HELP! wood burner too hot or just right?

[fishboat]

I had my heart set on ripping out a 13 year-old cheap factory fireplace & installing a high efficiency fireplace (BIS Tradition CE). I'm starting to chicken out and lean toward a high-eff gas fireplace (now you know how much help I need)...maybe a H&Glo;6000GLX. I live in southern Wisconsin.

See the room below. The BIS unit puts out 50,000BTU, 2 cu ft box. The entire house (less basement) is 1700 sq ft. House is a 13 yr old Cape Code 1.5 story with a open 'great room' dining / kitchen area. The living room has a 17 foot vaulted ceiling with a ceiling fan. Upstairs is a open balcony & main b-room. Main heat is a lennox pulse burning LP.

I REALLY REALLY don't want to spend $6-7K doing the full install of the woodburner & then get blown out of the room when I fire it up due to too much heat. This is why I started leaning toward the gas option as it's easier to moderate the heat output.

Will the woodburner be overpowering? I'd like to avoid cooking the leather recliner that will be closest to the burner also.

I don't think there is much in the way of smaller woodburners available that will work....am I wrong?

thanks for any thoughts...

 

[begreen]

A 2 cu ft box for your climate doesn't seem like overkill. You have control over the air setting and amount of wood put in the stove. The open floorplan works to your advantage here. I think it will be fine.

 

[titan]

Like BG said,a medium to small insert wouldn't be overkill in your house.That 17' ceiling is a lot of space, and it gives you a good margin of error.If you're currently heating with propane, you could realize a fast ROI by installing a wood-burning insert.

 

[fishboat]

I'm not too concerned about the 50K output vs the total house as the open design, numerous ceiling fans & fan-only furnace blower should move the heat around OK.

My main concern is whether it will be too hot to sit comfortably in the main room itself. Will the radiant heat make the room (specifcally the recliner closest) too hot to sit in?....I don't want to bake in this room as it's the main seating area.

thanks..

 

[jtp10181]

Depending on how large your ZC box is, you might be able to put an insert into it. Although ripping it out and redoing the whole thing will look a lot nicer.

 

[fishboat]

I did consider an insert, but the factory fireplace interior is very small...only about 16-17 inches deep. I don't mind ripping it out as it isn't very attractive, it's what I replace it with that has be stumped at this point.

 

[mayhem]

I have a similar layout log cabin...square footage is in the same range and I installed a Morso 3610 this past spring...depending on which literature you read its rated between 48,000btu(max output in the manual) and 60,000btu (max output according to the Morso sales flyer). Thus far this year, when its up to temperature (about 350-450 stovetop temp measured just in front of the flue exit) it keeps pretty much the entire house warm and has negated us even considerng turning on the oil burning furnace with nighttime temps down to about 36 the other day. The thermostat immediately behind the stove which I use for the great room zone (which comprises fully 3/5 of the house...living room, dining, kitchen, upstairs loft covering the kitchen...the gt rm ceiling is 26' at the peak) typically reads close to 80 degrees, downstairs bedrooms just down the hall from the back of the stove run about 5-6 degrees cooler than that when I run the ceiling fan near the stove and the upstairs MBR suite shows about 7-8 degrees cooler, but the loft is pretty easily the hottest room in the house.

Overall I think this stove will be perfectly sized for my house to keep it very comfortable without it being overly hot in the deep winter months and will almost negate the need for the furnace on all but the coldest windiest nights. It sounds like your house is similar in layout to mine, but you have fewer cubic feet to heat since your ceilings are almost 10' shorter. You'll be fine in my opinion, but you will probably find it fairly warm during the fall and spring transitional months when the temps are in the 40's and low 50's...cool enough to need to heat the house, but not so cool that you run the wood burner full tilt.

You can regualt the output with the air controls, but if you find yourself running it low all the time, make sure to get the chimney checked and cleaned annually..just in case you're depositing alot of creosote.

 

[eernest4]

If I were you , I would consider putting a 45,000 btu pellet stove fireplace insert in .

Pellet stoves are vary controllable, with computer touch pannels, 4 to 6 pellet feed rates and 6 room air circulation fan speeds.

Get some serious heat from that hole in the wall you call a fireplace and retire your lp gas furnace and your wallet will thank you for it.

cut your winter heat bill by 66% and your fall and spring heat bill by 100%.

pellets are $5.oo for a 40 lb bag that last 4 to 7 days or longer , depending on outside temp and how hot you like it inside.

Also, new pellet stoves are automatic ignition , auto on/off , 80 or 120 lb pellet hoppers and now with 12 volt dc motors, will run up to 400 hours from a car battery , during a power outage.
That is called a pellet stove with battery back up.

You never have to set a fire or even lite a pellet stove , thermostat opperation like your furnace. You only have to dump in 1 bag of pellets every 2 to 5 days. That take you 3 to 4 minutes.

If you like to look at pretty flames , you can still do that with a pellet stove but if you want a fireplace insert wood loaded with blowers , that good 2.

How much heat you get is directly determined by the size of the firewood load you lay in the fireplace. so you dont have to worry about frying your furnature.

You make small fires a little more often. never load firebox more than 1/2 full ,or you will
fry your leather chair.

If you forget and do overload the firebox, you can save the day by shutting off the primary
air supply and denying the fire air to burn so that the fire goes out but you will still have 2 wait 10 minutes for the excess heat 2 disapate. Also, the fire does not really go out, it is still cherry red in there and only waiting for the least bit of air to burst back to flames.

