Hi-
I'm sitting here in front of the huge fireplace in my 108 year old home. It pops. It crackles. It looks great. However I can't help but thinking I could be getting more heat out to the cords and cords of wood I've been shoveling in over the past few years.
I've looked at both inserts and stoves….and even pre-made metal fireplaces. By most standards the fireplace is big: 41 X 32 X 24. So a lot of things could fit in the firebox. So that brings up a few issues on it's own.
Here are the ups and downs of the options.
Inserts:
1. The inserts that are big enough to fit the space, are probably too big for the room. The room is about 300sq/ft.
a. One possible solution to the overheating issue would be a hydronic insert tied into the hot water heating system in the house. However these are both expensive and rare.
2. Large inserts often don't have surrounds that are big enough to cover the fireplace mouth, which means an universal cover would be needed, and for aesthetic reasons, I can see this being shot down.
Woodburing Stoves:
1. Almost any stove can fit directly into the fireplace without even coming out onto the hearth. Aesthetically, that would be OK. Maybe not great but, OK.
2. However , I realize, I'd be heating up a bunch of brick and stone this way. Maybe not the best $ per BTU spend.
Pre-Fab Fireplace:
1. There are some zero clearance fireplaces which would fit inside the firebox and made a good aesthetic fit, with some creative masonry. Probably better than most inserts.
2. Downside, is nobody seems to know anything about how to approach this.One staffer at the local stove store told me he would have to demo the whole chimney…which seems ridiculous. (It's 40ft high and made of field stone)
And now the million dollar (or more likely $5000 question):
1. Anyone else have a similar experience?
2. What did you do?
3. Go pictures?
4. Any other recommendations?
Thanks.
-The Pigeon Flys High.
I'm sitting here in front of the huge fireplace in my 108 year old home. It pops. It crackles. It looks great. However I can't help but thinking I could be getting more heat out to the cords and cords of wood I've been shoveling in over the past few years.
I've looked at both inserts and stoves….and even pre-made metal fireplaces. By most standards the fireplace is big: 41 X 32 X 24. So a lot of things could fit in the firebox. So that brings up a few issues on it's own.
Here are the ups and downs of the options.
Inserts:
1. The inserts that are big enough to fit the space, are probably too big for the room. The room is about 300sq/ft.
a. One possible solution to the overheating issue would be a hydronic insert tied into the hot water heating system in the house. However these are both expensive and rare.
2. Large inserts often don't have surrounds that are big enough to cover the fireplace mouth, which means an universal cover would be needed, and for aesthetic reasons, I can see this being shot down.
Woodburing Stoves:
1. Almost any stove can fit directly into the fireplace without even coming out onto the hearth. Aesthetically, that would be OK. Maybe not great but, OK.
2. However , I realize, I'd be heating up a bunch of brick and stone this way. Maybe not the best $ per BTU spend.
Pre-Fab Fireplace:
1. There are some zero clearance fireplaces which would fit inside the firebox and made a good aesthetic fit, with some creative masonry. Probably better than most inserts.
2. Downside, is nobody seems to know anything about how to approach this.One staffer at the local stove store told me he would have to demo the whole chimney…which seems ridiculous. (It's 40ft high and made of field stone)
And now the million dollar (or more likely $5000 question):
1. Anyone else have a similar experience?
2. What did you do?
3. Go pictures?
4. Any other recommendations?
Thanks.
-The Pigeon Flys High.