Will an insert heat my house or am I wishful thinking?

[BAR7MAN]

Hey folks, new here but have been lurking for awhile. I recently purchased a 2,000 sq ft ranch and was wanting to put an insert into the existing masonry fireplace. The insert I have been thinking about is the FireplaceX Large Flush NexGen-Fyre (along with an insulated liner and block off plate). Before I spend all that money I was wanting to get some more opinions to see if it will actually provide heat to most of my house since it is definitely not an open floor plan. See attached image for my floor plan (the fireplace is in the living room). The other side of the chimney is a garage which is not displayed on the floor plan.

I work from home so I would be burning 24/7 when the temps are appropriate.

I have central AC but have seen that that isn't the best for moving the heat around as it's usually lost in the ducting. One intake for the AC is in dining room right by the fireplace and the second is on the other side of the house in the master bedroom. I can put some floor fans around and direct them towards the insert but not sure if that would be sufficient enough.

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

It will mostly heat just the core of the house. The bedrooms and library won't get a lot of heat. That makes it about 600 sq ft heated so the large hybrid may be pushing it. Is there a cathedral ceiling in this area?

 

[BAR7MAN]

Meaning that insert is overkill or not enough? No cathedral ceilings, all standard 8ft. I am totally open to other inserts that is just one that caught my eye due to the large viewing glass.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the FPX Large is big for the area that will probably end up heated. it's going to be hard to move the heat out to the bedrooms and library wing.

 

[BAR7MAN]

Okay, back to the drawing board then. The library and bedroom next to it I don’t care too much about, but would like the heat to hit the rest. Maybe it’s best to get a smaller/cheaper one and just enjoy the heat from it in the main area.

 

[avsmusic1]

They have a medium insert that’s essentially the same stove w/ a smaller firebox (2.2 instead of 3cuft) if you really dig that look but ultimately determine the large is a bit too much heat fore your space

 

[kennyp2339]

How old is the house and where in NY do you live, big difference from the northern tier to LI. I think 1993 is the big change in building construction, 2x4 walls vs 2x6 (more insulation) so if its an older home in the upstate region I'd stick with the biggest you can fit in the fire place. Also do you have a generator for back up power, flush inserts need the help from a blower most of the time for optium heat distribution.
You can take into consideration on remove a part of the wall (as long as its non load bearing) behind the wall oven to make the hallway opening wider and then with a floor fan by the bathrooms push the cold air towards the living room.
Also the insert will at the minimum reduce the central heating needs and you will save $$$ from that

 

[BAR7MAN]

How old is the house and where in NY do you live, big difference from the northern tier to LI. I think 1993 is the big change in building construction, 2x4 walls vs 2x6 (more insulation) so if its an older home in the upstate region I'd stick with the biggest you can fit in the fire place. Also do you have a generator for back up power, flush inserts need the help from a blower most of the time for optium heat distribution.
You can take into consideration on remove a part of the wall (as long as its non load bearing) behind the wall oven to make the hallway opening wider and then with a floor fan by the bathrooms push the cold air towards the living room.
Also the insert will at the minimum reduce the central heating needs and you will save $$$ from that

House was built in 1967 and is located on LI. Appears to be well insulated and has newer windows. I don’t have a generator yet, but will eventually.

Definitely not opposed to taking that wall down to open the hallway if that would make a big difference in heat travel. Seems like it would because then it’s straight shot down the hallway.

I prefer a bigger insert because of the viewing area and least amount of black surround as possible.

 

[avsmusic1]

How large is your fireplace?
I know you mention wanting have a larger portion of the stove face fire view - which is completely understandable - but the surround often scales somewhat with the firebox size across lines.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Hey folks, new here but have been lurking for awhile. I recently purchased a 2,000 sq ft ranch and was wanting to put an insert into the existing masonry fireplace. The insert I have been thinking about is the FireplaceX Large Flush NexGen-Fyre (along with an insulated liner and block off plate). Before I spend all that money I was wanting to get some more opinions to see if it will actually provide heat to most of my house since it is definitely not an open floor plan. See attached image for my floor plan (the fireplace is in the living room). The other side of the chimney is a garage which is not displayed on the floor plan.

