The Chimney Sweep Woodstoves, Gas Stoves, Fireplaces, Cookstoves and Barbecues
The Chimney Sweep Online Fireplace, Woodstove, Gas Stove and Barbecue Shop

WOOD STOVE COMPARISON PAGE

Sorted By: SUSTAINED OUTPUT (6-8 HOUR BURN)

Sweepy

While it might be possible to heat a large house with a small woodstove if you crank the draft control wide open and stand by to add fuel every few minutes, the preferred method is to buy a larger stove and refuel less often. The industry standard for airtights on a low draft setting is a 6-8 hour, "all night" fire, with coals left at the end of the burn to ignite a fresh load. This column shows the average output over 8 hours for models with 2 cubic foot or larger fireboxes, or 6 hours for models with 1.5 cubic foot or smaller fireboxes.

To sort the table, click the column header (ie; Stove Dimensions, Shipping Weight, etc.)

Model
Stove
Dimensions
Shipping
Weight
Firebox
Size
Hardwood
Capacity
Max. Log
Length
Heating
Efficiency
EPA
Emissions
Maximum
Output
Avg Output
All-Night Burn
Heating
Capacity
Hearthstone
Equinox
Soapstone
29" T
33-2/3" W
25-1/2" D
774
lbs
4
cubic ft
80
lbs
25"
78%
3.0
grams/hr
120,000
btu
62,675
btu/hr
3500
sq ft
Pacific
Summit
Plate Steel
31-1/2" T
25-1/2" W
23-1/2" D
475
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.3%
3.56
grams/hr
97,000
btu
43,692
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Summit
Classic
Plate Steel
29-1/4" T
25-1/2" W
23-1/2" D
475
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.3%
3.56
grams/hr
97,000
btu
43,692
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Pacific
Alderlea T6
Plate / Cast
29-1/8" T
29-1/4" W
25" D
585
lbs
3
cubic ft
60
lbs
20"
80.3%
3.56
grams/hr
97,000
btu
43,692
btu/hr
2000 - 3000
sq ft
Hearthstone
Mansfield
Soapstone
31" T
27" W
24" D
585
lbs
3.2
cubic ft
64
lbs
21"
75%
2.8
grams/hr
80,000
btu
41,783
btu/hr
1800 - 2500
sq ft
Hearthstone
Bennington
Cast Iron
29-1/2" T
30" W
22" D
475
lbs
2.5
cubic ft
50
lbs
23"
76%
3.5
grams/hr
70,000
btu
38,167
btu/hr
1600 - 2200
sq ft
Hearthstone
Heritage
Soapstone
29" T
27-1/2" W
20-1/2" D
500
lbs
2.3
cubic ft
46
lbs
21"
81%
2.7
grams/hr
55,000
btu
33,730
btu/hr
1300 - 1900
sq ft
Hearthstone
Phoenix
Soapstone
27-1/2" T
28" W
20" D
450
lbs
2.2
cubic ft
44
lbs
21"
75%
2.4
grams/hr
60,000
btu
31,819
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Hearthstone
Homestead
Soapstone
27-1/2" T
27" W
19" D
440
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
21"
83.5%
1.9
grams/hr
50,000
btu
29,730
btu/hr
1200 - 1800
sq ft
Hearthstone
Shelburne
Cast Iron
29" T
26" W
21" D
425
lbs
2
cubic ft
40
lbs
20"
80%
2.1
grams/hr
50,000
btu
29,328
btu/hr
1200 - 1800
sq ft
Pacific
Super 27
Plate Steel
29-1/8" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific
Super Step Top
Plate Steel
33" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific
Spectrum
Plate Steel
29-1/8" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific
Classic
Plate Steel
29-1/8" T
24" W
25" D
390
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific
Fusion
Plate Steel
36-1/4" T
22-1/8" W
26-3/4" D
410
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Pacific
Alderlea T5
Plate / Cast
29-11/16" T
25" W
25" D
515
lbs
1.97
cubic ft
39.4
lbs
18"
82.6%
3.4
grams/hr
72,000
btu
27,424
btu/hr
1200 - 2000
sq ft
Hearthstone
Craftsbury

