In this guide we are going to review the best smallest wood burning stoves in 2020 to help you stay warm and cozy in the cold winter months. Wood burning stoves are more portable and convenient when compared to fireplaces which are often bulky and require installation. It’s also pleasant to stay warm while watching the wooden logs burning in your wood stove.
If you’re someone who’s environmentally conscious, then you’ll be glad to know that modern wood stoves are much more Eco-friendly than their older counterparts which were used in the previous decades. These modern wood stoves produce few emissions and you can rest easy knowing that using them won’t increase your carbon footprint. So without wasting any more time, here are our top choices!
Best Smallest Wood Burning Stoves 2020
1.Direct Vent Wood Burning Stove
If you own a cabin in the woods or a large garage on your property, this wood-burning stove is perfect for you. The stove is EPA certified and not only looks great, but it will keep even large cabins or garages very comfortable during the cold winter months. Its durable and heavy-duty design means it will take whatever you put it through, and its rugged look will please anyone who appreciates the great outdoors. The stove is a real wood-burning stove with 22 inches of log length capacity on the inside.
The Stove’s Biggest Advantages
Some of the stove’s main advantages include:
- It heats areas up to 900 square feet in size
- Its maximum BTU output is 54,000
- It is a low-maintenance stove
- It is very sturdy, made mostly out of cast iron materials
- It can be used in both residential and commercial applications
- It can be used indoors or outdoors
There is some assembly required and it has to be installed properly, but most customers have not considered this to be a reason to complain or return the product.
High Quality in Every Sense
Perfect for a garage, basement, or foyer, this wood-burning stove comes with a firebox and a one-year warranty. It does a great job keeping the room nice and toasty, and at under $350, it is a great bargain as well. It is sturdy and well made, and its tall, regal-looking stature makes it an attractive addition to any room or outdoor area. Its combustion air vent does a great job of spreading around the heat, and it is both easy to use and built to last a very long time.
Furthermore, the stove is made according to very strict safety standards and, therefore, you can count on it offering the ultimate in safety throughout its lifespan. It allows you to adjust the air intake and can burn wood for approximately six hours at a time. It operates best with real wood and wood products, and you can even use it to boil water if you like. Overall, this wood-burning stove is a very useful one, providing a rugged look, great heat output, and a price that is affordable for everyone.
What Customers Say About it
Customers are very happy with their purchases, with most of them saying that it is a great stove and a great value for the money. Concerns are few and usually center on parts that are broken when the stove arrives; however, the one-year warranty should easily take care of any problems you might have with your stove.
Some Final Thoughts
This is a real wood-burning stove that is perfect for both outdoor people and people who love to work in their garage. With a depth of 33 inches and a height of 23 inches, the stove is just perfect for a number of uses, and at only 120 pounds, it is easy to relocate from one area to another should you wish to do so. A great value for the money and a great outdoorsy look complement the rest of its features, which is one of the reasons for its popularity.
2.Standard Camp Wood Burning Stove Kit
Manufactured by the United States Stove Company, this kit is used to convert a 36- or 55-gallon steel drum into a stove. The kit contains everything you need for the task, including the hardware parts, and the resulting stove is just perfect for workshops and cabins, among others. It turns any drum into the perfect heating implement that can heat up to 900 square feet, and its cast-iron parts guarantee the stove you create will last for many years to come.
What Is Included in the Kit?
Everything you need to take a steel drum and turn it into a real wood-burning stove is included in the kits, such as:
- Door
- Flute collar with damper
- Legs
- All mounting hardware
It also comes with easy-to-understand instructions so that you can put it together without assistance from a professional. In addition, at less than $65, it is an effective and inexpensive way to get the perfect wood-burning stove whenever you need one.
Pros and Cons of the Wood-Burning Stove Kit
Pros of the kit include:
- It will easily reduce your utility bill
- It is easy to assemble and set up
- It can be assembled in an hour or less
- It covers a large area and heats it well
Cons of the kit include:
- Some customers wish they’d used a smaller drum and felt the larger drum was too big
- Some customers claim there were parts missing when they received their order
The cons of the kit don’t have to be a concern; however, since it is made by a reputable company and comes with a great warranty.
