Wood Stove Reviews - Archive

Browse Stove Reviews Contributed by Wise Heat Visitors

Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Barney on Jun 27, 2009; I have had mine for several years and the only big problems I've had were my doing. When I got it I used flex duct to go around fireplace damper and that got plugged with soot. Since then I cut out the fireplace damper and got rid of the flex.
When...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Hearthstone Bennington: Review and ratings contributed by FORMER HEATHSTONE EMPLOYEE on Jun 05, 2009; As a former employee who dealt with finishing and packaging, i can tell by some of the reviews that some people have just received crap-lousy builds. The Bennington was one of the most difficult to build, there for alot of the time complete garbage ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Smokeywoodstover on May 15, 2009; New stove had very poor draft. My chimny goes straight up with no elbows so I didn't think it was caused by chimny. Had to leave stove door open a crack otherwise fire would go out. Removed "Primary Air Plate Part number 17" and discovered excess ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by SusanA on Apr 29, 2009; Had mine, a used one, since January this year (previous owner needed a bigger stove). Bought 5 cord of wood and still have approx. 2 cords left. Replaced most gasket seals. Smoke does sometimes leak into house via doors. Had to muck around with it...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Priscilla on Apr 17, 2009; This is a wretched stove. Ash clogs the vent easily and you have to remove a part with a screw driver in order to clean it out. We had one and my husbands parents had one. Both have now been passed on because they were terrible.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Extra Large 2462: Review and ratings contributed by vtgolfer75 on Apr 09, 2009; It's really not a very good stove. You'll spend a lot of time repairing it, very poor draft compared to my old stove. I'm not impressed with it and the dealer was useless.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Lopi Liberty: Review and ratings contributed by Steve on Mar 27, 2009; This is the second Lopi stove we have owned. We have had the Liberty stove for 2 1/2 yrs and have been very happy with it up until now. I would still give the stove high marks in overall performance, efficiency and ease of use. The last time I cle...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by dartor@vermontel.net on Mar 10, 2009; Now that I've experienced a winter with this new stove, I still haven't figured out how to solve the smoking problem. When I first start a fire or the outside draft is poor, my house fills with smoke when I open the stove door no matter what I do. On...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Aspen User on Mar 04, 2009; The stove took some getting used to. Keeping the airways clean are essential to smooth operation. It will not heat large spaces but is a very efficient heater for a great room or large family room. Absolutely worth the price, but don't over-estima...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Extra Large 2462: Review and ratings contributed by Wade on Feb 19, 2009; Good heater. Had trouble with it back puffing smoke the first couple of years. Put in new double wall chimney and completely changed the performance. Will burn all nite at sub-zero temp. Catalyst will last 4-5 years.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by Fisher on Feb 19, 2009; I've had this stove 9 years. Works Great. Will burn all nite and revives easily in the morn. I've replaced catalyst twice. Good even heat.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vermont Castings Aspen 1920: Review and ratings contributed by Pines IN on Feb 17, 2009; I have had this stove for about 4 months and primarily use it on the weekends. It's a great heater for my small / weekend home. However, the finish (Classic Black) started to "rub" off on top of the stove when wiped down with a damp cloth. Is this...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Morso 7110: Review and ratings contributed by CATHY AND TREY MCGEE on Feb 16, 2009; WE LOVE OUR MORSO 7110. WE WENT FROM FORCED AIR ELECTRIC HEAT WHICH IS SOOO COLD ! TO A BONE WARMING WARMTH THAT WE LOVE!!!.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by VTBear on Feb 12, 2009; I have a love-hate relationship with this stove. When it works right it's great, but at times it will overheat, no matter what I do. Even with the doors shut tight, the primary air intake shut down all the way and the damper on the chimney closed, ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Vogelzang Deluxe Boxwood BX42E: Review and ratings contributed by atprn on Feb 11, 2009; I recently purchased the Vogelzaang model bx26e.

I have to comment that having only used this stove twice I can safely safe this is the biggest piece of junk I have ever purchased.

The engineer must have been thinking this was for display only ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Hearthstone Bennington: Review and ratings contributed by Whoknew on Feb 07, 2009; This is absolutely one of the worst stoves that I have ever owned. Everything has already been said about its lack of performance. The costumer service has been nonexistent and I am working hard to return this stove.

Do not buy this stove.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by rick on Feb 05, 2009; Had one for 10yrs. Replacement catalytic converter didn't work all that well. Side door lets a lot of smoke out. Reversable output doesn't have a gasket and lets smoke leak. Had to make one. Never could tell how much to open the secondary air contro...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Small 2460: Review and ratings contributed by Bill1024 on Jan 28, 2009; I like the stove, it heats very well and is quite easy to use.
However, the inner top is cracked and severly warped so bad that the catalytic combuster is essentially useless. In 5 weeks, have contacted three local area Dutchwest dealers to try and ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 602 CB: Review and ratings contributed by Richard on Jan 27, 2009; I love my Jotul 602. In fact I love it so much that our house has two of them. The old original is hooked up in the upper floor of my garage heating my shop and an extra sleeping space. The new one, the one with the glass door and enamel finish sits ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by Eladela on Jan 22, 2009; We've had ours for three winters now, and it is used constantly from about October to March, everyday. It heats our living room, but our house is big and four finished floors. The rest of the house stays cold and we use a gas boiler to keep the hou...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Extra Large 2462: Review and ratings contributed by BeaverRevue on Jan 14, 2009; The cast iron burns warps and burns itself out over time. The inside top falls into firebox.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by Bill B on Jan 13, 2009; I have to say that I'm very disappointed with the F400. Every time I open the door on the F400, smoke comes out into the room, no matter how slowly I open it. It sometimes "runs away" and burns much too hot (+600) even though it's turned all the way...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Jotul F 400 Castine: Review and ratings contributed by Shane on Jan 10, 2009; This stove is outstanding. I stoke with pinion at 9pm, and there are plenty of coals to restart at 6am. After 13 hours, there are still coals and can be babied to relight with kindling. When hot, temperature very easy to modulate. Flue is straigh...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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 ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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 ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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 ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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 ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Regency F2400 Classic: Review and ratings contributed by Jen on Nov 30, 2008; Good stove; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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 ...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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/...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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...; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
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.; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...
Dutchwest Cast Iron Large 2461: Review and ratings contributed by Tony M on Nov 01, 2007; Quality and efficient; Complete review & ratings...; Follow this thread...