who using a FISHER BABY BEAR ?? maybe even in/on a fireplace hearth??

Do you have a liner in the chimney already from the insert? If not what ever you do you will need a liner installed in the chimney to make any stove work correctly and safely. Baby bears are pretty small to I would not expect to long of burn times out of one.

trx680 said:

I have a 6" insulated liner.
Next one up is the Mama Bear?

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Or you could go with a modern efficient stove or insert.

Not sure why you wouldn't want an Insert? There are full size and smaller Inserts (Honey or Cub) available as well as glass models for fire viewing in the fireplace. A blower extracts the heat from the back and radiates forward from the section that protrudes from the hearth for power outages or cook top. There is much less heat radiated into masonry which rises out the roof as well as out the back if you have an exterior chimney. You want to heat the air, not masonry in most cases.

Baby Bear may be too small for your heating requirements, has a very small firebox and it's not good for the stove setting back into the hearth restricting air flow around it. The Bear Series stoves (Papa, Mama and Baby) are maximum 24 5/16 high and lower in the back with legs cut to set directly on hearth.
I can give you the measurements (height) of each model as well as the height of the rear flue outlet. Measurement would be from drawings or rear sheet sizes (box without legs) since fabricators vary leg length. I can only tell you what they are supposed to be.

The single door stoves were first designed with your installation in mind. (Inserts were designed in 1979) Single door stoves were available with left or right side vent to place the stove sideways on the hearth to protrude less into the room and still radiate in all directions. In that case you want a left or right Mama Bear depending on which way your stove faces. Insulation should be taken into account sizing the stove since in your area a well insulated house would be fine with a Baby, and possibly overheated with a Mama. Many other factors should be considered sizing the stove.

One last caution since you're still exploring the options of installing a stove within a hearth is maintaining a minimum 3 inch clearance for air flow. There were isolated incidents of uneven heating causing cracks when installed in this manner.
Post #10 in thread below is the builder / welder from Fisher Stoves S.E. in reference to your type of installation.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-to-woodstove-heating-fisher-papa-bear.71552/#post-902932

A blower pushing air under the stove, up the back and out over the top helps maintain even cooling.