There is nothing quite as comforting as a wood fire, no matter if you are inside or outside. Of course, you need to make sure that you have a safe place to have a fire, which his why it is a great idea to get the best wood burning stove you possibly can get. These wonderful stoves are a traditional way that can add to the beauty of your home or your backyard while also providing plenty of warmth.
After completing our research on 28 different models on the market, we have found the 7 best wood burning stoves available. Of those 7, we found that the Century FW3000 to be our favorite overall. This indoor unit can accept large logs, has a huge coverage area, and also has a built-in blower, which makes a welcome addition to any home. Of course, the other models on our list might work better in your situation, so be sure to check them out too.
During our research for this article, we first looked at the different types of stoves available, since this will determine where your new stove can be installed. The next thing we looked at was the dimensions of each stove. Finally, we looked at the heating area for each stove, and the number of BTUs each stove puts out so that you can decide whether or not it will provide you with enough heat. This careful research helped us to put together our comprehensive list and to complete in-depth reviews for each stove. It also allowed us to develop a detailed buying guide, which will give you all the information that you need to find the best wood burning stove for your needs.
More features: built-in blower; accepts logs up to 20 in. long
If you are looking for the best overall wood stove for your home, then this should be the first model that you check out. It has a great combination of traditional and modern designs, which make it a perfect stove to help keep your home nice and warm. For starters, this stove has a very large coverage area and high BTU output. This will allow it to keep you very toasty during the cold winter months. In fact, its coverage area is large enough that it could probably be used to heat your entire home without too much trouble.
Something that really aids in this model in its thorough heating is its built-in blower. While many wood stoves, especially older models, rely on the stove soaking up and then emitting heat slowly, this unit has a fan to push hot air out at an astounding rate. This will make for a much faster warming process, which is always a big plus.
Surprisingly, even though this stove is relatively compact, it can still accept some pretty large logs. In fact, with this unit, you will be able to cut your logs up to 20 inches in length, which is a huge time saver over most other stoves. Since you won’t need to keep chopping wood all of the time, you can spend more time relaxing in front of the fire.
The only real issue with this otherwise excellent stove is that it has a very small ash drawer. If this drawer is not empty often, it can quickly fill up and overflow. Thankfully, as long as you do empty the drawer every other day, this shouldn’t be too big of a problem to deal with.
More features: heavy gauge 3/16 inch reinforced plate steel with firebrick lining, up to 30 lbs. of wood, adjustable high-speed blower,
Taking the second position on our list is the Ashley Hearth AW3200E-P, an attractive looking wood burning stove with an impressive BTU rating of 152,000 that burns up to 3,200 square feet. The stove featured a pedestal base and brushed nickel door handle that gave it an attractive appearance in any room. The heavy gauge reinforced plate steel construction also provides topnotch combustion efficiency. With its durability, you can use this stove for a long time.
Those who want to heat a large area will need to do so evenly, and the Ashley Hearth AW3200E-P is an ideal stove for them. It comes with an adjustable high-speed blower up to 100 CFM that evenly distributes the heat from the furnace throughout the room. You also don’t have to change the logs often, as the stove can easily hold up to 30 pounds of wood.
More features: foldable design; double-wall construction
While most folks think of interior models when they hear the term woodstove, that doesn’t always need to be the case. This model, for instance, is not meant to be used indoors and is instead built for the outdoors. It is extremely lightweight, weighing a minuscule one pound. This lightweight design makes it perfect for taking along with you when you are backpacking.
This stove is also completely collapsible. It can be folded up so that it fits inside your bag without any issue. Thanks to its lightweight design, you will barely even notice that it is there in your pack.
Even though this stove is meant to be lightweight and portable, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t very sturdy. In fact, it is made with double-walled construction to keep it from breaking down on you when you need it most. This construction also helps it to conduct heat very efficiently for such a small stove. With this unit, you should be able to heat up your meals without too much of an issue.
You will need to be careful, however, to clean this stove as often as you can. Since you are going to be carrying it with you as you hike, you need to make sure to clean off any ashes or cinders before you stow it away in your pack. Otherwise, all of your other gear is going to end up covered in black soot. Thankfully, the stove wipes clean very easily without too much effort, making this not that big of a problem to deal with at all.
More features: bronze finish; hex shape design
This fire pit is another great option if you are looking for something for the outdoors. It is an elegant piece that is sure to fit into pretty much anyone’s décor in the backyard or on the patio. The bronze finish has a timeless look that makes it perfect for your outdoor entertainment space.
This is, without a doubt, the easiest of all our entries to setup. There are no pipes to fit or air intakes to install. Instead, you simply put the fire pit where you want it, start the fire, and put on the lid. It couldn’t get much easier. It is also nice and lightweight, which makes it a whole lot easier to move around than the other models on our list. That way, you can easily put it into storage when you are not using it.
