Wood Stoves and Inserts Compared: Heating Area, Output, Log Length and Flue

Size a wood stove to the open space it stands in, not the whole house. EPA's buying advice sorts stoves by the job: small stoves for a family room or a seasonal cottage, medium stoves for small houses, large stoves for big open areas. A stove much bigger than its room gets run low and slow, which is when it smokes.

New wood stoves have to meet EPA's limit of 2.0 grams of smoke per hour, in force since May 2020; the label on the back of the stove states each model's own figure. Burn wood under 20 percent moisture, seasoned at least six months, and have the chimney inspected and cleaned each year before the season, as NFPA advises.

An insert slides into an existing masonry fireplace and needs a liner sized to its flue collar; a freestanding stove needs a chimney or insulated chimney pipe and the clearances its manual sets.

What are you heating?

Heating one living area

Small and mid-size stoves suit zone heating the room you live in while the furnace covers the rest.

You already have a masonry fireplace

An insert turns an open fireplace into a stove, sealed behind a door, venting through a liner in the old chimney.

Cooking on it in an outage

Cookstoves add a cooking surface or oven; their manuals often call for larger clearances.

Check before you order

Measure the open area first. Add the room and any space that opens onto it; the size calculator lists stoves whose maker-stated area covers it.
Check the flue and the log length. Match pipe to the stove's flue collar and cut wood a little shorter than the firebox's maximum log length.

wood stove chart

20 products

Product	Type	Heats up to	Output	Max log	Flue	EPA	Listed price
US Stove US1261E 900 Sq Ft Small Wood Stove US Stove	Small wood stove	900 sq ft	54,000 BTU/h	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Comfort Glow CGWS750 Small Wood Stove Comfort Glow	Small wood stove	750 sq ft	Not stated	11 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Real Flame RMQ6XTRX1574 350 Sq Ft Small Wood Stove Real Flame	Small wood stove	350 sq ft	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Comfort Glow CGWS900 Wood Cookstove Comfort Glow	Wood cookstove	900 sq ft	Not stated	Not stated	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Ashley Hearth AW1820E 1,200 Sq Ft Wood Fireplace Insert Ashley Hearth	Wood insert	1,200 sq ft	69,000 BTU/h	18 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Comfort Glow CGWI1800 Wood Fireplace Insert Comfort Glow	Wood insert	1,200 sq ft	Not stated	18 in	Not stated	Stated by the maker	Check current price
US Stove US1800E 1,200 Sq Ft Wood Fireplace Insert US Stove	Wood insert	1,200 sq ft	69,000 BTU/h	18 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
US Stove SR57E Wood Stove US Stove	Wood stove	1,000 sq ft	60,000 BTU/h	Not stated	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Cleveland Iron Works H110 Wood Stove Cleveland Iron Works	Wood stove	2,500 sq ft	58,030 BTU/h	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P 1,200 Sq Ft Wood Stove Ashley Hearth	Wood stove	1,200 sq ft	68,000 BTU/h	18 in	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Comfort Glow CGWS1500 Wood Stove Comfort Glow	Wood stove	1,200 sq ft	Not stated	18 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Pleasant Hearth HWS-1200-B 1,800 Sq Ft Wood Stove Pleasant Hearth	Wood stove	1,800 sq ft	74,000	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
US Stove US1100E-L 1,200 Sq Ft Wood Stove US Stove	Wood stove	1,200 sq ft	68,000 BTU/h	18 in	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Comfort Glow CGWS2500 Wood Stove Comfort Glow	Wood stove	2,500 sq ft	112,800 BTU/h	21 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Canyon Lodge C110 Wood Stove Canyon Lodge	Wood stove	2,500 sq ft	58,030 BTU/h	Not stated	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Ashley Hearth AW2020-P 2,000 Sq Ft Wood Stove Ashley Hearth	Wood stove	2,000 sq ft	89,000 BTU/h	21 in	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price
Ashley Hearth AW2520E-P 2,500 Sq Ft Wood Stove Ashley Hearth	Wood stove	2,500 sq ft	112,800 BTU/h	21 in	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Vogelzang EPA 2020 Wood Stove Vogelzang	Wood stove	1,200 sq ft	68,000 BTU/h	Not stated	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Ashley Hearth AW3200-P Wood Stove Ashley Hearth	Wood stove	3,200 sq ft	152,000 BTU/h	22 in	6-inch	Not stated	Check current price
Superior WXS2016WS Wood Stove Superior	Wood stove	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated	Check current price

Figures are the makers' own, quoted with their conditions on each product page. Prices change; each product page links to the current price.