Wood Stoves for Tiny AbodesKevinOphoff2024-11-14T11:10:06-07:00

Wood Stoves for Tiny Abodes

Finding wood stoves that are small and can be used safely in a tiny house can be a time consuming and confusing effort. Here we will show you the current industry favorites and the sources to get them.

Humidity and condensation are always a problem with tiny houses. Because wood stoves combustion products are directed up the chimney no moisture is added to the interior of the home. Many wood stoves have an inside air intake that will also reduces humidity by sucking in moisture laden room air for combustion. Opening a window will bring in nice fresh air. Although the fresh air might be cold the wood stove produces enough warmth to compensate for this for a short time.

For more humidity reducing ideas see this page of the Tiny Life Consulting website: Tiny Home Moisture Complaints and Properly Venting a Tiny House

Wood Stove BTU Sizing Calculator

Traditional BTU calculators tend to overestimate the BTU needs of your space. Having a larger than needed heater makes sense with a traditional heating system, but if a wood stove is too large for a space, you won’t be able to burn the stove cleanly without overheating your living space. So many people, even in traditional houses, end up with stoves that are simply too large to be useful!

This calculator is specifically designed to size small wood stoves for tiny spaces. If you want to use a wood stove to heat your tiny home, bus, RV, yurt, shed, van, or other tiny structure, our stove selector is the best place to start.

Click on the image of the wood stove BTU calculator on the right and you will jump to the working calculator on the Tiny Wood Stove website.

The Dwarf 3kw Mini Wood Stove is the Best I’ve Found

After exhaustive searching and comparisons, the Dwarf 3kw Mini Wood Stove is the best pick for a tiny home, RV, or skoolie. The Dwarf wood stove has all the quality of the best large wood stoves but it’s just 17″ high, 10.25″ wide, and 8.5″ deep.

It weighs in at 75 lbs. due to its sturdy build and is made for full-time use.

The wood needs to be between six and eight inches in length. The flue can be connected to the top or the back. If you connect the flue to the back you’ll keep the entire top for a cooking surface.

Outside air intake

Best of all, this unit has an outside air intake box (see picture in widget section for detailed info) so you can pipe combustion air directly into the stove. There are several styles of legs available too.

The Dwarf 3kw gives you great control over the combustion environment with separate primary, secondary and tertiary air-control. It requires safety clearances of 16” on the sides, and 18” in the back. However, you can reduce required clearances by up to 2/3 with a properly designed heat shield. It can produce about 10,000 BTU. It is designed to heat an area of 100 to 300 sq./ft.

The basic box is $795.00* but there is a really nice-looking enamel door, available in several colors. You also get to choose the type of legs you want and an installation kit. The installation kit comes with everything you need to safely get through the roof of your tiny house, travel trailer, or RV.

The Dwarf 4kw

The Dwarf 4kw model is H19.5” x W12” x D9”. It weighs 100 lbs and has a 4″ flue size.

The Dwarf 5kw

The Dwarf 5K is Tiny Woodstove’s largest, but still small enough for a tiny house or cabin. Heat output is between 30K and 40K BTU.

The Dwarf 5kw is an efficient, compact, fully-featured stove that is a perfect addition to small spaces (less than 500 sq/ft) like RVs, travel trailers, boats, hunting cabins, yurts, and tiny houses on wheels.

The size is: H22” x W14” x D11”. It weighs 150 lbs and uses a 5″ flue. The Dwarf 5K has an optional oven that fits on the top (see widget section). There is a water heater/tank option being developed for this stove.

Here’s a YouTube® video about the outside air vent and the three stage combustion that makes the Tiny Wood Stove so efficient and clean burning:

Permanent fresh air vent needed in area of the unit.

All wood stoves need fresh air for combustion. If you do not supply the air it will draw from every tiny crack or space, allowing the extremities of the tiny house to get very cold. Dwarf wood stoves have a direct fresh air intake adapter so you can bring combustion air directly into the firebox without freezing your house. Make sure the wood stove you are looking to buy has this ability.

