Advice on wood stove replacement in fireplace

[voodzick]

Hey guys-- first time caller here. I bought a 2900 sq ft house in the mountains with significant snow (7000 ft). It currently has a wood fireplace and the rest of the house is heated via gas furnace.

I would like to replace the fireplace with a freestanding wood stove based on the increased heat output that I have read about here. The stove will also be my primary source of heat, relying less on the furnace. The home is two story, the stove is in a 500 sq ft room (main living room) that opens up 25 feet to a loft. Based on what I have researched, I'm considering these three stoves:

Blaze King - King
Hearthstone Equinox
Pacific Energy Alderlea T6

I'm interested in your opinions on all three. What is a good price? I realize there are varying opinions on having a catalytic converter, but wanted to get the opinion of experts that didn't have a commission involved. Also, what are your opinions on the best installation method as far as tying into the chimney?

I've read about some installs of a reflective barrier behind stacked stone at the back and sides surrounding the stove to reduce heat loss. Is this a common practice? Obviously there will be some major tear out involved, but any experience/advice is appreciated!

 

[electrathon]

From someone with a Hearthstone, I would buy a Blaze king. The Hearthstone looks stunning. It is pretty. It gobbles up wood. It puts out little heat.

I have no input either way on the T6.

 

[ddddddden]

I would go with the BK.
Second choice: T6.

Easiest install = drop a stainless flex pipe "liner" down the masonry chimney and seal the top of the fireplace with sheet metal.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ock-off-plate-for-a-masonry-fireplace.147679/

The BK King requires an 8" chimney. (6" for the T6 and smaller BK's.) 8" liner pipe is more expensive than 6", and your masonry chimney has to be able to accommodate it. BK also wants your stove pipe to have 3' rise straight up out of the stove before making any bends.(The BK is draft sensitive.)

If your stove room has a 25' ceiling, put a ceiling fan in there.

 

[BKVP]

Search here on this site "Blaze King Alcove"

Members have posted their remodels, some in precise detail.

BKVP

 

[bholler]

From someone with a Hearthstone, I would buy a Blaze king. The Hearthstone looks stunning. It is pretty. It gobbles up wood. It puts out little heat.

I have no input either way on the T6.

Yes your hearth stone does but you have done nothing to address those issues many other people are very happy with hearthstones

 

[bholler]

But to answer the ops question all 3 are good stoves the bk is much bigger and will give you much longer burn times but the other 2 look much better and will still put out allot of heat. But honestly 2900 sqft with the stove in a room with 25 ft ceilings you are going to be pushing any stove hard

 

[jetsam]

I bought a 2900 sq ft house in the mountains with significant snow (7000 ft).

That is significant snow. How sure are you that there is a house under there?

The stove will also be my primary source of heat, relying less on the furnace.

That's a lot for any stove to heat, maybe an impossible amount if it has poor windows/insulation.

I'm interested in your opinions on all three. What is a good price? I realize there are varying opinions on having a catalytic converter, but wanted to get the opinion of experts that didn't have a commission involved.

I'd go for the King without a doubt, if the 8" liner is possible for you. I think the cat/tubes debate has been over with for years here. (Short form result: They both work.)

I've read about some installs of a reflective barrier behind stacked stone at the back and sides surrounding the stove to reduce heat loss. Is this a common practice? Obviously there will be some major tear out involved, but any experience/advice is appreciated!

Exterior masonry chimneys are big old heatsinks. Several folks have had good results from insulating the fireplace with Roxul and facing that with cement board (which can be tiled or ledgerstoned or painted or whatever).

That's a good sized fireplace if you are contemplating putting a freeatanding King inside of it!


The primary expense is going to be the liner... I would guess that 7000' of 8" liner will cost at least $100,000.

 

[begreen]

Whatever you put in you'll want to have a way to break up the heat stratification at the ceiling peak, otherwise the loft area will be a sauna. Are there ceiling fans already in place?

The stoves mentioned are large. They'd need a tall opening to fit in the fireplace. One option might be to block off the fireplace with insulation board and then tap into the chimney higher up. How large is the fireplace opening and how deep is it? Is there a wood mantel?

 

[moresnow]

Load a pic or two of the current arrangement for the pro's to review. Maybe a pic or two of the entire place. For those of us who dream of mountain living. But live in a real enchanting. Cornfield............

 

[voodzick]

Thanks for the replies. The stoves I researched were chosen based on heating capacity for the size of the home. There are two ceiling fans installed in the room as can be seen in the photo. The chimney is not made of brick, it's framed in with rest of the house. The photo isn't great, but you can get the idea on the exterior construction. Based on the size of the stove, it looks like it might be best to put it out farther into the room and tie into the chimney above. Is that going to hinder performance at all?

I really appreciate your guys' advice on what you would recommend if you were in my place. Like I said originally, my ultimate goal is to do the best I can to heat the place with a wood stove, however that works out. Thanks again in advance for your help!

 

[begreen]

Ah, a picture is worth a thousand words. That is a zero clearance fireplace. Tapping into the chimney higher up is not an option. The most likely options are to replace it with a good EPA ZC fireplace or remove the hearth and put a large, rear-vent wood stove on a new hearth at floor level or install a freestanding wood stove at another location, maybe at the wall on the opposite side of the room?
What is the height at the top of the ZC fireplace opening when the doors are open?