Easy to Use and Maintain
This wood-burning stove kit is very easy to use and even easier to maintain. In fact, the only maintenance required is removing the ashes from the interior of the stove, which you can do quickly once the unit cools down completely. It has a BTU output of 54,000, and the overall weight of the kit is under 30 pounds, which means you can easily transport it to where you need it before you start putting the stove together. Best of all, the stove can be used both inside and outside of your home, making it a very versatile product.
You may need a few tools to construct your stove, including a metal cutting saw to cut the holes in the drum, a pencil to indicate the marking areas, a drill and drill bits to drill the necessary holes, and a Phillips screwdriver or wrench to install the various mounting items, the latter of which are included in the kit. It isn’t a difficult process thanks to the instructions, and you can even feel good about making your very own wood-burning stove that works!
Some Final Thoughts
This is a great product to buy when you’d love to have a real wood-burning stove for outside or in your home, but you don’t have the money for an expensive one. It makes the project simple and fast, and it produces a great little stove in the end – a stove that you’ll be able to utilize for a very long time.
3.Direct Vent Wood Burning Stove
Manufactured by Pleasant Hearth, this wood-burning stove covers up to 1,800 square feet, which is quite large and can even include an entire home in some cases. It burns real wood and wood products, and it is made of cast iron, brick, steel, and metal, so it is a high-quality stove that is built to last for many years to come. It is a large, very sturdy stove that weighs over 300 pounds and is over 30 inches high, so it is definitely not a flimsy or lightweight product that is easily damaged.
The Main Advantages of the Stove
This direct vent wood-burning stove has many advantages, including a brick-lined firebox, 20-inch log capacity, and a large ceramic glass window that easily adds ambiance and design to any living room or other area. It has a 65,000 BTU maximum output capability, and it comes with a five-year warranty. It is also certified and meets all national and international safety standards, so as long as you install and use it properly, it will be completely safe throughout its lifespan.
Pros and Cons of the Stove
Pros of this stove include:
- It uses less wood than many other wood-burning stoves
- It runs very efficiently
- It is sturdy, large, and attractive
- It works great even in extra-cold temperatures
- It is well built and made to last for a very long time
- The extra-large burning chamber allows for great results
Cons of the stove include:
- At a little over $1,000, it is a bit pricey for some people
- Some people claim the hot-air blower seems underpowered
- The door doesn’t always accommodate large pieces of wood
- The door handles sometimes squeak, even after it’s oiled
Most reviews of the product will show that people love this wood-burning stove. It heats up large areas just fine, and it heats well even when the temperatures outside are very low. Even in places such as the northern part of the United States and Canada, the stove seems to work extremely well, keeping people nice and toasty in their homes for hours at a time.
Easy to Operate and to Enjoy
For a stove that’s so large and heavy, the Pleasant Hearth wood-burning stove works efficiently and uses a lot less wood than you might think. Although some customers have found that cutting their wood into smaller pieces helps it fit better in the stove, it does manage to hold a lot of wood and in fact, some of these wood pieces can burn all night without adding more. With a classic black, cast-iron body, it is a beautiful addition to any room it’s in, and being able to view the flames through the door enables you to relax for many hours as you stare at the fire for a very calming effect.
Some Final Thoughts
This stove will not disappoint, thanks to its high-quality and low-maintenance attributes. You can use the stove in the basement, foyer, or living room, and its easy installation requirements mean it won’t take you long to be using your stove once you get it out of the package.
4.Indoor Heat Direct Vent Wood Burning Stove
Attractive and efficient, the Pleasant Hearth wood-burning stove adds both comfort and an aesthetic appeal to any room you put it in, and it can heat up to 1,200 square feet, making it perfect for apartments, condos, and small homes. In fact, this super-efficient stove can keep your home warm for up to eight hours with one load of firewood. With an 81% efficiency rating, you can connect this stove to a standard 6-inch chimney, and it is easy to put together as well.
