Wood burner or Pot belly

[jackcsr87]

Hey guys, I've completed the framing of my " 4-season" room on my R.V. Thanks for all your help. Now my question is ...What is the difference between a woodburner and a Potbelly? Does one throw more heat than the other? The room is 11'x35' wyth 8' ceiling height. I would like the open flame look, but I noticed some stoves are completely enclosed. So I just don't know the difference if there is one. Thanks, Jack

[TnAndy]

The old cast "potbelly" stoves throw a fair amount of heat, but aren't too efficient. Newer "sheet steel" stoves ( like 1/4" or thicker steel ) are generally way more efficient......sometimes TOO efficient and airtight.....you can crank the air down in them to the point the wood just simers and creates a lot of creosote. And before you hear and repeat the old wives tale about "pine makes a lot of creosote".....ALL wood will produce goobs of it if it is not seasoned bone dry and burned with too little air. The key in buying a stove is to size it to the heat you need.....buying one TOO big simply makes you shut the air down too much and causes you to burn too cool a fire......bigger is NOT better always.

The newer stoves with catylitic convertors on them are supposed to be better about reducing smoke and creosote by eliminating it before it ever hits the stack.

If you like the "open flame" look, you might get one with a big glass door....though most folks I've heard with them say they tend to smoke up pretty quick and your view gets gone......

Some things you might consider as well.....what your source of fuel is...if you don't have a cheap source of firewood, you might want to look at a pellet or corn burning stove.....both are supposed to put a lot of heat out with minimal mess.

There's a whole world of woodstove info out there......prepare to do battle with it.


Personally, I heat with a fairly efficient fireplace I designed, because I too like a open fire ( but it doesn't come close to a stove ).......and have a 'black box' Fisher stove in the basement for backup during real cold weather.