First of all, I am new to the site but have been reading around for the past week or so and I have found a lot of useful information. Now on to my situation. I have a 3000sf single level house with electric central heat and air in central Arkansas that was built 10 years ago. I currently have an open zero clearance fireplace on an interior wall that is nice to look at but does not do much for heating the house. I love to have a nice fire in the fireplace when it is cold out and I also like to get out on my land and cut, haul, split and stack firewood. I have been doing this for several years and have access to all the hardwood I could ever need. I would like to get a wood burning insert or a more efficient zero clearance fireplace to heat as much of the house as I can. I checked with my local dealer and they only had one insert that would fit into my current zero clearance fireplace and was approved for this application. It is not eligible for the tax credit and is pretty small (1.3cf firebox). I have seen some zero clearance fireplaces mentioned on here that qualify for the tax credit, but they seem pretty expensive and I am wondering how much heat they actually put out? Also, winters in central Arkansas tend to be pretty mild compared to the winters up north (lows typically in the 20s and 30s and occasionally into the teens) so I don't want to get something that is going to burn us out of the room. Anyone have any advice?
Advice needed
- Thread starter HogPharm
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BeGreen said:
I need to measure tonight to be sure on the width but the height of the opening is 18" and the depth is 13" flush to the outside.
I doubt you will be able to heat 3000 sq ft with anything that fits in there. I'd put a freestanding stove(catalytic for a mild climate) in front and run the flue pipe through the ZC.
Den said:
Yeah, I realize I will not be able to heat the whole house with an insert at this point without making some changes. This Buck model 18 will fit in my current ZC http://www.buckstove.com/wood/model18.html. I need to see how big my rough opening is to see if one of the bigger ZC fireplaces will fit.
It sounds to me like it gets plenty cold enough where you live to justify a decent stove, unless that is, electricity is awful cheap down there. Is electricity that cheap there? Any good jobs for metal workers around there?
Dune said:
I don't know that electricity is all that cheap here but even in the coldest months of winter my electricity bill is rarely above $300 per month. I definitely want a new stove but I have not decided what the best option is for me yet. I am going to some dealers on Friday to look around some more. What kind of metal work are you looking for?
HogPharm said:
Doesn't much matter, though I do like the high paying variety better. I can work in most any type of metal shop, from HVAC all the way to CNC, with over thirty years in the trade. At heart I am an artist-blacksmith, but I paid my dues in industry.
Dune said:
I am sure there are some around but I am in the pharmacy business so the metal working industry is something that I am not all that familiar with. I have a good friend here that grew up in Cape Cod and he is always telling me stories from when he lived there.
Highs here are still in the mid-90s this week but I know the cold weather is coming. I am going to check out a few different vendors tomorrow to see what they have to offer me.
Well, it looks like my current ZC is not going to be big enough for any of the inserts that I want and the old lady does not like the look of the inserts and wants one of the bigger ZC fireplaces. Right now I am looking at the Kozy Heat ZC42 http://www.kozyheat.com/products/woodburning/z42cd/index.html and the Heatilator Constitution http://heatilator.com/products/fireplaces/woodFireplaceDetail.asp?f=Constitution. These things seem to be more expensive than the inserts I was looking at and will require me to do some work getting the old ZC out and putting things back together. The Kozy is $1000 cheaper than the Heatilator. Anyone have any opinions on these?
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