Another newbie looking for advice

[avsmusic1]

I need your help

I love the ambiance of a wood fire but I hate that my existing fireplace sucks more heat out that it emits. As a result, I’m been lurking around this forum and doing some research to try and find a wood burning stove to install into the masonry fireplace. I live in a colonial that’s just shy of 1800 sqft. First and foremost, I want to make my fireplace usable in colder weather. I’m thinking the insert/stove will be used as a secondary heat source on weekends so it’s not critical that it be able to heat my entire home, but I’d like to heat the lower level (~1000sqft). Also, I’ll apologize in advance to all the purists here, but aesthetics are definitely important (especially to the wife), as is price.

The Good
-centrally located chimney
-nat gas heat

The Bad
-Colonial styling (i.e. not open concept)
-Built in 1920’s so it’s drafty

The Ugly
-Fireplace dimensions -opening is 29.25”H x 33.75”W x 17”D (26” rear width) with 20” of additional floor protection out front (willing to purchase an ember protection mat)
-Top trim is 44.5” from the floor and my wife would never allow a mantle shield

Options I’m considering:
-Hearthstone Craftsbury
-Enviro Boston 1200
-Vermont Castings Montpelier (w/3”extension)

I’m looking for input from all the experts here on my current considerations and/or recommendations for other potential solutions. Thanks in advance!

 

[1kzwoman]

Welcome to the forum. Have you researched inserts? On the top right there is a magnifying glass logo that let's you search.
Someone will be posting soon to suggest a course of action. Welcome
Blockoff plate search would help too

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I can only say.... I love my VC, if you go this route, this probably will not heat your entire downstairs, I am heating 550 sq ft, one big room with many windows and no insulation. I did find out, I was able to heat an additional room, the kitchen, when it got to over 40 degrees out.......
That being said, it will stop your current fireplace from sucking out warm air, it will heat the room that it is in(space heater) and it will look great, so it is worth considering for sure..... Good luck

 

[begreen]

Welcome. How deep is the fireplace top and bottom? What's the rear height?

 

[bobdog2o02]

I'm fairly new here too. Good luck with your project, and here are my .02

The Enviro is a very well built quality insert. My Father in Law just had a Enviro Cabello 1200 installed this year. Throws LOTS of heat. They have a split level with the stove on the side of the house. with a little help from some small fans they are EASILY heating the top floor with the living, dining and 3 bedrooms, 1100SF. Their house is an open floor plan for the Living dining kitchen though. My local dealer of Vermont Castings Actually urged me NOT to buy one. I was interested in one of the expensive Cat optional top load stoves but their recent experience with quality control and warranty service(Long delay for parts) has them selling other brands to keep happy customers. Don't forget to get a liner for that chimney too.

 

[bobdog2o02]

I'm fairly new here too. Good luck with your project, and here are my .02

The Enviro is a very well built quality insert. My Father in Law just had a Enviro Cabello 1200 installed this year. Throws LOTS of heat. They have a split level with the stove on the side of the house. with a little help from some small fans they are EASILY heating the top floor with the living, dining and 3 bedrooms, 1100SF. Their house is an open floor plan for the Living dining kitchen though. My local dealer of Vermont Castings Actually urged me NOT to buy one. I was interested in one of the expensive Cat optional top load stoves but their recent experience with quality control and warranty service(Long delay for parts) has them selling other brands to keep happy customers. Don't forget to get a liner for that chimney too.

Take the Vermont castings part with a grain of salt as i have NO first hand experience and they are gorgeous stoves.

Also how about a pic of where the stove will go.

 

[avsmusic1]

Welcome. How deep is the fireplace top and bottom? What's the rear height?

17 depth and I beleive there is no difference in depth or height from front to back.

@bobdog2o02 - I'd be happy to post some pics but I haven't quite figure out how to yet

 

[bobdog2o02]

try photobucket. upload your pic and then just link to it. Or click "upload a file" button beside the "post reply button.

 

[Rickb]

easiest way to post pics is to create an account on photobucket then just copy and paste the link from there after you upload a picture.

 

[weatherguy]

First welcome to the site, second not sure why you put dimensions under ugly, that sounds like you have a good set up for a stove.

 

[Grisu]

Since you mentioned the Craftsbury, I assume you would be open to a hearth-mounted stove. A similar looking one but quite a bit larger would be the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap. It can be rear-vented at less than 29" height and has a 2.4 cu ft firebox meaning you will get overnight burns and maybe even a whole house heater. Other potential fits are the Woodstock Fireview (or Progress Hybrid if you want to go really big) and the Morso 3610. For all of them check the required r-value of the hearth as you won't have much room to raise it for adding insulation.

For an insert, check out the Hearthstone Clydesdale. Its depth can be adjusted by a few inches. Its 2.4 cu ft firebox will put out some serious heat. Another one that should fit but is rarely mentioned here is the Lennox Montlake. Then there is also the Jotul C450 which may be to your (wife's) liking and should fit in the firebox. All those have a firebox over 2 cu ft which would allow you overnight burns.

And since you have been lurking here for a while, I assume you already know the importance of seasoned wood.

 

[avsmusic1]

Grisu - I've looked at many of the ones you've noted above but, unfortunately, my mantle clearance precludes them w/out a mantel shield. Also, yes, I've seen the importance of properly seasoned wood stressed quite a bit

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Grisu - I've looked at many of the ones you've noted above but, unfortunately, my mantle clearance precludes them w/out a mantel shield. Also, yes, I've seen the importance of properly seasoned wood stressed quite a bit

Great so how much do you have split and stacked and for how long?

