A Quandary for the Best and Brightest

[LukeT509]

Hello everyone. Long time lurker, first time poster. Quick to the point, I want to improve the look and function of my upstairs fireplace and increase the heating ability of a wood stove in the finished basement.

My wife and I bought our first house about a year ago. On the upper level it has a masonry fireplace with a broken blower fan and in the lower level it has a Jotul #3 that was installed in 1984. The house is 2,000 square feet, 800 for the finished basement and 1200 for the upper level. The Jotul downstairs is quite nice but it's not potent enough to get much heat to the upper level even with fans. It also can't go much more than 4 hours after being stuffed with some dry hardwood.

I've been shopping for a replacement downstairs and am hoping to get a Jotul Castine or Oslo in the majolica brown enamel. Upstairs is a whole other thing. I'd like to flesh out the possibility of taking my old Jotul and setting it in my existing fireplace and running 6 inch insulated liner. I also stumbled upon what I thought was a really great deal on a Jotul F3CB for $500. So I have that sitting in my garage, I'll either sell it in the fall for a profit or if I can put that in my existing fireplace instead of my old Jotul I may do that. I did look at inserts but they're just too expensive. My chimney from the floor of the fireplace to the last brick measures 16'3".

I was all set to order an insulated chimney liner and plan a day to install, but I looked up my fireplace flue and saw these tubes that must function as a heat exchanger with the non-functioning fan. I'm assuming its safe to cut all those out? I can't see a way to repair or remove the blower without lifting the concrete slab hearth off its base to access.

So do I try and proceed with stuffing a stove into my fireplace and line it myself? Or am I completely out of my mind? I'll take any commentary, especially if it points out my ignorance. I'll upload photos to better illustrate what I'm talking about.

 

[bholler]

well yes you can cut out the tubes. And if you are reasonably handy you should be able to install yourself but your chimney sticks up pretty far you may want to rent a lift. Also make sure the liner you install is insulated and you do a block off plate to close off the old flue

 

[mol1jb]

Did you find that F3CB on craigslist? I remember one on there for $500 not too long ago and was tempted as well.

 

[LukeT509]

Did you find that F3CB on craigslist? I remember one on there for $500 not too long ago and was tempted as well.

I did. I had previously thought about just swapping out my old #3 and finding a 3CB so it would be a direct swap with my existing stovepipe. I had found 2 on craigslist that were selling for $1250 and $1500. That was also the week my daughter was born so I never got to go look at them and by the time things settled down they had been sold. That gave me the confidence to go after this one for $500 because I figured I could at least get my money back out of it.

 

[St. Coemgen]

the lower level it has a Jotul #3 that was installed in 1984. The house is 2,000 square feet, 800 for the finished basement and 1200 for the upper level.....
(snip)
I'd like to flesh out the possibility of taking my old Jotul and setting it in my existing fireplace and running 6 inch insulated liner.

Given those dimensions, you would be better off putting the Jotul F3CB upstairs. A Jotul F 3 is the smaller one, rated to heat only 1100 sq. ft (assuming you have "standard" ceiling heights and good insulation). The Jotul F3CB is rated at 1300 sq. ft. Also assuming you have standard ceiling heights and good insulation -- but if your living space varies in either regard, even both stoves running simultaneously may not heat your space very well.

Personally, I would try to fix the blower for the fireplace. A couple of friends with crow bars should be able to lift the hearth up, and masonry work to repair any brick damage is really is not that difficult if you want to try DIY (or just ask a pro for a bid to do it). Or, even better, use that crow bar to force out my wallet and get an insert for the fireplace. But that is just me, of course.

 

[LukeT509]

Given those dimensions, you would be better off putting the Jotul F3CB upstairs. A Jotul F 3 is the smaller one, rated to heat only 1100 sq. ft (assuming you have "standard" ceiling heights and good insulation). The Jotul F3CB is rated at 1300 sq. ft. Also assuming you have standard ceiling heights and good insulation -- but if your living space varies in either regard, even both stoves running simultaneously may not heat your space very well.

Personally, I would try to fix the blower for the fireplace. A couple of friends with crow bars should be able to lift the hearth up, and masonry work to repair any brick damage is really is not that difficult if you want to try DIY (or just ask a pro for a bid to do it). Or, even better, use that crow bar to force out my wallet and get an insert for the fireplace. But that is just me, of course.

I'll have to double check the dimensions, I assumed they were identical in size. I know it's going to be a tight fit going in and I'll have to clearance a couple bricks, but the firebox is bigger inside than the opening. I have a standard 9 foot ceiling and 5 or 6 feet away from the fireplace is a ceiling fan. Downstairs there's ceiling fan a similar distance from the stove location. I also added an additional 40 bales of cellulose insulation to my attic last fall. My goal for upstairs is more aesthetics with functionality. Right now I don't care for the look of the glass doors and its not the most useable without the blower.

The thought occurred to me to fix the blower and maybe replace the doors with something a little nicer looking, and I guess thats still a viable option so long as I don't get in there with a sawzall. I get what you're saying about the insert, and down the road that'd still be an option. I'm just tight I guess!

 

[bholler]

The thought occurred to me to fix the blower and maybe replace the doors with something a little nicer looking, and I guess thats still a viable option so long as I don't get in there with a sawzall. I get what you're saying about the insert, and down the road that'd still be an option. I'm just tight I guess!

Fixing the blower will still not make that fireplace a heating appliance. They still don't really contribute much heat to the home. As long as you can get one of the stoves to fit i would go that rout they heat as well if not better than a comparable insert. and with the arch of your fireplace I think a stove may look better.

 

[defiant3]

Wait, wouldn't an Oslo in the basement heat the whole house pretty well? Should come close to doing 2000 sq. ft.. Then who cares if the fireplace heats or not, just have a fire!

 

[LukeT509]

Wait, wouldn't an Oslo in the basement heat the whole house pretty well? Should come close to doing 2000 sq. ft.. Then who cares if the fireplace heats or not, just have a fire!

That is a valid point. I'm personally not a fan of how our current fireplace looks, and it does bother me that the blower is not currently functional. Even if it doesn't get used much because I have something much bigger in the basement, I think I'd still like the look of the stove upstairs. BUT it might make more sense to buy the bigger stove for downstairs since that will provide the most utility, and down the road cut up the fireplace, add a liner, and install a stove or insert.

 

[defiant3]

Maybe so. "How do you eat a moose?" I was once asked. "One bite at a time, boy." was the answer. Might be the right approach here. Get one stove in, go from there.