Fireplace Wood Heat Options

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carpniels

carpniels

Minister of Fire
Dec 6, 2005
540
Rome, NY, USA
Guys,

Long time, no visit. I have been busy burning wood and trying to raise 4 sons to become good citizens (and know how to stack firewood and run a wood stove!!)

We are looking at rebuilding the kitchen. Part of that means that the back room (where the Quadrafire Isle Royale is located) will become a dining room. Therefore, the stove has to go and I need to make heat somewhere else.

My house is 2,800 sq. ft. I have a centrally located 2-story brick chimney with 2 flues and a fireplace in the front living room. It has never been used in the 10 years I have lived in this house. I need to create heat from wood to heat the house in the winter. I have several options. Please comment on the pluses and minuses for each option. Especially, if you have done one of them and what your experience is.

1. Install a wood insert and use that to heat the house. Possibly enlarge the original fireplace to fit a larger wood insert to create enough heat for my size house
2. Enlarge the original fireplace and install a ZC fireplace.
3. Remove the entire brick chimney, install a ZC fireplace with associated chimney and gravity vent kits.

I am afraid that a wood insert that fits the current fireplace will not produce enough heat for my entire house in Upstate NY. I am afraid enlarging the opening will still not be enough to install a wood insert that can heat my entire house. I am afraid that a ZC fireplace cannot be installed without removing the entire brick chimney.

Let me know what you think.

CarpNiels
 
I would ask the same question a Mastermech.
Freestanding may be a great solution. Worked for us.
 
Had the same problem - 2400 sq ft house in upstate NY, only place to locate the heat producer was front living room fireplace, which is a Rumford with slanting side walls (thus very narrow at the back). Also, my house is drafty, very drafty. I went with a free standing Woodstock Progress Hybrid. It has worked out very well.
 
Can you not move the Quadrafire to a hearth pad in front of the existing chimney? Worth a try to start, anyway. Doing this first would be best first test.
 
Now there is member from way back when. Welcome back.
 
Aye, welcome back Carps! How has the IR been working out for you?

I am also thinking freestanding stove. Are there constraints that would prevent that? Got any pics of the fireplace that can be posted?
 
Also can you give dimensions on your fireplace opening? There are some pretty big inserts if you have to go that way.
 
All,

First, thanks for all the replies. Second, thanks for BeGreen and BrotherBart for welcoming me back. I have been focusing on trying to raise 4 sons the proper way, which is difficult in current society.

The Quadrafire Isle Royale has been great for the last 5 years. Large, heats well, and my wife can run it too. Some minor issues are that it is showing some rust, the front windows don't stay clean, so I need to clean it every 2 months or so, the fibrous sheet on the plate that rotates is eroded, I have had to buy a new fire brick set, and it spills some smoke in the house when I open the door without following the exact order of things. Other than that, I cannot complain.

Now about my issue. I have attached two pictures; front view and a side view. As you can see on the side view, the fire place is right where the hallway to the bath and bedrooms is, so putting something in front of it (such as a free standing wood stove) will not work. In the front view picture, you can see the three slots on the left and right, top and bottom. Not sure what they are for, but they are there and make the fascia larger.

Dimensions of the fire place opening are 33 inch wide, 26 inches high and 22 inches deep. As usual, the back is narrower than the front.

Let me know what you guys think or what recommendations you may have. I am open to any brand or model, although I don't mind paying more for a well built, well functioning, high quality brand and model.

Thanks

Carpniels
fireplace front view.JPGfireplace side view.JPG
 
Are you looking for a flush fireplace insert due to the hallway? If so, that narrows down the field quite a bit regardless of insert or ZC.

I'm wondering how the heat circulate from this room so that it doesn't become overwhelming while trying to heat the whole house. Do you have a floorplan posted in an earlier posting? Will you still be running the IR in very cold weather?
 
How well did the current, soon to be old, location heat 2800 sq ft? That is a lot of space to heat with a single stove. So my question is, if you were to do the work on the existing fireplace would it be able to heat the entire home?
 
