Factory blower for Mansfield worth it...?

[jkazak]

We are about to install a Hearthstone Mansfield on the main floor where there used to be a cheap "builder quality" fireplace in our home. Last year we put a Lopi Liberty in the basement to which I added a factory blower fan and it really did help get the heat into the room. I know the Liberty is designed to put that fan to use with the front baffles and it works well. But it doesn't appear the Hearthstone has a similar design - in other words I don't see any vents for the blower to push air around the body of the stove.....am I missing something..? Is it worth the $400-plus to install the blower and rear heat shield..? Will it work as well as the fan on the Liberty..?

I'm really trying to get "off the grid" with these two stoves to heat our 5,000 sq/ft log house.. I really wanted an Equinox but found a REALLY good deal on the lightly used Mansfield so that's what we are going to install. As the stove is going to sit slightly recessed in the old "firebox" I'm concerned too much heat is going to get stuck in the recess - even considering building a dual-fan setup into the wall overhang where the heat might stay trapped.... opinions..? Advise..?

Thanks in advance.....

 

[begreen]

If the stove is just slightly into this recess then it shouldn't be an issue. However, what is slightly? If only about 6-12", consider sloping the ceiling of the recess so that it is lower in the back and higher on the front into the room.

What is the floorplan like on this floor? How open is the stove room to the rest of that floor? Open or closed off rooms? Heat can convect pretty well with an open floor plan without using a fan. I would try it a season without to see how it works unless this is a challenging location. If it is at the far end of the house you may have better luck using a floor fan blowing cooler air from a farther area into the stove room.

 

[Grisu]

Is that fireplace at an exterior or interior wall? At an interior wall any heat "trapped" in the fireplace will eventually end up in the room anyway. A blower will help here only to get more heat quicker after a cold start. At an exterior wall I would suggest putting a layer of Roxul insulation in the back of the fireplace and covering it with some non-combustible material like Durock or sheet metal. That will help keeping the heat from the Mansfield in the house. A block-off plate would also be an essential item to get the most out of the stove. After that a small dektop fan a few feet away blowing cold air at an angle towards the stove will be cheaper, quieter and most likely work as well as a stove blower.

 

[BrotherBart]

Having a large stove half in and half out of a fireplace I can tell ya that anything that gets that heat out and into the living space is a good thing.

 

[begreen]

We are about to install a Hearthstone Mansfield on the main floor where there used to be a cheap "builder quality" fireplace in our home.

What has replaced the fireplace? Have you created an alcove? Pics would help.

 

[jkazak]

If the stove is just slightly into this recess then it shouldn't be an issue. However, what is slightly? If only about 6-12", consider sloping the ceiling of the recess so that it is lower in the back and higher on the front into the room.

What is the floorplan like on this floor? How open is the stove room to the rest of that floor? Open or closed off rooms? Heat can convect pretty well with an open floor plan without using a fan. I would try it a season without to see how it works unless this is a challenging location. If it is at the far end of the house you may have better luck using a floor fan blowing cooler air from a farther area into the stove room.

The chase is on a south exterior wall. My plan is to keep the stove out of the recess and into the room as much as possible - just enough inset to run the stove pipe straight up to the chimney pipe. And fortunately the stove exhausts at the top rear...so 8-10 seems possible...? The plan was to finish out the chase opening in marble tile with a block-off and chimney support. I'm going to try and make sure to seal off that recess as much as possible So maybe I'm going to luck out and the heat will build up and roll out into the room....which is what makes me wonder about the blower/fan. The next challenge will be the cathedral ceilings..... Really wishing right now for that Equinox....

 

[begreen]

Is the ZC chimney pipe class A or are you replacing it with class A chimney pipe?

 

[jkazak]

Is the ZC chimney pipe class A or are you replacing it with class A chimney pipe?

Is the ZC chimney pipe class A or are you replacing it with class A chimney pipe?

We will be replacing with Class A.

 

[begreen]

Sounds good. If the recess is insulated I don't think the cavity will hold the heat. Make sure you have the required clearance from the top of the stove to the ceiling of the recess.

Heat circulation around the house will be a separate issue and cathedral ceilings will further complicate this issue. Ceiling fans will help move the heat off the room ceiling peak.

 

[Dairyman]

I have the factory blower and it really does move the air well. I tried fans in various places and nothing works as well.

That being said the blower is pretty low quality for what your paying for it.

 

[jkazak]

What has replaced the fireplace? Have you created an alcove? Pics would help.

