Choosing our Wood Cookstove

Our 720sq foot home that we purchased back in 2013 came with a 3500W electric boiler floor heat system in the house, and an identical system in the detached garage. After using this system as our primary heat source for the past 2 winter seasons, we came to the conclusion that our next step towards off grid was a no brainer. The utility company offers a budgeted billing system that finds the average power consumption over 12 months, and bills the same amount every month, rather than having high bills in winter and low bills in summer. Our averaged bill was being charged at just shy of $210 per month. After looking into it, the coldest months of the year were resulting in charges around $400-$500. It wasn't hard to see that wood heat could save us a small fortune, as well as givin piece of mind during extended power outages that we have seen all too often in the past couple of years.

We built a simple 2x4 framed woodshed to keep our supply dry, and used reclaimed lumber from a neighbours deck teardown to side the shed. It was free if I removed it, and it took no time to get an easy fitting and rustic look with the chainsaw to trim them to size.

Choosing a stove sounds like an easy task, but i burned through many bottles of rum while contemplating our options. Several months past before I narrowed down the search. The top three stoves on our wish list were:

#1 J.A Roby Cuisiniere 2500

The price of this stove certainly made it an attractive option. Taxes incl I was quoted just shy of $2000 by a supplier out of Ontario. However, this stove lacks the baking oven that the nectre offers, and puts out a LOT more BTUs than we really need in our little place. That said, we opted to keep looking.

#2 Jotul Black Bear

The black bear is a work of art. What more can I really say? From the poem engraved on the front, to the Canadian black bear on the side, this really is a beautiful stove. The english translation is as follows:

“I built me a flame late one night. When day is done, God will my flame never die.”

The cigar style burn on the Jotul was also attractive, however the small cook surface was the deal breaker for us in the end, as it would really limit cooking multiple dishes at once.

#3 Nectre Bakers Oven

Ah, the Bakers oven. By far the most beautiful stove we have laid eyes on. With room for 2 pots/pans up top, and a full glass door oven beneath the fire box, this stove is capable of keeping the house toasty warm, baking a loaf of bread, and frying up some bacon and eggs at the same time. At a hefty price tag of around $4000 CAD said and done (taxes and freight incl), it certainly was not easy to pull the trigger. I searched for a month straight for a similar but cheaper alternative. I phoned many suppliers and manufacturers. I tried desperately to find that substitute to the bakers oven. Eventually though, I realized that any other stove would always be just that....just a substitute to what we REALLY craved....

Fast forward another 3 months while an ocean freighter floated its way over from the land down under.....

BAM!!!!