Cubic Grizzly Mini Wood Stove Review 2023

The Cubic Grizzly Mini proves that the best things come in small packages, offering up to 18,000 BTU of heating power in an H15" x W13" x D12" footprint. 

Capable of heating spaces up to 200-400 square feet, the Grizzly Mini harnesses secondary combustion to increase the firebox temperature.

With a wall-mount option and glass window, it certainly looks the part, but being so compact means burn times aren't the longest. It also has an odd 3” flue size.  

Is the Grizzly the best small stove for you? Our review reveals everything you need to know before you buy. 

Cubic Grizzly Mini Wood Stove: Introduction

The Cubic Grizzly Mini is a small wood burner with a complete stainless-steel construction (with a bit of brass detailing), including the baffles. 

For around $500, you get a powerful little stove with 8,000 to 18,000 BTUs (2.3 - 5.2kWh) of heating power – ideal for boats, RVs, and of course cabins and tiny homes. 

You can quickly heat coffee and tea on the stovetop and by removing the rail you have a 6 ½" cooking area from the flue to the edge. 

It is effortless to use and has secondary combustion to burn off ash/smoke and improve efficiency. 

With lots of heat in a compact footprint at a relatively low price, you can't go wrong if you need a low-maintenance wood burner. 

Cubic Grizzly: Key Specifications

The Cubic Grizzly offers one of the best heating outputs for its size, letting you heat 200-400 square feet without taking up much space. 

Secondary combustion is key to its impressive heat output, which reignites fuel to produce more heat, and the large firebox window, which radiates lots of heat.  

The ludicrously small footprint makes it one of the best stoves you can buy for small spaces, especially motorhomes and log cabins. 

Cubic Grizzly: Key Features

So what makes the Cubic Grizzly one of the most popular small wood burners for cabins?

Massive heat output

With up to 18,000 BTUs of heating power (5.2kWh), the Cubic Mini offers 4,000 BTUs more heating power than the smaller Cubic Cub.  

Secondary combustion 

The Grizzly has perforated vent tubes that mix fresh oxygen with firebox gases to facilitate secondary combustion, increasing heat output. 

Steel construction

No iron in sight – stainless steel will never rust, corrode, or weather. Your Grizzly will always look like new with regular cleaning. 

Large viewing window

The 5" viewing window is made from 3/16" thick ROBAX ceramic glass, giving you a clear, shatter-resistant firebox display. 

Cooking top 

The stovetop is perfect for boiling water and heating up coffee, or you can remove the rail and use a saucepan up to 6 ½”.

Insulation

The heat stays in the firebox for longer thanks to vermiculite insulation, increasing the firebox temperature to radiate more heat into your room. 

Wall or floor-mountable 

The Grizzly sits on the floor or mounts to the wall, with an optional wall mounting kit letting you lift the stove to a comfortable height. 

Can You Cook on a Cubic Grizzly Mini Wood Stove?

The Cubic Grizzly Mini is an excellent option for cooking if you are happy using small saucepans and tinware.

The only limitation is the stovetop size, which has space for a 6 ½" saucepan from the flue to the stove edge. 

If you need more space, you add the CB-7200 Mini Roaster, which slots on top of the stove and lets you cook meats and stews in pots or trays. It's not a cheap addition at around $200 but it's absolutely essential if you intend on doing any proper cooking that doesn't involve simply warming things up.

The stove top has a guardrail perfect for heating coffee pots and mugs, but you'll need to remove it to increase the usable cooking area.

Once the rail is removed, the stovetop offers 13" from side to side and 6 ½" from the flue to the edge. The stovetop reaches a temperature of around 500°F (260°C) with a steady burn – perfect for heating most food. 

To cook on the Grizzly Mini, we recommend using stainless-steel or aluminum pans, or you can heat food up in an aluminum tray or wrapped in foil. 

Warranty

Cubic Mini Wood Stoves offers a warranty on the glass for the first 90 days but does not provide a warranty on other components. However, the company promises to help if there is something defective with the stove. 

The company won't cover faults arising from misuse and damage, which is par for the course in the stove industry. 

Although the lack of a comprehensive warranty might shock you, it is doubtful you will have a faulty stove. Problems usually arise from improper installation and use – not workmanship – and Cubic has an excellent reputation. 

