Need Help - Low clearance wood stoves

[SusieQ]

Ok, I know absolutely nothing about wood stoves so bare with me please. I'm on the hunt for a low clearance wood stove. I've been looking online for weeks now and I can't seem to find one OR I'm just not sure what I really need. I recently bought a home with a wood stove insert (small one). It doesn't put out much heat, so I wanted to switch to a wood stove. I don't want to damage the fireplace so I want the stove to vent out of the fireplace chimney. My problem is that the top opening of the fireplace is only 25 inches tall. So I need a stove that is short enough with a back flue exit that will fit up the chimney. Does anyone know if a stove that small that will put out a fair amount of heat? Thanks for any comments or suggestions in advance!!

 

[Woody Stover]

Welcome to the forums. This is a masonry fireplace, not a zero-clearance, correct? With that short of a lintel, I think an insert is going to be the only thing that will fit without altering the stove. Even the Jotuls with short-leg kits don't look like they will fit.
How big an area do you want to heat? Open layout? There are some inserts that put out a lot of heat...

 

[SusieQ]

Welcome to the forums. This is a masonry fireplace, not a zero-clearance, correct? With that short of a lintel, I think an insert is going to be the only thing that will fit without altering the stove. Even the Jotuls with short-leg kits don't look like they will fit.
How big an area do you want to heat? Open layout? There are some inserts that put out a lot of heat...

Thanks for the quick reply. It is a masonry fireplace. Funny thing, this fireplace is in the basement! So I wanted to supplement some heat upstairs. My home is 1800 sq ft (not including the basement). I was kinda thinking I was going to be stuck with a insert. Might have to look into a pellet stove instead which stinks, since I live in the quiet corner of CT.....LOADS of trees!

 

[Ashful]

Also, remember the clearances are "clearances to combustibles". If the item violating the specified clearance is non-combustible, then it is not an issue. I have one of my stoves installed with only 4 inches clearance on the rear, but that clearance is to the solid masonry wall that is the back of my fireplace.

Disclaimer: this does require you to know a bit about the construction of your home, to determine if a wall is truly non-combustible. For example, a single course of stone applied over a framed wall is not "non-combustible".

 

[SusieQ]

So maybe it is possible still? I won't be doing any of the work myself (THANK GOD). The guy who is installing is looking for a stove for me also but I thought I would ask all you experts if anyone knew of a stove that had a flue exit shorter that 25 inches that would possibly work.

 

[Woody Stover]

this fireplace is in the basement! So I wanted to supplement some heat upstairs. My home is 1800 sq ft (not including the basement)

Results are mixed when trying to heat the upstairs from the basement. First, the basement must be finished and insulated or you will lose 1/3 of the heat to the outdoors or into the ground. Then the stove must be close to the stairs to move appreciable heat upstairs. You would want a stove with a blower down there, to heat and move air. A radiant stove will spend more of its output heating objects within line-of-sight of the stove. If you are spending most of your time upstairs, you have to go up and down the stairs to run a basement stove...major PITA. If you're mostly upstairs, maybe you can locate the stove up there, tap into the chimney and run a liner the rest of the way to the top. Or you could just go straight up through the roof, which would probably be the easiest and cheapest. Locating the stove upstairs, you pick just about any stove, not just rear-vent models, which aren't common. Hopefully, others with more experience along these lines will chime in. From what I've heard, pellet stoves are noisy, and you are then depending on out-sourced fuel. I like controlling my own fuel supply.

 

[Woody Stover]

I would have any installation work done by a CSIA-certified professional.