Best Wood Stove (2026): 4 Small EPA-Certified Stoves and What Installing One Takes

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The best wood stove for heating a small house, of the EPA-certified stoves listed on Amazon, is the US Stove US1100E-BL. EPA's certified wood heater database lists it as tested on cord wood, the fuel you will actually burn, with a 1.31 cubic foot firebox; its manual takes logs up to 18 inches, a blower comes in the box, and the listing puts its reach at 1,200 square feet. It was out of stock on Amazon when we checked on October 13, 2026, so we do not link it for now; the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P in Also considered is the same certified stove, sold without the blower. For one room, a cabin or a mobile home, the much smaller US Stove TH-100 is the stove Popular Mechanics picks for compact spaces.

Every stove on this page appears in that EPA database as meeting the 2020 limits on smoke, and every one needs the same groundwork before the first fire: a 6 inch chimney connector running to a listed factory-built chimney or a lined masonry one, a non-combustible pad under it on a floor that can burn, the clearances its manual prints, a call to your building or fire department about a permit, a call to your insurer, and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The sections after the picks cover each of those from the makers' manuals and from EPA, NFPA and the CPSC.

Jump to: What EPA certified means | What size you need | Chimney, floor and clearances | Permits, insurance and alarms | How to burn wood

Start here: which wood stove for you

• You want main heat for more than about 750 square feet, up to 1,200 by the maker's figure, a mobile home that size included: the US Stove US1100E-BL (pick 1), or while it is out of stock (it was on October 13, 2026), the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P, the same certified stove without the blower.
• You are heating one room, a cabin or a mobile home, up to about 750 square feet: the US Stove TH-100 (pick 2).
• Same size, but the cleanest burn and the plainest clearances decide it: the Cleveland Iron Works St. Claire Mini (pick 3), which has the lowest smoke rate in EPA's database of any pick here.
• You want backup heat you can boil water and cook on when the power is out, not main heat and not in a mobile home: the Comfort Glow CGWS900 (pick 4).
• You have not looked at your chimney yet: read what installing one takes first, because the chimney and the clearances decide where a stove can go before the stove does.

The best small wood stoves, by job

Four stoves, each for a different house and a different job. EPA's database lists all four as non-catalytic stoves, and each manual or listing gives a 6 inch flue.

1. US Stove US1100E-BL: best small wood stove overall

A plate steel stove on legs (the listing says a pedestal base comes in the box too), with a firebrick-lined firebox, an ash pan, an air-washed glass door and a 100 CFM blower that plugs into an outlet. EPA's database gives the US1100E family a 1.31 cubic foot firebox, an emission rate of 2.4 grams per hour tested on cord wood, a tested heat output of 13,846 to 39,683 BTU per hour and 66 percent efficiency. The manual takes logs up to 18 inches and calls for a 6 inch flue pipe and a chimney at least 12 feet tall. The listing gives the heating area as 1,200 square feet. It is approved for mobile and manufactured homes once the separate 4FAK outside air kit is fitted, though the manual's mobile home section warns never to put it in a sleeping room. The seller line on the listing reads U.S. Stove, the maker.

Why it is the pick: of the stoves we could find on Amazon, it is the one built for a whole small house rather than a room. Its firebox is the largest here, it takes 18 inch logs, and it is the only pick EPA lists as tested on cord wood, which EPA says reflects in-home performance better than test lumber does. The blower pushes heat out into the house, and US Stove posts the manual as a free download.

Where it loses: 2.4 grams per hour sits just under the 2.5 gram limit for its cord wood test, and 66 percent is the lowest efficiency of the four; efficiency, as Popular Mechanics puts it, decides how much wood you burn to heat the house. The 68,000 BTU on the listing is the maker's first-hour figure at a high burn, not EPA's tested range (see the numbers table). Its manual keeps all combustible material 4 feet from the front of the stove, the blower needs power, and the listing says the stove arrives by freight to the curb or driveway.

The US1100E-BL was out of stock on Amazon when we checked on October 13, 2026, so we do not link it for now. Until it is back, the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P in Also considered is the same certified stove, with the same firebox and 18 inch logs, sold without the blower.

2. US Stove TH-100: best for one room, a cabin or a mobile home

A narrow steel stove for small spaces: the listing gives it 16.38 inches of width, a 750 square foot heating area and 26,000 BTU. EPA's database lists a 0.59 cubic foot firebox, 1.7 grams per hour tested on crib wood, a tested output of 10,652 to 26,028 BTU per hour and 75 percent efficiency, the highest of our four. The manual takes logs up to 11 inches, calls for a 6 inch flue and a chimney at least 12 feet tall, and the stove is approved for mobile homes, where its manual makes the 4FAK outside air kit necessary and rules out a sleeping room. The blower is a separate purchase.