 

[bobdog2o02]

Great so how much do you have split and stacked and for how long?

Merciless

 

[avsmusic1]

Success!

 

[avsmusic1]

One more

 

[avsmusic1]

Great so how much do you have split and stacked and for how long?

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

I'm sorry, most of us on here buy the stove first, then we get wood, myself included, just looking out for you now that we know better..... What ever you decide, get some good wood now, split, stacked, in the sun and wind, in a single line...

 

[bobdog2o02]

I'm sorry, most of us on here buy the stove first, then we get wood, myself included, just looking out for you now that we know better..... What ever you decide, get some good wood now, split, stacked, in the sun and wind, in a single line...

That is sage advice. Nothing worse than reading about a guy with a big J***l stove with chitty wood and a bad setup. The ratings on whatever stove you decide on are based on the most OPTIMAL conditions. Without properly seasoned fuel(preferably high BTU, or frequent loadings) you will disappointed with the setup.

 

[becasunshine]

Merciless

Yes, they are, aren't they? Ergo when we decided to add a wood stove at a remote location, we figured out from whence to get the wood FIRST. The wood arrived cut and split, and we stacked most of it this past weekend. We are waiting on delivery of the last cord; we'll stack that this weekend. And our stove hasn't even arrived yet.

That being said, I don't know if we'll be able to burn this wood next winter- we may or may not have one more winter of seasoning due on this wood. We'll see.

You will impress everybody when you upload a picture of your wood pile. Welcome to the forum.

 

[smokedragon]

I agree about getting the wood going first........

The real issue is that you aren't going to find many inserts for that fireplace that stand a chance to heat your entire home. The good news is, that you are looking more to supplement anyway.

I would look at inserts and then check the dimensions for fit. Is the wife ok with it sticking out into the room a little? That would be the way I would go (cause then you can use the top part that sticks out to cook/heat water if you have a power outage).

my mantle clearance precludes them w/out a mantel shield

I had the same issue with my wife, here are two thoughts:

1 - There are some stoves that you mount a deflector ON the stove (not the mantle). My wife was on board with that (quadrafire comes to mind, but don't quote me)

2 - We are converting to a free standing stove. The new stove is far enough into the room that it isn't under the mantle, and we are running double wall pipe under the mantle to the liner (needs 6" clearance, has 29")

My $0.02

 

[Grisu]

Grisu - I've looked at many of the ones you've noted above but, unfortunately, my mantle clearance precludes them w/out a mantel shield. Also, yes, I've seen the importance of properly seasoned wood stressed quite a bit

Yep, mantle clearance was the part I did not look at in my rundown. Looking at the picture of your fireplace, I can understand that putting a shield may be difficult. I am wondering whether some other non-combustible material that can be painted white could be run below your wooden mantel. Don't know right now but maybe someone else has a brilliant idea.

Do you know what is underneath that hearth? You don't want to ignite the subfloor. And just an ember protection mat with all that carpet around may be a bit dicey - especially for your insurance. You may want to extend the hearth.

 

[Grisu]

Yes, they are, aren't they? Ergo when we decided to add a wood stove at a remote location, we figured out from whence to get the wood FIRST. The wood arrived cut and split, and we stacked most of it this past weekend. We are waiting on delivery of the last cord; we'll stack that this weekend. And our stove hasn't even arrived yet.

That being said, I don't know if we'll be able to burn this wood next winter- we may or may not have one more winter of seasoning due on this wood. We'll see.

You will impress everybody when you upload a picture of your wood pile. Welcome to the forum.

You are already doing better than most first-time woodburners. See if you can get also some softwood like pine. When top-covered that usually dries within one summer. Next fall you can also get some Ecobricks and mix 2 or 3 with your semi-seasoned wood. That should give you a good enough burn. Burn with the air a bit more open and check your chimney often. Alltogether you should get well through the first winter.

 

[becasunshine]

You are already doing better than most first-time woodburners. See if you can get also some softwood like pine. When top-covered that usually dries within one summer. Next fall you can also get some Ecobricks and mix 2 or 3 with your semi-seasoned wood. That should give you a good enough burn. Burn with the air a bit more open and check your chimney often. Alltogether you should get well through the first winter.

Thank you for these suggestions, Grisu. Are Ecobricks typically carried on store shelves? The person from whom we purchased the wood said that the logs were between one and three seasons cut, but he splits right before delivery. Some splits were quite dry but some were not- still very heavy. It's all oak- red oak, I think. ??? (Still have a lot to learn about trees and fire wood.) We cross-stacked the wood so that air/wind could penetrate from any direction. There is typically at least a breeze across this property pretty much all the time. If the wood doesn't dry out enough to burn by next winter, it's OK. We don't have to live there full time yet- we can wait.

 

[Grisu]

For Ecobricks you can check here: http://ecobrick.net/dealerloc
There are other, similar products like Biobricks: http://originalbiobricks.com/
Just make sure whatever else you find, they are free of glue etc. They can often by ordered by the pallet in the fall. They are usually more expensive than cordwood but the difference can be smaller than most people would think if bought in bulk: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/biobricks-the-economics-of-them.79910/

Oak, of course, is about the worst wood species you could get in your situation as it is really slow to dry. 2 to even 3 years are the norm. I don't count the time the wood sits in logs as drying time although the ends may have less moisture than the rest. See if you can find some ash or, as mentioned before, pine or similar softwoods. Those dry relatively quickly. Don't touch the oak until the winter after at the earliest.