq foot leaky log house. We have been raving about our Blaze King Princess since installing it a month ago. We burn spruce, birch, aspen, and scrap wood. We find the stove performs well with whatever ...
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460
Review and ratings contributed by treebone on Dec 18, 2008
I bought one by mail order in 1984, to heat a 1400 sq. ft. house in Nev. It is difficult to load the stove to capacity. The construction is not great, lots of cast iron pieces, made in china or someplace. If any of the parts warp, the seal is comprom...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by TedMaxJr on Dec 11, 2008
Purchased 3 years ago. Firebox too small. Struggles to get temp in room (900 sf) to low 60's when outside temp is in 30's. All other factors seem ok, e.g. draft, seasoned wood, stove burn temp between 400 - 500 degrees. Very disappointed in stove...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by shelley269 on Dec 10, 2008
Smokes out my house every time I start a fire. BAD BAD BAD. gets hot in about 30 minutes. Very nice to look at. Will not buy again. Does not burn threw the night...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by H2GURU on Dec 08, 2008
Super efficient stove that requires more operator exreience on the part of owners w/complaints as I experienced these as well. Its 10 degrees outside and my oil burner isn't on yet (2000 ft2). Firebox is small but managable w/proper wood. No outside ...
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Vogelzang Deluxe Boxwood BX42E
Review and ratings contributed by Dendz on Dec 07, 2008
Outstanding stove for the price. But I'd only use for a garage. Its NOT even close to air tight. If you load it with a lot of smaller wood, you can't shut enough air off to cool it down. As long as you know that and don't overload it, its a gre...
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Regency F2400 Classic
Review and ratings contributed by t welter on Dec 06, 2008
i have had my regency stove since 1990 used every year since with absulotly no problems it has worked flawlesly very high qualty stove would not owen any thing but a regensy bar nun the best one out there for your money long burn times very low maint...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by j. mitchell on Dec 05, 2008
I am a little disappointed in my new Jotul 400. I can't fit more than 3 pieces of wood in the box and there doesn't seem to be enough of a draft to prevent smoke from coming ino the room when I open the door. I'm forced to operate the stove with the ...
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Regency F2400 Classic
Review and ratings contributed by Jen on Nov 30, 2008
Good stove
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by aprilb on Nov 25, 2008
What a total waste of my tax rebate money. the glass has just broken for the second time, this gets a little expensive at 140.00 a piece. The coals fall out when you open the door, very little wood fits in it, about 3 pieces. The ash pan does nothing...
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Blaze King Princess Ultra PEJ1006
Review and ratings contributed by Princess in interior Alaska on Nov 23, 2008
With white spruce and sum birch, burn times are plenty long enough to load and heat 2200 sqf in the interior of Alaska. Don't think much of that, but do the homework on our cold degree days here. My mother in law got a Vermont castings Encour. I will...
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Jotul F 400 Castine
Review and ratings contributed by lyonred on Nov 22, 2008
Nice heavy duty stove. Heats up my downstairs and half my upstairs to around 73 degrees. Right now, it's about 30 degrees outside and I have the stove heating my whole house, without my furnace kicking in. Easy to clean and maintain.
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460
Review and ratings contributed by john on Nov 15, 2008
Wondering why I can not easily find parts for this stove online.. i had to go to a local supplier for the 200 dollar catalytic element . Now as in this manual , maintainance is required but cleaning with a brush isn't recommended? now I need to know...
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Blaze King Princess Ultra PEJ1006
Review and ratings contributed by Ric Freenie on Nov 01, 2008
piece of crap, longest burn time is 5 hours, it's been looked at and serviced and the dealer still says theres nothing wrong. the fire is completely out in the morning, only ash left with no burning embers and it is set on the low setting, catalyst ...
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Morso 7110
Review and ratings contributed by Peter Kremer on Oct 28, 2008
We are on our third year with this stove and I am very pleased. We burn about 3cords a winter. I have to clean the glass every few days but my experience is the same with other glass doors. We have it set into a fireplace and vent up through the chim...
