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rmak
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2012 21:38 - Edited by: rmak
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Still searching for heat for my 12X16 cabin upgrade. I found this brand which is small enough not to chase me out of the cabin by overheating. I don't know much about it. The website says it's "untested". That doesn't instill confidence,but I don't know what untested means. By the way, the title is wrong. The company is Gray Stove Works.
Anyone with firsthand knowledge or even hearsay?http://www.miniwoodstove.com/
Thanks!
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groingo
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2012 23:53
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Speaking from experience, that's exactly what I did last year spent more time with windows open in sub zero and rather than look for another stove I downsized the wood from 14 and 15 inches to 6 to 10 and reworked the firebox insulators so it would heat faster with less wood, has worked great, my stove is a Waterford Leprechaun 100.
The stove you showed looked good as well, the Untested part is typically for air pollution certification and safety, but a little common sense can go a long way, if not you'll have a nice pile of ashes!
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hitanktank
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2012 00:10
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that stove is awesome
My cabin is going to be 16x10 and that would be perfect I think.
keep updates if you learn anything
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2012 00:26
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Heating a small cabin with wood is a multifaceted thing. Stoves that are EPA rated often have lots of firebrick. This one does; sides bottom and back. My experience has been that they all take a while to get heated up before they start giving off much heat to the room. Then the mass slowly cools after the fire is out. The problem is getting enough of a burn going but not too much.
As was mentioned the untested part may mean just not yet tested by EPA rules. But that also means we don not yet know what the clearances must be. Those numbers come out of the testing lab too. If there are no numbers legally you must use the large clearances that are used for old old stoves; before EPA. Your insurance company might not like the non tested status either.
BTW, FWIW, the mentioned heavy #11 gauge steel is not all that heavy, IMO. That's 0.1196 inches, just a hair under 1/8". Not bad in a small stove I guess, but heavy to me is more like 6 or 7 gauge. 3/16" is between the #6 and #7.
From the description it does sound like a well engineered unit. Doesn't look too bad for a sheet steel stove either. You should check on the availability and cost of 4 inch stove pipe; black and insulated, as well as any mounts etc that would be required. It is shown with the 4 inch pipe feeding into what appears to be 6 inch (?). I know with some stoves increasing the pipe size like that affects the draft, as the smoke slows when it expands to the larger pipe. Just something that could be a factor. Just mentioning it as food for thought.
They mention using hardwood for fuel, short and skinny. How much extra work will that be? And what about softwoods, or are you okay with the mention of using hardwood? For us, requiring hardwood would be a deal breaker.
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rmak
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2012 16:17
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I went on the Facebook page of Gray Stoves. A recent post said that he is going to have EPA and UL approval by January. I also emailed him with a bunch of specific questions, clearances on walls and floor. It does come with a metal stand that's 44 inches high. That would be a nice feature for such a small stove. No bending plus less chimney.
Anyhow, since there's some interest, I'll post his response when I get it.
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tcmatt
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 08:22
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have you considered one these? Much less expensive. I have one, but haven't installed it yet.
http://www.vogelzang.com/browse.cfm/standard-boxwood-stove/4,13.html
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rmak
Member
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 10:17
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Thanks tcmatt. Yes, I've looked at all the smaller stoves. The one you mentioned heats 800 square feet. My little cabin is only 300. I'm afraid it would get too hot. I experienced woodstove overheating in my last house when I installed a too big woodstove. The heat was unbearable and there's no way to turn it off. I am planning a vented propane heater as a backup/option in the cabin, so I want to stay on the small side.
Thanks so much for the suggestion.
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TomChum
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 13:06 - Edited by: TomChum
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Hey Rmak, my stove (vermont Castings "Intrepid") is rated for 1,100 SF but I have only 172SF. It all depends on your type of wood, how dry it is, the outside temp, your windows, leaks, and insulation. I would not wishfor a smaller stove. When I first get there I have to run an propane "Buddy Heater" for a day or so (in addition to the woodstove) to get the place up to temp.
While on the subject of small stoves, see this marine woodstove, found in the diesel heaters section; a little solid fuel version for $538.00
3000 BTU / 8000 BTU. It's about the same output as a Lil' Buddy propane heater. Needs a flue to vent smoke outside, of course. Maybe OK for a 10x12 insulated cabin? (definitely too small for a 300SF)
Quoting: hitanktank http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/propane.php 
Dickinson woodburning stove
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rmak
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 13:25
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Thanks, Tom!
By chance I just saw this on another tread here today. Instead of vented propane and wood, maybe this is the answer...
http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/propane.php
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TomChum
Member
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 18:03 - Edited by: TomChum
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Cool stoves, but remember they are SMALL, about the size of a 12-pack of beer! 5500-7500 BTU/hr. This is a small stove.
