permaculture

[John Fritz <johnfritz77@yahoo.com>]

Does anyone on the list have direct experience with a Sedore stove?   At 
www.SedoreStovewest.com  there is glowing (no pun intended) praise for the 
stove and, indeed, if the stove works as represented it deserves such praise. 
 It just seems that it should have had some reviews other than satisfied 
customer testimonials by now.  
 
It is a downdraft, non-electric, wood gasifier stove and, as such, is the 
only one of its' kind of which I am aware.  It is also top loading and does 
not require wood splitting.  Unsplit logs up to 12" in diameter and 28" long 
can be fed directly into the stove.  A big plus for those of us approaching 
retirement age.  Also, because it is a wood gasifier, it has the 
characteristic of a masonry stove in that it should not produce any creosote 
if operated properly with a an appropriate chimney.  One other feature that 
is very attractive: It has up to a 15 hour burn time and since it is a 
downdraft design it is theoretically possible that one would only have to 
light the stove once per season as there should always be a bed of coals at 
the bottom grate where all the combustion is taking place.  O.K, O.K. one 
more thing:  It can even burn unseasoned wood as long as the coals have 
already been established, as the downdraft design will be drying the wood
 as it works it way down to the burning area of the coals; all starting at 
about $2,200 versus the beginning price of $10,000 or so for a masonry stove. 
 Has anyone direct experience with a Sedore stove?
 
John Fritz, NW Arkansas.



>From spsherm@msn.com  Fri Dec 11 13:08:59 2009
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Subject: Re: [permaculture] Sedore stove?
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Had not heard of these stoves before, but I'll offer my impressions from
looking at their site:

1. Seems that they do not have EPA rating yet. I would wait for that to
happen or not, as it will confirm the stove's output and how cleanly it
really burns. All their claims are "nice" but unless it can be proven in
a test it's just hype. Also in my area, you can't legally use a stove
that is not EPA certified, and if you plan on breathing the air around
your house you probably don't want to either.

2. I would want to get some BTU/hr output numbers from them. Again the
number of square feet heated is at best a guess. It very much depends
upon the climate, and the energy efficiency of the house, etc. Heating a
tight well insulated 3000sg ft in Louisiana  is not the same as heating
an old, drafty one it in Montana. With the BTU/hr numbers, you can
calculate how well this stove will do for your house's needs.

3. One concern I have  (about all big stoves designed to take a large
wood load) is how well they will burn with a small fire. In my climate,
there is frequently a need for a small fire, two or three 1/4 split
logs; I would be concerned that a large stove like this may not work
well with small fires. If this is a need for your situation, you should
check into it.

Steve