Why it is the pick: it is the stove for a single room or a small home. Popular Mechanics names it the best wood stove for compact spaces and lists a small footprint and mobile home approval among its strengths. Its manual needs less room in front than pick 1's: 18 inches to anything combustible, against 4 feet.

Where it loses: Popular Mechanics' cons are the short logs and the low BTU output, and both follow from the size. An 11 inch log means cutting or buying shorter wood than most stoves take, and a 0.59 cubic foot firebox needs reloading sooner. The listing's burn time of up to 8 hours is the maker's claim. US Stove's own product page lists a different efficiency in its spec table, 68.6 percent, and a 1,200 square foot heating area that does not match the 750 on the same page, so we use EPA's figures, the manual and the listing.

3. Cleveland Iron Works St. Claire Mini (H080): best for the lowest smoke rate

A small steel stove: firebrick lines the firebox, and the cast iron door has a window the listing measures at 9.5 by 10.5 inches. EPA's database lists the H080, which it spells HO80, with a 0.57 cubic foot firebox, the smallest here, an emission rate of 1.6 grams per hour tested on crib wood, a tested output of 10,710 to 26,631 BTU per hour and 72 percent efficiency. The listing gives it a 750 square foot heating area, logs up to 11 inches and a 5 year limited warranty. The manual calls for a 6 inch flue, and it may be installed in a mobile home if outside combustion air is brought in and it is not in a sleeping room.

Why it is the pick: of the three picks EPA lists as tested on crib wood, it has the lowest smoke rate and the lowest carbon monoxide rate, 0.74 grams per minute, and EPA's buying advice is that a lower grams-per-hour figure means a cleaner stove. Its manual is also the plainest about room: the stove needs 10 inches of space to a side wall and 11 to the wall behind it, the vent pipe 18 inches to a side wall and 14.5 to the back, and in a corner 10 inches for the stove and 15.5 for the pipe.

Where it loses: no tester or roundup we found covers it, and the manual we read is the copy inside the certification binder, not a standalone download (Cleveland Iron Works' manuals page does not list one). It shares the TH-100's short 11 inch logs and small firebox. The listing and the maker's page give a 750 square foot heating area, the same as the TH-100, so choose between the two on the smoke rate and the clearances above, or on the TH-100's higher efficiency.

4. Comfort Glow CGWS900: best for cooking on top in an outage

A cast iron stove with a flat cooking surface on top, a glass door and a stay-cool spring handle; the listing gives it a 900 square foot heating area and a 6 inch flue collar, and names United States Stove Company as the maker. EPA's database certifies the CGWS900 in the same row as US Stove's US1269E: a 1.145 cubic foot firebox, 1.8 grams per hour tested on crib wood, a tested output of 26,300 to 29,234 BTU per hour and 67 percent efficiency. That US1269E is the Ashley Hearth 900 that Popular Mechanics picks as its rustic stove, noting the cooking surface and a weight light enough to make it easy to install, and its limited heating range.

Why it is the pick: it is the one pick with a flat cooktop, and its manual lists no electrical connection at all, so it suits backup heat in a power outage where you also want to boil water or warm food. Bob Vila's brand list calls the US1269E a good fit for a cabin or guest quarters.

Where it loses: its manual says it should not be the primary source of heat and must not go in a mobile home or trailer, and a retailer's CGWS900 page also says it is not approved for mobile homes. It is certified as a single burn rate heater, and its manual rules out a flue damper. Its manual also calls for an outside air supply for combustion, reaching the room the stove is in. Log length is unsettled: the Amazon listing says 22 inch logs, while the manual gives a 19 inch maximum and the retailer's page carries both numbers, so plan on 19. The CGWS900 owner's manual we read is the one that retailer's page links; it carries the same test report number as US Stove's US1269E manual.

How we chose these

We did not test these stoves, and none of the roundups we could read put them through a hands-on test. We started from EPA's Certified Wood Heater Database, using its quick search for stoves certified to the 2020 rule, and kept only small freestanding wood burning stoves we could match by model number to an Amazon listing. For each pick we read the owner's manual (US Stove posts its manuals, a retailer's page links the CGWS900's, and for the St. Claire Mini we read the manual inside the certification binder Cleveland Iron Works posts on its EPA page), the maker's product page and the Amazon listing (read October 5, 2026). Emission, efficiency, heat output and firebox figures are EPA's unless we name another source; square footage figures are the makers'.

