Wood burning stoves for winter warmth?

Question

I live in the mountains of Northern Utah and I would like to be able to heat my house (around 1600 sq feet with cathedral ceilings) with a wood burning or pellet burning stove when the electricity goes out.

I also would love to have an oven along with the stove, but I will settle for a cook-top surface. I need suggestions about brands, ease of use and cooking models. Any pointers would be really helpful! Thanks!

Answer 1

My neighbor has a pellet stove and they love it. It doesn't require electricity, unless you want a fan, which theirs doesn't. She said to get the ash out, they just take a shop vac to it, it burns down to a very fine ash. It is flat on the top, so suppose they could cook on it, if needed too. We have a wood stove in our basement, that has a cover over it. The top of it raises up exposing the cast iron top, and you can cook on the top of it, also.  

Answer 2

i am not sure of what the best woodstove is , but they do make central heating sytems that operate off of   multiple fuel sources.so you could use oil , wood  or coal  etc. also i am pretty sure all pellet stoves require electricty .