Questions from a newby.

Welcome to the forum. I'd go with the Fireplace extraordinaire it's a very good well built fireplace. You might want to also consider a centrally located wood stove on a nice hearth, it would be cheaper and heat the whole house better without the use of fans and blowers. An inside chimney has many advantages over an outside but you also need the space for it.

I think the key is to insulate the box (chase) that you build outside - up to a certain height (ceiling height of the first floor or so), and then you should should not have any problem. Also, use a unit which accepts solid insulated chimney as opposed to air-insulated.

All of those units are decent, but you should lean toward two things IMHO. First, look for those which heat well without a blower (even if a blower is options). Also, lean toward the larger fireboxes...doesn't have to be the biggest, but not the smallest either....because you are probably going to burn softer woods in Alaska.

Although the FPX is a nice unit (I sold them for years), I might not choose it for a super cold climate and also it has more parts, blowers, etc. than some of the other. I might be behind the times, but earlier ones were catalytic and used air-cooled pipe.

Todd said:

You might want to also consider a centrally located wood stove on a nice hearth, it would be cheaper and heat the whole house better without the use of fans and blowers. An inside chimney has many advantages over an outside but you also need the space for it.

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This was my first thought when I read your post earlier.
If you are still in the design stages, and if you want wood heat to cover a large percentage of your heating needs a more open floor plan with a gorgeous, centrally located freestanding stove would be my choice.
Only you know what you want the installation to handle and how you live.
But I'd open floor plan/stove it in a hot minute.

Cearbhaill said:

Todd said:

You might want to also consider a centrally located wood stove on a nice hearth, it would be cheaper and heat the whole house better without the use of fans and blowers. An inside chimney has many advantages over an outside but you also need the space for it.

Click to expand...

This was my first thought when I read your post earlier.
If you are still in the design stages, and if you want wood heat to cover a large percentage of your heating needs a more open floor plan with a gorgeous, centrally located freestanding stove would be my choice.
Only you know what you want the installation to handle and how you live.
But I'd open floor plan/stove it in a hot minute.

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That was on purpose, wasn't it? Funny. :lol:

I have to agree on the freestanding, if room allows. Looks like the laundry room and adjacent bathroom could be a little cool, maybe plan on some ducting (within code) to get some heat back there. Other than that, looks like a good open layout. MUCH easier to do all these changes while still in planning and building stages.

Welcome Gillen, It is good you are thinking this through and also seeking advice. Either keep the chimney inside, or insulate it to the hilt if it is exterior, especially in your climate. Makes sense to keep it inside. However, since it will now "bump in" to your living area you might as well consider a free standing stove. Modern stoves have a nice large viewing window that will more than equal the pleasure of a typical fireplace. You can always simulate the look of a fireplace wall behind your stove. The stove will be less expensive, an easier install, and heat easier.

With that floor plan, I would consider a central location next to the entry closet and stairs. It would mean giving up a bit of space in BED #2 to a chase but if you vented the chase on the foyer side it would heat the upstairs nicely. My former home had an RSF but with a central chimney. My current home has the same model RSF bumped into the room and the chimney chased up the interior of an exterior wall of the master WIC.

I'd sure try to alter these plans to put a 3 CF freestanding stove in a central location with class A chimney in a ventilated chase from 2nd floor to cap. If you truly want to rely on wood heat when -20F...a ZC fireplace hanging outside the house isn't best option. Maybe place stove to right of "dn" in top pic? And price wise - Englander 30NC, 6 ' singlewall pipe, 14' Class A, ceiling support kit, chase, hearth would be $2200 or so, if you did work yourself.

Gillen said:

You know, over by the entry would work, mainly because the stairs to the basement will not be there, an option that was not in the bugdet. Also the coin saved would be a bonus!! I think I would enjoy a freestanding stove over the Z.C. type anyway, seems to me they give off more heat and it would definitly heat the upstairs better. So a 3 CF. stove would be good? would you go any smaller? How would the vent for the chimney work? Is it a hole cut in the sheetrock with a vent? Or is there more involved? Gillen

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I'd go even bigger then 3cf being in your climate. Hearthstone equinox is one beast of a stove! and real pretty to boot!
Go BIG

BeGreen said:

Gillen said:

This is a good Idea. Space wise that area wasnt going to be used much anyway, and with the stairs to the basement gone I can run the chimney strait up the wall of bedroom #2 on the hallway side of the room, not an ideal location but possible. How big would the chase box need to be?

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The pipe needs 2" clearance from combustibles and is 8" OD for 6" pipe, so the ID of the chase needs to be 12", add framing and cladding to come up with the final OD. With 2x3s and 1/2" rock it would stick out about 15" into the room.

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If you let it into the wall, it won't protrude so far into the room. Install a cold air return grille at the baseboard and a low profile grille at the top of the chase. You would be surprised how much air moves through the chase. Consider framing the chase with 2x2 metal studs. They will stay straight as an arrow and don't burn either.

Gillen said:

My plan is to use wood heat most of the time I am home in the winter, I work on the north slope on a set rotation, leaving the wife to make the fire when Im gone SO.................. slim to no chance on that!!

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Don't write her off just yet.
Let her be involved in the process and come here to read and learn and she might surprise you.
Lots of the fires around here are run by women
The warmth is like no other and I will not do without it!
She'll get spoiled too, you'll see.

Get her some Super Cedars. So easy a cavewoman can do it.

Gillen,

I'm so curious as to what you have decided or are going to do... My floor plan looks a lot like yours and I'm in the same boat trying to decide to get some of those fireplace brands you mentioned (how I found this thread, looked at the Supreme Plus at AK Fireplace today). Everybody talks about how great wood stoves are over fireplaces, but the dealers seem to LOVE the new EPA fireplaces for heat. So I really don't know what to do now. I have a place (kind of like yours) wehre I could put a stove, but it would take up good living room space...and we already have a 9' bump out there where we've planned to put a fireplace for 10 years and are finally getting to it. I don't want to give up so much living room if I don't have to for a stove, and I'd like to install shelves on either side of the fireplace to stash some of the electronics and other things b/c we'll have to move things around.

I tend to wonder if most of the people on here use woodstoves and that's why they encourage others to go with them, or if they really are that much better than a new EPA high preformance fireplace... <sigh>

I think a lot of my problem is I just don't have enough money to do either yet and so I'm obsessing about what I should buy when I do.

-Valley neighbor.

Never used an EPA high performance fireplace, but I'd think that there's no way an inset wood-burning system would provide more heat than a freestanding one of equal efficiency (and there's only so much efficincy you can get out of a wood heat system, whether fireplace or stove). Regardless, you are providing heat on all sides of the unit. The fireplace has to get that heat around to the front, where a stove is a better design for radiating that heat in all directions. Any way you look at it, there is a reduced heating efficiency in a fireplace vs a stove. Not saying a fireplace won't offer excellent heat, but part of that heat gets stuck behind the fireplace and never leaves.