Popular Mechanics and Bob Vila's wood stove brands list, both built from research rather than testing, name the TH-100 (Popular Mechanics' compact-spaces pick), the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P (in Also considered) and the US1269E, which EPA certifies in the same row as our pick 4. Know too that among the small certified stoves we could match on Amazon, most come from one maker: EPA's database names United States Stove Company as the maker of picks 1, 2 and 4 and of the AW1120E-P, sold under the US Stove, Ashley Hearth and Comfort Glow names, and Enerco Group, the company behind Cleveland Iron Works, as the maker of pick 3 and the Erie. The stoves that forum threads name, such as Pacific Energy, Kuuma and Regency, are not covered here.

Also considered: stoves that missed the list and why

• Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P. EPA lists it in the same row as pick 1, so it has the same 1.31 cubic foot firebox, the same cord wood test and the same figures; its manual gives the same 18 inch logs. Its listing names adjustable legs and a pedestal base and leaves the blower as an add-on (the CB36). Bob Vila's brand list names it as an Ashley Hearth example. It missed because pick 1 is the same certified stove with the blower included and the maker as the seller on its listing; buy this one if you would rather not have a blower, or while pick 1 is out of stock (it was on October 13, 2026).
• Cleveland Iron Works Erie (H090). A cast iron single burn rate stove for 900 square feet with 18 inch logs, by the maker's page. EPA lists the H090 with a 1.16 cubic foot firebox, 1.9 grams per hour on crib wood and 68 percent efficiency. It missed because we could not read its manual: Cleveland Iron Works' manuals page lists no Erie manual, so we could not confirm its clearances. Its listing and its maker disagree on weight (77 pounds against 150).
• Pleasant Hearth Small Wood Stove (1,200 square feet). EPA lists it as tested on cord wood at 1.9 grams per hour with 78 percent efficiency, the highest efficiency of any stove on this page. We do not link it.
• Drolet Deco Nano and Spark II. A Hearth.com forum member names these two Drolet stoves, Bob Vila's brand list names the Spark II, and EPA's database lists both. This page links only Amazon listings, so they are not here.

Amazon's Wood Burning Stoves category also lists tent stoves and camping stoves. This page covers only stoves we could match by model number to EPA's database.

What EPA certified means, and how to read a stove's numbers

Since May 15, 2020, a new wood stove sold in the US has to meet EPA's Step 2 limit: no more than 2.0 grams of smoke per hour when tested on crib wood, or 2.5 grams when tested with the optional cord wood method. EPA puts older uncertified stoves at 15 to 30 grams per hour. Crib wood is stapled 2x4 or 4x4 lumber; cord wood is ordinary firewood, and EPA says it shows more closely how a stove will do in a house. So compare a stove's grams per hour against the limit for its own test fuel, and treat a cord wood figure and a crib wood figure as two different scales.

Check any stove yourself in EPA's database: search the model number, and it shows the firebox volume, emission rate, tested heat output, efficiency, test fuel, carbon monoxide rate and whether the stove meets the 2020 limit. EPA also says to check the back of the stove for its certification label. One caution on EPA's consumer pages: the Burn Wise program behind them ran from 2009 to 2025, and EPA now keeps that site as a historic record that it stopped updating on October 30, 2025. The database itself sits with EPA's compliance office.

The heat output is where listings and EPA part ways. US Stove's manuals say the BTU figures in the manual come from the EPA test protocol, while its advertised BTU are measured in the first hour at a high burn on dry cord wood. Here is how far apart the two numbers sit, for every stove above that has both (computed: EPA's top tested output divided by the advertised figure):

What it means: for the two small stoves and the Erie, the listing figure sits within about 500 BTU of the top of EPA's tested range. For pick 1 and the AW1120E-P, the 68,000 BTU headline is a first-hour peak well above anything EPA measured, so size those stoves from the square footage and the tested range, not the headline. Efficiency in EPA's database is an overall figure on the fuel's higher heating value. Cleveland Iron Works' page shows both kinds for the H080: 72 percent on the higher heating value, as in EPA's database, and 78 percent on the lower heating value, so check which one a listing quotes.

What size wood stove do you need?

