Not sure if I'm in the right forum...need stove placement advice

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Is there a clearances diagram on the back of the stove? If yes, what is the make and model of the stove?

The current hearth is too shallow for the stove. There is nothing really protecting the floor in front of the stove. That carpet is a bandaid. If this is not a UL listed stove it requires 36" clearances in all directions and 16" of hearth in front of the glass of the stove. The brick wall (if real brick) will reduce the clearance down to 24" but the stove looks installed much closer than that.

As for the pipe, maybe one of the older installers here will remember. It is older Amerivent. I thought the old 6FB was triple wall, but could be wrong and defer to the experts on this topic.
 
The woodstove you have on that hearth is an old Garrison One. Is there glass in those front doors or are the doors all metal? In either event, that is a pretty good old stove and although not very efficient compared to new stoves, it can throw plenty of heat if you've got the wood and are home to feed it and assuming it is designated safe.

So that's another question, are you both out of the house all day long, or is one of you around to actually be able to maintain the care and feeding of a wood stove?

I think that pipe you have on the outside is not indoor pipe, it's double-wall pipe that is designed for close clearances. So all in all, assuming that pipe is safe and not mechanically coming apart and you can get it cleaned and inspected, you "should" be able to burn wood in it. The hearth for the woodstove seems protective enough.. I'm not sure if there are ceiling clearances you need to worry about, or if you would need to put some non-flammable material on the ceiling above it, but that wood stove could put out some heat. Still most likely not enough to heat that whole place and it would most likely take a lot of wood to do it, but it is a lot of space you're trying to heat.

I'm assuming you don't want to get into major expensive reconstruction and/or stoves.

If you're not home during the day and work week, you need to think this through. What do you have for a furnace or non-wood heat? Is it an oil furnace and forced hot water or forced hot air?
 
Thanks for the info on the stove, Oldhippie. I didn't see this reply until just now. Sorry for the delay!

You gave us some good things to think about. The doors on the wood stove are all metal. I know it has a blower, that works, but we haven't done much else with it. The ancient Vermont Castings (early 70s Vigilant, Im pretty sure) we had at the old barn we were living in was a horror show to get going. Part of it was definitely out experience (or lack of), the rest was the crooked flue and short chimney (no draft) and then there was just the inefficiency of the stove. Oh, I forgot to add the landlord's bad wood. Beggars can't be choosers - but eventually we just chose NOT to heat the house w/ the stove. It wasn't safe and smoke would be coming in the house and choking us out. It was horrible. Therefore, I'm a bit hesitant on a wood stove...but I have to say, I really really love the heat from them. Unforunately, we are not home during the day - there's probably bout 6 1/2 hours a day that one of us isn't home. I also like the idea of not having to worry about heat during a power outage...which seem to be pretty frequent in CT the past few years!

Our non-wood head is oil / forced-air. We are going to invest some money in air sealing the house and insulation so that we can keep heat in. Like I said before, the previous owners just kept the furnace off and tucked themselves in the room with the pellet stove and put up sheets to trap air in the living room/ktichen area.

I believe you are right about the pipe - maybe I will post a new thread asking for advice on the pipe since this one has a bunch of different ideas being bounced around. I found this link: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/triple-wall-chimney-clearance-to-combustibles.98001/ discussing the type of pipe on the woodstove. Not much info, but it is a double or triple walled pipe, but they say it isn't rated high enough for a wood stove.

I'm going to try and find another chimney guy to come in. I'm not having much luck on finding a reliable one in the area.
If anyone is in the Western CT area and knows of a company they can recommend, it would be very much appreciated :)

Thanks for all the advice. We are taking it to heart...really. There are so many things to consider and this isn't an easy fix. Don't want to spend a ton of money but at the same time, we want to be safe and the most efficient. I would rather spend the money now than spend more later if I make the wrong decision.

Meagan
 
Just thought I would add this picture too. Not of our stove but on Saturday, while doing yardwork, I found part of the old chimney under a bunch of stones, bricks and terracotta at the edge of the property. Pretty cool :) IMG952013092895170413.jpg
 
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Just trying to follow along with all the great advice here. Am I reading in the posts that the pellet stove and furnace are currently connected to the same chimney (liner)?
 
Just trying to follow along with all the great advice here. Am I reading in the posts that the pellet stove and furnace are currently connected to the same chimney (liner)?

Nope. Sorry...I probably didn't state it very clearly.

The furnace is connected to an old chimney with no liner. We need to have that installed but can't find anyone we find very reliable.

The pellet stove (in the b&w room) is a free-standing stove that is sitting on a ledge and connected to a small fireplace chimney (lined).

The wood stove is in the family room and is connected to the brown crooked pipe you see in the photos :eek:
 
Nope. Sorry...I probably didn't state it very clearly.

The furnace is connected to an old chimney with no liner. We need to have that installed but can't find anyone we find very reliable.

The pellet stove (in the b&w room) is a free-standing stove that is sitting on a ledge and connected to a small fireplace chimney (lined).

The wood stove is in the family room and is connected to the brown crooked pipe you see in the photos :eek:

Meagan thank you for the sanity check. Most likely just my tired eyes so please no need to apologize. I like to follow these threads as it teaches me a lot - sorry I'm not much help to your situation but the big guns are already taking care of you here....
 