Guys,
Thanks for the questions. First the easy one: the Isle Royale heats the house very well. I have 2 fans blowing continuously in the winter: one above the wood stove that takes the hot air and blows it through the first floor (you can walk around the house from kitchen to dining room, hallway, front room and back to the kitchen). I needed the fans because the wood stove is in the sun room. The air circulates nicely with the 2 fans. I get the house to 73 in the evening and then overnight it cools down to 63, and I fire it up again to get the temperatures up. I would think the centrally located chimney would do a better job of heating the house than the remotely located wood stove.

I can live with either type of wood insert of VC. Flush would be fantastic, but a little butt-out (bay window) would be fine too. I don't necessarily care what the stove looks like; it needs to have a large firebox and a fan to get the heat out.

So let me know what your suggestions are. Insert sure sounds easier with a lot less work. I just need to have one that can heat 2500+ sq .ft.!!!

Thanks

CarpNiels
 
Looks like a Heatmoor(spelling). The slots are vents where the lower ones take cool air in as the upper ones let warm air out. Small convention loops. Looks like a steel box, which is exact set up I have, cept mine had square holes in brick with louvered vent covers over them. I fit a Summit in mine, but I think mine was a tad larger than the measurements you gave.
Not sure anything that will fit in that firebox will heat you enough on those really cold nights. Otherwise you would prolly be fine. Rather than going enlarging the current fireplace, what about getting rid of it, and making an alcove, then installing a large freestander in the alcove? Summit, BK King, Equinox, etc? Kuma does have a nice large Catalytic insert, not sure if it will fit though.
 
The fireplace appears to be your best option being it's already there. I would think you would have to go through the logistics checklist of what the project will take, financially and labor etc., in order to put things into perspective before the first portion of any demo happens. You have all spring and summer to get er done. :)
 
Armoured said:
Given the very positive experiences with BlazeKing here, perhaps look at the Princess insert?
Click to expand...


The princess is too small for the square feet he is working with.
 
carpniels said:
All,

First, thanks for all the replies. Second, thanks for BeGreen and BrotherBart for welcoming me back. I have been focusing on trying to raise 4 sons the proper way, which is difficult in current society.

The Quadrafire Isle Royale has been great for the last 5 years. Large, heats well, and my wife can run it too. Some minor issues are that it is showing some rust, the front windows don't stay clean, so I need to clean it every 2 months or so, the fibrous sheet on the plate that rotates is eroded, I have had to buy a new fire brick set, and it spills some smoke in the house when I open the door without following the exact order of things. Other than that, I cannot complain.

Now about my issue. I have attached two pictures; front view and a side view. As you can see on the side view, the fire place is right where the hallway to the bath and bedrooms is, so putting something in front of it (such as a free standing wood stove) will not work. In the front view picture, you can see the three slots on the left and right, top and bottom. Not sure what they are for, but they are there and make the fascia larger.

Dimensions of the fire place opening are 33 inch wide, 26 inches high and 22 inches deep. As usual, the back is narrower than the front.

Let me know what you guys think or what recommendations you may have. I am open to any brand or model, although I don't mind paying more for a well built, well functioning, high quality brand and model.

Thanks

Carpniels
Click to expand...


Will this be a second stove that will run along with the Isle Royale? Is this replacing the Isle Royale? Where is/was the Isle Royale located?

If this new stove will be the only stove that will be used I would look into a free standing stove over an insert. Something with the firebox size of 3.5 cu ft and up. The height of the fireplace opening will be a challenge. I can not think of one large stove that can rear vent and come in under the needed 26".
 
carpniels said:
All,

First, thanks for all the replies. Second, thanks for BeGreen and BrotherBart for welcoming me back. I have been focusing on trying to raise 4 sons the proper way, which is difficult in current society.

The Quadrafire Isle Royale has been great for the last 5 years. Large, heats well, and my wife can run it too. Some minor issues are that it is showing some rust, the front windows don't stay clean, so I need to clean it every 2 months or so, the fibrous sheet on the plate that rotates is eroded, I have had to buy a new fire brick set, and it spills some smoke in the house when I open the door without following the exact order of things. Other than that, I cannot complain.

