We've been house hunting: Is this a good place for a wood stove?

PineKnot · Jun 13, 2009

It is the "off season" for wood burning for most of us, so please respond if you have an idea.

We are looking at buying a house that features a fireplace in the kitchen. My existing wood stove would fit in the space, and there is space to the right for wood storage (as long as I can maintain safe clearance). The fireplace is on the main level, with a basement below and two bedrooms above.

I understand I would need to get a block off plate and a SS liner installed in the masonry chimney. I would not have the clearance around the stove that I have now, but there would be no combustibles either.

This would be a dream installation for me. The door to the left in the picture goes right to the back door. This fireplace is only a few steps from the master bedroom.

I would use this as supplemental heat. I burn a lot of the winter now, and go through 3-4 cords in a season. I would expect to go down to 2 cords a season with this set up.

Right now my stove is in the master bedroom, which is great for keeping an eye on it but not so great for a long marriage (80 deg. BR temps, banging around in the morning getting things going).

Please see pics of potential new stove location (with the large black pot), reverse side of new stove location (with large clock on mantle) and my wood pile (because I'm so damn proud of it).

Thanks!

PineKnot · Jun 13, 2009

I forgot to add that I'm looking for any info/ideas:

1. Will all this masonry soak up heat?
2. It looks like the stove would be at a nice working height for loading, cooking and enjoying. Are there issues I haven't thought of?
3. FYI: There are three separate flues in one masonry chimney: Large open fireplace, fireplace on reverse side, and furnace/water heater.
4. I can take more pics if needed. We are probably going to look again this weekend.

begreen · Jun 13, 2009

Good plan, the stove will be much better placed in the kitchen location. The masonry will soak up "some" heat. Adding a block off plate at the damper throat will keep more of the heat in the heated space as well. The only modification to the hearth may be another course of tile or brick on the floor to provide the correct hearth extension in front of the stove (needs at least 16" in front of the stove door).

Wood Heat Stoves · Jun 13, 2009

a centrally located masonry wall is a great choice, looks like a very good plan to me

if your stove is running 24/7 the brick will slowly absorb and release heat, not as appreciable as the stove, but a better contributor that stick frame walls!

Mo Heat · Jun 13, 2009

Depending on your stove selection, the vertical clearance may need the addition of a heat shield if that wood mantle is too close.

The internal masonry is an excellent "thermal battery".

BrowningBAR · Jun 13, 2009

PineKnot said:
Right now my stove is in the master bedroom

Interesting...

PineKnot · Jun 26, 2009

Yes, putting the stove in the MBR has been an interesting choice. I started off with a stove in the basement, with the inherent draft difficulties and work involved carrying wood. I wanted to have it in the family room (adjacent to the MBR), but I was outvoted. It is in the MBR because of worrying about kids touching it and getting burned.

I think heat reflective panels are a very good idea. It would be interesting to see how much heat is absorbed and radiated from the masonry after the stove has burned for a few days.

I included a pic of the front of the fireplace. There is a gas valve in the floor. The gas starter in the fireplace would need to be removed after the gas line is capped.

I also included a pic of the flue. It appears the fireplace has not been used very much. Is this flue a pretty standard arrangement? What is the procedure for installing a SS liner?

Thanks for all the advice.

PineKnot · Jun 26, 2009

I have zero experience with chimney liners, so I'm trying to catch up.

I took a picture looking up at the flue. Looking at the bricks, it appears the dimensions of the plate are 4" x 24". The plan would be to install a liner, hopefully in such a way that it could be returned to its original condition.

In general, can this plate be removed and the opening enlarged? Is the chimney likely to be 4" all the way to the top? I would have very good access to the top of the stove -- is it likely an adapter could be made from the stove to the liner?

I have a feeling I should have opened this and attempted to look up the chimney. It appears that the opening will not be very large, and I may need some kind of fiber optic camera to look around.

Any/all advice is much appreciated.