Cast Iron
26-1/8" T
22-3/8" W
17-3/8" D
300
lbs
1.5
cubic ft
30
lbs
17"
81%
3.0
grams/hr
40,000
btu
21,996
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific
Vista
Plate Steel
27-3/4" T
24" W
17-1/2" D
300
lbs
1.41
cubic ft
28.2
lbs
18"
80.7%
2.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
20,110
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific
Alderlea T4
Plate / Cast
28" T
26" W
17-1/2" D
450
lbs
1.41
cubic ft
28.2
lbs
18"
80.7%
2.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
20,110
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Pacific
Vista Classic
Plate Steel
27-3/4" T
24-7/8" W
17-1/2" D
300
lbs
1.41
cubic ft
28.2
lbs
18"
80.7%
2.9
grams/hr
56,000
btu
20,110
btu/hr
600 - 1400
sq ft
Hearthstone
Bari

Plate / Soapstone
44" T
19-1/2"
Diameter
475
lbs
1.25
cubic ft
25
lbs
17"
80%
3.57
grams/hr
35,000
btu
18,079
btu/hr
400 - 1200
sq ft
Hearthstone
Tribute
Soapstone
25-1/2" T
22" W
18" D
338
lbs
1.2
cubic ft
24
lbs
16"
83%
2.9
grams/hr
36,000
btu
17,595
btu/hr
600 - 1300
sq ft

To visit (or return to) any stove's page, click its name in the chart above.

Note: Output ratings can be confusing. To read about the difference between EPA ratings, Maximum Output ratings and the 8-hour burn ratings shown in the blue column above, click here.

There appears to be a contradiction in the chart: the Hearthstone Heritage, Homestead and Shelburne models have a higher average btu/hr output than the Pacific Energy Super 27, Spectrum, T5, Fusion and Classic models, yet the Pacific Energy models are rated to heat a larger area. This is due to the two different ways the heat is delivered. The Hearthstone models are primarily radiant heaters, meaning the heat enters the room directly through the body surfaces of the stove. The Pacific Energy models are primarily convection heaters, meaning they're of double-wall construction and deliver most of the heat in the form of heated air. Since heated air is easier to move around the house than radiant energy, a larger area can be heated with fewer btu's/hr using a convection heater.

The small area heaters at the bottom of the chart have very small fireboxes, so use only high-density hardwood and bank the fire carefully to ensure an all-night burn. For best results, choose from the species whose BTU ratings appear in red on our firewood comparison chart.

The Hearthstone soapstone models (Tribute, Craftsbury, Phoenix, Heritage, Mansfield, Equinox) will continue to radiate heat hours after the fire has gone out due to the heat retention properties of their soapstone panels. You may have to build your next fire from scratch should you oversleep, but at least you'll be warm!

Mathematicians: In order to compute the heat output of a given wood stove over a given period of time, we need to know the heat value contained in a full load of wood, the efficiency at which the woodstove delivers that heat, and the duration of the burn. We derived our sustained burn comparison figures using the formula below:

( firebox size in cu. in.) x ( 0.015 ) x ( 6200 ) x ( stove efficiency ) / ( burn time )

To get the firebox size in cubic inches, we multiplied the cubic foot measurement from the chart above by 1728.

The 0.015 is the weight of the fuelwood per cubic inch (we used an average of the top 28 species from our firewood comparison chart ).

The 6200 is the BTU (heat) content of the fuelwood per pound, also averaged from our firewood chart, with a slight correction for airspace between wood pieces, because you can't get 2 cubic feet of wood into a 2 cubic foot firebox. Even if you really try.

For stove efficiency, we used the manufacturers' tested rating, not the rating on the EPA label. The EPA doesn't test for efficiency, and there's a disclaimer to that effect on each label. Each label also shows the exact same efficiency rating. Why they even bother to put that number on the labels we don't know, but we do know that all woodstoves don't operate at exactly the same efficiency, so we don't use it.

For burn time we used 8 hours, which is an industry standard we know all our woodstoves can meet.

Note that the average btu/hr rating derived by this formula does not reflect how the heat is actually delivered over the course of the fire. In the real world, a fresh load of wood delivers much more heat toward the beginning of the fire when the gassified resins are being consumed, then gradually delivers less and less heat as the fire proceeds through the charcoaling process. This actually works out quite well, as it takes more btu's to bring a cold house up to temperature than it does to maintain that temperature.

 

Wood Stoves     back to our home page

The Chimney Sweep, Inc.
913 Harris Avenue
Bellingham, WA 98225-7032
1(888)-354-6722 toll-free in U.S. & Canada
1(360)-676-9080 FAX
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com

To send us E-Mail, Click Standard E-Mail Window or contact us (our reply form)
Copyright © 1996 - 2009 The Chimney Sweep, Inc.