The town of Libby, Mont., is emerging as a model for how to clean the air by replacing old stoves with new ones. Like Chico, Calif., the town is in a valley where wood smoke can get trapped close to the ground during the winter. So, starting in 2005, the local health department replaced nearly 1,200 older stoves with new wood stoves, pellet stoves or gas or electric heat. They used money from the Environmental Protection Agency, the state of Montana, stove industry and other sources. More

Wood burning stove refers to an appliance which burns wood fuel for heating homes and businesses. Generally such appliances consist of an enclosed fire chamber, made of plate steel or cast iron. Controlled combustion units include an air control system, which is adjustable. The appliance is connected to a chimney, which is used for releasing the combustion gases to the outside. It is important that the temperature of the flue or chimney gases be higher than the temperature outside which helps in drawing out the combustion gases from the wood burning chamber.

Both softwood and hardwood are used as fuel in woodstoves, since both provide similar outputs in terms of BTU's, relative to weight. Hardwoods are more dense and burn at a rate which is slower than that of softwood. Hardwoods also weigh more per volume than softwoods, therefore enabling the user to put more usable BTU's in the firebox.

Another critical factor in the operation of a wood stove is the content of moisture in the wood. Freshly cut wood will have a very high moisture content and should be dried a minimum of 6 month before using. Burning high moisture content wood (greater than 20% moisture) will greatly decrease stove efficiency and increase the potential for chimney fires. .

High efficiency of the closed combustion appliances is attained through control of the air supply to the chamber. When starting fires, the control should be fully open and throttled down only after a period of at least 30 minutes. This process enables the entire stove and chimney to reach good operating temperatures. When the stove is throttled back, it will then go into the most efficient burning process whereby it will burn the gases emitted from the wood.

There are two types of metals used for wood stove construction. Plate steel stoves are the most common and generally the lesser expensive. Cast Iron stoves are more decorative and can have a porcelain finish applied. Cast Iron stoves are generally more expensive that plate steel stoves.

If you are searching for a wood burning stove, then the best place to start your search is the internet. The advantage of buying of the internet is that you can save a considerable amount of money on your purchase.

Check out our complete line of wood stoves

NORTH BROOKFIELD, Mass. — When David Harris built his 2,000-square-foot hilltop home nine years ago, he wanted to put in natural gas, but the utility wouldn’t run a line to his house. Like many people here, he was stuck using heating oil.

Harris added a wood stove to help cut costs and now uses only about one-third of the oil the house would otherwise need. But that did not stop a deliveryman for Crowley Fuel from handing him a $471.21 bill earlier this month for a refill that should get him to April.

“You just cross your fingers and hope that it doesn’t get too much worse,” Harris said.

Actually, it probably will — for him and the residents of the roughly 8 million other U.S. homes that use heating oil, mostly in a band from Maine to Pennsylvania.

While natural gas prices have plummeted to 10-year lows, heating oil prices have been steadily rising for years and are expected to reach record levels this winter, precipitated by higher costs for crude oil and the shutdown of several crucial refineries in the Northeast and in Europe. The Energy Department projects a price of $3.79 a gallon over the next few months, more than a dollar above the winter average for the last five years. Analysts do not expect much relief in the longer term, either, because global oil prices are expected to stay high amid political instability in the Middle East and rising demand from developing countries.

With electricity prices also down, utilities are trumpeting that bills will drop this season for customers using gas and electric heat.

“The people who have been unable to switch off of heating oil will be increasingly penalized in the coming years,” said Jay Hakes, a former administrator of the Energy Information Administration and now the director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. “There’s going to be a continuing incentive to get off heating oil, because every day the headlines and experts say that over the foreseeable future, we will have natural gas at attractive prices.”

Nationwide, the average household using oil spent $2,298 on heat last year, compared with $724 spent by gas users and $957 spent by electricity users, according to the Energy Department.

This year, heating oil users are expected to spend 3.7 percent more than last year, while natural gas customers are expected to spend 7.3 percent less and electricity users will spend 2.4 percent less, according to the department.

Many oil users — living in places like Alaska, Maine and even affluent parts of Manhattan — do not have the option to switch to natural gas. Some are simply too far from a pipeline. For others, converting to natural gas is unaffordable, with costs that can run to tens of thousands of dollars for each home. As a result, they are trapped in a cycle of spending more and more for heat while those who use natural gas and electricity are generally spending less and less.

That dynamic is at work in households across the economic spectrum, but the cost gap looms as a crisis for the poor, experts warn, since the federal government has cut financing for energy assistance programs.

“We’re concerned about a public health problem if there isn’t additional money found,” said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association. “We’ve really never been in a situation before where we’re going into the winter with very high prices” for heating oil, he said, adding that the highest prices tended to come near the middle or end of the season.

Heating oil could grow more scarce in the Northeast this winter, the Energy Department warned last month. Companies have been closing refineries that produce heating oil because of declining profit margins. Sunoco and ConocoPhillips recently announced the idling of two major refineries in Pennsylvania, and a third refinery owned by Sunoco may close next summer.

Ultimately, heating oil faces a grim future, said Bob LaFlamme, who took over Crowley Fuel in North Brookfield from his wife’s family 23 years ago.

“People are looking for alternatives,” he said, adding, “Even one of my own employees switched over, so that’s telling you something.”

Shop Wood Stoves Here

When shopping for wood stoves for your home you there are certain features that you should look for which helps determine the quality of the stove. Doors should close tightly but be easy to open. The stove should have smooth welds and clean castings and have the appearance of good workmanship. You will also want a stove which includes metal plates or firebricks which prevents burnout and extends the life of the stove. These features can be found in Napoleon stoves which offer a variety of quality deigns for any room in your home.

Different Sizes and Weights of Napoleon Stoves

There are different sizes and weights of Napoleon stoves available. Heavier stoves will retain and radiate heat longer than stoves that weigh less after the fire has gone out. Just because a stove is smaller does not mean it will always weigh less. Smaller stoves are ideal for smaller areas in the home, like the bathroom, while larger ones are better suited for kitchens, living rooms and other open areas. You can find a variety of different styles and sizes of stoves at Copperfield Chimney Supply for your entire home.

A wood burning stove is just one type of stove available for your home. Besides wood burning units, there are also gas stoves, pellet stove, corn stoves and stove inserts. Each type of stove has its own advantages and choosing the one you want to use in your home, often depends upon your own personal preferences. Some people like the smell that wood burning units give off, while other people do not want to deal with cleaning up ashes.

Maintain Proper Clearance when Installing a Wood Burning Stove

Deciding upon the placement of a wood burning stove, which is available from us, here at Copperfield Chimney Supply, for your home will depend upon which room the stove will be installed. Modern wood stoves do not require an exterior wall chimney, which allows you to place the wood stove just about anywhere, as long as you maintain proper clearance around the wood stove. Chimney venting can be ran in different ways, and even ran up through the ceilings when place in an interior location.

When you want to add an alternative heating and cooking solution to your home, you should look into the different models of Napoleon wood stoves . You will find a variety of different styles made from cast iron and steel to fit most rooms in your house. Today's modern designs allow you to use wood stoves in other areas of the home besides kitchens and living rooms. You can use wood stoves in bathrooms and even your dining room.

Napoleon Wood Stoves Complete with Free Delivery

 When you shop for Napoleon wood stoves online at our website, here at Copperfield Chimney Supply, we offer free delivery on orders over $500. This means, rather than having to worry about transporting your new wood stove home, it arrives right at your doorstep. However, you will need to be available to unload your wood stove yourself.