EPA sorts stoves into three sizes: a small stove suits a family room, a seasonal cottage or zone heating one area of a larger home; a medium stove suits a small house, a medium-sized energy-efficient house or a cottage used in winter; a large stove suits a big open plan house or an older, leakier house in a cold climate. Everything on this page is small to medium. By the makers' own coverage figures:

• Up to about 750 square feet, one room, a cabin or a tiny house: the TH-100 or the St. Claire Mini.
• More than about 750 and up to 1,200 square feet, a small house: the US1100E-BL, or the AW1120E-P while the US1100E-BL is out of stock (it was on October 13, 2026).

The Comfort Glow CGWS900 lists 900 square feet, but its manual says it should not be your main heat source, so it is on this page as backup heat with a cooktop, not as a size step.

EPA's own advice is to take a floor plan to an experienced hearth retailer who can match a stove to the space, and its installation page says a stove of the right size, in the right spot, on a chimney with good draft, uses less wood and puts out more usable heat. EPA also says to build hot fires, because for most stoves a smoldering fire is neither safe nor efficient.

What installing one takes: chimney, floor and clearances

Before a stove, check what it will vent into. All four picks take a 6 inch flue. The manuals call for a factory-built chimney listed to UL 103 as Type HT (2100F) or a code-approved masonry chimney with a liner, cleaned and inspected before use, and the stove must have its own flue, never one shared with another appliance. The connector pipe must not run through an attic, a closet, a floor or a ceiling. The US Stove manuals ask for a chimney at least 12 feet tall, and all four manuals add the same height rule above the roof: 3 feet above where the chimney passes through the roof, and 2 feet higher than any part of the building within 10 feet. NFPA 211, the national "Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances," is the code these manuals cite for horizontal pipe runs and masonry chimneys.

None of these four manuals mentions a garage or a workshop, so if that is where you want a stove, put the question to the same building or fire officials before you buy; for heating a garage, our garage heater guide covers heaters sold for that job.

Here is what each stove's manual asks of the room (figures from each manual):

Read those wall figures with your installer against the drawings in your own manual, because each chart measures from different points of the stove and pipe. On a combustible floor every one needs a non-combustible floor protector, and where a horizontal pipe runs out to the wall, the US Stove manuals want the protection carried 2 inches past each side of the pipe. US Stove's manuals ask for a 7 foot ceiling at minimum.

On dampers, follow your own manual, not a product page. The US1100E, AW1120E, TH-100 and St. Claire manuals prohibit a barometric draft stabilizer on the flue and do not recommend a draft damper. The CGWS900 manual says its single burn rate design is not approved with a flue damper, and names a barometric draft regulator as the fix if the chimney draws too hard. US Stove's TH-100 product page recommends a barometric draft regulator, which the TH-100 manual prohibits, so go by the manual.

Who installs it matters. EPA's installation page warns that a non-professional's installation mistakes may not be visible until a fire, and points to the National Fireplace Institute (NFI) for certified installers and to the Chimney Safety Institute of America for certified sweeps. NFPA's heating tip sheet says to install a wood stove by the maker's instructions or hire a professional to install it, and to have a qualified professional install stationary heating equipment according to local codes. The US Stove manuals recommend an NFI-qualified installer and carry a commissioning checklist for the installer to sign.

Permits, insurance and alarms before the first fire

Ask before you install. The US Stove manuals say to "contact local building or fire officials about permits, restrictions and installation requirements in your area," and the St. Claire's manual sends you to your building department or fire officials as well, so every manual on this page raises permits before installation.

Call your insurer too, before the stove goes in. Progressive's guide on fireplaces and wood stoves says some insurers require a professional installation and a safety inspection, some add a surcharge, and some may decline a home where a wood stove is the primary heat source, and it says to notify your insurer right away if you add one.

Then the alarms. The CPSC says to install battery-operated or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms "on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas," and calls interconnected alarms best. NFPA says to install and maintain CO alarms and to test smoke alarms monthly. The US Stove manuals say the room with the stove should have smoke detectors, and their commissioning checklist has the installer confirm a working CO alarm installed to local code; the St. Claire's manual strongly recommends a carbon monoxide detector, because every fuel-burning appliance creates the gas. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning (the CPSC lists headache, dizziness, weakness and nausea among the signs), the CPSC says to get out into fresh air at once and then call 911.

Finally, keep the space around it clear. The US Fire Administration's rule covers "anything that can burn": keep it "at least 3 feet from all heat sources," wood stoves included, and NFPA's tip sheet says the same. EPA's installation page says fire officials recommend a professional inspection of the stove, chimney and vent every year, and NFPA and the US Fire Administration say the same.

