How much were you thinking they cost?

Today's woodburners are engineered appliances designed to last a long time. They are the only thing besides automobiles that must be rated by the EPA for emmissions. So they are no longer the simple box with a hole in the top for smoke to escape.

These units are very efficient too. When I got my woodstove, it paid for itself within 2 years in oil savings. It was the best $2,700 I spent in a long time.

"They are the only thing besides automobiles that must be rated by the EPA for emmissions." Unfortunately, that's not really the case. The EPA regulates almost every aspect of your life for better or worse; lawnmowers, PWC's ATV's weedwhackers, boats, trains, powerplants, the kind of wood that can be used on you're deck, the pesticides, fertilizers, household cleaning supplies, roofing etc. - pretty much EVERYTHING. Today's woodburners are better in many regards: in general they burn cleaner and use less wood to achieve the desired heat ouput through secondary burn or catalytic technology. Having said all that, you CAN achieve decent efficiency and a clean burn by proper firing of almost any older appliance- although it takes more care. You can find many older (pre-epa regulation) inserts for sale second hand in good shape for around $500, plus the cost of a liner if necessary. As far as newer woodstoves being designed to last a "long-time" i would disagree strongly with that statement as it applies to MOST, but not all modern stoves. I would expect most modern stoves (especially secondary burn) to last less than half as long as the average life of your ordinary pre-epa fisher or timberline style steel stove.