Certifications

The Cubic Grizzly Mini is not EPA-certified, so you must do due diligence before purchasing it to ensure you meet emissions regulations in your area. 

Installation

Installing the stove is relatively straightforward, although there are a few specifics:

The installation process generally involves measuring the flue, cutting a hole, and fixing items into place.

The stove connects to the flue, and you do a few smoke tests to ensure it is properly connected and ready to go. 

Cubic says that many clients perform the installation themselves, but if you aren't confident, it can take as little as two hours for a professional. 

Start-up Sequence

The Grizzly Mini's start-up sequence is like other stoves:

Mounting Options: Wall or Floor?

Key to the Cubic Mini's versatility is the ability to mount it to the floor or wall.  

Whichever way you mount it, the stove sits on brass-coated stainless-steel legs – the optional wall-mounting kit provides a resting plate, so the metal legs stay on, which might disappoint you if you want a floating-effect mini stove. 

Floor Mount

If you intend to floor-mount the Grizzly, place it on stone, brick, metal, or another fireproof surface at least 1" thick.

For safety, we recommend the hearth extending at least 300mm to the front and 150mm to either side. 

Floor mounting the stove gives you a traditional appearance and is perfect if you have a fireplace or open area for your Grizzly to rest. 

Another option is the CB-4010 Floor Mount, which gives you a small storage space for wood and is compatible with a mini tool kit. 

Wall Mount

Wall mounting is the preferred option to free up floor space. The correct wall mount is the CB-4012-SS Stainless Steel Wall Mount (see here) which doubles up as a shield to reduce the clearance to 3" – perfect for small spaces. 

Wall mounting is our preferred mounting type because it allows space space for logs and kindling under the stove.

Flue

The Cubic Mini needs a complete flue system comprising a 5" insulated pipe and exit and a 3" flue. The 3" flue is an odd size, but Cubic sells kits that you can add, such as the CB-3024-SS (24" long) and CB-3012 (12" long). 

You can also buy the CB-6000-MR Metal Roof Exit Kit, which includes everything you need for the roof exit except the 3" pipe. 

The oddly sized flue flange (3") requires an adapter to connect the inside flange to a larger pipe if you can't get a 3" flue. 

Clearances

Cubic sells shields and shielding kits for the Grizzly Mini, which significantly reduce the manufacturer-recommended clearances. 

The clearance for shielded stoves is 3" in all directions. Without shielding, the clearances are 20" in all horizontal directions and a vertical clearance of 30" – this will push the stove off the wall, so we recommend shielding. 

You can buy shielding directly from Cubic or install DIY shielding if you can source 5/16" stainless-steel plates. Shielding is mounted to surfaces adjacent to the stove to protect them from the heat produced by the stove. 

If you don't intend to install your stove close to the wall, you don't need shielding, but you should take measures to protect the stove. 

Cubic Grizzly Stove Accessories

These are the Cubic Mini's best official accessories: 

Miniature Tool Kit

The Miniature Tool Kit includes a poker, a shovel, a log gripper, and mounting brackets made from mild steel with brass fittings. 

You can mount the kit to the wall for safekeeping, or the bracket attaches to the side of the Floor Mount (when ordered together).

Water Heater/Dispenser

Made of stainless steel, the water heater attaches to the right side of the stove only. It can hold slightly over 2.5 liters of water, which takes around 30-40 minutes to bring to the boil when filled. There's a spigot at the bottom so the hot water can be easily dispensed.

Mini Roaster

The Mini Roaster is a must-have accessory for cooking, slotting on top of the stove to maintain a steady temperature for roasting. 

This is the best way to cook meats, stews, and other hearty foods prepared from scratch. It is 13 11/16" long, 7 3/16" wide, and 7 15/16" deep, giving you lots of cooking space. 

Eco Fan

The EcoFan sits on top of the Grizzly Mini and circulates warm air, helping heat up your space 20% faster. 

How does it work?

The EcoFan conducts heat from the Grizzly stove and circulates it into the room.

Power is provided by a built-in thermoelectric module, which acts as a mini generator to power the fan's motor and spin. 

Most crucially of all, it works in the Grizzly Mini's optimal operating temperature range of 230°F – 650°F (110°C – 345°C).

Brush Kit

It isn't the most exciting accessory you can buy, but the CB-8253 3" Brush Kit makes cleaning your 3" flue a whole lot easier. 