Thanks to all for the replies and questions. I guess I need to educate myself a bit more. The plan is to take out the ZC, add framework, block off the chase then marble tile it all ( creating an Alcove - yes..? ). Now one question is - do I make the Alcove as large as possible or build protected surface(s) to keep it smaller. The ZC is a 42-inch wide Majestic and it appears if using a protected surface I can keep the Alcove as small as 48-inches square - otherwise its 63-inch minimum width. I realize I'm fighting an uphill battle here especially with 19-foot cathedral ceilings - we do have (2) ceiling fans in the great room to help. At least I know the stove will produce a lot more heat and Im trying to make the best use of it.

Thanks again.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

We use the blower with ours, and our build sounds close to what you want to do. We insulated well, and have no issue getting the heat moved around the house with one small fan set at floor level as far from the stove as possible, but we don't have cathedral ceilings and do have a open floor plan and large stairwell.. Our Manny is about 1/2 stuffed in it's spot.

 

[Highbeam]

5000SF!! 19 foot ceilings! yeah, that will be a tough space to heat with any stove. You can put a dent in the fuel bill and have a dang comfortable area around the stove. You picked a nice radiant stove which will help you feel warm when you are close to it. I've never been a "fan" of blowers on wood stoves. They're loud and expensive and in this application they might not make much difference in the ability of that stove to heat.

 

[begreen]

I prefer a good quiet convective stove too, but that is not an option for everyone. Fortunately, not all blowers are loud, it depends on the design and rpm they run at. Unless you turn up the PE blower to high it's pretty quiet. Much quieter than our pellet stove was. Some stoves and inserts use axial (muffin) fans which can be fairly quiet too.

 

[jkazak]

5000SF!! 19 foot ceilings! yeah, that will be a tough space to heat with any stove. You can put a dent in the fuel bill and have a dang comfortable area around the stove. You picked a nice radiant stove which will help you feel warm when you are close to it. I've never been a "fan" of blowers on wood stoves. They're loud and expensive and in this application they might not make much difference in the ability of that stove to heat.

Well..... its a 2-story that houses all that sq/ft. The basement is 1900 with a Lopi Liberty handling heating chores there and the Mansfield will be on the main which is 1900 (approximately) open floor plan with the rest (upstairs) being a large loft with open staircase and then 2 bedrooms. I dont expect the upstairs bedrooms to enjoy much of the stove heat - but we will use an infrared heater there - which work really well.
So we will have 2 stoves burning to fend off the Winter chills.
My only experience with wood stoves so far has been 1-season with the Lopi and being a convection heater we were pretty happy with it. The main reason for the Mansfield was a great price and esthetics for the main floor. And I'm pretty sure its going to heat much better than that old ZC...now if I can just keep the 2 stoves fed all Winter...wish me luck.

 

[begreen]

It'll definitely be an improvement both for the eyes and the body. Ceiling fans will be a must to help circulate the heat. Otherwise the loft will be 85F while the main floor is 65F.

 

[Highbeam]

I dont expect the upstairs bedrooms to enjoy much of the stove heat

If this is an open loft as you say, those upstairs bedrooms will see the lion's share of the heat. I've had the pleasure to stay in cabins that had that upstairs sleeping loft and that is where all the heat rises to. This is why those ceiling fans that BG recommended are so important, to keep the heat down.

Nomatter how effective it is, a cabin with a two story main room MUST have a stove/fireplace heating the area. It just feels right. In addition, you can surely find a place in that 1900 SF basement to stuff a real heater like a ducted wood furnace to keep the whole house warm.

For comparison, my whole house is less than 1700SF and I don't wish for more living space.

 

[jkazak]

If this is an open loft as you say, those upstairs bedrooms will see the lion's share of the heat. I've had the pleasure to stay in cabins that had that upstairs sleeping loft and that is where all the heat rises to. This is why those ceiling fans that BG recommended are so important, to keep the heat down.

Nomatter how effective it is, a cabin with a two story main room MUST have a stove/fireplace heating the area. It just feels right. In addition, you can surely find a place in that 1900 SF basement to stuff a real heater like a ducted wood furnace to keep the whole house warm.

For comparison, my whole house is less than 1700SF and I don't wish for more living space.

I had considered a supplemental wood furnace (we had one in a previous home and it worked great) but it would have been an expensive (and rather unsightly with a second chimney / chase) addition to the house. Our budget allows small steps - the only reason we were able to get into this large of a home was because it was foreclosed on and the bank wanted it off their books so we got it cheap. Near half of its current appraised value - after a LOT of cleaning / labor. But its been a mixed blessing with its size and 6-acre lot......
Fortunately there are 2-ceiling fans in the main room and 1-ceiling fan in the loft so maybe we can push enough air around to spread the heat...but as you noted a log home NEEDS a viewable fire just because.

 

[tryingtostaywarm]

We bough the blower, that was a top priority for new stove after having difficulty heating whole house w/ previous stove. I think the soapstone itself will help w/ that but we have used the blower. It isn't as quiet as I hoped but it did help distribute heat faster.