Wood stoves can consume all of the oxygen in a tiny home quite quickly. This can not only cause poor air quality but causes the combustion process to emit a lot of carbon monoxide. For this reason, you must supply fresh air directly to the wood stove area.

Tiny Home Wood Stove “The Caboose“

The designers at Flame Innovation put tremendous thought into fantastic tiny wood stoves sized right for tiny homes. This UL Listed tiny wood stove is perfect for heating tiny houses from 200 to 600 sq/ft.

Up to 14″ long cord wood can be used so it burns longer than the others. Four to six hours using basic soft wood, and longer using hardwoods.

Here’s some other great features of the Flame Innovation Caboose Tiny Wood Stove:

Outside air vent
A large air-washed glass viewing window
8×10″ cook space on the top
The Caboose is made in Post Falls, Idaho

The Caboose Tiny Wood Stove measures 22” wide from left to right, 25” tall, and 10” deep front to back. The weight is only 75 lbs. The Caboose model utilizes 4” HT UL rated combustion pipe for exhaust. It can exit thru the roof or thru the wall at a 45° angle

It’s shown in the picture on the optional wall mount.

Flame Innovations 509 Mini Me

The Mini Me features a non-electric, patented, gravity-fed design for use with densified logs, perfect for tiny abodes.

The unique corner design makes a perfect fit for the tight quarters of a tiny house or home.

Manufactured from 100% recycled, natural biomass material acquired from the lumber industry, the production of these wood products dramatically reduces the amount of sawdust waste sent to landfills. They also burn 80% cleaner than cordwood, releasing virtually no emissions into the air. Each log can can burn up to 3 hours, depending on the burning environment, which means less trips to the stove to maintain heat consistency.

The downside is you’ll be buying the densified logs. However, it’s a good fit for people who cannot harvest their own wood. The 509 Mini Me can burn split cordwood too.

Manufactured Fuel

Be careful what type of manufactured fuel you buy. Avoid any pressed logs that use wax as a binder. These types of fuel create a lot of creosote that accumulates in the chimney and cause a serious fire hazard. The Pres-to-Logs (densified logs) are safe to burn.

The Mini Me puts out 8,500 to 14,500 BTU per hour burning Pres-to-Logs. It’s very even heat during the entire time.

Two models are available: 8 and 12 hour burn time. Removable fire pot is optional (8F and 12F). Standard model has removable bricks and a built-in ash pan with fresh intake air attachment. Sells between $950.00* to $1,199.00*.

They also sell the “Densified Log” shown in the picture for 95¢ *each. Tractor Supply also sells “Pres-to-Logs” in a five lb. box for $1.29*

The Mini Me has a hand-welded stainless steel 2.3 gallon capacity water tank. Easy-on, easy-off. Removable lid. Heats to 115 degrees in less than half hour and up to roughly 200-220 in about 45 minutes.

See the non-electric pellet burning version too.

The Steelhead Mini Wood Stove

The Steelhead Mini Wood Stove by Flame Innovations may look like your basic wood stove but there’s a cool accessory: a clip on Mini Me Water tank.

The Mini Me hand-welded, stainless steel water tank will hold 4.75 gallons. You can clip one on each side.

This well-built wood stove will output between 10K and 23K BTU and is enough to heat 1000 sq/ft. Up to 18” log capability with burn times up to 8 hours.

Air-wash with Neo-Ceram Glass
Fresh Air Intake Adapter
Secondary Burn System
14 ½” wide, 24” deep, 25-30” tall
13” legs
14″ by 14″ cooktop
Weighs 180 lbs.

Flame Innovation also sells fire pits, chimineas, and camp stoves including a collapsible Rocket Stove. Each stove is hand-welded in Post Falls, Idaho and uses parts sourced in the USA whenever possible. You’ll find no assembly lines or robots here, just purely skilled craftsmen creating your future stove!

