Hi all,
I'm new to hearth.com - fantastic site with a lot of great info! I'm thinking of getting a woodstove while Uncle Sam is offering the credit. Here's what I have/what I'm looking for:
1) house is uninsulated, 85 yrs. old, 3 story twin, has exterior masonry chimney, clay liner (8" x 12") and brick fireplace. (yes, house is very drafty, but I'm replacing windows as I can, and hope to someday insulate as much as possible - I still have knob/tube wiring, so updating is costly/taking a while)
2) I'd only be using stove on weekends as I'm not home much during the week, and I'm looking to heat only the 1st and 2nd floors. Stairs to 2nd floor run up right next to fireplace so heat up to 2nd floor should not be a problem.
3) I honestly don't need to get up to 75 F - I'm just looking to take the chill off - 55-60 would be balmy to me (t-stat is set on 45, yes, toes get cold! - and yes, I read the article of the couple up in ME that weren't heating their house! But look, they bought a woodstove, and there's a reason I'm looking to buy one too!
Here are my issues:
1) I have a unique and possibly difficult/impossible install situation in that my second floor bathroom stack pipe runs through the chimney flue (yes, crazy/quaint buildings in my neighborhood with unique history) 4 yrs. ago, I had to have my plumber break out the old cast iron stack pipe from the flue as it split down it's side after 80 years of rust/periodic fires heating it, etc. When I flushed, water was splashing into the fireplace (hole above the hearth is still there as I've pondered my options, as well as the hole behind the gas boiler in the basement). So replacement stack pipe is currently PVC as it was easiest for plumber to fish the length of PVC he needed down 2 stories. But this means I only have 2 inches of clearance from where a 6" flex stainless liner would be placed, going up thru flu to/thru ceramic liner. Can this be done? Is 2" enough clearance if I were to use that vermiculite mix to insulate between the liner and the PVC pipe? I guess my ultimate question is how hot does the exterior of a stainless flex liner get and would it melt the PVC stack pipe? If so, and that vermiculite mix would not work to insulate, what if I just replaced the section of PVC stack pipe that runs up thru the flu with cast iron again (would have to check with plumber about whether weight of cast iron could be supported by the length of PVC in basement) Ie: how far would the liner have to be from the pipe in order for there to be acceptable clearance?
2) I have a bead on a used, clean 2006 Jotul F 3 CB, which would fit very nicely inside the fireplace with top-mounted piping. The former owner used rear mounted pipe. Can the stove be retrofited to be used as top-mount again after that back portion is broken out? and would a 2006 Jotul apply for the tax credit? (I couldn't tell from the manufacturers certificate as they don't note years that apply, just models)
3) Can the flex pipe be attached directly to the top of the stove or is intermediate non-flex pipe necessary? The fireplace dimensions are relatively small (36"w x 32" h x 24" d), I've sort of set my mind on the Jotul F 3 CB because of it's ability to fit into the fireplace so that the top-mounted piping can be flexed up through the twisty portion of the flue above the damper - above the damper it goes up at about a 45 degree angle, but back some too - flex liner is probably the only way it will work!
I'll start here, even though I have more questions!
I'm new to hearth.com - fantastic site with a lot of great info! I'm thinking of getting a woodstove while Uncle Sam is offering the credit. Here's what I have/what I'm looking for:
1) house is uninsulated, 85 yrs. old, 3 story twin, has exterior masonry chimney, clay liner (8" x 12") and brick fireplace. (yes, house is very drafty, but I'm replacing windows as I can, and hope to someday insulate as much as possible - I still have knob/tube wiring, so updating is costly/taking a while)
2) I'd only be using stove on weekends as I'm not home much during the week, and I'm looking to heat only the 1st and 2nd floors. Stairs to 2nd floor run up right next to fireplace so heat up to 2nd floor should not be a problem.
3) I honestly don't need to get up to 75 F - I'm just looking to take the chill off - 55-60 would be balmy to me (t-stat is set on 45, yes, toes get cold! - and yes, I read the article of the couple up in ME that weren't heating their house! But look, they bought a woodstove, and there's a reason I'm looking to buy one too!
Here are my issues:
1) I have a unique and possibly difficult/impossible install situation in that my second floor bathroom stack pipe runs through the chimney flue (yes, crazy/quaint buildings in my neighborhood with unique history) 4 yrs. ago, I had to have my plumber break out the old cast iron stack pipe from the flue as it split down it's side after 80 years of rust/periodic fires heating it, etc. When I flushed, water was splashing into the fireplace (hole above the hearth is still there as I've pondered my options, as well as the hole behind the gas boiler in the basement). So replacement stack pipe is currently PVC as it was easiest for plumber to fish the length of PVC he needed down 2 stories. But this means I only have 2 inches of clearance from where a 6" flex stainless liner would be placed, going up thru flu to/thru ceramic liner. Can this be done? Is 2" enough clearance if I were to use that vermiculite mix to insulate between the liner and the PVC pipe? I guess my ultimate question is how hot does the exterior of a stainless flex liner get and would it melt the PVC stack pipe? If so, and that vermiculite mix would not work to insulate, what if I just replaced the section of PVC stack pipe that runs up thru the flu with cast iron again (would have to check with plumber about whether weight of cast iron could be supported by the length of PVC in basement) Ie: how far would the liner have to be from the pipe in order for there to be acceptable clearance?
2) I have a bead on a used, clean 2006 Jotul F 3 CB, which would fit very nicely inside the fireplace with top-mounted piping. The former owner used rear mounted pipe. Can the stove be retrofited to be used as top-mount again after that back portion is broken out? and would a 2006 Jotul apply for the tax credit? (I couldn't tell from the manufacturers certificate as they don't note years that apply, just models)
3) Can the flex pipe be attached directly to the top of the stove or is intermediate non-flex pipe necessary? The fireplace dimensions are relatively small (36"w x 32" h x 24" d), I've sort of set my mind on the Jotul F 3 CB because of it's ability to fit into the fireplace so that the top-mounted piping can be flexed up through the twisty portion of the flue above the damper - above the damper it goes up at about a 45 degree angle, but back some too - flex liner is probably the only way it will work!
I'll start here, even though I have more questions!
