Know Your Wood-Burning Stoves

Throughout history, woodstove technology has developed to heat homes, but not all of it has been equally clean and efficient. Here we take a look at how cordwood-fueled stoves have progressed over the years, culminating in various types of ultraefficient stoves we'll see this fall at the Wood Stove Decathlon.


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Iwan Gabovitch/Flickr

Masonry Stove

Whereas potbelly stoves, airtight stoves, and other similar systems capture heat from long, smoldering fires, masonry stoves rely on fast, hot fires that burn cleaner and produce fewer emissions.

These stoves, which are often called by their German name, Kachelofen, feature complex heat-exchange passages that capture hot exhaust gases before they exit through the chimney. The resulting heat energy is stored in the stove's large masonry, ceramic, or plaster thermal mass and then released gradually over hours or even days. Typically, their exterior surfaces are warm—not hot—to the touch, and some continue to radiate heat for hours after the fire has gone out.