Complete novice here

[matt sabre]

I recently bought a cabin that I'm renovating. It has an undated wood-burning stove and an open fireplace in one large hearth at the center of the house. The free-standing stove is a Gold Coast but I have no idea how old it is. The open fireplace appears to have a metal box in there and the chimneys both look in good shape.

During the renovations as it's got colder I've been using the free-standing stove but am not really happy with the heat output. Admittedly I've been burning sub-standard wood (mostly construction debris and offcuts) but over the course of several hours it just about gets up to 64 degrees, and that's with the assistance of a wall-mounted mini-split. It just doesn't seem to radiate much heat at all and the rooms further away are very cold.

I really need something that will push hot air around the place and circulate into the other downstairs areas. My place is 1,200 sq ft open plan with the main room, kitchen, bath and bed on the ground floor and an upstairs loft and bathroom that is open to the rest of the house.

I think I should be replacing the Gold Coast stove and just ensuring that the fireplace is properly sealed and used for decorative burning only. I'm including pics of everything and would appreciate questions and comments from the knowledgeable members on here. thanks for looking

matt

Here's the stove


The hearth and view of open loft above


Chimneys




Fireplace

 

[bholler]

well it is obvious that the fireplace does not work well by the smoke staining above it. As far as the stove I know nothing about that stove so I cant give you much input on it but I can tell you if the cabin is cold especially with that huge mass of masonry (if it is solid masonry which I think is doubtful) it is going to take a long time to get the temp up in there. I would also investigate the construction of that masonry mass because if it is just veneer stove over framing you probably have some clearance issues.

 

[begreen]

A bigger, more modern heater with a blower should make a nice difference there. Dry wood is essential for good heat. Construction cutoffs are ok, but best mixed with dry cord wood. I'm going to move this post to the main forum. It seems like most of your questions will be about a replacement for the old stove. If so, what is the budget? How tall is the flue from stove top to chimney cap?

 

[matt sabre]

well it is obvious that the fireplace does not work well by the smoke staining above it. As far as the stove I know nothing about that stove so I cant give you much input on it but I can tell you if the cabin is cold especially with that huge mass of masonry (if it is solid masonry which I think is doubtful) it is going to take a long time to get the temp up in there. I would also investigate the construction of that masonry mass because if it is just veneer stove over framing you probably have some clearance issues.

It is solid masonry. The hearth is a free-standing mass in the middle of the room.

As for replacement, I'm hoping to find something around $600 on craigslist. I already have some candidates. What I'm thinking is that I could dispense with the free-standing stove completely and just put a larger insert into the old open fireplace and kill two birds with one stone.

Flue is about 20 to 25 feet.

Here's one potential replacement:

(broken link removed to http://sacramento.craigslist.org/app/5922967959.html)

 

[WiscWoody]

If you have a Northern Tool store or look up where you can buy Drolet stoves you can get a new stove for around that or a bit more. Sac doesn't get too cold so I'd think a medium sized stove should work fine for you. My mom and a sister live there off of Watt Ave.

 

[chimneyED]

It is solid masonry. The hearth is a free-standing mass in the middle of the room.

As for replacement, I'm hoping to find something around $600 on craigslist. I already have some candidates. What I'm thinking is that I could dispense with the free-standing stove completely and just put a larger insert into the old open fireplace and kill two birds with one stone.

Flue is about 20 to 25 feet.

Here's one potential replacement:

(broken link removed to http://sacramento.craigslist.org/app/5922967959.html)

that looks like a stove to me. if your gonna put it in the FP you want a insert or else you will be wasting half the heat into the chimney. that stove is fine to replace the free standing but if your putting in the fireplace an insert is shielded to throw heat out the front only - and don't get one without a blower (and full liner obviously)

 

[begreen]

I'm with WiscWoody. You can get a fine new freestanding stove for under $1,000 that will heat the place well, use less wood and will be more CA emissions friendly.

 

[matt sabre]

If you have a Northern Tool store or look up where you can buy Drolet stoves you can get a new stove for around that or a bit more. Sac doesn't get too cold so I'd think a medium sized stove should work fine for you. My mom and a sister live there off of Watt Ave.

