How much of a difference is there in having an enclosedchimney.

[farmer]

My son bought a house and wants a wood stove to take the edge off the heating bill. It’s an old 2 story house roughly 600 square feet on each level. Two levels. I know the more the chimney is enclosed the better. Option 1 is that there is a 3 ft dead space in the living room going up where there is an old brick chimney. Best place for it but would be tracking and bringing wood across the room all the time. The other option is on the other side of the living room there is an entrance from the outside to a little addition. The problem is its one story and I bet 6 to 8 ft of pipe would be not enclosed in the house. This spot would be out of the way of traffic and could keep the mess just in that spot without tracking across the living room.
i know having as much of the chimney in the house is the best but just wondering if he could get away with the install on the one story part.
Hope this makes sense on what I’m trying to say.

 

[Socratic Monologue]

We have a stove in our living room, center of the room. We burn it most days and overnights during the winter The wood has to come up the garage stairs, through a hallway, across a large kitchen, and across the LR. We use two nylon firewood totes, and there is no mess from the moving of the wood at all. I keep a pair of outdoor slippers in the garage and then kick them off before I come in the house, and the totes contain all of the wood mess.

I say put the stove in the best place for proper function of the stove. That "old brick chimney" might not be as usable as you think, though, and there are some requirements for chimney height on the 'first floor only' scenario that might come into play.

 

[Grizzerbear]

We have a stove in our living room, center of the room. We burn it most days and overnights during the winter The wood has to come up the garage stairs, through a hallway, across a large kitchen, and across the LR. We use two nylon firewood totes, and there is no mess from the moving of the wood at all. I keep a pair of outdoor slippers in the garage and then kick them off before I come in the house, and the totes contain all of the wood mess.

I say put the stove in the best place for proper function of the stove. That "old brick chimney" might not be as usable as you think, though, and there are some requirements for chimney height on the 'first floor only' scenario that might come into play.

Not much more advice to add on above post farmer. That old chimney is likely in need of repair....will probably need cleaned and will result in installation being more expensive. Also like stated if its in the center of the house it will stay cleaner and perform better and likely heat more of your house easier.

 

[Grizzerbear]

My stove is in the living room with carpet beyond hearth. I bring wood in and never have more than some bark crumbs around the hearth that vaccumes up easy. A area rug/rugs will protect flooring if you are worried about staining the carpet or what have you.

 

[Sawset]

Bringing wood across a floor doesn't need to be messy. Canvas totes, or a cart on wheels can eliminate that almost completely.
I would not trust a brick chimney in an old farm house without lining it with insulated stainless flex piping.
The 6-8ft of class A stainless insulated piping above the roof should not be an issue as far as problems of having a cold flue. The centered chimneys of yesteryear were located such because none of the insulated materials of today were available then. I live in a similar climate as yours, have several feet (at least 6-8) of insulated class A stainless above roof line and have seen no problem with creosote and such from a chilled or cool flue.
In the end, put the stove where you want for aesthetics and traffic patterns. The venting and wood carrying appear to be less of an issue here.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I have a through the wall class a chimney install. My 18 foot chimney is fully exposed to the outside here in Maine and it gets pretty cold. I burn well seasoned wood (3-4 years split and stacked) and I have basically no creosote formation. When I clean every spring I get a few cups of soot and that's it. Dry wood and hot fires equal no creosote even with an exposed chimney.