Please advise me: Supplemental heat/cast iron stove

[Anonymous]

In preparation for another harsh winter with two little kids in a single family home with no fireplaces, I am looking at getting a stove for emergency heat.

I looked at natural gas, but just to run the gas line is $1000. I'm on a budget here (single mom). So it's probably got to be wood despite the drawbacks of that (smell, mess).

I saw that Tractor Supply Co, Home Depot, even Amazon have small stoves that can heat 1000 or 2000 feet for less than $1000, plus of course I'd have to pay for the venting/chimney/pad.

Frankly some of these prices are hard for me to believe - I saw one cast iron stove for under $200! With mixed reviews. Can anyone offer me advice on choosing an affordable wood stove for emergency heating? My goal is just to keep one room (the sunroom/addition) warm enough to camp out with hats and blankets. I don't want to feel like I have to abandon my house during the next blizzard when my neighborhood is no where near to being plowed and all I have is a Prius and two little girls

Thank you for any help!

[Anonymous]

We got a woodstove a couple of years ago. My parents had a woodstove growing up and it was warm but it did smell smoky. The technology has evolved considerably and while the wood/ashes can be a little messy, it doesn't smoke or smell and once you figure out how to work it, it is easy to operate and clean out. You just have to feed it every few hours. We got a Vermont Castings (top of the line brand) but we also use it constantly during the colder months and wanted the investment to hold up and last. It has reduced our fuel bill unbelievably. We bought ours from a stove shop that arranged the installation and services it once a year (cleans/inspects pipe, etc.).

For your purposes, using it infrequently, I don't know how the Home Depot brands do. I would stay away from internet sales other than looking at reviews of models. Definitely find a good store that will install it and either do an annual pipe cleanout or recommend someone who can do so. You really need a professional to put it in safely and check it periodically. My parents' stove chimney caught fire one time and I am paranoid about safety.

My favorite feature on ours is an ash pan that swings out and you can remove it to empty it outside. For accessories, you'll need a set of fireplace tools (poker, broom) and a thermometer that attaches to the stovepipe. Make sure your wood is cut to the correct length (standard fireplace wood is too long for smaller stoves) and is dry (seasoned) at least a year.

I am wondering whether you might do better investing in a gas generator instead. We live in an area where the power goes out often and it has been worth every cent. We bought a good-sized one and it runs the fridge, heat, and lights/fans in most of the rooms. It is out on the back porch but hardwired into our electric panel, so when the power goes out, you start it up, flip the circuit breaker over to generator, and you're back in business. We start it up once a month if we haven't used it, but otherwise it is low maintenance and you just use gas from the gas station. We got it from Home Depot and had our electrician hook it up. If you are a single mom and looking for emergency use only, I would really recommend a generator instead of a woodstove - it will help you all year round! You'll have heat, light, and no more losing all the food in the fridge ever again.