Meagan thank you for the sanity check. Most likely just my tired eyes so please no need to apologize. I like to follow these threads as it teaches me a lot - sorry I'm not much help to your situation but the big guns are already taking care of you here....

the "big guns" have been great so far. I've got a lot to think about and have been doing research. I operate much better when there is a logical answer - right now, it seems like it's based on what I would like to do: pellet or wood. The easy answer is both. I'm trying to figure out if one is better than the rest...decisions decsions...
 
My 2c - if it were me i'd focus on the wood stove and existing chimney (get it inspected and running safely) - then take a deep breath and figure out the longer term plan while warming my bones by the fire ( OldHippie said its a good heater) I know doing it all up right the first time is the ideal, but its October and I can't think straight and plan when I'm shivering. Plus I over think everything so I'd be shivering for quite a while...;lol
 
My 2c - if it were me i'd focus on the wood stove and existing chimney (get it inspected and running safely) - then take a deep breath and figure out the longer term plan while warming my bones by the fire ( OldHippie said its a good heater) I know doing it all up right the first time is the ideal, but its October and I can't think straight and plan when I'm shivering. Plus I over think everything so I'd be shivering for quite a while...;lol

You are so right...I can't think in the cold. Or type with gloves on my fingers. We did it last year in the house we rented and it was miserable! I think that's why I'm freaking over the heat for this year...but I need to slow down and think it through.

I am going to find someone else to assess out wood stove pipe. The two chimney guys said I needed to take it down (one quoted $2300 for a new one). I dont want to spend that if I am going to switch to pellet in a year or two, so I'm trying to think ahead. A few people online said (from photos) that it is triple-walled and I can have the pipe that close to the house and it isn't as un-fixable as it might seem. If I can get the stove repaired, that would be ideal. Again, it might not be the long term solution but I'd be willing to spend a few hundred now to fix it and make it through our first winter before making any decisions. If it isn't fixable, then we are going to have to make some quick decisions about what to do. Thanks for the advice - I'm trying to slow down but the to-do list is loooong!:oops:
 
ps: cute pups! Is the one on the left a landseer newf?

Thanks - yes she's a landseer (she was just a few months old in that pic). The other guy was my golden who unfortunately isn't with us any more. The pic is a bit of a tribute (still not sure if that's appropriate, but it makes me smile seeing them together in better days).
 
Thanks - yes she's a landseer (she was just a few months old in that pic). The other guy was my golden who unfortunately isn't with us any more. The pic is a bit of a tribute (still not sure if that's appropriate, but it makes me smile seeing them together in better days).

I thouht she might be a pup..they are big dogs! My aunt has two, well, had. Her big boy, Otis, was only 8 when he passed away. He weighed in at 200.

I think it's an adorable photo. I'm sorry your golden passed and I think it's totally appropriate to keep the photo up. I keep my friends close and my animals closer. It always brightens my day to see my boys peering at me from my computer screen :)
 
I keep my friends close and my animals closer.

I think there are many here who share your sentiments.

Thanks for the kind words. Hope your family (pups included) are warming up by a nice fire this winter. Good luck with everything...
 
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Only got down to your plans... didn't read further, but can say what I'd do.

1. Build new kitchen in space currently labeled "Living Room." It's a better size of an eat-in kitchen, with good access to patio and back door. Besides, who needs a "Front Room" plus a "Living Room" plus a "Family room". Three rooms, for the same purpose?
2. Gut existing kitchen (12x12), and open up wall between it and the new kitchen.
3. Install stove in old kitchen, with pipe thru side wall toward patio.
4. Eliminate both existing stoves. Reclaim old fireplace for ambiance / decorative fires.

Of course... that's a long-term plan, and your questions were for THIS winter. I'd probably do as little as possible, and limp thru, hoping to learn what was needed now, in the course of things. That's how I've been handling my own insulation inadequacies.
 
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Only got down to your plans... didn't read further, but can say what I'd do.

1. Build new kitchen in space currently labeled "Living Room." It's a better size of an eat-in kitchen, with good access to patio and back door. Besides, who needs a "Front Room" plus a "Living Room" plus a "Family room". Three rooms, for the same purpose?
2. Gut existing kitchen (12x12), and open up wall between it and the new kitchen.
3. Install stove in old kitchen, with pipe thru side wall toward patio.
4. Eliminate both existing stoves. Reclaim old fireplace for ambiance / decorative fires.

Of course... that's a long-term plan, and your questions were for THIS winter. I'd probably do as little as possible, and limp thru, hoping to learn what was needed now, in the course of things. That's how I've been handling my own insulation inadequacies.

Oh...if only this was possible right now. I floated the idea past the husband and we won't be able to do it for a while. I would love a huge kitchen (and the black and white floor fits much better in a kitchen than a living space). One of my biggest issues is the large number of extra rooms to hang out in. We went from a small 4 room cottage (one which was too cold to use in the winter, to actually it was 3 room) and to this monster.

Thanks for the ideas. If we end up "limping through the winter" (and we might end up doing just that), these ideas are going in the "gut it!" folder. There are a lot of rooms to re-do. This play would hit many of them at the same time :)
 
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