Features and Benefits of the Stove
There are numerous features and benefits of this excellent wood-burning stove, and they include:
- The maximum BTU output is 50,000
- It has a log length capacity of 18 inches
- It can be used in basements, living rooms, and mobile homes
- It has an excellent blower
- Its unique features include pull-and-push draft control, an excellent air wash system, and rear and side heat shields
- It is made of cast iron, metal, and steel
- It is 31 inches high and has a depth of 28 inches
- It can be put together with just a screwdriver
Although sturdy, anyone can assemble this stove, and it comes with a full five-year warranty. In addition, it is approved not only for mobile homes, but also for both residential and commercial applications. This means you can use it in apartments, small homes, retail stores, schools, restaurants, and even corporate office buildings, all while relying on its expert heating capability to keep you nice and warm.
Great Value for the Money
At around $850, the Pleasant Hearth wood-burning stove can be used from fall to spring and is affordable for almost everyone. It saves you money on your utility bill, uses a lot less wood than many other wood-burning stoves, and is extremely efficient because it heats up to 1,200 square feet at a time. This means that if you have a condo or small home, you can heat the entire home without turning on your electric heater or boiler, saving you a lot of money year after year.
A Few Concerns
Some customers who have purchased the stove have had some concerns about it. One customer said that after a few months, smoke came spewing out whenever the door was opened, while another didn’t like the fact that you cannot boil water on it. However, with such a great warranty these concerns are easily addressed, so they should not stop anyone from considering a purchase of one of these stoves.
Some Final Thoughts
The Pleasant Hearth direct vent wood-burning stove is a high-quality product that works extremely well and can save you a lot on your utility bill. It is easy to assemble and to operate, affordable for most people, and has met all national and international safety standards. As long as you put it together and use it properly, it is an extremely safe stove to use, and it is also made to last for many years to come. Its pedestal base design is very attractive, and it works great in a variety of capacities.
Wood Burning Stoves Buying Guide
It goes without saying that stoves are an incredibly important part of life. Without a stove that works well, it can be quite difficult to make high-quality meals that you enjoy. Just about every good meal requires a working stove, whether you are working on the stovetop or sticking something in the oven.
When you find yourself searching for a brand-new stove, you might feel a little bit lost as to what you should look for. After all, there are so many different kinds of stoves out there. There are gas-powered stoves, electric ones, and even stoves that are powered by burning wood. If you are someone who thoroughly enjoys cooking and want to add a unique twist to your meals, you might want to consider searching for a wood-burning stove.
Unless you have grown up with these stoves, you might not know what to look for in your brand-new stove. Thankfully, as with many other stoves, the process is quite simple. First things first; you will want to make sure that you know what your priorities are. Nobody wants to purchase a stove only to realize that it absolutely cannot fit in the room they wanted it in. Once you have your priorities sorted, you can begin looking at the important features of the stoves. This will make things much easier for you when you do begin shopping around for your wood-burning stove.
Getting Your Priorities Straight
Before you can get to stove shopping, you need to make sure that you have your priorities straight so that you can pay better attention to how the important features of the stove affect you. Of course, you will want to make sure that you choose a stove that fits in your room properly. If this means that you will need to contact a professional to do some rearranging in your kitchen, then you should factor this into the overall cost and hassle of getting the stove.
You also need to think about if you have the resources to provide fuel for the stove. With gas-powered stoves, you need a constant supply of gas. For electrical stoves, you simply need to connect to electricity. For wood-burning stoves, you need to have a steady supply of wood to burn. If you don’t plan on procuring that wood yourself from your own backyard, you need to factor this into the overall price as well.
Additionally, wood stoves have a few other features that you need to pay attention to and prioritize as well. For one, they tend to heat up entire rooms. Some people might take this as an opportunity to merge the kitchen and living room; others might not enjoy this extra heat, particularly in the summer. Depending on where you live, there might even be state requirements about having wood stoves installed.
And finally, you need to decide whether this is a stove that is going to be used as a furnace to heat up the room or not. Many of these stoves do not have actual burners, although you can still put pans on them, assuming that they have the space on top. These are all things that you need to think about when you are planning to invest in a brand-new stove.
Fueling Your Wood-Burning Stove
As you might expect, these stoves are fueled by wood and logs. This means that you need to be able to have a steady supply of wood that you can use for this purpose. Whether you are deforesting your backyard or you know someone who has way too much wood, finding a way to stock up on wood is important since this is essentially what you will use to power your stove with. When it comes to powering the stove itself, you will need to think about how the firebox is oriented. While it might not seem important at first, it can actually make quite a difference in ease of use.
