Questions from a ( soon to be wood burner )

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FordTruckMan

New Member
Jan 7, 2014
7
Indiana
My wife and I agreed to get a new wood burner to heat the house. We have a fireplace but it is old and the chimney needs work. We have a 2 year old and one on the way, so I was looking for something a lot more safer than the existing fireplace. We will need to heat around 1200 square feet. The house is an old farm house and is not the most efficient. I came across the wonderlux 2350B. A wood stove combo. I have been doing some research but not really finding a lot of info. What I need is some real world experience with it, pros and cons.
I have talked to a handful of guys that had nothing but good to say. Just said to get the beefier grates. I just want something safer than just an old cast iron burner around my children. I did do a search on here and didn't find much.

Thanks in advanced,
Kyle
 
Agreed. You would be far better off installing a modern EPA stove. In an old place I would try to be consistent with the design. Look at the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap, Enviro Boston, Jotul Oslo (or F45), Pacific Energy Alderlea T5, Napoleon 1600C, and Hearthstone Shelburne for starters. In soapstone maybe a Woodstock Fireview (cat stove) or Hearthstone Heritage (non-cat).
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I am not going to use the existing chimney at all. The stove is actually going in a totally different room. My house layout is pretty much all open. Was going to route the new chimney through wall and up side of house. I am at work, so I can not get pictures of room..

begreen said:
Agreed. You would be far better off installing a modern EPA stove. In an old place I would try to be consistent with the design. Look at the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap, Enviro Boston, Jotul Oslo (or F45), Pacific Energy Alderlea T5, Napoleon 1600C, and Hearthstone Shelburne for starters. In soapstone maybe a Woodstock Fireview (cat stove) or Hearthstone Heritage (non-cat).
Click to expand...
. Thanks for the info. Ill have to look into them models. My main concern is its somewhat safe around my kids. I know thats kinda hard to do, but thats why the wonderlux was a turn on for me.
 
mellow said:
Sounds like you are on a tight budget, look at the Englander 13-NC or 17-VL. You are going to have quite a bit of costs installing a Class A chimney so that might also dictate how much you can spend on a stove.
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Well, I'm not going to lie, yes I'm trying to do this fairly low cost and still be the safe as I can. Maybe no such thing but That's my thinking. I'm willing to spend the money on good chimney though. But when it comes down to it, I will not going sacrifice safety.

What exactly does a "wood circulating stove" do?, how does it vary from say, a traditional wood stove?
 
Google 'circulator wood stove'. It's a firebox inside a sheet metal cabinet. None are very efficient, and they are 'EPA exempt'.

Your concerns with small children are certainly valid. You will find quite a bit of discussion here on that subject.
 
Not sure what you mean by chimney needs work (pic would help). I think you'll find most chimneys need work. As long as the thing is not gonna fall off the side of the house most can be used with a fullly insulated reline. And you might as well use it as it is a huge warm air draw. BY relining you can install insulation and a block off plate and put an insert or freestanding woodstove in the hole. It's a lot simpler than cutting a hole in roll for a new install.
 
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FordTruckMan said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I am not going to use the existing chimney at all. The stove is actually going in a totally different room. My house layout is pretty much all open. Was going to route the new chimney through wall and up side of house. I am at work, so I can not get pictures of room..

. Thanks for the info. Ill have to look into them models. My main concern is its somewhat safe around my kids. I know thats kinda hard to do, but thats why the wonderlux was a turn on for me.
Click to expand...

Traditional stoves have grown up. Modern units burn much, much more cleanly and efficiently. This means more heat in the home for every cord burned and a cleaner safer flue as long as dry wood is burned. Dry means well seasoned for at least 1-2 years depending on the species. A stove with a convective jacket is going to be safer for the family. the sides and top are not burning hot because they encase the actual stove much like the old wonderlux cabinet, but with a beautiful fireview from the front door. You will find your family gathering around this mesmerizing view.
 
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If I were getting a new stove it would be a larger size because you have, I assume, a drafty house. For example, rather than the Englander 13 I'd get the larger Englander 31. I have a Lopi about the same size as the Englander 13, but many times I wish I had the larger version.

If you are really trying to use the stove for full time heat, long burn times are the most important feature, in my opinion. I wouldn't pay much attention to the efficiency reported by the manufacturer. Most EPA compliant stoves are fairly similar in efficiency and it will depend a lot on your firewood and how you run the stove.

Let me be the first to tell you to get your firewood now. You can install a stove in a few days, but it takes at least a year to season firewood.
 
The 30NC is a big stove for 1200 sq ft. It would work for the coldest weather but might be a bit of a pain during milder weather unless the place is very leaky.
 
If you are looking for safe and efficient, PLEASE look beyond that wood circulator. There was one installed in my Grandma's house, and how she never burned down the house I will never know. It was very cheap feeling, with a thin firebox that had warped on all sides. It had no baffle or anything to keep direct flame from being sucked up the chimney, and on more than one occasion I came from my bed in the middle of the night to find the fire had taken off and the stove and pipe were glowing cherry red. The worst part is that it was completely uncontrollable- most stoves can be regulated if the fire decides to take off, that one could not. It finally gave in to all the runaway fires, and the chimney connector was seperating from the stove, the door no longer sealed, and had it been given a proper autopsy, I am sure it had split a weld or two on the firebox. It seriously gunked up the chimney, the chimney had to be cleaned every year. It was finally replaced with an epa approved non cat stove, which is a joy to run and is completely controllable. We have a Catalytic stove, which works fairly well but needs DRY wood to even think about working properly, and I find it very fiddly to get it burning properly. I would recommend a non catalytic stove for ease of use and beautiful fire show, but if you just want heat and longer burn times, go for a catalytic stove.
 
