Homestead

Morsoe Wood Stove

Tiny convection stove

This low-clearance stove sits in a corner of our family room, which is not huge, so I wanted to nestle it in as close to the corner as I could. The big difference between this Morsoe and the previously-reviewed Jotul isn’t the physical dimensions so much as just how close to the walls each stove can be. The Jotul needs to be situated 13 inches off the walls. The clearance for the Morsoe: 7 inches. A significantly smaller space clearance-wise than any other stove I’ve found. When I plotted just how far the Jotul would protrude into my room versus the Morsoe, the difference was dramatic.

In lieu of legs, the stove has panels bolted on either side which run from the floor to the top. Since they are not the same casting as the main body of the stove, the panels do not get incredibly hot. I can have the stovetop at 700 degrees F, and still touch the panels with my hand without getting burned. Air is drawn from beneath the stove up between the panels, and flows up into the room providing most of the heat output.

Aside from the clearance, this is a really nice little stove — easy to start and burns great. I’ve used mine for two seasons now, two to three times a week during the winter months. While the rest of the house is kept around 65 degrees, the family room is 75. The downsides: requires small (10″) wood, and the firebox is somewhat small, so it needs reloading pretty frequently. However, I shouldn’t forget to mention the stove has cool squirrel symbols on the side panels.

-- Paul Mitchell 02/9/09

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