Wood Insert

How many sq. feet are you heating? Is it a modern tight home?

I would try to find a stove that is insert and freestanding certified and put the stove on shortened legs without a surround. Just use a block off and run your liner though it. This way you can retain the look of your fireplace.

With an exterior chimney you may have some heat loss to the rear brick, but the insert stoves are designed to move the heat out of the front of the stove. With an open firebox I would try the stove out without a fan. You can always add one later.

Kuma makes a couple of stoves that will work in this manor depending on your home size and air-tightness.

My Ashwood sits in the firebox with the liner back at about 30* and then straight up the chimney.

I agree, get a nice stove and no fan needed. A liner and block off plate is a must with the external chimney to get the best heat and performance.
Here is a pic of my stove and liner with a T and clean out at bottom

watch your Mantel clearances.....that guy on the Mantel may wanna pull his legs in a bit

I like my insert but you're going to have to use the fan with any insert.

If an electrical connecttion is totally out of the question then I think you have to get a freestanding stove as I don't know of an insert that you can run without a fan. Most if not all insert fans will be noisy to some degree when run at high speed which there is really no need to do. You can turn most of them down to barely audible.

I like insert for fireplace install because of the clean lines but there are many great pics on here of freestanders installed as well. A freestander will provide more heat because the entire stove is outside the firebox. There are some hearth heater inserts which come onto a hearth a good amount and seem like they would be a decent heater.

Whichever route you decide there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. A liner (insulated if possible) is almost a must.

2. Respect the clearances listed for the stove you buy. Make sure the hearth has the proper r-value and clearance to combustibles and that you have the proper clearance to the side moulding and the mantle. The rug will probaly have to be moved out.

3. If you don't already have wood start getting it. There is a strong chance that any wood you get now will not be seasoned and ready to burn. Depending on the species you could have it ready by next burning season.

4. I think a lot of people go into this thinking that it will just be supplemental heat. They soon find that the savings and the better heat warrants using it as a primary heater. So get a proper sized stove that will heat your house. You can always burn less wood for a smaller fire but you can't them any bigger.

Go see your local Hearthstone dealer and look at this...http://www.hearthstonestoves.com/store/wood-products/wood-inserts/clydesdale-wood-insert

It will look fantastic in your home.

It has a blower but is variable speed. Give the dealer your mantel dims to check for clearances and let them take it from there. AND they are on sale right now. Enjoy!

Wellll, I think mine would look fantastic as well.
Dimensions: http://www.regency-fire.com/Files/Specifications/H-HI300.aspx
Here is a pic of mine, taken just now:

A wood insert, installed properly, is going to run a few thousand dollars. I wouldn't spend money on any insert. You already said you don't need it for primary heat, and you said you are fine letting your furnace heat the house. Just get some wood for the occasional fire and enjoy!

I say you should get a medium sized insert with a fan, you don't have to use the fan but chances are you probably always will, mine is adjustable. I like the way the flush units look but you can get one that juts out a bit. I got mine for the same reasons as you and now I'm burning almost every day, good luck and keep searching...

Tree Towner,

I am also in SE Michigan and just installed a Clydesdale at the beginning of December. My concerns with the hearth were similar to yours. I love the Clydesdale and find that it provides a very mild and long lasting heat probably due to its' soapstone lining. I strongly recommend it. This comes with an adjustable speed fan.

I had to extend my hearth and I didn't like the former hearth top so I took the opportunity to install a soapstone hearth top when I changed it. Love the soapstone because it absorbs heat while the insert is operating and then rediates it back when the insert cools off. This is a massive piece of soapstone 22 inches wide and 78 inches long. It weighs about 350 lbs.

The newly (2009) revised Clydesdale is quiet if you don't turn the fan up to a high setting. It can really throw some heat if you want to put a big load in it, or it can provide a gentle heat if you only want a moderate fire. Mine is installed in our finished basement (800 sq feet) and I can make the basement a balmy 85 degrees in a short time of I want to.

A note on your mantle surround - it is wayyyyyy to close for an insert. You will need to check the clearances before you put any insert in that fireplace. Each insert specifies the clearances to combustable materials above and to the sides. They all specify a clearance to the front (hearth) as well but most are a standard 18".

One of the main concerns I had was a 17 inch deep raised hearth (brick). I chose the Clyde because it is adjustable and can be set-up with minimal projection into the room. It still works well this way due to the air channeling surround that collects air from below the insert and blows it around the back and out the top of the unit.

The clydesdale is a beast of a unit (550 lbs.) but it is really quite nice once installed. The viewing area is one of the largest for any insert. I'm planning on a second one for the main floor of the house.

I completed my install myself with the help of my 17 year old son.

As with any insert or stove you will need to install a 6 inch stainless liner in the chimney.

If your not using it for primary heat then go with what best suites you, personally I've seen fireplaces like yours with a freestanding stove in front, and I think that is the nicest look, but it doesn't really matter. Too many people turn wood stoves into a science project when it's really pretty simple, wood, steel box and fire equals heat, nothing fancy.

Look at Avalon or fpx. Same manufacturer, same fireboxes, huge viewing windows, flush as you can get, and the fans are controllable for sound much better than a two speed. Your clearances are likely to be an issue but that's just some simple woodworking modifications. I burn very similar to what you describe, though probably more frequently ( almost every night and many times round clock on weekends. Only complaint is that at lower speeds the fan rattles but I plan to address that this summer. Saw a few posts on fixes here on the forums. Either way, even on high, neither of my inserts annoys me, but I've always found I rather enjoy white noise in the background. Helps me concentrate while I'm reading a book or doing some work. I'm too lazy to check your fireplace dimensions, that's on you.

Bagelboy said:

A wood insert, installed properly, is going to run a few thousand dollars. I wouldn't spend money on any insert. You already said you don't need it for primary heat, and you said you are fine letting your furnace heat the house. Just get some wood for the occasional fire and enjoy!

Click to expand...

Until he realizes just how much home he can heat with a load of wood and/or realizes the joy of processing wood.

Get as big as you can. I bought a small one for part of my house and thought it was great....when I had an inefficient boiler in the basement below that part of the house basically heating the floor. Once I got rid of the boiler, best that insert could do wasn't good enough for me. Bought a bigger insert for my other fireplace and it can heat 2000sq ft into the seventies with no issue at all. Now I'm considering pulling the small insert and cutting out the metal plenum that's in there and putting in a matrix or another one of the Travis industries flush stoves. For ambient fire burning so looking to not waste heat, large viewing is what you want. I'd also avoid a cat or a hybrid if you're an infrequent burner. Adds a few extra steps to the process whereas a secondary tube stove is simply easy.

Here is my insert it a Travis industry lopi cape cod flush insert.

You can check out the Morso, MBburner has one maybe he can tell you how it is, not sure if he got the model with the blower or not but they make one with and one without a blower and its supposed to convect heat somewhat without a blower.