old fireplace "superior" or heatilator type what insert options??

[crowinghen]

Hi-
Hubby and i are buying a home that was built in the 1950's or so. It has a fireplace that has a venting area above the firebox, and metal tubes that seem to circulate air. There is a metal backing plate in the firebox itself. The hearth and chimney are made of brick.
We want to put in a woodburning insert. Will we need ro go with a zero clearance approved unit or will a standard insert be ok? We would put in a properly rated pipe from the insert to the top of the chimney. We will have an installer do the work, It's too important to have it done right.
Also the home is about 1000 sq feet and not insulated at all ( at this time but we will add insulation), house is a waterfront fixer upper so there's lots of things to do. but having heat would be nice.
I also have a call out to a recommended woodstove recommended installer, but I thought I'd ask here for other opinions.
I can post a picture when I get home tonight.
thanks for any help!

Susie

 

[etiger2007]

The picture of my wood burning insert in my avatar is an Osburn 2000 wood insert installed in a Superior Heatform metal firebox. My chimney is clay tiled lined and brick. You can do it just have it professonally inspected. We also had to cut out those round tubes for the stainless steel liner to hook up to the insert. Make sure and it will be hard this year to have seasoned wood and that means wood split and stacked for over a year (oak 2-3 years), you and your insert will be happier. Sorry for the duplicate pictures my computer didnt show they downloaded to the site.

 

[crowinghen]

Hi!
Thanks for the pics and the info! I esp like the cover for the venting area.
We have wood already, we have a freestanding woodstove in our primary residence, I forgot to say this is a vacation home.
I am trying to reach an installer as we speak to come out and evaluate the setup, is that what you mean when you say professionally inspected , or are you talking another kind of expert?
thanks, Susie

 

[etiger2007]

He should do or a professinal chimney sweep. Good luck and keep us posted on what comes of it, and pics we love pics.

 

[crowinghen]

Here's a picture, sorry it's not very good, this is the listing photo, so not our furniture or anything.

 

[crowinghen]

well not sure if this is the right size, we'll see

 

[crowinghen]

MY MIL has a country c260 they are taking out it's an insert. I think it might be too big for our 1000 sq foot home.
What are the disadvantages to having a too big stove? Or is this an okay stove for our totally uninsulated, (well until we get that done) vacation home?
I'm thinking I will take it and even if it's too big I can sell it, or trade it maybe for something that will work for me. It is in excellent condition, and perhaps I can re-use the chimney liner?
Any thoughts or should I start another thread?
thanks, Susie

 

[etiger2007]

1,000 sq ft isnt that big, however I would still fit the biggest insert in there you can, remember you can always build a smaller fire in a big stove and thats fine to do. With a small stove your kinda limited ( trust me i learned had a brand new small stove for a year and a half and bought a bigger one) Depending on how long you take to insulate the place you may want that extra heat from the big stove anyways. What kind of stove design do you like? There are flush mounts that do not stick out on to the hearth and there are some like mine that do, with my style they radiate more heat because they have more mass in the room. Whats your price point?

 

[crowinghen]

I kind of like the kind that come out into the room, so I can put a pot on it for water or food if the powers out. And more radiant heat in the same scenario. But I would think I would have to balance that with increased clearances, and the room is not terribly huge..
That's great news that maybe I can just go with the stove my MIL is giving me- with all the other things needed on the house it would be good to not drop a couple of grand on an insert. O/w I would be good to spend up to 2500 on an insert total.
Thanks!

 

[Ashful]

Going too big:

Catalytic: Just burn it low. Most cat stoves can burn low and slow 24/7. Cat will stay lit at any temp above 500*F, so your chimney will stay clean, but you won't have a pretty fire to look at. Burning low and slow usually means very little visible flame, and plenty of soot in the firebox to dirty up the glass. Also, you may have to deal with less than completely burned loads, stalling cat from burning too low, etc.

Non-cat: Requires roughly 1100*F at the reburn to keep the secondaries going without catalyst, so burning low and slow is not a good option. Most in this situation just build quick small hot fires that heat up the stove for a short time, and then let the mass of the stove do the work of moderating and radiating. You might build two such fires each day, depending on size of stove, space, outside temperature, etc.

So, you can make an oversized stove of either type work in a pinch. However, in both cases it's better to get something sized closer to your typical need, so you can burn in the sweet spot of the stove all day long.

 

[begreen]

Where are you located? If this is a mild climate, a medium sized insert will suffice and a cat unit may make better sense unless the primary goal is not heat, but instead a nice fire view.

 

[crowinghen]

The house is near Allyn, begreen, you sound like you're nearby It's on the puget sound not far from Seattle, for people who aren't as familiar with the area.

 

[crowinghen]

I talked to an experienced installer, he doesn't think the country c260 will be too big... he's gong to call me when he's in the area and take a look at the fireplace and give me an estimate.
So I will post here what he has to say.
This is a non cat stove, EPA certified. It has an 8 inch outlet, but it's approved to be reduced to 6 inches, which is what the pipe is. Nice stainless pipe about 20 feet, so hopefully it's useable for the project, even if for some reason the stove won't work.

 

[begreen]

I think you are being oversold. For this size space in our climate the C210 would be more than adequate. The 260 will work, but you will be constrained to smaller loads and fires unless you like it very hot indoors.

Seeing you are in this area it wouldn't hurt to check out www.chimneysweeponline.com. Tom is a real straight shooter and knows what works for this area.

 

[crowinghen]

The c260 is the one my MIL just took out and is giving us. My question is whether I should use it or sell it and buy something that is rated for a smaller place.
I guess could put it in and if it doesn't work pull it out and replace the insert part, as long as the pipe sizes are the same...

 

[crowinghen]

begreen,
Thanks for the link I will give them a call!