Schrader Wood Stoves: Models, Parts and Modern Replacements

Schrader stoves are easy to spot: a heavy plate-steel box, usually on a single pedestal or built as a fireplace stove, with big double doors across the front that open to a screen like an old Franklin. Plenty are still heating garages and cabins forty-plus years on, and owners ask the same three things: who made it, can I get parts, and what replaces it?

Short answers: the company is long gone, model-specific parts went with it, and no Schrader was ever EPA certified. The modern replacement is simple once you decide how much house the stove actually heats.

Who made Schrader stoves

There's more folklore than paperwork on Schrader, so here's what can be documented. Federal trademark records show the SCHRADER mark for "woodburning stoves and fireplaces" registered to Evergreen Metal Products of Lacey, Washington, claiming first use in 1975. A separate company, Schrader Stoves, Inc. of Eugene, Oregon, filed the SCHRADER STOVES and FAMILY HEARTH marks for woodburning stoves in 1981, and a Schrader Stoves of New Mexico and Oklahoma, Inc. filed a mark for precast stove pads the same year. That points to a Pacific Northwest origin, with the name apparently used by more than one regional company. You'll also see forum claims that Schraders were built in Colorado; we couldn't confirm that.

The end is just as fuzzy. Owners date the last stoves anywhere from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, and the SCHRADER STOVES registration was cancelled in 1989. The usual explanation is the EPA wood heater standard that took effect in 1988: a simple steel box with a damper couldn't meet it without a redesign, and Schrader didn't make that leap.

The models, and what's known about each

The model names owners cite are the King, Queen, Prince and Princess, which suggests a size ladder. No published spec sheet for the line has surfaced online, so treat the table below as what owners report rather than factory data.

Common construction across the line: 3/16" and 5/16" plate steel, firebrick lining about halfway up the firebox, a damper on the flue exit, and double front doors that close tight or open behind a screen. Flue connections vary — owners report both 6" and 8" top outlets — so measure yours rather than assuming.

Parts, problems and value

There is no successor company holding Schrader tooling, so model-specific parts are gone. What you can still source is generic: firebrick, high-temperature stove paint and gasket rope — though at least one owner reports his doors had no gasket channel at all.

The complaint that comes up again and again is warped doors. Once the steel doors twist, you see the fire glowing through the gap with the stove shut down, air control goes, and smoke can leak into the room. Owners have glued and wired on gasket to compensate.

On value: asking prices we've seen in owner forums run from about $125 to $450. That's shop-heater money, not a collectible.

The certification problem

A Schrader is a pre-EPA stove: no certification label, no tested efficiency, no emissions figure, and usually no manual. That bites: one owner who moved his Schrader into a new garage had the inspector ask for a manual that doesn't exist. Without a listing, inspectors fall back on the generic clearances for unlisted stoves in NFPA 211, which are far larger than a modern certified stove needs.

Three situations make that matter: reinstalling or moving the stove, an insurer asking about solid-fuel heat, and selling the house. Call your carrier and your building department before you spend money either way. Our guide to what EPA certification means covers the current standard.

What replaces a Schrader

Every stove below ships with No Sales Tax in any state and free shipping. Supply is tight this season, so we've led with models that ship soonest, and each shows its live shipping status.

Replacing a smaller pedestal Schrader

If your Schrader is one of the compact pedestal models heating a single floor or a cabin, the Drolet Escape 1200 N ($1,129, Ships in 6–10 weeks) is the direct swap: a pedestal stove covering 250–1,200 sq ft, 75,000 BTU/h at peak, 17" logs, EPA 2020 certified. The Englander Blue Ridge 100 N ($1,099, Ships in 1–3 days) is the same size class, built by England's Stove Works in Virginia. Both are in our small wood stove guide.

Replacing a large Schrader heating the whole house

If the Schrader is the main heat for a two-story house, size up. The Drolet HT-3000 ($1,899, Ships in about 2 weeks) heats up to 2,700 sq ft from a 3.5 cu ft firebox, takes 22" logs and burns up to 10 hours.

For a house closer to 2,000 sq ft, the Drolet Escape 1800 on legs ($1,549, Ships in 2–6 weeks) covers 500–2,100 sq ft on 20" logs.

Replacing a Schrader fireplace stove or insert

A lot of Schraders were built for, or pushed into, a masonry fireplace. The modern version of that job is a certified insert with a full stainless liner. The Drolet Escape 1800-I ($1,799, No confirmed date) heats up to 2,100 sq ft and includes a variable-speed blower. The faceplate and 25 ft liner kit bundle ($2,199) puts the whole install in one box. See wood stove vs fireplace insert if you're deciding between the two.

The honest comparison

Owners say their Schraders get "hotter than a pistol," and a thick steel box does put out heat. It just doesn't burn efficiently. Without secondary combustion, a big share of the wood's energy goes up the chimney as smoke and creosote; owners report going through wood fast and tending it every few hours. A modern non-catalytic stove burns those gases inside the firebox, so the same heat takes noticeably less wood.

Keep it if the doors are tight, it heats a detached shop and your insurer is fine with it. Replace it if the doors are warped, smoke gets into the room, or the job needs a permit.

The adjustment going modern is fuel. A Schrader will burn almost anything, badly. A certified stove needs seasoned wood under 20% moisture to perform.

Before you swap

• Flue size. If your Schrader ran on 8" pipe, the replacements above all use a 6" flue. That means a new connector and, in an oversized masonry chimney, usually a liner. See the chimney liner guide and stovepipe guide.
• Clearances. Take them from the new stove's manual, not from where the Schrader sat.
• Floor protection. Requirements differ by model; see the hearth pad guide and the installation guide.

Bottom line

Escape 1200 N for a smaller pedestal Schrader, HT-3000 for a large Schrader heating the whole house, Escape 1800-I for a fireplace model — each shows its live shipping status above. No Sales Tax in any state and free shipping over $250. Browse all wood stoves for sale or call 1-888-914-0022 with your model and the square footage you're heating.

Replacing another vintage stove?

Same honest assessment for the other brands owners still run: Fisher, All Nighter, Garrison, Timberline, Warm Morning, Nashua and Dutchwest and Federal Airtight.