I work from home so I would be burning 24/7 when the temps are appropriate.

I have central AC but have seen that that isn't the best for moving the heat around as it's usually lost in the ducting. One intake for the AC is in dining room right by the fireplace and the second is on the other side of the house in the master bedroom. I can put some floor fans around and direct them towards the insert but not sure if that would be sufficient enough.

Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

View attachment 269323

I like your idea. It's a good looking stove, but expensive I think. Much worse ways to spend your dough.

And your house was not designed with this in mind, to be sure. But I think you will be thrilled with your choices if you do it, understanding that the wings are not going to be getting most of the heat. Just having that warm core will be extremely satisfying.

Don't worry for a moment about it being too large. Just build smaller fires, open that floor plan as much as you can, get some fans to move air around, and if it gets too warm in the middle of the house, congratulations and enjoy having such a wonderful problem in the dead of NY winter.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

My home is similar to yours as it is a ranch style house. my floor plan is mor open though. I have the same issue is that the bedrooms and master bathroom are far away. What we did is up an inline booster fan in the attic. When needed I pull the warm air from the stove room ceiling and move it to the farthest rooms. All your duct work will be in the attic. easy to do.

 

[kennyp2339]

My home is similar to yours as it is a ranch style house. my floor plan is mor open though. I have the same issue is that the bedrooms and master bathroom are far away. What we did is up an inline booster fan in the attic. When needed I pull the warm air from the stove room ceiling and move it to the farthest rooms. All your duct work will be in the attic. easy to do.

Did you use insulated duct work?

 

[BAR7MAN]

How large is your fireplace?
I know you mention wanting have a larger portion of the stove face fire view - which is completely understandable - but the surround often scales somewhat with the firebox size across lines.

It is approximately 38” wide x 28” tall.

 

[BAR7MAN]

My home is similar to yours as it is a ranch style house. my floor plan is mor open though. I have the same issue is that the bedrooms and master bathroom are far away. What we did is up an inline booster fan in the attic. When needed I pull the warm air from the stove room ceiling and move it to the farthest rooms. All your duct work will be in the attic. easy to do.

Does this go in existing AC ducting or is it new ducting specifically for that?

 

[john26]

Might consider a medium insert and a small to medium free standing stove in the library. How much are the other bedrooms used? As far as the master goes you could use some other type of small alternate heat source like a mini split or use a remote thermostat on your central heat system.

 

[tadmaz]

I think your master bedroom and library will be 10 degrees colder than the stove room. I'd go for it. Get a lot of dry wood or your stove will seemingly not work.

 

[BAR7MAN]

Might consider a medium insert and a small to medium free standing stove in the library. How much are the other bedrooms used? As far as the master goes you could use some other type of small alternate heat source like a mini split or use a remote thermostat on your central heat system.

The two furthest bedrooms (one by library and one across from master) are used as offices during the week. The library and one bedroom are on their own heating zone so if I had to run that a bit, I wouldn't mind at all. Other than that most of the time is spent in the living room, dining room and kitchen. Eventually once the library room is setup it will be used, but currently not used at all.

Master doesn't need to get super warm. Really only in there at night to go to sleep and we like it rather chilly anyways.

 

[BAR7MAN]

I think your master bedroom and library will be 10 degrees colder than the stove room. I'd go for it. Get a lot of dry wood or your stove will seemingly not work.

That would be totally fine. Yeah I have heard the most common problem with the new stoves is people don't have dry enough wood.

 

[gr8shot]

In my opinion, get the biggest stove that you can fit in your opening. You can use fans to disperse the heat to other rooms. But you can't create more heat than what a small stove can do when it's maxed out. Better to have the capacity and not need it on warm days. I got the biggest unit I could fit, even had to make a little extra room and I'm so glad we did! We have an Osburn 2400 insert. It sticks out a bit from the fireplace which gives off a big amount of radiant heat. And the 130cfm blower pumps out a ton of heat when it's on high with a big load of wood. Also a larger firebox will give you more coals to start over with after you wake up in the morning. Our stove hasn't gone out since early November. On warm days (50-60*F) during the day we just toss in a single log every few hours and have the blower on low. That maintains a good bed of coals, and puts out enough heat to keep things warm. In the dead of winter we burn it hard, with the blower on high most of the time, and have to scoop out some coals at the bottom so we can keep multiple large logs in there to keep the temp up on it. But even down below zero, it still mostly heats our whole house.