View attachment 123511 View attachment 123511 Also consider running the class A through the house vs. out and up for a significant advantage of draft and creosote prevention(stays warmer) I had my chimney professionally installed and this was the most expensive part of the deal for me but I wanted to make sure it met code and passed inspection. Since then I have helped install a few for others and the process is rather simple. Depending on code requirements you can leave some of it exposed and gain some heat in upper room(s) like I did. They wanted me to chase mine in but it passed insurance inspection after they saw my set up and the grate I fabbed to surround the through floor opening. Don't mind the terrible pics and mess - this is my primitive arrow making room and used to be the coldest in the house. Now it is toasty with the pipe running through there. It gets hot to the touch but not so much that it is scary. When the stove is full go at 700+ I can lay my hand on the class A but not hold it there for a couple minutes.

Regarding the stove and safety - it is only as dangerous with children as a number of other child hazards in your home and just needs to be treated as such. Baby gates - or the ones often sold as doggy gates/fences set up are an oft used deterrent and risk control measure. Think about how many times the oven is cooking that roast for hours with no gate or constant monitoring. You will be much further ahead with regards to home safety going with an efficient stove than a creo maker in the long run - all things considered. But this is only my opinion and should be taken as such.

For added credibility - I sell commercial PnC insurance and see all kinds of crazy stuff - makes me very aware and I am extremely risk averse.
 

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Thank you gentleman for your honest replies. I guess the ol wonderlux is not an option. That is fine. My original fireplace is quite small and I was worried that by time an insert was installed, the actual capacity wouldn't be worth the trouble. I'll get a measurement and pic this evening.

Thanks again,
Kyle
 
Children are much smarter than we give them credit for. My son is now two and this is his first year being able to walk freely into the dining/stove room. Last winter he was just learning to walk so we had a gate up to keep him in the living room.

Over the summer and fall we drilled it into his head that the stove is hot and its a no-no. Still, we occasionally caught him running his matchbox cars along the top of the stove.

When the shoulder season came around this year he knew that he wasn't supposed to be near it but braved getting too close to it a few times. He pressed his luck and accidentally touched his hand on the side and now stays far away. The stove was hot enough to hurt and scare the wits out of him but not hot enough to cause damage thankfully.

He now knows exactly what hot means steers clear away from it when he can feel the heat coming out of it. The only time he goes near it is when he comes over to watch me load it. Thanks to the recent cold spell he also re-learned this lesson about the steam radiators.

We got all frantic this past fall worrying about those huge wrap around baby gates and all sorts of other safety items, but we decided on a wait and see approach. Since our house is small and we are generally in the same area as our son it payed off to just keep a loose eye on him.
 
BobUrban said:
View attachment 123511 View attachment 123511 Also consider running the class A through the house vs. out and up for a significant advantage of draft and creosote prevention(stays warmer) I had my chimney professionally installed and this was the most expensive part of the deal for me but I wanted to make sure it met code and passed inspection. Since then I have helped install a few for others and the process is rather simple. Depending on code requirements you can leave some of it exposed and gain some heat in upper room(s) like I did. They wanted me to chase mine in but it passed insurance inspection after they saw my set up and the grate I fabbed to surround the through floor opening. Don't mind the terrible pics and mess - this is my primitive arrow making room and used to be the coldest in the house. Now it is toasty with the pipe running through there. It gets hot to the touch but not so much that it is scary. When the stove is full go at 700+ I can lay my hand on the class A but not hold it there for a couple minutes.

Regarding the stove and safety - it is only as dangerous with children as a number of other child hazards in your home and just needs to be treated as such. Baby gates - or the ones often sold as doggy gates/fences set up are an oft used deterrent and risk control measure. Think about how many times the oven is cooking that roast for hours with no gate or constant monitoring. You will be much further ahead with regards to home safety going with an efficient stove than a creo maker in the long run - all things considered. But this is only my opinion and should be taken as such.

For added credibility - I sell commercial PnC insurance and see all kinds of crazy stuff - makes me very aware and I am extremely risk averse.
Click to expand...

Our inspector would not approve that installation. A friend tried to just have raw pipe and the inspector said absolutely not. The eventually accepted solution was a surrounding perforated stainless chase on 1" standoffs.
 
Begreen - that is exactly what my plan was if he did not pass it the first time through. I would fab up something nice that bolted onto place with some fancy expanded metal and iron work. I just really wanted the industrial look in there as well as the added heat.
 
An industrial look was the same goal I wish I had a picture of the final product. It looked pretty cool and was safe to touch and well ventilated.
 
At 25" x 24" H(?) I think you are going to need an insert. What is the depth of the fireplace at top and bottom? What is the H & W at the back?
 
Top depth is around 14 inches and bottom depth is 17 ish. Its like a metal shroud inside. Excuse my ignorance, I dint know much about fireplace stuff. I'm just worries that if I put an insert in, the actual fire box would be to small to Mess with.. but then again I'm not to familiar with inserts.
 
Yes, that looks like a heatilator fireplace and it is shallow. Only a medium small insert would fit I think, but that might be ok for 1200 sq ft. Take a look at a Buck 21. It might just squeak in there.
 
An insert will need a liner. This can be run up the existing chimney if it is not damaged.
 
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