As you would expect with an outdoor fire pit, this unit has a very large firebox. You can fit larger logs in this pit with ease, which will save you lots of time chopping wood. The vented sides are also a nice touch since they allow lots of air to flow into the fire, which feeds it so that it can burn all the brighter.
It is a good thing that this fire pit is so light since you will want to make sure that you move it out of the weather when you aren’t using it. Otherwise, the finish will start to come off, and it could rust. If this happens, the structure of the pit could fail, causing it to collapse.
More features: 6 pieces pipe, adjustable height, multi-function, detachable and portable
Next, we have the Fltom Camp Tent Stove, which is an ideal wood-burning stove for camping. It is smaller and thus easier to transport. However, don’t expect this stove to fit in your backpack. It will, however, pack nicely alongside everything you throw into the trunk of your car. The fact that some components are detachable also works in your favor when you’re transporting the stove.
Once you get to the camping site, it should be installed and used in a 3-4 person tent. After that, it will provide heat to that small group of people till you decide to turn it off. Of course, if you’re going camping in a woody area, you might not even have to carry your own firewood. You can probably source it locally in the form of twigs and wood chips in the area.
When installing the device, remember to add the sectional stove pipes so that they vent the toxic gases outside. Another notable element of this stove is the flat top that can also serve as a cooking surface when you’re camping. You can use it to make your meals while you get that authentic experience of the outdoors life.
What we liked:
What could be better:
Poses a health risk if not vented properly
More features: 16.5″ x 9″ ceramic glass window, accepts logs up to 18 in. long
Ashley Hearth products benefit from US Stove Company’s 150 year history. This brand has a track record of empowering Americans to feel self reliant and warm. The company has remained obsessed with designing and building heating appliances. The Ashley Hearth AW1820E is a great example of this innovative spirit.
This is an airtight fireplace insert to greatly improve your fireplace efficiency. This product meets the stringent EPA 2020 Certification Guideline requirements. It features a heavy cast iron door, yet the wood handle is cool touch, while the air washed ceramic glass allows you to enjoy the appeal of your burning fire. This makes it not only practical, but also a beautiful addition to your hearth.
The product includes a hearth surround, so you can fully enclose your existing fireplace, while the spring loaded auto adjustment makes installation easier. However, the stove does weigh approximately three hundred pounds, so you will still need help for a proper installation.
The AW1820E can accept logs up to 18 inches long, while the cast iron feed door is made of heavy gauge reinforced plate steel. This ensures 75% efficient heating of up to 69,000 BTUs, which makes it suitable for areas of up to to 1,800 square feet. There is a fan intake below the firebox, to allow air circulation over and out of the top of the stove.
More features: EPA 2020 approved, lifetime warranty, max. log length 20″
The Drolet Escape 1800 is an attractive wood burning stove that has ceramic glass and a brushed nickel door overlay. The design features an ash drawer, top air deflector, air damper and even a flat top that makes it possible to cook on top of the stove, with a generous space of 8 inches by 25 inches, which is more than sufficient for a dutch oven or other family sized casserole dish.
This stove is a non catalytic wood stove that only emits 1.54 g/h of fine particles, yet it produces up to 75,000 BTU/h. This makes it ideal for spaces that are up to 2,100 square feet. The side panels reduce clearance to combustibles, while the top heat exchanger redirect heat to the front of the stove for maximum comfort and benefit.
The firebox has an overall volume of 2.4 cubic feet, which provides a maximum burn time of up to eight hours. You can fit logs of up to 20 inches, so you won’t need to worry about cutting down logs into a small size to fit into the stove.
This unit has a limited lifetime warranty and it is fully made in Canada. Additionally, it is certified for alcove and mobile home installation, making it ideal for practically any installation location.
More features: nickel-pewter trim, air washed ceramic glass, EPA certified
When it comes to wood stoves, there is a distinctive look that you probably have in your mind. While having a classic look, this stove features a pedestal base that provides an elegant touch to any room
Even though this stove looks great, its performance is even better. It is a very compact stove but still has a very high BTU output. It can easily pump out up to 68,000 BTUs, which should help to keep pretty much anyone’s home very warm. In fact, it has a coverage area of up to 1,200 square feet, which is quite impressive for such a small stove.
Something else that we really like about this stove is its cast iron door with air-washed ceramic glass. This allows a magnificent view of the burning fire that will enhance any hearth setting.
You will need to be careful with the ash drawer with this stove, however. This shouldn’t be too big of a surprise since the stove is on the smaller side. The ash drawer is a bit difficult to get in and out, which could lead to some spills. It might not be a bad idea to have a bucket and brush ready to catch any ashes that fall out of the drawer until you get the hang of it.
In this section, we will go through everything that you need to know to find the perfect stove for your home, no matter if you want an indoor, outdoor, or camping unit. We have also taken the time to answer several frequently asked questions, so be sure to read through those as well if you need more information.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of different factors that you need to consider to make sure that you get the best wood burning stove in the world. In this section, we will guide you through each of these considerations so that you can make an informed decision when it comes time to buy your new stove.