Get the big stove, run it hard when it's cold. You'll be glad you did. Fans are cheap, and put one blowing out of the living room towards the kitchen and hallway with the bathrooms and bedrooms, and a fan blowing into the living room from the dining room. That will create a nice circular airflow which will spread the heat pretty well. And if you have ceiling fans, run them to help push the heat down to the floor. You'll be surprised just how much area you can heat with a couple medium sized fans and a couple ceiling fans to disperse the heat! Yes your living room will be a lot warmer than the rest of the house, but thats life with a wood stove. Should be able to keep all the rooms just off the living room very comfortable. That circular layout from living room to kitchen, to dining room, and back to the living room is going to be a big help.

 

[BrianVA]

I recently purchased the 2020 Large Flush Insert (Lopi version, but same thing as the FPX), and I really like it. I have a 3,500 sf house, but not an open floor plan. So I was doing the same analysis as you are. I ultimately went with the large flush rather than the medium. I had 2 reasons: 1) I wanted the ability to do overnight burns, so the bigger firebox was preferred, and 2) I thought the large insert would look best in my large fireplace. I have no regrets, really glad I got the big one.

I am using two small fans, one to move cold air into the fireplace room, and one door mounted fan to move warm air out. It heats more of the house than I was expecting. I am eventually going to run a dedicated cold air return under the house with an in-line duct fan, to pull cold air from the kitchen and dining room into the FP room.

 

[john26]

something to keep in mind if you buy wood it usually comes cut at 16" at least around here. As mentioned sticking out of the fireplace is nice for heat distribution and some inserts like that are safe to burn when the power is out they usually have a deeper firebox which is nice for north south loading, that's what I prefer.

 

[gr8shot]

something to keep in mind if you buy wood it usually comes cut at 16" at least around here. As mentioned sticking out of the fireplace is nice for heat distribution and some inserts like that are safe to burn when the power is out they usually have a deeper firebox which is nice for north south loading, that's what I prefer.

This is true. Mine has a huge firebox. Can load I think up to 18" logs north and south, and 20" east and west. I prefer north and south too.

 

[avsmusic1]

I recently purchased the 2020 Large Flush Insert (Lopi version, but same thing as the FPX), and I really like it. I have a 3,500 sf house, but not an open floor plan. So I was doing the same analysis as you are. I ultimately went with the large flush rather than the medium. I had 2 reasons: 1) I wanted the ability to do overnight burns, so the bigger firebox was preferred, and 2) I thought the large insert would look best in my large fireplace. I have no regrets, really glad I got the big one.

I am using two small fans, one to move cold air into the fireplace room, and one door mounted fan to move warm air out. It heats more of the house than I was expecting. I am eventually going to run a dedicated cold air return under the house with an in-line duct fan, to pull cold air from the kitchen and dining room into the FP room.

Are you getting overnight burns?

 

[BrianVA]

Are you getting overnight burns?

Yes, I am getting overnight burns. In the 9-10 hour range. It might go longer, but I don't need it to. I load it around 8:30 pm, and have the air closed down to almost the lowest setting by 9:30 ( I don't use the lowest setting because it smokes up the glass, even if its ripping hot before you dial it back). When I get up at 5:30 or 6:00 am, its still a solid amount of coals and lights up the reload very quickly.

The manufacturer specifies a 12 hour max burn time. I think this is real world achievable, because I have not been stuffing mine to the gills. I'm just using 16- 18" length wood, which leaves a lot of dead space on the sides that I could use if I wanted to. This is burning well seasoned oak (mix of red, white, and chestnut oak).

 

[BrianVA]

Also, I agree with Easy Livin 3000's comments above.

Though I will caveat by saying there is a certain minimum fire size on that unit if you want to achieve clean burns. And for that reason, I just let the heat pump run when its 50 deg or more. The heat pump is very efficient at that temp anyway.