Can I or can't I...... set stove in fireplace

[herdbull]

I would like to put a stove (Century S244e) in my fireplace. I found a nice one for a decent price. So I've searched high and low and can't seem to find a good answer or explanation as to if I can or can't. Or maybe a better question is should or shouldn't? Has anyone done this? I don't want any issues in terms of overheating or gases in the house.

I have 2 fireplaces. I put a Napolean 1101 insert in the one up stairs in the main living area. It heats my 1000 sq. feet, very open concept home great. I couldn't be happier. But my basement is cold. Some days really cold because my furnace don't run (yaaayyy!!) The cost of fuel oil isn't going down so I'd like it to not run. So I'm looking to put a used insert or stove in the fireplace in the basement when I stumbled on this century unit. I know they're somewhat of a bottom end economy stove but that's all I'm looking for to get some heat in the basement.

I have an all steel firebox which is approximately 24" deep x 36" wide x 32" tall at the shortest point and almost 46" tall at it's highest point. The chimney is clay lined and in good shape. I have a vaulted ceiling upstairs so almost all the chimney is interior and it is a massive brick structure some 20'+ all the way around and it sits in the center of the house.

I guess I don't see why you couldn't put a stove in the firebox without any trim piece on and just leave it open to the room. Get a stove pipe and run it up the chimney so far like a direct vent type and seal it off. I only have an 8" x 8" hole for a flue with an old school slide to close off the hole. There a small damper/airflow control on the bottom of the firebox for air in control when sealed up.

Any help or pointers would be great.

Thanks.

 

[HotCoals]

I don't see a prob.
Would think about a liner all the way up though.
Is this a separate chimney..nothing else on it?

 

[BrotherBart]

Lots of people do it and have done it. Including me. Line the chimney, install a damper level block off plate and get after it.

 

[begreen]

Welcome hb. As described, it sounds like it may work ok. Be sure the chimney is in good shape, no tile damage, no wood touching it. A full liner is better. How tall is the chimney?

 

[LLigetfa]

I have an all steel firebox which is approximately 24" deep x 36" wide x 32" tall...

It sounds like a builders special and not a full masonry fireplace. What exists for the mantle and overmantle? What combustibles are behind the face of the overmantle? The inspector may view it as an alcove install and require alcove CTC.

 

[herdbull]

From what I can see behind the steel boxe(s) is all brick as in 8" used for foundations. The outside in the basement is real field stone all the way around. Up stairs is smaller more decorative brick. This chimney stack is huge and I can walk all the way around it both upstairs and down stairs. It appears to be all brick/stone. No wood what so ever in the whole stack.

The upstairs is roughly a 16' vaulted ceiling with the fireplace in the middle of the house. My house is almost round as it has 6 sides. So the basement is all of 26' to the top of the chimney. Each fireplace has it's own clay lined chimney stack.

These block out plates don't appear to be much. Maybe 1/32" thick? Do they need to be S.S.?

 

[begreen]

Block off plate can be regular steel.

 

[LLigetfa]

From what I can see behind the steel boxe(s) is all brick as in 8" used for foundations.

That's good to hear. Funny how my mind's eye pictured something totally different.

What you call brick, we call block or CMU (concrete masonry unit).

 

[herdbull]

LOL, sorry about the confusion on the brick/block. So I just crawled up to a cut-out from the furnace room to the back of the fireplace. From what I can tell it's at least 24" to anthing flammable around the chimney. Probably closer to 30" and I would say it's that way all the way up.

This appears to be an easier project than I thought. I will have to search around here for a decent block off plate thread and read up. The only down side I see now is the stove doesn't have a blower. A quick internet search and it appears they are out there but will cost about 75% of what I can get the stove for. I may try without the blower and see what kind of heat I get out of it.

 

[woodchip]

Our stove sits within the original fireplace opening. The block off plate (called a register plate here) is made of 1/8 inch mild steel with a 6 inch circle cut into it for the flue to pass through, and just above the register plate outside is a soot door for easy access to the chimney for inspection and sweeping. Being in our lounge, the most difficult bit of the whole fitting was cleaning the old exposed brickwork up, the original builders obviously never intended anybody to see it and a whole load of repointing was needed, as well as clearing decades of burnt soot...... Everything else was easy next to that

 

[herdbull]

Thanks for all the info guys. In a matter of a few hours my questions were answered, I learned a lot and I found a place to come to find great info.

I pick the stove up today and have started ordering the couple pieces/parts that I need to install it.