stove insert noob needs help picking a box

[par0thead151]

You may want to look into gas inserts. They are different than gas fireplaces - efficient, safe, clean, give off a lot of heat and have blowers. I was seriously considering a gas insert for these reasons. It was very tempting to be able to have a fire with the click of a remote control. I decided to go with wood as I grew up with a wood stove and also wanted to diversify for cost reasons - my furnace is natural gas. Spend some time on the "It's a Gas!" message board to gather more information.

I dislike the idea of gas, as i get my wood for free.
im a cheap bastard about certain things, heating and cooling is one of them. I am also not opposed to hard work such as cutting wood to length, splitting wood, hauling wood, stacking wood, bringing it inside, and keeping the fire well tended.
if i cant do a wood stove i will sadly put the old junk back in there and let it collect dust again.
if i cant logistically achieve a wood burning stove/insert with my current setup without incurring a huge cost, then i will throw in the towel. if i can get the wood stove though, i am all for that.

 

[czorbach]

I dislike the idea of gas, as i get my wood for free.
im a cheap bastard about certain things, heating and cooling is one of them. I am also not opposed to hard work such as cutting wood to length, splitting wood, hauling wood, stacking wood, bringing it inside, and keeping the fire well tended.
if i cant do a wood stove i will sadly put the old junk back in there and let it collect dust again.
if i cant logistically achieve a wood burning stove/insert with my current setup without incurring a huge cost, then i will throw in the towel. if i can get the wood stove though, i am all for that.

I understand completely. I am of the same thought and I do not have the access to free wood or the means to scrounge.

 

[par0thead151]

I dislike the idea of gas, as i get my wood for free.
im a cheap bastard about certain things, heating and cooling is one of them. I am also not opposed to hard work such as cutting wood to length, splitting wood, hauling wood, stacking wood, bringing it inside, and keeping the fire well tended.
if i cant do a wood stove i will sadly put the old junk back in there and let it collect dust again.
if i cant logistically achieve a wood burning stove/insert with my current setup without incurring a huge cost, then i will throw in the towel. if i can get the wood stove though, i am all for that.

I understand completely. I am of the same thought and I do not have the access to free wood or the means to scrounge.

I am at the least going to have someone inspect my current setup, to make sure adding a insert will be safe.
im just treading water here wondering if i can still go the wood burning stove route with what is installed in my home right now.
im going to a store next week to talk with the owner and show him pictures of what i have, and what i would like to achieve.
then he will come out and look at my home before anything is ordered up.
basically, im still uncertain if i am able to use a wood stove in my home, from the photos posted, does it look possible at this point?
with being told to just put the gas back in, and to consider a better gas fireplace, i am wondering if that means i cant use wood with what i have in my home now...
thanks for all the information and help thus far. the learning curve is always the hardest part in getting into any hobby.

 

[par0thead151]

so i am now becoming more educated about prefabricated fire places. apparently wood burning inserts are a bad idea and not UL rated for such a application?
the Jotul 350 claims to work in a prefab fireplace, however there is skepticism about it by many experts in the industry?
please correct me if i am wrong, but if i do not have a brick and mortar type fire place, basically any wood burning stove that produces a reasonable BTU/hour is a NO-GO?
this really put a dampener on my day if it is true.

edited to add:
im grasping for air here, but what is the rule of thumb in regards to a free standing wood stove and its distance from a wall. my thought process is, to completely redo the fire place so it can work with a free standing stove. granted this will cause an added cost of the remodel, but if it is a viable option and a reasonable cost, i would consider that as well.
if you dont get the drift just yet, i REALLY want to get a wood stove in my home.

 

[daryl]

If you are thinking of ripping old fireplace out consider a High efficency zero clearence unit that can be built into the wall where the old pre fab fireplace is at.Nothing would stick out into the room and it would look something like a traditonal fireplace.

 

[par0thead151]

If you are thinking of ripping old fireplace out consider a High efficency zero clearence unit that can be built into the wall where the old pre fab fireplace is at.Nothing would stick out into the room and it would look something like a traditonal fireplace.

what units would qualify as fitting this criteria?
if it is natural gas powered, im just not interested. the reason being, a furnace is more efficient as the home is fairly new. if it is log burning, i am all ears
thank you for the tip, i will look into it and see if i can find out if it will fit my desired use.
http://www.countryflame.com/inglenook.php
something like this might work?

 

[daryl]

That country flame would work very well. There are all kinds out there BIS,Energy King,RSF,Kozy Heat,plus others it all depends on the type of look you are going for.

 

[par0thead151]

That country flame would work very well. There are all kinds out there BIS,Energy King,RSF,Kozy Heat,plus others it all depends on the type of look you are going for.

Daryl, thank you very much for your knowledge and replies.
the country flame unit touts 100,000 BTU's / cord i assume this means that per cord of hardwood it produces 100K btu's? i have never seen this method of relating the BTU power of a unit.
thanks again

 

[par0thead151]

i just had a "chimney doctors" company guy come look at my fireplace. he says i should have no problem getting a insert to work safely in my home. he did say though that they usually leave the refractory tiles from the original fireplace, but was unsure if it is needed. is doing so needed?
the particular brand that was pushed by the guy who was sent to look at my home is Regency. however they want $5,500 for the classic 12400 model. which is fairly high considering a jotul sells for 2-3G
im getting closer to finding what can and cant work in my home.
im wondering if having it "professionally" installed will alleviate me of liability in the event of a fire and a home burning down?
liability meaning my insurance will not pay out as i did the install by my self...

 

[bsa0021]

Check with your insurance company. Mine preferred to have it installed by a professional and required documentation and pictures but every company is different. Let's be honest, installing a wood burner is not rocket science but it is very easy to burn your house down if don't know what you are doing. The insurance company has no clue how well informed the DIY home owner is and therefore may require a "certified" installer. My agent told me some of the horror stories from the 70s when people started installing wood burners at the first gas crunch.

 

[daryl]

Hello again
You should go online and download the owners manual.On page 6 they talk about installing in a zero clearece fireplace.The manual states that you can not alter the fireplace. You can only take out damper and pcs. that do not affect the listing of fireplace.You are introducing fire into your home the health and safety of your family should be the number one concern.You should take it to heart when the guy told he did not know if you can put that insert in with no floor or refractory in the fireplace.Your call but not a safe install in my book.

 

[par0thead151]

100% agreed. safety is first and foremost, followed closely by liability.
the employee who came to my home did not seem too knowledgeable about the install process, i think he was just the guy to take a tape measure and see what dimensions i have. he was used to working with the original unit already in there, but as i tore mine out to see what was behind it, he was kind of confused. his boss called my cell phone this morning and i still need to call him back to get more accurate information on what all is possible.
thanks again for the help guys

 

[par0thead151]

ok, im almost 100% sure that the guy they sent is new to this job or is clueless...
he says that the only way to get the firebox back to a wood burning status, they would have to open up the back(IE tearing apart my brick facade thats around the chimney) to pull out the gas burning stuff that is still in there as he thinks that the way the previous home owner did it was they tore out all of the wood burning fireplace stuff, and replaced it with a all gas burning setup. IE need to get a new shroud/surrounding that supports the fireplace.
i think i will be calling a company who only works with wood burning inserts/stoves.