Free standing wood stove or insert for fireplace install

[vanfleetb]

Hello all. The wife and I recently moved into an old 1800s farm house in Michigan. The house is brick construction, two stories, and the bottom level is kind of an "L" shape. I moved an old Peacock wood stove that was in the kitchen area the "bottom" of the L out to my pole barn, and replaced it with a new Harman XXV-TC. We really like the Harman compared to the older St Croix pellet stove we had at our previous home, however we underestimated just how drafty this old house is compared to the house we moved from which was much newer and better sealed. The Harman keeps the kitchen, and bathroom off of it toasty, as well as the 2nd floor (the stairway is in the kitchen) nice and warm, but we do not get as much heat as we had hoped to the other side of the house.

On the opposite end of the house there is a masonry chimney, however we have found that burning fires in it is basically a net heat loss. I have attached a picture of the chimney in question. I was thinking about putting a wood stove or wood stove insert in the chimney to help get some heat on the other side of the house. I only have experience with pellet stoves, however I would rather put a wood stove or wood insert in this fireplace as I like the idea of being able to get heat in a power outage, and the potentially lower price point of some of the stoves and inserts I have been looking at. I have 15 acres of property here and a good portion of it is wooded, and plenty of space to season some wood.

The dimensions of the chimney are as follows. It is roughly 28.5 inches tall, 27 inches deep, and the opening is 33 inches wide. The entire width of the chimney is 63 inches. There is 24 inches from the top of the chimney opening to the wood mantel above. The hearth is rather shallow, as it only extends 12.5 inches in front of the fireplace opening, and it is roughly 3/4 of an inch below the wood floor around it. I'm assuming for almost any stove install I would have to extend this hearth forward based on the required clearances I have seen?

The main stoves I have been looking at have been the Englander 13-NCH free standing stove, and Englander 13-NCI. I'm trying to keep the cost of the stove and materials to install at or below $2000 or so if possible. I'm only trying to heat the 13'x15' living room itself, and throw some heat into the adjoining 15'x15' dining room - the pellet stove is heating the rest of the home nicely. Would either of these work for what I'm trying to accomplish? Would I be better off with the free standing stove vs the insert? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[EbS-P]

Based on looks I would say stove over insert. I like the rounded masonary work. How high are the corners of the opening? If going with a new EPA stove you will probably have to install a stainless liner. How high is the flue? My top end pre insulated liner cost me 900$ for 20ft. I probably could have done it for 600$ if I chose the cheapest option. That said, just the liner will take a big chunk of you budget. Another pellet stove with a backup power source would probably be the cheapest to install. I really wouldn’t want to deal with pellets and cord wood but I like the idea of a stove on a programmable thermostat. Trade offs I guess.

Think you can get a free standing stove to fit. That might be the reason the top is rounded as it looks like it was done at a different time than the rest of the brick work.

Hope this is helpful

Evan

 

[HomeinPA]

Hello all. The wife and I recently moved into an old 1800s farm house in Michigan. The house is brick construction, two stories, and the bottom level is kind of an "L" shape. I moved an old Peacock wood stove that was in the kitchen area the "bottom" of the L out to my pole barn, and replaced it with a new Harman XXV-TC. We really like the Harman compared to the older St Croix pellet stove we had at our previous home, however we underestimated just how drafty this old house is compared to the house we moved from which was much newer and better sealed. The Harman keeps the kitchen, and bathroom off of it toasty, as well as the 2nd floor (the stairway is in the kitchen) nice and warm, but we do not get as much heat as we had hoped to the other side of the house.

On the opposite end of the house there is a masonry chimney, however we have found that burning fires in it is basically a net heat loss. I have attached a picture of the chimney in question. I was thinking about putting a wood stove or wood stove insert in the chimney to help get some heat on the other side of the house. I only have experience with pellet stoves, however I would rather put a wood stove or wood insert in this fireplace as I like the idea of being able to get heat in a power outage, and the potentially lower price point of some of the stoves and inserts I have been looking at. I have 15 acres of property here and a good portion of it is wooded, and plenty of space to season some wood.

The dimensions of the chimney are as follows. It is roughly 28.5 inches tall, 27 inches deep, and the opening is 33 inches wide. The entire width of the chimney is 63 inches. There is 24 inches from the top of the chimney opening to the wood mantel above. The hearth is rather shallow, as it only extends 12.5 inches in front of the fireplace opening, and it is roughly 3/4 of an inch below the wood floor around it. I'm assuming for almost any stove install I would have to extend this hearth forward based on the required clearances I have seen?

The main stoves I have been looking at have been the Englander 13-NCH free standing stove, and Englander 13-NCI. I'm trying to keep the cost of the stove and materials to install at or below $2000 or so if possible. I'm only trying to heat the 13'x15' living room itself, and throw some heat into the adjoining 15'x15' dining room - the pellet stove is heating the rest of the home nicely. Would either of these work for what I'm trying to accomplish? Would I be better off with the free standing stove vs the insert? Thanks in advance for the help!View attachment 239002

I believe the measurements you have given are for the firebox and face. An insert would work well but you are going to have to extend the hearth extension or provide protection in front of the stove once it's installed.