How to burn wood in a wood stove: dry wood, hot fires and ash

EPA's burning advice starts with the wood: burn only dry, split, seasoned wood (our log splitter guide covers the splitting), season it for at least six months, and store it outside, raised off the ground, covered on top but open at the sides; wood burns best below 20 percent moisture, which a moisture meter tells you (our firewood moisture meter guide compares them, and our firewood rack guide covers keeping wood off the ground). Light it with newspaper, dry kindling or an all-natural starter, never gasoline, kerosene or charcoal lighter (our fire starter guide covers the natural kind), keep the door closed except to load, and burn hot rather than letting the fire smolder.

EPA's list of things never to burn includes household trash and cardboard, painted, coated or pressure-treated wood, plywood, particle board, ocean driftwood and wet or moldy wood. EPA also says ashes go in a covered metal container stored outdoors on a surface that cannot burn; if you would rather vacuum cold ash, our ash vacuum guide lists which machines allow warm or only cold ash.

If you choose a stove without a blower, such as the TH-100, the St. Claire Mini, the Comfort Glow or the AW1120E-P, a heat-powered fan on the stove top can move warm air into the room without electricity; our wood stove fan guide covers which fans run at which surface temperatures.

Related guides

• Best wood stove fans, for moving the heat without a blower.
• Best firewood moisture meters, for checking wood is below 20 percent.
• Best firewood racks, for seasoning wood off the ground.
• Best fire starters, for lighting without liquid fuel.
• Best ash vacuums, for cleaning out cold ash.
• Best log splitters, for splitting stove wood.
• Best garage heaters, for heating a garage or workshop.

We are Spear Head Spade, and we make digging spades, not wood stoves, so nothing on this list is ours. When the ground thaws, our spade finder matches a spade to your soil.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best wood stove for a small house?

Of the EPA-certified stoves we could find on Amazon, the US Stove US1100E-BL: a 1.31 cubic foot firebox tested on cord wood, logs up to 18 inches, a blower in the box and a 1,200 square foot listing. It was out of stock on Amazon on October 13, 2026; the Ashley Hearth AW1120E-P is the same certified stove without the blower. For a single room, a cabin or a mobile home, the US Stove TH-100 or the Cleveland Iron Works St. Claire Mini, both listed for 750 square feet.

Which wood stove brand is best?

There is no single answer, Bob Vila's brand list says, and its list starts with Woodstock Soapstone, Pacific Energy and Blaze King, while forum threads in the search results name Kuuma and Regency. Among the small certified stoves we could match on Amazon, most come from one maker: EPA's database names United States Stove Company as the maker of three of our four picks, and Enerco Group, behind Cleveland Iron Works, as the maker of the fourth.

How do I know if a wood stove is EPA certified?

Search its model number in EPA's Certified Wood Heater Database, which shows whether it meets the 2020 limit, and check the back of the stove for EPA's certification label. The 2020 limit is 2.0 grams of smoke per hour on crib wood, or 2.5 grams on cord wood.

Do I need a permit to install a wood stove?

Ask before you install. The US Stove manuals say to "contact local building or fire officials about permits, restrictions and installation requirements in your area," and the St. Claire's manual sends you to your building department or fire officials as well.

Can I install a wood stove myself?

NFPA says to follow the maker's instructions or hire a professional to install it, and EPA warns that mistakes in a non-professional installation may not show until there is a fire. The US Stove manuals recommend an NFI-qualified installer, and your insurer may require a professional installation and an inspection.

Does a wood stove raise home insurance?

It can. Progressive says some insurers add a surcharge or require a professional installation and inspection, and some may decline a home where the stove is the main heat source, so tell your insurer before you add one.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm with a wood stove?

Yes. The CPSC says to put battery-operated or battery-backup CO alarms on every floor and outside the rooms where people sleep, and the US Stove commissioning checklist has the installer confirm a working CO alarm.

Can you put a wood stove in a mobile home?

Only one approved for it. The US1100E-BL and the TH-100 are approved with US Stove's outside air kit, the St. Claire Mini's manual allows it with outside air, and all three manuals say never in a sleeping room. The Comfort Glow CGWS900's manual and a retailer both say it is not approved for mobile homes.

Disclosure: Our commissions do not change what we recommend or what you pay. We do not print prices because they move; every "Check price on Amazon" button shows today's.