Totally green when it comes to heating with wood... Some questions :) With PICS!

[spidiracer]

Hi,

I bought a home last year in December (my first) and due to the age of the home and lack of insulation the gas bills during the winter were crazy! I live in Utah it gets pretty cold. Anyway I want to heat my home with wood. I have been looking for stoves for the past 6 months or so and I swear I am right back where I started not knowing a thing, hah.

I have an existing masonry fireplace. Built in 1949 in the center of the house. The opening is 30" tall and 35" wide. My home is 2,000 sq/ft but only about 1700 sq/ft really needs to be warm. Its basically all one level the stove will be on that level. I have two cords of wood that will hopefully be seasoned... dont know for sure.

I like the look of the flush inserts but they are pretty expensive. I really like the Morso 5660 (anyone have an idea of price on this unit?). I really would like to stay under 1,500 for the stove/insert itself. Anyone have any suggestions? There are a billion different manufacturers and it seems i find new ones everyday. Why is it so hard to find prices for these stoves online? I have been looking at Zoobler and they have some pretty good deals I am considering. I have a billion questions I can't even remember them all....

Should I install a metal liner in the chimney? What other information can I give to help with stove/insert suggestions? Thanks for any help you can provide I think i've reached the end of what I can learn on my own. All help is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[BrotherBart]

Yes on needing to line the chimney. I was built in 1948 myself and know that I could use relining. :-S Besides safety it will provide proper draft for the stove.

As to the billion choices, fairly easy to narrow down actually. From the top eliminate based on:

1. Will it fit the fireplace? Make a list of the ones that will ranked from largest firebox to smallest.

2. Knock out the ones with looks that you don't like.

3. Scratch off the ones you can't get this year.

4. Eliminate the ones you can't afford.

At this point it is going to be a pretty short list.

 

[webbie]

Also, if you are burning softwood - which may be the case in Utah - be sure to up size the stove just a bit. See the article about choosing a stove - should be linked in my signature or under popular article.

 

[sl7vk]

Hi,

I bought a home last year in December (my first) and due to the age of the home and lack of insulation the gas bills during the winter were crazy! I live in Utah it gets pretty cold. Anyway I want to heat my home with wood. I have been looking for stoves for the past 6 months or so and I swear I am right back where I started not knowing a thing, hah.

I have an existing masonry fireplace. Built in 1949 in the center of the house. The opening is 30" tall and 35" wide. My home is 2,000 sq/ft but only about 1700 sq/ft really needs to be warm. Its basically all one level the stove will be on that level. I have two cords of wood that will hopefully be seasoned... dont know for sure.

I like the look of the flush inserts but they are pretty expensive. I really like the Morso 5660 (anyone have an idea of price on this unit?). I really would like to stay under 1,500 for the stove/insert itself. Anyone have any suggestions? There are a billion different manufacturers and it seems i find new ones everyday. Why is it so hard to find prices for these stoves online? I have been looking at Zoobler and they have some pretty good deals I am considering. I have a billion questions I can't even remember them all....

Should I install a metal liner in the chimney? What other information can I give to help with stove/insert suggestions? Thanks for any help you can provide I think i've reached the end of what I can learn on my own. All help is GREATLY appreciated!

You aren't going to want the morso 5660 because it doesn't have a fan. It isn't going to help you out nearly as much as one that does. I think Lopi has a pretty nice unit, but their website isn't working right now....

At the end of the day, I was in a similar situation as you, and decided to get a wood stove. Not saying that it is cheaper, but I think it will heat your space a bit better. Scan stoves have a couple of dealers in Salt Lake, and they make some great looking stoves (Scan 60, Anderson 10) for about 2000 dollars. If you don't care about looks, then just get yourself whatever... Napoleon... etc...

 

[begreen]

Bart's post is right on. Read the article Craig suggested, measure up your fireplace and post the dimensions here. Then we can help narrow down the choices. But the supply is starting to get tight. Some brands are projecting out to 2009 right now.

One sleeper that might be worth looking into is a Hearthstone Clydesdale. If it will fit and you like this insert, contact your nearest Hearthstone dealer and ask about availability. But it is pricey. If there aren't any dealers, maybe contact Tom at www.chimneysweeponline.com ? He has prices posted on the website. Less expensive inserts can be found made by Englander, Napoleon, Drolet, etc. Good performers that are just under $2K is the Pacific Energy Pacific D1 and the Avalon Rainier.

 

[Highbeam]

1500$ is not a lot of money. You will get more stove/heat if you could set a stove in front of the fireplace and vent into the fireplace's chimney. Take a look at the Englander or century from Lowes or Home Depot. The two cords that you have now will be a huge help to your gas bill but I don't think it will be enough for the winter. For reference, I have 12.5 cords of softwood in my yard that I expect to be a two year's supply burning 24/7 through the winter.

 

[karl]

I bought mine last year, pre oil run up, and $1500 woudn't touch it. I paid $2450 for a Summit and the liner. I don't know your financial situation, but I would say bite the bullet and get something you like that will work well. You're going to be staring at it for the next 20 years. Plus the pay back on these things anymore is unreal. One year and I have recouped more than half my money, and I don't live in a terribly cold climate.

If my gas company gets the rate increase they're asking for, I'll save $2000 in gas this year.

 

[spidiracer]

Thanks for all the replies I love this place already! I read that article and looked at a couple of other stoves. Budget is a big thing for me right now because I am a student (not for much longer) and I can't afford the stove I really want right now. I took some pictures and drew some stuff...

So here is my question with the stoves... is it better to run the pipe directly out the back of the stove (if available on the stove) and make one 90 bend and go up the chimney (BLUE). Or is it better to run the pipe up the wall, drill a 6" hole in the masonry chimney and run it up from there (RED)? Thats really what my first picture is trying to illustrate.


edit: the 26" is from the very opening of the fireplace to the back, not 26" past the 6" mark.