It comes with a 3" brush and a 5-foot rod brush rod, which you attach to clean the inside of the flue and rid it of soot.

The brush fitting is universal, so if your pipe is longer than 5 feet, you can attach the brush to a long flexible metal rod. 

Cubic Grizzly: Pros and Cons

The Cubic Grizzly is a rock-solid mini wood-burning stove with a commendable heat output and secondary combustion to minimize smoke. 

It works amazingly in small spaces and as a cooking stove, thanks to its great stovetop and optional stovetop roaster. 

The most significant disadvantage is that the heat output does not always match what the manufacturer says you will get.

"Up to" 18,000 BTUs is the key phrase, with 12,000 to 15,000 being a more realistic output in the real world.

That is still mighty impressive, but something to consider. 

Here are the Cubic Grizzly's main pros and cons:

Pros

Cons

For a discussion of wood stove benefits and drawbacks in general, you can read our new guide.

Who is the Grizzly Cubic Mini Wood Stove Best Suited to?

The Cubic Mini will heat 200-400 square feet, providing your space has adequate insulation to prevent heat loss.

This makes it suitable for cabins, RVs, 20-25 ft boats, tiny homes, outbuildings, and as a single room heat source in large houses. 

In most scenarios, it isn't suitable for heating an entire floor, open place living spaces, or replacing a generator or central heating. 

Log cabins really are the ideal space – where a small, cozy fire is enough to beat the cold. 

Alternatives to the Cubic Grizzly Wood Stove

As impressive as the Cubic Mini is, there are other mini stoves you can buy. 

For starters, there's the smaller Cubic Cub Mini for even tinier spaces and the Dickinson Newport, a solid fuel heater ideal for boats. 

Here are the best Grizzly Cubic Mini alternatives to consider:

Cubic Cub Mini Wood Stove

The Cubic Cub Mini takes everything great about the Grizzly and puts it into a smaller package.

It measures H12" x W11 x D10.5", making it 3" shorter, 2" narrower, and 1.5" slimmer than the Cubic Grizzly. 

It has a 6000 - 14 000 BTU heat output (equivalent to 1.75-4.1kWh) – perfect for boats up to 15 ft and tiny log cabins – and has identical clearance requirements, meaning you can place it 3" from surfaces with shielding. 

We recommend this stove if you need to heat 100-150 square feet. For a space this small, the larger Grizzly Mini is overkill. 

Dickinson Newport

The Dickinson Newport is a solid fuel heater for burning logs, charcoal briquettes, and coals.

This makes it more fuel-versatile than the Grizzly, although it is significantly taller and less stylish with a functional design.  

At H14.7" x W7.88" x D10", you need more vertical space for this stove than the Grizzly but less width, so it is suited to different spaces. 

The perfect space for the Newport is boats no more than 15 ft and tiny cabins. The heat output is 3,000-8,000 BTU – less than the Grizzly and Cub and only adequate for around 150 square feet.

The Dwarf 3kW Lite

The Dwarf 3kW Lite is the closest competitor to the Cubic Mini in terms of style and operation. 

However, it is larger, has a cast iron door which makes it heavier (55lbs versus 39lbs for the Grizzly), and has a lower heat output. 

This stove is perfect for log cabins and tiny houses with a maximum of 10,000 BTUs (3kW) heat output. That makes it more potent than the Dickinson Newport but less powerful than the Grizzly and Cub stoves. 

A neat feature is ceramic fiberboard insulation that reflects heat into the firebox, and we also love this stove's classical appearance. 

Cubic Grizzly Wood Stove FAQs

Here are some quick answers to common questions we hear about the Grizzly.

Can you cook with it?

You can use the stovetop to heat food and boil water. Cubic also offers the 'mini roaster' add-on that turns the top of the stove into an oven. 

How much does the Grizzly weigh? 

It weighs 39 lbs (17.7kg) which is significantly lighter than comparable stoves thanks to its stainless-steel construction. 

What fuels can you use?

The Grizzly is built for burning dry wood like kindling, logs, and pressed logs. It can also burn charcoal, albeit with more smoke and soot. 

Are there any known Cubic Mini Grizzly problems?

A lack of consistent heat production is the most common problem – you must keep the firebox roaring to achieve the 18,000 BTU heating output.

This can be tiresome because the stove burns through wood very quickly due to the small firebox size.