Free Standing Woodstoves

There are many different brand names and models of stoves, almost too many to count. My opinion is about 40% of what I see are worthy of using to get heat or ambiance. Older stoves that are big, black cast iron “monsters” like Timberline, Fisher, Glacier bay, Gibraltar, Buck and others are terribly inefficient, ugly, intrusive and in my opinion, belong in a scrap yard.

Fact is, you can get a new, no name stove at tractor supply that will blow the doors off the monsters in efficiency, looks and will be more correctly sized to heat your home without everyone having nosebleeds. You want high end efficiency and cosmetics? .Something that will last a long time and great service?
See the friendly and educated folks at Hearth and Home on Bridge Street in East Syracuse. Their products and service are second to none locally. You get what you pay for… I promise you.

Any woodstove produced in the past 20 years should have specific installation guidelines to follow. Is there proper floor protection under the appliance? Do you have proper clearances from stove to combustibles? Is there proper floor protection for 18 inches in front of stove? Once the stove pipe leaves the stove collar, you are obligated to follow local standards. If there are manufacturers installation instructions, following them completely will almost always be locally code compliant. If there are no installation instructions, you must follow the standards of your local town codes official- typically the international codes and standards. The chimney must also meet current codes and standards.

Remember, once you make a change to any appliance, be it a woodstove, furnace, water heater or other, that the installer is OBLIGATED to make sure the ENTIRE system is CURRENTLY code compliant. That means a new furnace should NOT be installed into a pre existing chimney without first inspecting the chimney and determining if it meet current codes and standards. I would say only less than 10% do. Don’t go by the old “I’ve had mine like this for 30 years and its fine”, “I’ve been installing them this way for 26 years”, “You don’t need this or that”. The fact is, if you don’t follow instructions, you are liable for any bad results. See my video on the front page; I was interviewed regarding a home that BURNED DOWN the SAME DAY the chimney was swept from a chimney fire.

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