Cabela's has the Big Buddy catalytic propane heater, 'reconditioned' for $90. Big Buddy has 3 settings, 4,000, 9,000 and 18,000 BTU/hour. If you had this heater, then within a couple weeks you would know how many BTU/hr that you need for your cabin (4, 9, or 18). It gives you more time to find the right (vented) heater, and afterwards, you have your buddy the 2nd heater for other uses.
I use a Big Buddy, (attached to a 20-lb tank):
1) for initial cabin warmup (while woodstove is getting up to temp).
2) for when I arrive at the cabin too late at night to want to light the fire
3) for when I wake up in the AM after arriving too late as above
Lots of reviews on this item. People are saying that the inline filter is a necessary item. Some people have trouble lighting it because there's air in the hose, I just poke the valve with a nail and bleed the air out before screwing it onto the heater. I would NOT bother using the little disposable cylinders, except once in awhile; it chows thru them fast.
The Big Buddy is a great backup heater to have around and it will give you an idea of how many BTUs you need.
The stove sq-ft ratings don't apply very well across different construction materials and floorplans. I have a Vermont Castings Intrepid (rated: 1100 sq ft) in my well-insulated home which has about 1100 SF on the first floor. It doesn't heat much beyond the 400SF room its in. I have a 2nd Intrepid at my cabin (172SF total, log cabin, but with a loft). The Intrepid seems to be just the right size - and I would certainly not want a smaller stove in the cabin! I can't imagine a stove rated for 300SF would be sufficient for in my 172 SF cabin.
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2012 22:16
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Stumbled across this forum while looking for small cabin ideas. These woodstoves are popular on classic wood boats and may work for under 300 sq ft cabin use.
http://www.marinestove.com/sproducthistory.htm
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Moving Pictures
Member
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# Posted: 9 Jan 2013 20:57
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Have you considered a small masonry heater (Finnish stove?)
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rmak
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jan 2013 22:47
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Thanks Moving Pictures. I'd consider anything. Do you have any info on that type of heater?
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2013 16:43
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Here's a link to the Masonry Heater Association:
http://www.mha-net.org/
A masonry heater is a brick/stone fireplace designed to absorb heat in the masonry from an unrestrained, quick burn of fuel, then the heat in the masonry gradually radiates the heat over the next 18-24 hours. I wonder how this would work in a small cabin. Also, it needs to be fairly large because you need a large mass of brick/stone to absorb heat. It takes a long time after lighting a masonry heater to get heat into the room. It must be site built like any fireplace, and you need to know what you are doing for it to work right. The Association is more geared toward hooking you up with a mason experienced in building one, but maybe they can give you the info reqd to build it yourself.
I bought a Morso Squirrel woodstove:
http://www.morsona.com/Mors%C3%B8-1410-529.aspx
which is a small stove meant to heat 800-1000 square feet. Haven't installed it yet, my cabin will be 300 sq ft. This stove is well sealed and has a very precise air intake adjustment, so I hope it can be adjusted down or up as needed. Also, it's a high quality cast iron model with a cute little squirrel motif cast into the sides.
The Little Cod and Sardine marine stoves look very well made and have lower BTU numbers than small stoves like the Morso and Vogelzang, so maybe are better suited to less than 500 sq ft. Note that the Vogelzang seems not to have EPA certification, they say it qualifies as 'exempt', whatever that means. If your local building dept. requires use of EPA certified stoves, this one might not be allowed. It's the cheapest of all described above, I wonder what that means.....
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2013 16:54
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The Vogelzang is made in China, that's why it's so cheap. Note that it has very large clearances to walls, like 36", so to safely install it in a small cabin it would be in the middle of the floor.
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creeky
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2013 21:08
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those morso's look nice. the contemporary models are 3" clearance to the wall. wow.
I had a masonry fireplace in my last house. it was pretty nice. a small fire at night with a big unsplit log before bed made for pleasant mornings and a small fire in the a.m. meant I came home to a warmer house. but it took up a lot of space. and it really needed to be run day in day out.
it was an 1980s build.
from my experience, those really small stoves need to be filled frequently. a small piece or pieces of wood only goes so far ...
so lots of insulation and a propane vented heater?
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rmak
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2013 21:45
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Thanks everyone. I looked at the Morso, but thought it too much output for my 300 sq ft cabin. I'll be interested in hearing from bldginsp to see if it does the job. I was looking at a Little Cod, but it's pretty $$.
I plan on a vented wall unit propane as backup, but I have a wooded area, so finding small firewood shouldn't be a problem.
I did hear back from the Gray woodstove guy. Apparently the UL and EPA testing proved his stove burned too hot. He is retooling the stove for further testing.
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Bldginsp
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# Posted: 13 Jan 2013 22:19
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Morso and I think several others make zero clearance wall mounted wood stoves, believe it or not. Big advantage, of course, is space. No idea how well they work, but they are pricey
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