Your insert---- may--- again MAY-- have a smoke stack exhaust air damper plate , the way all wood stoves do and closing this as well as the primary air will cool off a fire real quick.

Using that combination, I have droped a 1200 deg. fire back to 500 deg in about 6 minutes
back when i was stupid and put a full load of wood in a stove.

Now i never load over 2/3 on the the coldest winter days and usually 1/2 or less so overfired stoves are no longer a problem.

This is the right place to come to learn the arts of wood& pellet burning.

do get either a pellet or wood insert. If you get a fancy pretty wood insert to please your wife
consider a free standing pellet stove of at least 45,000 btu for elsewhere in your house and retire your lp gas furnace and your wallet will thank you. You can save 66% of your yearly heating bill with just the pellet stove. With the pellet stove , wood burning fireplace insert,
you should save 80 % of your yearly heating bill.

I cut the electric wires to my oil burner, permanently, because it was drinking $7,000.oo
a year in oil and paid 4-- 2/3 of the red car you see at upper left with the savings in just 2 yrs.

I run a 200,000 btu wood burning stove in my basement and a 50,000 btu pellet stove as backup for when i am 2 tired to lite a fire. These are my only sources of heat for a 3,600
sq ft 2 story 10 room uninsulated house. so far , saved $14,000.oo on not buying oil 4 -2 yrs.

 

[begreen]

Assuming you don't have a mega furnace in the basement running, pellets will last about a day per hopper load in winter.

 

[fishboat]

Mayhem,
Your setup sound fairly similar. On the spring & fall moderate days I'll probably use the LP furnace to take the edge off. The woodburner would be for when winter sets in for real. If I do NEED a fire on the 40-50 degree days the BIS burner has a screen to use if you'd like to burn as a near-conventional fireplace.

Mayhem-BG-anyone, Any thoughts on the radiant heat vs distance from the stove? I haven't lived with a burner like this like many-most here on the site. I've felt the intense wall of heat close to a stoked stove at the local dealer, but this was a larger capacity stove and it was fairly loaded up.

Any idea how hot it'll be 6 feet from the stove that's loaded around half-3/4 full? If I have to load it more often to keep the heat down I'm fine with that....it's better than going with a gas fireplace.

thanks again..

 

[begreen]

It will be warmer than say 10 ft away, but not uncomfortably so. I can sit for hours 6 ft away from my stove.

However, it may dry out the leather a little over the years, so you might want to give it oiling or treatment as per the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

[North of 60]

eernest4 Mind telling me the name of your 200,000 Btu stove. You never did mention the offset cost for wood or how many cords your neucler 200,000Btu stove burns. If home made its worse than driving your fancy red car around without insurance. 3500sq with no coverage?

 

[fishboat]

BG...that's what I wanted to hear....I was just about to set up the install order & had a last minute case of cold-feet as I wasn't sure it would work.

I did check with a fine-furniture guy I know about leather being 6 feet from the stove(the chair ran me close to 2 grand). He said there were no issues as long as I treat it occasionally.

Thank You!

I'll post some pics when I get it done.

 

[eernest4]

high north of 60,

so, you 2 years older than me , hum?

Im not sure that it is 200,000 btu only that its replacing a 200,000 btu oil burner I cant afford to turn on. It doesnt have any name tag, model # or anything on it but their might be something on the door. i suspect someone with a kick butt welding shop custom made it because it has 3 sets of hot water coils in it too. Firebox is 2ft x2ft in front and 2x3 in back with 3 ft deep firebox.
it is a front burning step top stove. It is well tested with about 180 days run time on it now.

What was that crack about no insurance susposed to mean.

 

[eernest4]

dear be green ,i dont get your 1 day per hopper load post . were you talking to me or some one else.
basement has big wood stove. living room has 50,000 btu pellet stove does 1 bag 40 lbs in 1.5 or 2.5 days at -10 deg if i use it as sole source of heat and maintain 67 deg inside.
usually, 1 bag last 4-6 days.

 

[North of 60]

high north of 60,

so, you 2 years older than me , hum?

Im not sure that it is 200,000 btu only that its replacing a 200,000 btu oil burner I cant afford to turn on. It doesnt have any name tag, model # or anything on it but their might be something on the door. i suspect someone with a kick butt welding shop custom made it because it has 3 sets of hot water coils in it too. Firebox is 2ft x2ft in front and 2x3 in back with 3 ft deep firebox.
it is a front burning step top stove. It is well tested with about 180 days run time on it now.

What was that crack about no insurance susposed to mean.

No crack. Just wondered about your house insurance if your oil furnace is disconnected. Your main source of heat is coming from a non certified stove. Right? This install was inspected? Did it come with the house. Is your 180 day approval OK with the insurance company? Thats all. :coolhmm:

 

[DiscoInferno]

I'm heating my 2000 sqft house (MD) with the BIS Ultima, which is also a 2cf firebox. It's in our living room where a prefab unit used to be; the end of one couch is probably only 4' away, the other more like 10'. The closer seat can get a little warm sometimes; then I just move to the other couch. The cats love the close seat. I find that most of the hot air heads right for the ceiling and then the stairs, so while it might be 85 at the ceiling it's 72 at sitting level. Your weather should be colder than mine, so I think you'll be fine. Gas is boring, get the wood fireplace!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

gas is bad, wood is better. keep that cash in the local comunity. i would rather pay one of my neighbours for fuel than some big co.