When it comes to picking a new wood burning stove, the first thing that you need to consider is what type you want. There are several different types available, but they can be broken into two main categories. These two categories are stoves that can be used indoors and those that are designed to be used outside.
Indoor – Indoor stoves are great for heating up a home. They are built to soak up the heat from the fire within them and spread it out into space where they are installed. Indoor stoves are meant to be installed in one spot and never move since they are usually very heavy. These stoves can be set up in two different ways. You can either get a freestanding model or a fireplace insert.
Outdoor – If you are looking for an outdoor stove, odds are you have a particular application in mind. Outdoor stoves can be broken into three different categories, which include camp stoves, backpacking stoves, and fire pits.
If you are looking into an indoor model, then the next thing that you need to consider is the BTU output of your new stove. This number describes how much heat a wood stove can put out in a given amount of time. Obviously, the higher the number, the more heat it can put out. A higher BTU output will also mean that your space will warm up at a faster rate than it would with a stove with a lower BTU output, so be sure to find the one that fits your preferences.
A stove like the Drolet Escape 1800, for instance, will create a ton of heat. It has a BTU rating of 75,000, which will help to keep you nice and toasty, even when the temperature outside drops well below freezing. The Century FW3000 is another great heater in this regard, which is to be expected in a freestanding stove.
The next thing that you need to decide upon is just how large of an area you need to warm up with your stove. It is best to find the area of your home or at least the floor that you want to warm with your stove so that you can get one that meets your needs.
It is always a good idea to get a stove with a larger coverage area than you think that you will need so that you will be covered for sure. The last thing that you want is to get one that isn’t suited for the size of your home, as it won’t warm you up at all.
The best stove that we found if you want to heat your whole home is the Drolet Escape 1800. It has a coverage area of 2,100 square feet, which should be more than enough for most homes. On the other hand, if you only want to heat up a small part of your house, then the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P would probably get the job done without costing you too much.
You also need to figure out the size of the wood burning stove that would work best for your needs. If you are looking at an indoor model, then you need to take very careful measurements to make sure that it will either fit into your fireplace or the spot that you are going to install the stove. Otherwise, you won’t be able to utilize it safely, since it needs to be kept several feet away from a wall to be installed correctly.
For outdoor units, like the F2C Outdoor Wood Burning Fireplace, the dimensions aren’t going to be as much of a factor, unless you have a very small yard. Otherwise, since you have the whole outdoors to work with, the size of your stove shouldn’t be too big of an issue unless you want to move it around a lot.
When it comes to the portability of a woodburning stove, you are only going to be looking at outdoor models. Indoor stoves are generally very heavy, which makes them impossible for you to move from place to place. It would also be a very bad idea to connect and disconnect an indoor stove, as this could have a negative effect on their safety.
Outdoor stoves, on the other hand, are made to be moved around. The Lixada Camping Wood Stove, for instance, only weighs in at 1 pound. This lightweight design makes it easy to pack up and take along with you as you travel down the trail. The Fltom Camp Tent Stove is another good camp stove, though you certainly wouldn’t want to have to carry it for too terribly long since it weighs about 50 pounds.
No matter what type of big purchase you are making, whether it be a washer, refrigerator, or wood burning stove, it is always a good idea to read through the warranty information as carefully as possible. That way, you will have a much better understanding of what is and what isn’t covered by the manufacturer.
Many companies will claim to offer up a nice long warranty but only cover certain parts should they fail. By reading the warranty information closely, you will gain a good understanding of which parts are actually covered by the agreement. That way, you won’t be surprised if the company declines to cover any repairs. This will also allow you to find the warranty with the best content, not just the one that sounds the best.
Wood burning stoves are relatively straightforward devices. They all share very similar parts, though there are some features that you might want to keep an eye out for. One of these extra features is an integrated blower. A blower will help to expedite the spread of heat in your home, which is, obviously, a big plus.
Another feature that you might want to consider is the size of the firebox. The larger the size of the inner chamber, the larger the logs that you can fit inside. Larger logs will burn for a longer amount of time, which will help to save you from cutting your fuel into small pieces. Since you won’t have to cut the logs that you are burning down so much, you will save a lot of prep time in the long run.
As you might have already figured out, you need to be careful with how you utilize your new wood stove so that it can be operated in a safe manner. These include the following:
If you are in the market for the best overall wood-burning stove, then we highly recommend the Century FW3000. This stove has a high BTU output, large coverage area, comes with a built-in blower. Plus, it is quite compact and yet has a large firebox. We highly recommend you check this unit out!
If you’re looking for a powerful and attractive stove, our Premium Pick is an ideal choice for you. The Ashley Hearth AW3200E-P can produce up to 152,000 BTUs of heat and ensures it is all well distributed. There is also durable and efficient construction to support the high heat.
If you need a backpacking stove, then the Lixada Camping Wood Stove is going to be the best wood burning stove for your needs. It is extremely lightweight and folds up for added portability, which makes it an excellent stove for use on the go.
