Avalon and Regency come to mind first as I have had both brands and found no problems with either of them. I currently have the Regency F1100 which is their smallest model. We have it in the living room to supply heat to that end of the house. And here in Vermont it does the job just fine. Even when it goes to minus 30 in January.

Total cost start to finish including chimney and installation was just over $2500. And I saved that much in oil alone in two years. So it's already paid for itself.

And when power goes out we too can heat food on it. Plus the fire viewing provides us light at night.

Oh, and my Regency is guaranteed for life. If the tubes need replacement...free.

Thank you. Those two names give me something to look at. I wish they didn't require so much space. I'll almost have to put it in a less ideal location....but if it heats a larger than one room area it might be better in the long run.

Almost all wood stove manufacturers have at least one small stove in their product line. Any stove is going to have to be a certain distance - 2 feet is common - away from any flammable surface and a non-flammable hearth will have to be large enough to provide 16 or 18 inches extending out from any door that opens. State and local codes can be even more restrictive. Various types of heat shields can reduce the clearance requirements.

The trouble with very small stoves is that they need small pieces of wood, don't hold heat very well and require a lot of tending. If you go to www.hearth.com, you'll find a world of information about wood stoves. Brands which currently have great reputations and make small stoves include Jotul, Pacific Energy, Quadrafire, Englander, and several others.

Thanks. I've had time to look around more and got some responses on another thread. I still have too many options but might be narrowing it down to propane. Still a long way to go before I can decide.

My stove is in a corner of the room. With the heat shields in place the corners of the stove are 6 inches from the combustable wall. And I like the fire viewing because today, that fire is a LOT more entertaining than what's on TV!! You damp the fire down and get a nice, lazy flame, and relaxation sets in.

Today the weatherman is calling for "chance of accumulation" and that means anywhere from one to eight inches of snow. The stove is going 24/7 and right now it's very comfortable in here. My wife put some mulling spices on the stove and the house smells great.

Which stove do you have and where did you get it?

My neighbor says if I get a little stove and don't use it all the time all winter he has enough wood for both of us. And he'll take my half dead tree down.

Our forecast was for flurries. I'm thankful my plow man came just before I got home so getting in the drive and into the garage went smoothly.