My place is actually Pollock Pines where it can get a lot colder than Sac (it's at 3,000 feet).

Do you think this one could do the job:

(broken link removed to http://sacramento.craigslist.org/hsh/5916891821.html)

I'm keen to have something that will push enough warm air around to heat the far corners of the house. It gets a lot colder in the downstairs bedroom so I'm just keeping the door closed and will be putting in an infrared cabinet heater to compensate. It'd be nice to have a stove that's pushing out warm air and keeping the whole house warmed.

I'll take a look at Drolet stoves.

 

[rwhite]

How big of a project do you want? Were it me I'd tear the front and sides of the stone down. Just leave back wall and the hearth. Then turn the new stove 90 degrees toward the room. That open fireplace isn't doing anything but robbing heat.

 

[begreen]

Also take a look at Century and Englander stoves (aka Summer's Heat). The Lopi Answer is a good stove but may be a bit small for your application.

 

[rwhite]

It doesn't appear that the open fireplace is installed correctly anyway. Does it transition to chimney or is it black stove pipe all the way out?

 

[matt sabre]

How big of a project do you want? Were it me I'd tear the front and sides of the stone down. Just leave back wall and the hearth. Then turn the new stove 90 degrees toward the room. That open fireplace isn't doing anything but robbing heat.

That's not totally out of the question so I'd have to take a look again and see if it will work.

Also take a look at Century and Englander stoves (aka Summer's Heat). The Lopi Answer is a good stove but may be a bit small for your application.

Thanks, is there a minimum BTU I should be looking at? Is a blower essential? I went to a fireplace store and they advised against putting one of those blowers on the chimney.

It doesn't appear that the open fireplace is installed correctly anyway. Does it transition to chimney or is it black stove pipe all the way out?

It is black stove pipe all the way. I have no problem sealing it up as much as possible and then leaving it for some sort of decorative use.

Anybody know a good product for getting rid of that soot on the exterior of the hearth?

 

[bholler]

I went to a fireplace store and they advised against putting one of those blowers on the chimney.

Yes they are right that are absolutely horrible devices.

Anybody know a good product for getting rid of that soot on the exterior of the hearth?

saver systems paint and peel. It works like magic but it is not cheap.

 

[matt sabre]

ok, great. I am learning a lot of new stuff here so thanks for the replies.

The store was also asking about baffles on the chimneys. is that what those boxy things are where the chimneys meet the roof?

I found a half gallon of that chimney cleaner here

(broken link removed to https://www.northlineexpress.com/chimneyrx-paint-and-peel-fireplace-cleaner-1-2-gallon-300444-19932.html)

Do you think 1/2 gallon would do it?

 

[bholler]

A 1/2 gal will do one coat but I think you may need more than one application for yours.

 

[Squisher]

The chimneys where they go through the ceiling the one from the stove looks like a ceiling support box, does it transition to class A chimney from there? What type of connecting pipe is it and what sort of clearance does it have to that beam? The one from the open fireplace what type of pipe is that? It looks like it just goes right through and you mention it's 'black stove pipe'. If that's just single wall stovepipe it needs 18"s of clearance and if it is double wall it's likely 6". Also it should mount to a ceiling support box where it would transition to chimney pipe. How is it supported presently?

 

[WiscWoody]

My place is actually Pollock Pines where it can get a lot colder than Sac (it's at 3,000 feet).

Do you think this one could do the job:

(broken link removed to http://sacramento.craigslist.org/hsh/5916891821.html)

I'm keen to have something that will push enough warm air around to heat the far corners of the house. It gets a lot colder in the downstairs bedroom so I'm just keeping the door closed and will be putting in an infrared cabinet heater to compensate. It'd be nice to have a stove that's pushing out warm air and keeping the whole house warmed.

I'll take a look at Drolet stoves.

Ok, your in a nice area, my sister is a nurse in Placerville and I can remember Folsom from way back before the mansions were there.

 

[blacktail]

When people mention blowers they're talking about a fan package that moves air around the body of the stove. The fan things that mount in your pipe are heat reclaimers and cause creosote build up.

