Don’t make the mistake of purchasing a stove too big for the area you need heated. Frequent damping down creates a creosote build-up, increasing the risk of chimney fires. The stove retailer will tell you how much heating you need for a room or the total home area you plan to heat.

There are two types of wood stoves; ‘cats’ use catalytic combustors and ‘non-cats’ re-circulate the smoke and burn it. A catalytic combustor stove produces a long, slow controlled combustion that burns smoke instead of allowing it to pollute the environment. It needs only a minimum of cleaning and the internal parts should not be touched. They will need replacing about every three years. If smoke pours out of the chimney you need a new combustor.

A ‘non-cat’ stove uses a heavily insulated firebox to more fully burn off smoke and toxins. It also has a secondary combustion chamber to deal with soot particles and gases. Since there is no combustor to maintain, it doesn’t require as much attention as the ‘cats’. Both give comparable performances long-term, due to new regulations.

Both types of stoves should have a body made of cast iron or plate steel at least a 1/4 inch thick. Of the two, cast iron may require slightly more maintenance due to the gaskets and cement used to seal the corners. If the stove is a ‘cat,’ make sure the bypass plate is at least 5/16th of an inch. When closed, it should be able to grip a dollar bill tightly. The combustor should be protected from direct flame by some kind of mechanism, or else be located at the back of the stove.

In the non-catalytic stove the baffle is the most critical area. It should be at least 5/16th of an inch plate steel with v-shaped support beams to prevent warping. Be sure you use dry wood in a ‘non-cat’ stove or you’ll get high emissions. ‘Non-cats’ have a smaller firebox than ‘cats’, which means they may require more frequent loading.

Since a stove is considered to be a major investment and you will hope to get many years of service from it, it’s a good idea to ask for a third party opinion from a chimney sweep about the brands available. He will have experience in cleaning various brands and will often know which are most trouble-free.

Once you have decided on a stove, make sure you have it installed by an expert, who will do it to the right specifications. Home-installed stoves tend to cause more fire-damage than they are worth. Have it regularly inspected by the fire department and follow their recommendations and you should get many years of comfy heating from your wood stove.

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