Advice for a WBF Insert

[LouisP]

The fireplace occupies the whole back wall of our family room which is a one story extension off the main house. there are 3 doors at the opposite end of the family room It is 25X15. We use the WBF for atmosphere and we usually use one face cord per winter. The fire place doors need replacing, so I'm trying to decide between new doors and an insert. The insert the salesman is recommending seem disproportionately small to me. He said a larger one would put out too much heat. The flow from the family room to the rest of the house does not seem good, and I sort of understand what the salesman is saying. We were considering the Lopi Declaration Plus or Cape Cod, but they are designed to circulate heat to 2000 sq.ft., and my house is about 2400 sq.ft. I can envision the heat concentrating in a relatively small area.
Any suggestions?

 

[prezes13]

I have a cape cod. It is a nice insert. Solid heater. They might say it is designed to circulate heat for 2000 sf, I am heating 1200 sf with it and believe me my bedrooms are staying a bit cooler than my kitchen living dining room combo with a cathedral ceiling. It all depends what are you trying to accomplish. Do you want to heat you whole house? Or just that additional room? For a whole house those inserts are too small. You can improve the heat distribution by putting a small fan in the farthest part of you house and pointing it towards the stove. That will enforce(help the convection effect). But your stove room will be the warmest part of the house and the farther from the stove the cooler it is going to be.

 

[LouisP]

Thanks for your reply. What I'm trying to accomplish is to have a neat, attractive and safe firebox for those special occasions. Heating is a secondary concern. My fireplace is not centrally located.

 

[Grisu]

Can you post a floorplan and a picture of your fireplace? Doing that will lead to better recommendations.

Since you are considering a wood-insert: Do you already have several cords of dry wood stacked in your yard?

 

[prezes13]

Then they will do that, they are both pretty much the same stoves. They are ones of the most beautiful flushed inserts. They have a really big viewing area, but I have to warn you. That's how it started with me. We used to like to get the fire place going for ambience etc. so I thought if I burn why not have some heat out of it so I went and got my insert. Bought it based on looks not knowing anything about stoves. Now it's like my addiction. Getting the wood, splitting stacking etc. All I talk about is stove and wood.

 

[LouisP]

Then they will do that, they are both pretty much the same stoves. They are ones of the most beautiful flushed inserts. They have a really big viewing area, but I have to warn you. That's how it started with me. We used to like to get the fire place going for ambience etc. so I thought if I burn why not have some heat out of it so I went and got my insert. Bought it based on looks not knowing anything about stoves. Now it's like my addiction. Getting the wood, splitting stacking etc. All I talk about is stove and wood.

Can you post a floorplan and a picture of your fireplace? Doing that will lead to better recommendations.

Since you are considering a wood-insert: Do you already have several cords of dry wood stacked in your yard?

 

[begreen]

That's a beauty of a fireplace. What is wrong with the doors?

How long would you be burning at one time? A few hours or all day on weekends? How is this room connected to the rest of the house? How high are the ceilings?

 

[LouisP]

The doors are failing. They're loose. We would normally burn wood on a special evening and holidays. A few hours a day. The room is a one story extension off the back of the house. 25 X 15. seven foot ceilings.

 

[LouisP]

I was quoted $2500 for custom doors and a max of $5000. for an insert installed.

 

[begreen]

How large an opening is between the stove room and the main house?

If you burn as in the past you probably are not going to have an issue with overheating. If you like burning in the insert and want to burn more, then one solution would be to place a fan on the floor in the adjacent room pointing directly toward the stove room. Run the fan on low. It will blow cooler house air into the stove room. This will be replaced with the warmer stove room air. This simple trick will lower the stove room temps while increasing the adjacent area's temps.

 

[LouisP]

there are three doors at the other end of the room. One goes to the living room, one goes to the foyer the other goes to the kitchen.

 

[begreen]

Choose the larger room with a direct visual shot into the stove room and give the fan trick a try.