Wood Heat Stoves · Jun 26, 2009

i have a 4 page liner handout i could email you, pdf
pm me an email adress if you want it...

Mo Heat · Jun 26, 2009

PineKnot said:
Is this flue a pretty standard arrangement? What is the procedure for installing a SS liner?

My damper looked about as long as yours, but was six inches wide, which allowed attaching a six-inch wide by 12 - 14 inches long, flexible (just barely) adapter, which connected my stove to my solid SS chimney liner. My stove-to-SS-liner connector-adapter was super-heavy-duty SS, with accordion-like, sliding joints. It easily withstood a severe beating with a large, rubber mallet required for it to fit through my 6 inch damper cut-out (it was just slightly too big). I wasn't sure my installer was going to succeed in re-shaping it enough to fit through there, but he was a determined dude. It took him a good 10 or 20 minutes of somewhat disturbing violence to make it fit. You may be able to buy a similar, ovoid-shaped, stove-to-SS-liner-connector/adapter that fits through your 4" flue by using a similar rubber mallet beat-down technique.

Installation depends on the type of SS liner you get, some liners are smooth-sided, solid pipes, that come in 1, 2, and 4 foot lengths. Other SS liners are one-piece, continuous construction. But generally, you'll lower the liner down from the roof while cursing and busting your knuckles. Be sure to read your stove installation manual before getting started, in case your stove has an easy-to-attach adapter that removes from the stove and is fitted to the SS liner, or a connector/adapter, before moving the stove into place.

I've never actually done an install myself, so someone with more experience can give you more detail if you need it. I hired a pro to do mine because I didn't know much about anything at the time.

PineKnot said:
The plan would be to install a liner, hopefully in such a way that it could be returned to its original condition.

In general, can this plate be removed and the opening enlarged?

My installer used a reciprocating saw to remove my steel damper (what I think you are calling a "plate"). Some dampers may be cast iron and more worth salvaging, but perhaps more difficult to remove, intact. He said he'd never known anyone who wanted one replaced so I just went with his advice and allowed him to ruin it by hacking it out of there. I kept it anyway, just in case. I'll probably leave the stove here when I move, so he was probably right in my case.

I would think it is much easier to find an adapter that fits through your damper opening than to enlarge the masonry, but I'm not a mason.

PineKnot said:
Is the chimney likely to be 4" all the way to the top?

It's doubtful, but hard to say. You'll need to look. It's probably easier to see from the top.

PineKnot said:
-- is it likely an adapter could be made from the stove to the liner?

You may be able to buy an adapter. Someone here may suggest one, but I can't.

Wood Heat Stoves · Jun 26, 2009

since there has been som interest, i uploaded the pdf to our site....

http://woodheatstoves.com/images/ChimneyLinerhandout4pages.pdf

here is the pdf

Dune · Jun 26, 2009

I think it is an excellent setup. I would not try to block the heat from the bricks. Thermal mass is a good thing. Masonary heaters are 90% eficient, due primarily to thermal mass (usualy about 3 tons). In fact, I would consider installing an insert in the other fireplace as well and heating exclusively with wood, asuming you are home on a regular basis. With two fire boxes in that massonry wall, you should have nice even heat that will continue to radiate long past either fire is out.

BrotherBart · Jun 27, 2009

And that is the only fireplace I have seen on here that I would not recommend cutting out that damper frame. A lot of the charm of that fireplace is the size and old time design. The next person buying that house I could see wanting it right back like it was. For $150 they could put a chimney top damper on it but if you can manage to retain the original damper I think you will be glad later.

But getting through that damper frame with a liner is gonna be a groan.

PineKnot · Jun 27, 2009

Thanks for all the replies. This is really good advice.

It may be quite a job to get an adapter made to go through the damper opening. It is encouraging that there is so much room to maneuver with the big fireplace.

Having an insert on one side and a stove on the other would be really sweet. Talk about flexibility!

Thanks again!

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