Hearthstone Manchester or Alderlea T5???

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I agree with what Grisu is saying (and it pains me to say that ;lol), but in this case the OP is actually desiring to pump as much heat into that stonework as possible, for the purpose of transferring heat to the room behind. I'm not sure how well it will work, but I think it's worth a try, and then a highly radiant stove is likely the best path toward that particular end.

For all the talk of the advantages of 500 lb. of soapstone, don't discount the advantages of tens of thousands of pounds of earthwork around this proposed install. My fireplace walls still radiate above 80F for at least a day or three after the fire goes out. The heat capacity is surprising.
 
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A blower can be put on the Manchester to make it a more convective setup, while still having strong side radiance. It should be noted that this stove is also a side loader, but the OP's fireplace looks wide enough to accommodate the side-load width if the stove was not exactly centered in the fireplace. For front loading, radiant heat I suggest also considering the Jotul F600 and the Quad Isle Royale.
 
first of buying these houses is a heart buy if you used your head you would never buy it.that being said try to find a stove with massive square ft heating capacity and burn times.i would check and see a hearthstone or woodstock wife doesn't like look:( but when you wake up in morning and it's minus 10 or 15 outside i think you'll appreciate it
 
I can't imagine anything looking better than an F600 in that fireplace, but some would say I'm biased. I have three Jotul Firelights in my house:

P1130005.JPG IMG_0265.jpg !cid_CC181F45-15AB-47AD-B032-00655E3B2EFA.jpg

I would not settle for having any stove off-center in the fireplace. It would just piss me off every time I looked at it.
 
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The F600 is also a side loader, but like the Manchester and Isle Royale it can be also front loaded. Of the 3 the Isle Royale would probably be my first choice. It is a bit more front loading friendly with andirons and has a great track record plus very good looks.
 
like the look joful .i find with my place once you get the main fire done the heat you built up want's to leave pretty quickly figure with the soapstone from what i hear heat would last longer.every bit helps
 
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Joful said:
I agree with what Grisu is saying (and it pains me to say that ;lol), but in this case the OP is actually desiring to pump as much heat into that stonework as possible, for the purpose of transferring heat to the room behind. I'm not sure how well it will work, but I think it's worth a try, and then a highly radiant stove is likely the best path toward that particular end.

For all the talk of the advantages of 500 lb. of soapstone, don't discount the advantages of tens of thousands of pounds of earthwork around this proposed install. My fireplace walls still radiate above 80F for at least a day or three after the fire goes out. The heat capacity is surprising.
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As I have an insert in a large, centrally located brick fireplace I can certainly attest to the heat capacity of masonry. I am a bit worried for the OP because his fireplace certainly was not built to code and a wood beam as lintel does not sound very reassuring that the whole structure is built from non-combustibles. Hence, pumping a lot of heat into the surrounding masonry may backfire at some point. A convective stove could potentially be installed while staying within the minimum clearances to combustibles.
 
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brad wilton said:
like the look joful .i find with my place once you get the main fire done the heat you built up want's to leave pretty quickly figure with the soapstone from what i hear heat would last longer.every bit helps
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It depends on the house. Some places are so big they can have 2 stoves going and still need to supplement. In our house the cast iron jacket of the Alderlea provides the mass and evens out the cyclical heat remarkably well. Considering SWMBO will never let a soapstone stove in the living room, the T6 has turned out to be a very nice compromise. Our stove is out in the open and in an open floorplan house where a convective stove works very well. Our living room is not large so tight corner clearances help with this stove.
 
begreen said:
The F600 is also a side loader, but like the Manchester and Isle Royale it can be also front loaded.
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Yes, I guess I should have been more specific. The Woodstock can ONLY be loaded via the side door, if I recall. The F600 is an old front loader design (originally F12 castings), with the added benefit of a side-load door.
 
Precautions will need to be taken. Joful can you link your original posting about getting your fireplaces ready for the stoves?
 
begreen said:
Precautions will need to be taken. Joful can you link your original posting about getting your fireplaces ready for the stoves?
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Well, the chimney saga is a painful memory, more applicable to the "came with the house" thread going on now, with claims of timber in the flue. However, I imagine you're talking about the actual fireplace prep and install?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/old-fireplace.88498/

I have since had rear and lintel heat shields fab'd for both fireplaces, but haven't gotten around to installing any of them.
 
Yes, the OP should have a full camera inspection of the chimney to make sure there are no surprises. Then the fireplace should carefully be inspected from the inside to determine if it has a wood or iron lintel and/or any other wood inside the smoke bell or damper area.
 
brad wilton said:
like the look joful .i find with my place once you get the main fire done the heat you built up want's to leave pretty quickly figure with the soapstone from what i hear heat would last longer.every bit helps
Click to expand...
Soapstone rocks...........
 
begreen said:
It depends on the house. Some places are so big they can have 2 stoves going and still need to supplement. In our house the cast iron jacket of the Alderlea provides the mass and evens out the cyclical heat remarkably well. Considering SWMBO will never let a soapstone stove in the living room, the T6 has turned out to be a very nice compromise. Our stove is out in the open and in an open floorplan house where a convective stove works very well. Our living room is not large so tight corner clearances help with this stove.
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My neighbor's wife's brother's sister-in-law loves soapstone in her living room. Go figure. :)
 
Grisu said:
Since the stove will be sitting in the fireplace and therefore be enclosed by walls on all sides except the front I would suggest to look for a more convective stove. A radiant stove will heat up first the fireplace walls and it will take longer to get the heat into the actual room and then the house. A convective stove, potentially with a blower will provide heat to the house much faster. In addition, a convective stove will be safer when you are unsure whether you have combustibles behind the walls. As a rule of thumb: The closer the minimum clearances the more convective a stove is. Soapstone stoves usually have pretty large clearances because they emit more radiant heat. Cast-iron stoves with a steel firebox would be a good alternative. The BlazeKing Ashford 30 for example has pretty low requirements.
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Well,

After lots of up and down back and forth.... I am leaning toward the Isle Royal. Came down to that or T6, and I previously owned a QF that performed very well for me. Also, I saw a lot of good posts from folks on here regarding the isle royal. T6 looks to be an awesome stove as well but it's coming down to looks to be quite honest at this point since I see either stove to be a great addition to this setup....

Only thing I am doing now is to have the hearth folks come look at the lintel to see what we can do regarding heat shield etc because by my calculations the top front of stove will be only 19 - 20 inches from it...... Hard finding a good reference in the manuals for it. Def want to air on side if caution though.

Any comments welcome!!!!
 
They are similar in that they both breath easy, but that is where the similarity ends. One is radiant the other is convective.
 
begreen said:
They are similar in that they both breath easy, but that is where the similarity ends. One is radiant the other is convective.
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I plan on getting the blower with either to help. Going back to store tomorrow to get my hands back on the IR again for a last look, but haven't decided 100 percent yet. Do you think i would get more heat out of the T6 based on my configuration inside the large fireplace?
 
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