 

[Niko]

if your want a freestanding Blaze king you have some option. you could demo out the ledge and current insert and just have the freestand just sit in front. or you can put it in the corner of that wall where the windows are. i mean your are the best eyes as far as where the pipe is and what looks best and what is the place sometimes those 2 dont work together. you also have carpet which might suck cause of dirt and bringing in the wood. If you think a little ahead it will be sweat setup as the king def has some long burn times.

also where is the closest door? you stated a lot of snow before so keep bringing in wood from outside on those days.

 

[jetsam]

That is a lot of window. Are they double-paned and non-leaky?

 

[bholler]

The stoves I researched were chosen based on heating capacity for the size of the home.

Yes but those stoves list heating capacity in sqft assuming an 8' ceiling. what really matters is cubic feet and you have allot more cubic feet than a house that is 2900 sqft with 8' ceilings.

And with that fireplace your options are very limited the best solution is to remove it and build an alcove with a new chimney. The minimum required would be a freestander in front with a full liner in the chimney. But you need a full inspection of the system to check for condition and to make sure it was installed correctly to begin with

 

[begreen]

if your want a freestanding Blaze king you have some option. you could demo out the ledge and current insert and just have the freestand just sit in front.

How so? BK stoves are all top vent which may mean putting a 90º elbow right on the flue collar. Not sure if that would work too well with a BK. Putting one in as a freestander in another location however could work.

 

[Niko]

How so? BK stoves are all top vent which may mean putting a 90º elbow right on the flue collar. Not sure if that would work too well with a BK. Putting one in as a freestander in another location however could work.

didnt mean putting it inside where the insert is. put it in front of it, bust out the ledge and fill in the insert for now. run a black pipe straight up. cheaper method then demoing the whole insert and building a alcove.

 

[bholler]

where the insert is

It is not an insert it is a zeroclearance fireplace they are very different. Yes I guess you could do what you described but it is a pretty half assed way to go about it. I would much rather see an alcove install myself.

 

[begreen]

With the current hearth removed and a stainless liner there are some large non-cat stoves with rear-vent that could work. In non-cat the Jotul F600, Quadrafire Explorer III and the Hearthstone Manchester and for cat stoves the Ideal Steel or Progress Hybrid stoves by Woodstock could also work.

 

[Niko]

It is not an insert it is a zeroclearance fireplace they are very different. Yes I guess you could do what you described but it is a pretty half assed way to go about it. I would much rather see an alcove install myself.

half assed is a product after work is done, im only giving ideas with real world budgets in mind. We all can dream and create crazy designs but hopefully your pocket is as big as your idea.

 

[voodzick]

From the top of the fireplace to the ground (below the hearth) is 50 in. Fireplace width is 43 in. Obviously that's going to inadequate for any top venting stove. So it appears my options are (1) tear out, make an alcove, redo the chimney with proper venting, insulation, etc up to code or (2) seal off the current set up and install in front of it with free standing, with a standard black pipe straight up through the roof.

If I go with option 1, is it possible to tear out the lower section of the chimney to make enough space for a top vent?

I also read that with ZC fireplaces that the entire construction isn't made for the heat that a freestanding puts out (I think it was UL 103HT rated), so you really have to start from scratch. Is that an accurate assumption?

Based on ya'lls experience, what would you recommend I do? Based on heat performance, it seems like nothing will compare to a free standing, so it would seem that's the way to go. I got a quote from my local dealer for BK king as a new install (as in option 2) for $5700, $2800 for the stove. Does that seem like a reasonable price?

As for the alcove/tear out of option 1, I don't have any idea what that would cost. Thoughts?

 

[moresnow]

$2800 for the stove

Whatever you should decide to do. Your quoted stove price seems very attractive. Can't buy that stove near me for that money.... Install quote I can not comment on. To bad you can't locate the stove in a different location leaving the current setup completely alone.

 

[sen166]

Coming from someone who once had a zero clearance fireplace, I would recommend the option of taking out the zero clearance fireplace, re-drywalling over the opening, building a new hearth, and putting a nice free standing wood stove down in its place. The removal of the zero clearance fireplace is much easier than one would think.

However, the other option is if you have another area to simply install a free standing wood stove where it would look aesthetically pleasing and still keep the zero clearance fireplace for kicks and home resale value, I would do that instead. In my case, there was no other area to place a stove that would have been the correct fit for my home.

You are certainly headed in the right direction for whole home heating with the desire to install a freestanding wood stove.

P.S. - I chose to install a Hearthstone Mansfield (next size under the Equinox) and found it performs wonderfully for the heating needs of my home...

 

[Texas123]

Given the size of the main living room, a modification of Sen166's advice is what I recommend. I recommend installing a stand alone stove at the opposite end of the living room which would give you the needed capacity and the balance of two stoves for the area. Then if you wish to go for the largest one you may do so.

 

[maple1]

You are certainly headed in the right direction for whole home heating with the desire to install a freestanding wood stove.

Well, not exactly. A stove is still a space heater. Whole home heating is done best with a central heating appliance.

The OP mentions gas furnace also. Which should mean duct work already in place. Any chance of installing an add on wood furnace and leaving fireplace as-is?

 

[voodzick]

There is a gas furnace, but it underneath the crawl space accessed from the outside and I don't think very practical to light a fire every day. I could do as some suggested and install on the other side of the main room. I'll get some quotes and look around at some other potential areas and post photos for your guys' thoughts.