Now about my issue. I have attached two pictures; front view and a side view. As you can see on the side view, the fire place is right where the hallway to the bath and bedrooms is, so putting something in front of it (such as a free standing wood stove) will not work. In the front view picture, you can see the three slots on the left and right, top and bottom. Not sure what they are for, but they are there and make the fascia larger.

Dimensions of the fire place opening are 33 inch wide, 26 inches high and 22 inches deep. As usual, the back is narrower than the front.

Let me know what you guys think or what recommendations you may have. I am open to any brand or model, although I don't mind paying more for a well built, well functioning, high quality brand and model.

Thanks

Carpniels
View attachment 65472View attachment 65473
Click to expand...

From the following dimensions taken from its specification page, it appears that the Hearthstone Clydesdale could fit that opening. Would the Clydesdale have enough horsepower to heat a 2800 square foot home? Maybe. My Clydesdale heats my 2000 square foot home with relative ease. Ths Clydesdale does have the advantage of having a 2-position flue collar that can be dropped into the firebox as an aid to installation.

Minimum fireplace dimensions

Width at Front 31"​
Width at Rear 24"​
Height at Front 22-1/25"​
Height at Rear 21"​
Depth 15"​
Depth of Lintel 9" (maximum)​
​
 
Eaglecraft said:
From the following dimensions taken from its specification page, it appears that the Hearthstone Clydesdale could fit that opening. Would the Clydesdale have enough horsepower to heat a 2800 square foot home? Maybe. My Clydesdale heats my 2000 square foot home with relative ease. Ths Clydesdale does have the advantage of having a 2-position flue collar that can be dropped into the firebox as an aid to installation.

Minimum fireplace dimensions

Width at Front 31"​
Width at Rear 24"​
Height at Front 22-1/25"​
Height at Rear 21"​
Depth 15"​
Depth of Lintel 9" (maximum)​
​
Click to expand...


A Clydesdale would be too small in this case. At 2,500-2,800 square feet he will need about 3.5 cu ft for the firebox.
 
Is wood the only source of heat? Is there no existing furnace or radiators or anything? Is the layout and insulation going to work with just one very large stove? What is the existing heat?

Perhaps it would even make sense to consider having more than one for that size of house.
 
Are you looking to use the insert / stove to completely heat your space on the absolute coldest day of the year? If you're willing to accept your oil burner running backup duty on the few coldest days of the year, and do 100% of your heating with the stove for 90% of the winter season, the requirements are significantly diminished.

More importantly, what are those plastic trucks in your second photo? Not a single vintage metal Tonka? Raising 4 boys to become good citizens used to involve at least one emergency tetanus shot.
 
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Reactions: Armoured
All,

Thanks for the replies. Here are some of my responses.

Hogwildz, Interesting idea about the alcove. Not sure if that will work considering the chimney has two flues (one from the oil furnace, one from the fireplace). Ideally, I would like an insert that can heat the house.

BrowningBAR, I plan to replace the Isle Royale with this new insert. It is located in a sunroom. I don't want to install a freestanding stove in/near the insert, because it will limit the hallway width. What is the size of the Buck 91 firebox?

Eaglecraft. A Clydesdale sounds cool. I used to have a Hearthstone back in the day. What I need is an insert with the largest size firebox that fits my fireplace.

Armoured. Yes, one large wood stove only. I use wood heat almost exclusively, although I have backup of an oil furnace for the first floor and a gas furnace for the second floor. Yes, the insulation is fine and heating in the winter is no problem.

Joful. I agree. I may have to settle for the largest wood insert that fits my fireplace and have the furnace to backup duty. I may replace the oil furnace with a gas furnace due to the low price of gas and the high price of oil.

BTW, I use oil as backup. Previously, it would come on several times a night on nights below zero. but I improved insulation and now it does not come on ever.

Thanks and I look forward for your opinions. Let me know what inserts you suggest. I prefer a flat front insert, but that may not be possible.

Carpniels
 
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