After a lot of looking around trying to find a wood insert that fits my fireplace without modifying the mantel/trim, I think that I finally have something. Looks like the Hampton HI300 or its cousin, the Regency I2400, would fit. The room with the fireplace measures 18'x16' (9' ceilings) and has one 3' doorway on the wall opposite to the fireplace. The doorway leads to a large kitchen area. The house is 3000 sqft and I know that there's no way this is going to heat the house, but I figured if I am going to burn wood in the fireplace, I might as well burn it in something more efficient and get some heat out of it. I also realize that the room the stove will be in will get quite warm and that's fine. The wife is always cold and she is loving the idea of sitting in front of a wood stove. A chimney guy showed up today (for an unrelated issue) and couldn't see the point of having a wood insert installed. Any opinions/comments?
Wood insert location/opinions
- Thread starter lsirois
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
I installed a Regency I2400 over a year ago and wish I had done it years sooner. We had the fireplace going a lot but the insert is so much better and I use less wood. Heating bill went down over $100 a month. I have an open floor plan, it heats about 2700 ft. You will need the fan option to do any good. Do it, you won't be sorry.
Dix
Minister of Fire
I think a floor plan is a good idea here. You might be able to get more through the house if we can "see" the layout.
cmonSTART
Minister of Fire
IMO a wood insert is always a good option for a masonry fireplace. I see no reasons you shouldn't.
btuser
Minister of Fire
I've got a Lopi Fredom. My house is about 2600sqft, not very open and it does a pretty decent job. I burn about 2 cords a year, and after 1.5 Winters I'm guessing 1 cord = 100 gallons of heating oil. The house is A LOT warmer, however.
It's a tough call because it seems like a HI300 can throw a lot of heat and I fear that I will have problems getting it out of the room. The other option is to go with a smaller stove, such as a Lopi Answer or Hampton HI200. The rest of the house is a colonial...not very open floor plan with a relatively open staircase to the 2nd floor.
Dix
Minister of Fire
I have attached the floor plan for your viewing pleasure. I would like to go with the HI300 if the heat will move around, but I fear that it will just be a pretty fixture that is oversized for the room and not really help with heating as much as I would like. For this reason, I am also considering the Lopi Answer...smaller, a heck of a lot cheaper and it would still give me a good amount of heat from the useless fireplace. What do you guys think? Keep in mind that the wood insert will be going in the family room on the first floor illustrated on the floor plan. Each level is about 1500 sqft (2 levels).
Attachments
Dix
Minister of Fire
I'd put a BIG stove in the dinette or the dining room, vent up & out through the wall, run the chimney, and be very happy.
No can do....it doesn't show it, but he wall along the dinette is covered with windows and one door. There's not even enough space between the windows to run the pipe. The rest of that exterior wall is all cabinets.
Dix
Minister of Fire
The exterior dining room wall is the front of the house and the other one that is along the garage happens to have the master bedroom closet right over it. I would really like to get better use of the fireplace and existing chimney instead of trying to add a chimney elsewhere.
fredarm
Minister of Fire
Could you take out part of the wall between the family room and the dinette? Even a half wall or widening the doorway would help the heat move into the rest of the house. You could also put in one of those little doorway fans, although they don't move much air, or put a box fan on the floor and blow cool air into the family room. Otherwise, I'd say go with a smaller insert and view it as supplemental heat for the room and whatever spills out into the rest of the house is a bonus.
My insert (same as the Lopi Revere) has similar heating capacity and clearances to that regency but it has a square firebox (for loading either way) and a bypass damper as well as a good sized cooktop, if that is anything you are interested in (for power outages or etc.) I have it installed without the surround which makes it look kinda like a freestanding hearth installation but still meets my clearances.
Which by the way, if you have decent sized clearances to work with in hour fireplace you might consider a hearth install of a freestanding stove, people on here have done that with Jotul stoves and they look really nice as well as being wonderful heaters.
Which by the way, if you have decent sized clearances to work with in hour fireplace you might consider a hearth install of a freestanding stove, people on here have done that with Jotul stoves and they look really nice as well as being wonderful heaters.
take out a bunch of walls - don't need 'em anyway.
Maybe a nice dbl french door between the lr and fr?
Maybe a nice dbl french door between the lr and fr?
jmhpsu93
New Member
That room will be toasty warm whatever insert you put in there, that's for sure. You're going to have a hard time creating a convection loop with just one small opening like that.
+1 on putting in the insert, even if it just heats that room.
+1 on knocking down walls...it's so easy to spend other people's money.
+1 on putting in the insert, even if it just heats that room.
+1 on knocking down walls...it's so easy to spend other people's money.
You guys are starting to sound like my wife ;-)
I did think about the wall between the family room and kitchen/dinette area, but then I would have some serious molding to repair/redo, some very nice doors to replace, hardwood floors to patch up, carpeting to fix/replace,.... I would never hear the end of that! ;-)
What about placing one of those "through-the-wall" fans between the formal living room and the family room to blow cooler air into the family room where the insert will be? Wouldn't that force hot air out?
I had a pellet insert at our previous house. I loved it and I could get the hot air to move around by blowing cool air into the room with the insert.
I did think about the wall between the family room and kitchen/dinette area, but then I would have some serious molding to repair/redo, some very nice doors to replace, hardwood floors to patch up, carpeting to fix/replace,.... I would never hear the end of that! ;-)
What about placing one of those "through-the-wall" fans between the formal living room and the family room to blow cooler air into the family room where the insert will be? Wouldn't that force hot air out?
I had a pellet insert at our previous house. I loved it and I could get the hot air to move around by blowing cool air into the room with the insert.
Dix
Minister of Fire
lsirois said:
LOL !! Well, for me, I can say "I wonder why?" :lol:
To get heat through the house, you'd have to move the "stove" or open some walls.
What about a 1/2 wall to the living room and dinette, and a door way in th eliving room? Less floor issues & molding to deal with. Heat rises
I think the issue with the wall fan is that you don't have enough of an opening to the kitchen to really move the air. I have the same issue with a doorway into my master bedroom.
Are there ceiling fans in the house?
No ceiling fans anywhere. Houses around here don't seem to have many ceiling fixtures either...strangest thing. Growing up, all the houses in the region had ceiling fixtures. Not a very popular thing in New England it seems...
- Status
Similar threads