Here are my measurements. The dimensions vary a small amount depending on where you measure. I tried to chose the most narrow measurements. Also, I have a cold air intake that come from my basement. Good idea to use this or is it better just to leave it alone? The inserts seem to cost more and also require a fan... so despite the fact I like them better as far as looks I can't get the one I really want anyway so I think I am going to focus on just a stove.

Or... What do you guys think of this? I could get high temp black paint so it looks descent... not the best looking stove but price is right!

http://www.zoobler.com/product.php?sku=EPI-1401F&m;=&b=Napoleon&c;=

1,000 with free shipping. I dont know if Napoleon is any good... They seem to be a cheaper model but again... new... I dont really know. Thank you for your help so far!

Oh... and I am going to re-do the entire mantle and fireplace next summer. Nice rocks and all that. Again gotta do it one thing at a time due to cost.

I'm no sure 2 cords is enough or not either... I have a friend at work and she says she uses about 4 cords a winter and she lives up higher in the hills where it gets much colder. The place I was getting my wood from ran out... they were selling a cord of split wood for $80... You have to go get it but its only 3 miles or so from my house. Next summer I will start getting it a lot earlier on... and one cord at a time. Two cords in one day is just too much haha.

 

[begreen]

With most of the basic steel stoves you only have a choice of top exit flue. That means you need to get the flue collar underneath the damper throat. The freestanding Napoleon 1400L is 32" tall, so that won't work. But the Englander 13NC is 27.5" tall and should squeak in there. That's probably the stove I would go with. You can get them at home depot, lowes, do it best hardware, etc. Get a blower with the stove too. Looks like you'll need to extend the hearth a bit also. It needs 18" of hearth in front of the stove door.

 

[spidiracer]

That means you need to get the flue collar underneath the damper throat.

Wait what does that mean? I dont understand the vocabulary just yet. I dont know what a flue collar is or a damper throat, lol. I know what the damper is. I am going to go look at the stove you mentioned right now. And to try to figure out what those other things are, haha.

 

[fossil]

Englander installed as a hearth stove with a block-off plate and a liner up the chimney and a blower on the stove. Hearth extension as needed. That's what I'd do. Sweet! Rick

 

[fossil]

...And to try to figure out what those other things are, haha.

Don't bother, some of us don't have any idea what they are, either. :bug: Rick

 

[fossil]

The flue collar is the round (sometimes, but rarely these days, oval) vertical (on a top-exit appliance) flange that is the outlet port for the stove exhaust, into which the stovepipe connects. Damper throat, as (I think) BG is referring to here, is the most restrictive vertical clearance from the hearth surface in your fireplace. The stove sits as high off the hearth surface as the top of the collar (for a top-exit stove). This needs to fit back into the fireplace in such a way that it's possible to connect the stove to the flue liner. It's all about whether or not it's physically possible to fit your stove into your fireplace and connect pipe A to pipe B. There are some "magic" pipe offsets and things available, but ideally you'll install it with the minimum restriction to flow in the stove exhaust gas stream. Rick

 

[Hogwildz]

Understanding its late in the season for prepping for the heating season, but I strongly recommend following BB's suggestion, and my suggestion is research the heck out of exactly what you want, how its to be installed and be sure of exactly what your expectations are against the realities of what you may get. This is not something to rush into and regret a rushed decision in the long run. Take your time, do it right, and feel content in the end while having a drink sitting by the toasty fire. One other point, many have regretted not going large enough, to find that during an extremely cold snap, the stove they purchased is chugging along maxed out, and not cutting it.
I suggest as Web suggested, go a bit larger than your figuring, that way you have that extra stove, when/if the time comes for its need.

 

[snydley]

Hi,

I bought a home last year in December (my first) and due to the age of the home and lack of insulation the gas bills during the winter were crazy!

The first thing you should do is INSULATE! You're better off putting your money into insulation than wood. You'll burn much less wood with a well insulated house with good windows. I know it's a P.I.T.A., but you'll be much better off in the long run if you do that first!
THEN go out and buy a nice stove. Maybe finance to get the one you want and not "settle" on something just to have heat. You're gonna have it for years, and you don't want to buy something you won't like now, :shut: just to have heat, and then end up buying something you do like later on. :coolsmile:

 

[spidiracer]

I plan on blowing some insulation in the attic and it will actually be almost free. I have not yet done it though because I have some work to do up there (wiring, bathroom vents, bracing) and I don't want to try to do it in two feet of insulation. I also need new windows that would help a ton. They are almost all the original single pane windows. I'm gonna do the plastic cover the window thing this year. LOTS to do but full time work and school does not leave me enough time to do it. Or change

It is late in the season but I have been planning on this since last year so I have researched a lot. You can only learn so much without actually doing it though, heh.

So let me see if I understand this right... If I get a stove that is shorter than the damper throat (in other words, will slide into my existing fireplace) I can slide it in far enough that I can connect the collar flange directly to the pipe that runs up the chimney? So no drilling holes in wall or running the pipe straight back. I like it! Do I need to run stove pipe up to the damper and then connect it to the chimney liner or can the chimney liner connect directly to the stove?

Here is my plan then... I am gonna probably get the englander and use it in that way for this winter... I think with as high of a demand as the stoves have I can probably sell it next spring and then get the insert that I really want (school will be done i will have more funds) and rock the whole thing in. That will give me some experience with stoves and I will have a better idea of the stove I really want.

 

[spidiracer]

I just found the 13-NC for $645! I have to call about it tomorrow I hope its in stock! I definitely won't be complaining if I can pick it up for that price.

I dunno how in the world there is enough space to get my hands in there to connect all pipe tho...