See more ways to heat water with wood on this page of Tiny Life Consulting website: Heating Water With Wood

The Tiniest Wood Stove for Tiny Homes

Finding a wood stove that will heat a tiny house, skoolie, RV, or other tiny homes without producing too much heat is a key issue. The Cubic Mini Wood Stoves are designed to do just that.

Without a visual comparison, the Cubic Mini Wood Stoves look like full-size stoves. But these stoves are very small and produce just the right amount of heat for your tiny home.

The CUB Cubic Mini Wood Stove

Tiny size: only 11″ wide, 12″ high, and 10.5″ deep.
Perfectly suited to spaces smaller than 200 sq/ft.
Produces between 6,000 and 14,000 BTU
Produces very little smoke due to its secondary combustion system!
Requires a clearance of 20″ in all directions without shielding. Clearances reduced to 3″ when using proper mounting and shielding.
Accepts wood about 5 3/4″ long. Burn time is about 3.5 hours per load (folks who use it are reporting only a 2 hr. burn time).
The rail is easily removable. If you remove the rail, you have a cooking area of 5″ from the flue to the edge of the plate and 11″ side to side.
Currently on sale for $386.00*. Order direct from manufacturer thru any of the links on this page.

Grizzly Cubic Mini Wood Stove

Recommended for spaces 200 sq/ft. and larger.
Measures 13″ (wide) x 15″ (high) x 12″ (depth). Weighs just 39 lbs.
Accepts wood about 6 3/4″ ( 17.14 cm ) long. Can burn for 5-6 hrs. on one load of wood.
Produces between 8K and 18K BTU.
If you remove the rail you have a cooking area of 6 1/2″ by 13″
All the features of the Cub. On sale for $463.00*.

Here’s a picture of the Grizzly Cubic Mini Wood Stove with the optional mini roaster, pedestal stand, and flue pipe. This clever mini-roaster sits right on top of the Grizzly wood stove to give you a wide range of cooking opportunities.

There is a thermometer on top of the roaster which will indicate when you’ve to reached your desired cook top temperature. You can control the temperature two ways. One would be to reduce the air intakes on the stove (primary, secondary). The other, adjusting the air vents found on the sides of the roaster.

There is a water heating accessory you can see on this page: Heating Water With Wood

Here’s a good YouTube® video review of the Cubic Mini Wood Stove. He shows how to clean the flue as well.

Fresh Air Intake Upgrade

Cubic Mini Wood Stoves now offers a fresh air intake system for their stoves. It’s a plate that replaces the bottom shelf of the wall mount. Here are the links to these options:

CB-2070 SS, Stainless Steel Fresh Air Intake Upgrade (for the Cub)

CB-2270-SS, Stainless Steel Fresh Air Intake Upgrade (for the Grizzly)

A Few Other Good Wood Stove Options For Tiny Home Use

This shiny tiny will make quite a fashion statement while keeping your tiny home warm.

The Kimberly is a very well-built, highly efficient stove that is CSA approved and goes perfectly in a tiny house, micro home, cabin, bus, or yurt.

Kimberly from Unforgettable Fire.com

This is a “gasifier” style wood stove. This basically means that the wood smolders slowly and the smoke emitted is combusted to create heat. There’s more about this on their website.

From their website:

EPA-certified and CSA-certified at 3.2 grams/hour emissions. [Disclosure: Currently recertifying to 2020 emission standards.]
UL-approved for use in a traditional home in the United States and Canada.
UL-approved for use in a mobile home in the United States.
Slim 10-inch diameter on a 12-inch base requires less floor space.
Approved for just 6 inches of side clearance without the use of reflector panels.
Heats homes up to 1,500 square feet or more of well-insulated space.
Burns up to 8 hours (coal bed to coal bed) on a load of wood.
Portable, weighing just 56 pounds.
Unique venting system saves hundreds of $$$ in installation costs.
Provision for outside combustion air intake.
No moving parts or electrical components to fail in an emergency.
Cook top surface for on-grid or off-grid cooking & emergency preparedness.