 

[Woody Stover]

Here's one potential replacementbroken link removed to http://sacramento.craigslist.org/app/5922967959.html)

Is that 1200 sq.ft. on the main level, plus the loft? The BBF might be overkill for that space, but maybe not. My neighbor has one...it's a 51000 BTU flame-thrower! Big firebox...should burn 12 hrs. on a load, easily. It's a catalytic combustor stove, replacement is about $275. It requires 8" flue...looks like yours may be 6".
You might be better off with a "value" steel stove with secondary burn, instead of a cat. They are low-maintenance, and quick to start from a cold stove.

 

[mitchell721]

There's a lot to kind of go over and some reading time involved for you. I will say definitely upgrade the wood stove first. This is where you need to decide tube stove with secondary burn or catalytic. Tube stoves are cheaper but don't have the burn times of the catalytic stoves. They also have less parts and less maintenance. Do some research on that. Look at something englander for new tube stove around 800-900 your going to be looking at a used blaze king to hit that same price range. Also I wouldn't use the fireplace until you get am insert in it. If you listen to the woodstove you will hear it pulling air. Well the fireplace does this but at a much larger rate. Sacking heated air up the flue. Due to pressure that air must be replaced somehow so it's drawing cooler air from outside. The blower these fellas are talking about are on the sides of insert built in. It's meant to draw heat off firebox so your not just heating stone on 3 sides. Hope this helps

 

[kennyp2339]

Plug up the fireplace opening so cold air doesn't come down the flue, yes a bigger stove will help, you'll want more of a convective unit with a blower because the radiant heat is being absorbed into the cooler masonry.

 

[matt sabre]

Sadly the guy selling the BBF has decided to keep it.

I think my open fireplace has some sort of metal insert in there already. I'll go up and inspect further and get some pics. I'm guessing there is also a flue that can be closed.

In terms of replacing the wood stove, I think I'd be happier buying something bigger than something simply adequate. The 1,200 SF is the entire home. Is that existing stove worth anything at all? I'd either put it on Craigslist or scrap it.

I'm thinking about getting a chimney sweep up there to clean out both chimneys and hopefully give me his input on my problem. I've found somebody local who appears to have been in business for a number of years. How much does chimney sweeping typically cost? If I do get a replacement stove how much am I looking at to get a freestanding one installed, or an insert in that big fireplace? I realise that there are lots of variables so I'm hoping someone can come up with a ballpark number just to give me an idea what I'm looking at down the road.

 

[matt sabre]

What is the purpose of that vent built into the hearth above the body of the main open fireplace?

 

[bholler]

I think my open fireplace has some sort of metal insert in there already. I'll go up and inspect further and get some pics. I'm guessing there is also a flue that can be closed.

In terms of replacing the wood stove, I think I'd be happier buying something bigger than something simply adequate. The 1,200 SF is the entire home. Is that existing stove worth anything at all? I'd either put it on Craigslist or scrap it.

I'm thinking about getting a chimney sweep up there to clean out both chimneys and hopefully give me his input on my problem. I've found somebody local who appears to have been in business for a number of years. How much does chimney sweeping typically cost? If I do get a replacement stove how much am I looking at to get a freestanding one installed, or an insert in that big fireplace? I realise that there are lots of variables so I'm hoping someone can come up with a ballpark number just to give me an idea what I'm looking at down the road.

At this point you really need to get a pro out to look at things in person. But I can tell you if that mass is truly solid masonry it is going to take a very long time to bring the cabin up to temperature. That mass is going to suck up a massive amount of btus. If you were heating 247 with the stove that would be a nice benifit but coming in and trying to heat from cold it is going to be a huge handicap.

 

[Woody Stover]

What is the purpose of that vent built into the hearth above the body of the main open fireplace?

Trying to get heat into the room off the metal firebox, I'd think.

At this point you really need to get a pro out to look at things in person. But I can tell you if that mass is truly solid masonry it is going to take a very long time to bring the cabin up to temperature. That mass is going to suck up a massive amount of btus.

If it were me, I might think about removing the top and just keeping a portion of the stonework on the bottom as a hearth, and putting a free-standing stove on it...