Pellet and Wood Stoves: Reviews

Dulley.com: Household energy expert Jim Dulley lists the Harman pellet stoves among 14 brands recommended in this buyer's guide, noting that the Harman stoves are easy to clean and have some superior features.

ConsumerReports.org: This buyer's guide to pellet and wood stoves lists Harman as one of 17 brands.

Kiplinger Personal Finance: This article recommends the Harman XXV pellet stove, based on advice from an experienced retailer.

This Old House: This article on pellet stoves describes their advantages.

Wise Heat: At the time of our report, three owners review the Harman XXV pellet stove here, giving it high scores for performance, efficiency and ease of use.

GardenWeb.com: This detailed and enthusiastic owner-written review of the Harman XXV draws comments from other readers.

ConsumerReports.org: Englander, the company that makes Summers Heat stoves, is one of 17 brands mentioned in this buyer's guide to pellet stoves and wood stoves.

PlanetGreen.com: This review is enthusiastic about the Englander pellet stove (essentially the same stove, made by the same company), because it has all the basic features at a good price.

Dulley.com: Household energy expert Jim Dulley lists the England's Stove Works pellet stoves among 14 brands recommended in this buyer's guide.

HomeDepot.com: The handful of owners reviewing the equivalent Englander 25-PDVC pellet stove say it heats well.

Dulley.com: Household energy expert Jim Dulley lists the Quadra-Fire heaters among 14 brands recommended in this buyer's guide.

Wise Heat: Over a dozen owners review the Quadra-Fire Mt.

This Old House: The print version of this article on pellet stoves mentions the Quadra Fire stove along with two other models, but doesn't document any testing.

Hearth.com: This forum discussion is one of several at this site that discuss Quadra-Fire products.

Hearth and Home Magazine: The Hearthstone Heritage earns an Honorable Mention for relatively low emissions in this review of EPA-certified woodstoves, though the Vermont Castings CFM DutchWest earns a higher ranking.

The Chimney Sweep: This chart compares the Hearthstone Heritage with several other woodstoves by Hearthstone and Pacific, showing the average BTUs per hour during a standard six- to eight-hour burn time (overnight or while the homeowners are away all day at work).

Hearth.com: At the time of our report, 17 owners have reviewed the Hearthstone Heritage.

Chris Hardwick's Personal Web Pages: This well-illustrated review discusses the first six weeks of the author's use of the Heritage stove, but includes useful details not found elsewhere.

Mother Earth News: This buyer's guide (by a writer who's written for years about wood heat) mentions the larger Hearthstone Mansfield as an example but doesn't document any testing.

Newsweek: This very brief article recommends another Heritage stove as a good example of newer, cleaner wood burning stoves, but no testing is documented.

GreenYour.com: This buyer's guide recommends four brands of EPA-certified wood stoves, including Hearthstone, but recommends buying from an expert local dealer.

Fine Homebuilding: This buyer's guide doesn't recommend the Hearthstone Heritage stove specifically, but does recommend any EPA-certified noncatalytic woodstove as the best choice for wood heat – unless you can afford a more efficient (but expensive) masonry heater.

Hearth and Home Magazine: The Vermont Castings DutchWest earns one of the top spots in the Certified Stoves Hall of Fame because of its very low emissions.

Hearth.com: Nearly 30 owners review various Vermont Castings stoves in the DutchWest series, but some review the catalytic version.

Gordosoft Corporation: This detailed anonymous review covers the Vermont Castings DutchWest 2479 – the next size up -- with a link to a review and 10-page forum discussion of this model, along with videos of the stove in action.

Dulley.com: The Vermont Castings DutchWest series is among the wood stoves recommended in this buyer's guide by household energy expert Jim Dulley, though he covers the catalytic version.

Old House Web: This older article recommends an earlier Vermont Castings woodstove, the Defiant, but doesn't document any testing.

Fine Homebuilding: This excellent buyer's guide doesn't recommend specific brands, instead suggesting choosing any EPA-certified noncatalytic woodstove.

GreenYour.com: This buyer's guide recommends Vermont Castings as one of four brands of EPA-certified wood stoves, but recommends buying from an expert local dealer.

ConsumerReports.org: Vogelzang is one of 17 brands mentioned in this buyer's guide to pellet stoves and woodstoves, but the article doesn't test or rate the brands or recommend specific models.

Fine Homebuilding: This buyer's guide doesn't recommend specific brands, but does say that any EPA-certified noncatalytic woodstove should be a good choice.

Northerntool.com: A handful of owners give the Vogelzang Defender stove mixed reviews here, with half saying it puts out plenty of heat, half complaining that it does not.