It’s hard to pin them down on the price but some sources say the Kimberly starts at $4,500.00*.

The Vermont Bun Baker

The Vermont Bun Baker combines the essential functions of a classic wood stove and cook stove in one compact, attractive package. Its extremely versatile design enables you to effectively heat a large area (up to 700 sq ft) and cook your family’s meals with one unique stove.

The Vermont Bun Baker Wood Cookstove is surrounded by a natural soapstone veneer, which radiates cozy heat even after the fire is out.

It can produce 30,000 BTU.

Cooktop is designed to handle up to 4 large saucepans or pots, with 2 removable rings for wok cooking.
Use the bottom oven (with included thermometer) to cook everything from crispy fresh bread to succulent roasts.
Cast iron doors have stay-cool spring handles and large ceramic glass viewing areas.

It measures 24-1/4″ x 22-1/2″ x 34-1/2″. Because of the 1.25″ thick soap stone, it weighs a whopping 650 lbs. The soap stone option is not currently available. Click here to see a version without the soap stone which weighs only 385 lbs.

Dickinson Marine Solid Fuel Heater

The Dickinson Newport Solid Fuel Heater is a small, stainless steel, solid-fuel heater made for casual use for small spaces such as tiny homes, boats, RVs, etc. The heater burns two 1″ thick wood or Pres-to-Logs, or a handful of charcoal briquettes or coal. See more information about preparing wood for use in tiny heaters on this page.

There is a removable ash drawer and damper control.

Size: 7.88″ W x 14.7″ H x 10″ D
Weight: 15 lbs
Heat Output:
- - Low: 3000 BTU
  - High: 8000 BTU

This wood heater has very specific requirements for the fresh air intake vent and chimney parts. It’s a wall mount unit with very close tolerance for flammable material.

There are several versions of this heater. You can get it in a diesel version and a propane version.

These were originally designed for use in boats. Dickinson Marine has some unique appliances like a diesel cook stove.

What are the Certifications for Wood Stoves?

The Hobbit wood stove is sold by the Salamander Stoves company in the U.K. Many color options. Made in China but is DEFRA approved.

EPA certification deals with pollution output. Most of these wood stoves are not certified. Check with your local zoning and building code officials before purchasing one.

Also check with your homeowners association for their rules and have the fire inspector give his approval.

Building codes generally refer you to the manufactures installation instructions concerning safe clearance distances and install practices.

If your tiny home has been deemed and licensed as an RV you fall under the RVIA building codes. Only the Kimberly is RVIA certified.

ANSI A119.5 covers building codes for “park models.”

The CSA Group is a private organization based in Toronto, Canada. They have developed their own standards (like UL for U.S.). Their certification may be applicable for citizens on Canada.

DEFRA approval allows an exemption for wood burning in areas of the UK where fires are banned. Defra approved stoves have an adjustment to the top air vent which prevents you from closing it all the way. Salamander Stoves are made in the UK and are DEFRA certified. They have direct-air intake.

NASD (National Ag Safety Database) is not a certification organization but simply a data base of “best practices” submitted from various sources.

Department of Energy wood stove guide.

Insurance

Another important reason to abide by the building codes when installing a wood stove is because it can affect your insurance. If you fail to keep up with the requirements, your insurance may not be valid. If any damage is ever caused to you or your property as a direct result of the wood stove, the insurance may not be willing to cover the repairs.

Location consideration for Tiny House wood stoves

The HY-C Type 2 UL1618 Stove Board provides non-combustible thermal and ember protection for floors and walls from the intense heat, hot coals, ashes and soot that wood burning appliances can produce.

To heat efficiently, your wood stove should be mounted in a central location of the area to be heated.

Certain clearance distances (shown in the owners manual and local building codes) must be maintained. The minimum safe distance is determined by the materials on these surfaces.

A wood stove must never be placed directly on a wood floor. Check out these slate tile stove boards from amazon.com

Consideration must be given to the chimney exit location. Manufacturers will give you great guidance and offer the correct parts to do it right.