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Freestanding stoves are the most versatile hearth product. They can be installed in almost any room in the house. They can be made of steel, cast iron or stone and come in a variety of painted, powder coated and vitreous porcelain enamel finishes in a rainbow of colors to complement any décor and life style.
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| Harman, Jotul, Napoleon, Quadra Fire |
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Firewood continues to be one of our most plentiful, easily obtainable and cheapest energy alternatives and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency's regulations on pollution from woodburning stoves have revolutionized the wood stove industry. Today's high-tech, non-catalytic combustion technology exceeds standards only dreamed of merely twenty years ago. A properly sized and installed woodburning stove can provide a consistent heat output over a period of more than eight hours, usually with no visible smoke. Creosote build up and chimney fires can be a thing of the past. Wood stoves can use standard masonry chimneys, but also factory-built metal chimneys that can be installed in a wide variety of locations where a masonry chimney is not feasible. High efficiency heat exchange means that some wood burning stoves require very little space for safe installation and can be installed within inches of a combustible material. And nothing can improve on the looks of a real wood fire. |
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| Harman, BOSCA, Quadra Fire |
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Wood pellet burning stoves have all of the advantages of high-tech wood stoves and improve upon them! Chimneys may not be needed; in many cases the stoves can be vented directly through the wall behind the stove. Modern pellet stoves are almost entirely automatic. Fill the hopper of the stove with pellets, set the thermostat at the desired temperatures and watch the stove operate. The stove will turn itself off and on and regulate its heat output to suit you heating needs. Hoppers usually should be checked twice a day and topped off, even if they don't need it. With a good quality, low ash pellet (less than 1% ash on a dry weight basis) you may be able to operate for days, weeks or a month without having to remove the ash container. Most pellet stoves can be installed within a few inches of a combustible materials, requiring little, if any, heat shielding and minimal floor protection. |
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| Harman, Quadra Fire |
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Corn and other biomass stoves are very similar in most ways to pellets stoves, and many pellet stoves can burn some corn and other biomass, although wood pellets are still usually cheaper and easy to store. |
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| Harman |
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Coal "stokers" (automatic feed and thermostatically controlled stoves) and traditional "batch fed" coal stoves provide high heat output, economical fuel and steady and consistent heat ouput. Coal stores in less space than wood and other biomass fuels and produces no creosote. |
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| Harman, Jotul, Napoleon, Quadra Fire |
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Modern gas stoves provide all the romance and aesthetics of a wood burning stove with a high heating efficiency and the ultimate in cleanliness, ease of operation and comfort; they combine the appearance of a wood burning stove with the heating of an automatic gas furnace. They can usually be installed without a chimney, either venting through a side wall or, occasionally, with no vent at all. Requirements for heat shielding and floor protection are minimal. |
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| Electraflame (Dimplex), Heat & Glo, Heatilator |
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Not only do electric stoves simulate the appearance of a wood fire, they can be economically operated all year long to provide the appearance of a wood fire without the heat. Yet they can also supply some auxiliary or back up heat if needed. They require no venting and can be installed almost anywhere that an outlet is available. |
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