Fire place Insert...for appearance?

[nbarr7655]

I have been looking at wood burning inserts for a while now and then tonight while at Menards I saw this in their wood stove section. My question is, what kind of wood burning insert is this? Is this type mostly for looks and not so much heating? It has blower vents but doesn't seem made of heavy Guage steel or iron so I can only guess its be used mostly for looks and maybe for a bit of heat?

I ask because the wife and I would like to fill our current empty fireplace with an insert but at the same time have determined we definitely don't need it to pump out a ton of heat. On that note, we would prefer wood burning.

Superior™ Oversized Wood Burning Fireplace (Insert Only) at Menards https://www.menards.com/main/p-1444430565093.htm

 

[begreen]

This is a zero-clearance fireplace. They are misusing the term insert. It is an independent fireplace.
Tell us more about the fireplace and the area it is in. How open is the fireplace room to the rest of the house? How many sq ft is the house?

 

[nbarr7655]

The current fire place is in the living room. The layout is pretty open; the living room and kitchen aren't separated and pretty open concept. There is 2 bedrooms and a bathroom directly off the living room, and that's the entire first floor. Roughly 400-600 square feet. There is no 2nd story but there is a finished basement. The house currently runs on liquid propane from a high efficiency furnace we had installed 1 year ago. Attached picture is what we currently have, most definitely not in use.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like you would do fine with a medium-sized insert in the 2 cu ft range. The gas burner would need to be removed and a full stainless steel liner installed in the chimney. The rough stone face will make it impractical to use a conventional surround, but almost all inserts can be installed and run without one. It looks like some of the right side stone face may need to be cut back to make room. What are the dimensions of the fireplace?

 

[nbarr7655]

I figured I would end up having to do some work to the rock which is alright.

Dimensions:
Very back height: 16. Front height: 25.5
Back width: 30.5. Front width: 38
Hearth depth: 18

 

[john26]

I think I would set one in there with no surround unless you plan on removing a a few stones.

 

[begreen]

I figured I would end up having to do some work to the rock which is alright.

Dimensions:
Very back height: 16. Front height: 25.5
Back width: 30.5. Front width: 38
Hearth depth: 18

So 18" deep inside the firebox, right? What's the depth at lintel height?

 

[nbarr7655]

Yes, 18 deep inside the fire box. Lintel height?...

 

[nbarr7655]

To offer some more pics, here it is bare. We were told by my wife's grandma it was originally wood burning.

 

[nbarr7655]

My question is now, is it possible to burn wood just like this provided we put in a new damper? I'm not sure any of that is possible..

 

[john26]

I would recommend a sweep inspect your chimney first. If you do burn this as an open fireplace be prepared to have a major draft in the house especially if it is an older home. The Lintel depth that begreen referred to the depth at the top of the opening of the fireplace, the lintel is iron plate across the top of the opening. I would recommend something like this if it will fit with no surround unfortunately menards no longer sells them.

 

[nbarr7655]

I would recommend a sweep inspect your chimney first. If you do burn this as an open fireplace be prepared to have a major draft in the house especially if it is an older home. The Lintel depth that begreen referred to the depth at the top of the opening of the fireplace, the lintel is iron plate across the top of the opening. I would recommend something like this if it will fit with no surround unfortunately menards no longer sells them.

Ah! In that case the height is 36 inches, unless you include the height of the hearth at the bottom then it would be about 46 inches.
As far as an inspection goes, we had a sweep out a month or so ago to look everything over and we never asked about burning in the method. He did mention though that everything looked to be in great shape. I assume since the entire surround is iron with brick base that this was made to originally burn wood in the method that in describing.

 

[Dave Fawcett]

I just recently did the same as you had a gas unit swapped out to a regency classic insert and I’m very very happy. It can turn into a sweat lodge in here once she’s been cruising for a few hours. 2000 sq ft two storey chalet style house with a big open staircase and the heat gets upstairs easy. I burn Alder mostly and love it, original masonry chimney.