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Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by erinron on Oct 27, 2008
We bought our Bennington used 2 years ago to put in a house we were (are) renovating. Previously we had a Vermont Castings Vigilant and then a Defiant Encore (time span of 25 years). This stove blows the doors off the VS's We throw in 3 logs around 1...
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Lopi Liberty
Review and ratings contributed by Ranchboy on Oct 19, 2008
We reserched stoves for months, then decided to purchase the Liberty by Lopi. We were attracted to the stove for its size and looks. The energy eff. also made my wife proud. We have used this stove for five seasons and could not be happier. Having ma...
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Drolet Classic Model DB03080
Review and ratings contributed by MyDrolet on Oct 14, 2008
I've owned this stove for a year now, and I'm looking forward to another winter of using it. I highly recommend the stove to anyone. I haven't had any problems with it, and it's fun to burn with.
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460
Review and ratings contributed by shirley on Oct 11, 2008
HELP>>>>>I enjoy my small stove with the exception of the side door inner liner!! It has been replaced X3 in 2 years. Now it needs to be replaced again and my dealer tells me that bcause the company changed hands, there is no longer any warranty on t...
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460
Review and ratings contributed by mike from jersey on Oct 10, 2008
Great output for a small stove, sufficient to heat our 1,200 sq. ft. Sears home @ 8 degrees F. Side door is great, burn times good, and convection design even contributes to safety by lowering surface temps, a plus for our kids and animals.
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Blaze King Princess Ultra PEJ1006
Review and ratings contributed by HouseHeater on Jul 29, 2008
Not my favorite looking stove... but NOTHING is more suited to a serious wood burner.
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Blaze King Princess Ultra PEJ1006
Review and ratings contributed by OregonBowGuy on Jun 25, 2008
Holds absolute huge volume of wood and truly burns 20 hours on my oak! I've owned many others, but the King and Princess models are way ahead of the others and burn so clean.
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Jotul F 602 CB
Review and ratings contributed by Jordo on Apr 21, 2008
For a small stove, I haven't been able to beat this one and I've owned a lot of stoves. It uses a lot of wood, burns quick in my opinion for the heat I get out of it. Heats my pantry and kitchen, and I get some heat from it into the dining room. Over...
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Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by wraffeldt@hotmail.com on Mar 09, 2008
TWO MAJOR complaints on this stove..... As mentioned in the previous post, you can not get a real flame unless the ash pan door is open. Also the 'self cleaning' system for the front glass forces the smoke to billow into the room when you open th...
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Hearthstone Bennington
Review and ratings contributed by Jerald RAppleyea on Jan 26, 2008
Don't buy this stove. It is extremely difficult to operate. We have burned wood for over 25 years and never had problems until we purchased this stove. It has a mind of its own, when you want it to burn hot it is impossible to get it going wiothou...
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Vermont Castings Aspen 1920
Review and ratings contributed by AspenLover on Jan 25, 2008
I have to say this is really a great stove. It was in my price range when I bought it and I was skeptical at first, but it's a proven heater in my house. I installed it myself, too. Really easy, but I grew up with stoves in the house. I rated it a 4/...
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Vermont Castings Aspen 1920
Review and ratings contributed by NewFire on Dec 12, 2007
Good stove so far for the price. I've had it about 2 months. Burns solidly and the heat is consistent. I give it a 4/5 rating.
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461
Review and ratings contributed by Pine Knot on Nov 17, 2007
I have been using the Duchwest "large" for about three weeks. Very satisfactory so far. It is clean, provides lots of heat, fire lasts over night with enough coals left to quickly restart the fire. The Catalytic Combustor lights off on schadule at 50...
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460
Review and ratings contributed by BurningGuy on Nov 16, 2007
I found your site from Hearth. Looks good. This Dutchwest stove has done the job for me, but if I were going to get a new one I'd get something else.
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Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461
Review and ratings contributed by Tony M on Nov 01, 2007
Quality and efficient
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