Good Evening Folks,
First time on this forum so please excuse my ignorance. I recently purchased a new (to me) home. Brick construction, 1950 square feet, good insulation, not so good windows, all floors are either hardwood or tile so it can get a little chilly at times. I have been around wood heat most of my life, my parents had an Ashley insert for years and my previous house had a wood stove. This home has two fireplaces, at purchase both had olllllllld gas logs. I snatched one set out recently (will get the other set later) and had a chimney sweeper come inspect the chimney I will be using since I had no idea how much it had been used prior to the gas logs. He gave me an all clear and said that they had been cleaned prior to the logs and needed no attention.
The design of the fireplace limits me to an insert, so I began my search for a nice model. Budget is not terribly strict, but I would prefer to stay in the $500-$1,000 range if at all possible. I can spend more if necessary, but being in central Georgia I am not terribly dependent on a heat source for more than a few months a year.
I found a local gentleman with a barely used Long Wood Burning Stove Insert Model 1662 for sale at from what I can gather a decent price. He is asking $500, but I think I can get him down a little. It is in almost new condition, guy before him used it a few times and put in gas logs and he used it very little. Looks excellent. So my questions begin if some of you kind folks can help me out.
1) Is this a good stove? I don't need the absolute best available for our mild winters, but I don't want to waste money on a sub par product.
2) What about sizing? This stove is approx 36" wide 25" tall and 16" deep, My fire place (is that correct terminology in your area?) is approx 39" wide 25" tall and 19.5" deep and tapers sharply all the way back to 31". It seems that this insert will fit, but does it need to fit better than this?
3) What about a chimney liner? My chimney is brick all the way up with a U Shaped cap and is fairly open, will this work effectively or will I need to ask the chimney guy about a liner.
4) Since there will be so much dead space at the back of the fire box and on the sides of the insert is there some sort of insulation I should have installed?
5) Should I scratch the idea of saving a few dollars and spend the money to get a new stove, that fits perfectly?
I know there are some things I am not considering so if you have any advice to offer, by all means please do I am looking forward to it.
I have a couple cords of dried white oak in the back yard waiting for someone to burn it and a stihl 461 with a 25, 22 and 20 inch bar and a 180 c to knock of limbs with waiting to get back to work (I cut for my family and my father in law).
Thanks in advance for the advice, I appreciate it.
First time on this forum so please excuse my ignorance. I recently purchased a new (to me) home. Brick construction, 1950 square feet, good insulation, not so good windows, all floors are either hardwood or tile so it can get a little chilly at times. I have been around wood heat most of my life, my parents had an Ashley insert for years and my previous house had a wood stove. This home has two fireplaces, at purchase both had olllllllld gas logs. I snatched one set out recently (will get the other set later) and had a chimney sweeper come inspect the chimney I will be using since I had no idea how much it had been used prior to the gas logs. He gave me an all clear and said that they had been cleaned prior to the logs and needed no attention.
The design of the fireplace limits me to an insert, so I began my search for a nice model. Budget is not terribly strict, but I would prefer to stay in the $500-$1,000 range if at all possible. I can spend more if necessary, but being in central Georgia I am not terribly dependent on a heat source for more than a few months a year.
I found a local gentleman with a barely used Long Wood Burning Stove Insert Model 1662 for sale at from what I can gather a decent price. He is asking $500, but I think I can get him down a little. It is in almost new condition, guy before him used it a few times and put in gas logs and he used it very little. Looks excellent. So my questions begin if some of you kind folks can help me out.
1) Is this a good stove? I don't need the absolute best available for our mild winters, but I don't want to waste money on a sub par product.
2) What about sizing? This stove is approx 36" wide 25" tall and 16" deep, My fire place (is that correct terminology in your area?) is approx 39" wide 25" tall and 19.5" deep and tapers sharply all the way back to 31". It seems that this insert will fit, but does it need to fit better than this?
3) What about a chimney liner? My chimney is brick all the way up with a U Shaped cap and is fairly open, will this work effectively or will I need to ask the chimney guy about a liner.
4) Since there will be so much dead space at the back of the fire box and on the sides of the insert is there some sort of insulation I should have installed?
5) Should I scratch the idea of saving a few dollars and spend the money to get a new stove, that fits perfectly?
I know there are some things I am not considering so if you have any advice to offer, by all means please do I am looking forward to it.
I have a couple cords of dried white oak in the back yard waiting for someone to burn it and a stihl 461 with a 25, 22 and 20 inch bar and a 180 c to knock of limbs with waiting to get back to work (I cut for my family and my father in law).
Thanks in advance for the advice, I appreciate it.
