Insert Sizing question

[Shadow&Flame]

I am needing a bit of advice on insert sizing. The room with the fireplace is a small room...around 220sqft with little to no airflow. I am trying to figure if I need a small insert or get a medium size and build smaller fires. I don’t think I should go any smaller than a 1.5cf firebox and nothing larger than a 2cf...does this sound about right? Im going to have to run fans all the time to keep the room to a low boil but I am tired of feeding good wood to an indoor campfire.

Thanks

S&F

 

[begreen]

What is the small room connected to in the house? If the next room is much larger or open then a medium insert could work. How much area are you trying to heat?

Also, is the door wall load bearing? You might want to consider opening up that doorway or wall to make the heat transfer easier.

 

[cmonSTART]

I would certainly look toward the smaller end of the spectrum. I would be surprised if you needed anything larger than a small stove and it's more efficient to build a small fire in a small stove than a small fire in a medium stove.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

BeGreen- The next room over is the Kitchen...and it isnt as big as the room with the fireplace.
The wall between the two has cabinets and the fridge so there is no way to open the room up at all.

cmonSTART- I was thinking along the same lines but most on this site talk about getting more CF in a stove or insert is better....

 

[cmonSTART]

cmonSTART- I was thinking along the same lines but most on this site talk about getting more CF in a stove or insert is better....

In the northern reaches of the country such as here in New Hampshire I would agree with that. I always tell my clients to go bigger when in doubt. You're pretty far South though. If you want the insert to be capable of heating most of the house and burning longer do consider the medium sized insert. You may have to work out some air flow issues though. Some of the mid sized Napoleon and Regency stoves I sell would probably run you out of the room pretty easily down there.

Of course, you could always open a window.... :cheese:

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Yeah, its funny to be talking about trying to find a stove when its 101F (109 Heat index) outside.
I think for my needs I should try and find a smaller insert...maybe something like the Lopi Answer or similar.... The house is around 2300sqft but it is laid out all wrong with large bedrooms. I am not worried about heating the bedrooms thou...like it cool anyway.

 

[begreen]

The Answer is a nice little insert. If you are just heating the area, it should be fine. However, if the goal is to get good burn times and/or lower heating bills, then opening up the room and going with a medium sized insert would help.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

I would prefer a medium sized insert over a small one. The Englander 13-NCI was also one I was looking into, but it doesnt have a much larger firebox than the Answer 1.6/1.8.

I would have to put in some sort of air movement system to get the air to circulate out of that small room...just havent had any great ideas on that subject as of late. I will have to do more research and try to figure something out.

Thanks guys

S&F

 

[begreen]

You would definitely need a fan blowing cool air from the larger room into the smaller room to keep that hobbit hole comfortable. The Answer is nice, but more expensive than the Englander and the .2 cu ft difference is nothing. There are small inserts like the Buck 21, Osburn 1100 and the Pacific Energy Vista in that size range too.

 

[dafattkidd]

Fire&Flame;
How do you heat the rest of your house?

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Electric Heat pump. Temps usually dont get too cold for too long down here. I just really like the extra heat and emergency utility of woodburning. If only my home was better suited for it... :shut:

S&F

 

[dafattkidd]

Cool. I had a Napoleon 1101 (1.7 cf firebox) That insert put out good heat and was very reasonable. I sold it and bought a larger insert to better suit my heating needs. But I really liked the way that little sucker burned wood. I think whatever you put in there you'll be happy with. Good luck!

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Thanks DFK...I will try and find something to work in there. I am just sick of feeding a fire like it was a steam train going up a mountain and only getting the one room warm. I want to be able to get all the heat out of the wood I can get. I have some ideas for moving the air around, but first need to decide on a stove type/size and then make the next steps. I figure I need to find a middle of the road insert with around a 2cf box and go from there.

S&F

 

[kingquad]

Do you have room for a stove on your hearth? Woodstock Keystone has good burn times and the soapstone should soften the heat a bit.

 

[EJL923]

go as big as you can with an insert. An insert is not like a traditional wood stove, and you will not get a lot of radiant heat. I rarely hear anyone say "my insert is too big". On top of that, if you lose power, you cannot run the blower and will rely on the radiant heat that it does put out.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

kingquad- Sorry I have not had time to respond to your question. I have not had much time of late to get on the computer. I dont have room for a hearth mount stove...hearth is just too shallow. It would take too much modification to make it fit.

EJL923- That seems to be the conundrum with a lot of these questions...half say get bigger other half say go a bit smaller. I would guess I am just going to have to split the diff and get one with about a 2cf box and see how it does. I was told by my chimney sweep and an installer that going with a larger stove would be a mistake, so I know not to go too large.

Thanks for the input

S&F

 

[EJL923]

From my experience with inserts, go big or you'll be sorry. You can always turn off or turn down the blower. My insert is flush face, si I would say 80% of my heat is from the blowers. Maybe others with some protruding inserts can chime in. Good luck in your search

 

[dafattkidd]

My insert comes into the room about 9" and it radiates a good amount of heat without the blowers on. We use it a lot more than I expected without the fan. I think you're on the right track with 2 cf firebox. I bought my insert from www.dynamitebuys.com The guy was super helpful and had the best price on the web. He has a pretty good selection of inserts. No brick and mortar stores though.

Also as has been said many times on this site- you can always build a small fire in a large firebox.