There are two ways that the stove’s firebox can be oriented: north-south and east-west. As you might be able to imagine, north-south orientation means that the box is deeper than it is wide while an east-west orientation is wider than it is deep. Typically, east-west orientation means that you will be looking at the side of the logs as they burn. However, you can only use about half the space in an east-west oriented firebox because if you load it too full, the logs could fall out and nobody wants burning logs on the floor.
North-south orientation means that you can stack logs much more easily since there isn’t nearly as much of a risk for the logs to fall out. In many ways, this means that a north-south oriented firebox will have a greater heating capacity than an east-west one and this is something you will need to think about if you plan on using the wood-burning stove to heat your house for long periods of time.
Heat Production
Because many wood-burning stoves are utilized as furnaces for the house, it is important to know just how much heat they can produce. Smaller stoves, ones with a firebox of less than two cubic feet, can usually heat a large room or a very small seasonal cabin. Medium-sized stoves with a firebox of two to three cubic feet can heat small or medium-sized houses quite well, depending on the material of the house itself. And finally, large stoves with a firebox of more than three cubic feet can generally heat up large houses, open plan houses, or houses that have more than a few leaks here and there.
This is something you will need to think about, especially when you are investing in these stoves as an alternative to a heating unit. While some people are perfectly content with this, the constant upkeep and the expensive installation of these stoves can make them less than appealing for some people. Speaking of installation, that is something else you will need to consider when purchasing a brand-new wood-burning stove.
Oven Material
Something else that you will need to think about is the material itself. The oven material can affect several different aspects of your life. For one, it can severely impact the cost of the oven. It can also affect the appearance of the home, which is something to consider if interior design means a lot to you. And finally, the material of the oven itself can also heat up more quickly, which is something to keep in mind if you have pets or children. There are two main types of oven material. Some people prefer cast iron whereas other prefer steel.
Cast iron stoves are typically more fanciful than their steel counterparts, which is something to consider. Because of their designs, they can also retain heat longer after the fire goes out. This can be important if you plan on cooking on the stove later or if you simply want to get the most out of your logs. Cast iron stoves also come in a multitude of colors so that you can match it up to the design and color scheme of your house. Because of all these features, cast iron stoves tend to be noticeably more expensive than steel ones.
On the other hand, steel stoves tend to have one general appearance that has worked for just about everyone. They heat up much more quickly and can remain very hot to the touch. This is something that you need to keep in mind if there are people or animals in your house that might accidentally touch the hot stove. These stoves also usually only come in black or gunmetal grey color so there isn’t much that you can do in terms of matching colors with this stove. Thankfully, steel stoves tend to be much cheaper than cast iron stoves, making them the budget-friendly option for your house.
What Type of Stove Should You Opt for?
And finally, the last thing you need to consider before you pick out your wood-burning stove is what kind of stove it is. There are also two different kinds of wood-burning stoves that you need to pay attention to. There are non-catalytic stoves, which are the more popular option even if they cost a bit more. There are also catalytic stoves, which need a little more care and patience from you.
Non-catalytic stoves allow for easy combustion within the firebox itself. This means that you can heat the stove up more easily, they are not nearly as hands-on, and you do not have to pay constant attention to the stove when you are trying to relax. Essentially, if you want a stove that can act as a low-maintenance heater for your house, you will want to make sure that you go searching for a non-catalytic stove. You will not regret your decision as these stoves are often deeply loved for their gorgeous flames as well.
Catalytic stoves, on the other hand, have to be hot enough before you can create a good fire going. In addition to this, you also have to clean them out far more regularly, which means that maintenance is going to be problematic during a busy winter season. Because of its inner workings, it is much more complex and complicated to get this type of stove running and it is much more hands-on than other stoves. These are often a little bit cheaper, which means that if you are willing to accept the extra maintenance, they are the more budget-friendly option to consider when you are shopping for the perfect wood-burning stove.
Conclusion
Our reviews of the best smallest wood burning stoves 2020 should help you choose a suitable wood stove that’ll meet your heating or warming needs in an efficient and affordable way. Any of the models reviewed above will do the job well and it’s just a matter of choosing one that’s not too hard on your wallet. Any questions about choosing a wood stove can be left in the comments below and we’ll do our best to answer them in the best and quickest way possible.