Gas stove in fireplace - noob with ?'s

[jamesfarrell]

Here's what I got in my living room. Existing chimney. 28" x 28" opening
I want to install this

http://www.efireplacestore.com/cui-vfp30ca30bp.html?refnum=OCT-176-9442

or something like that.

My dad has a couple in his vacation home that direct vent to the outside. He's talking about direct vent through the chimney. I guess this means I would need 2 pipes (or whatever the lingo is) going up the chimney to a cap on top? Does that mean the stove has to have two holes for the pipes, one for air and one for exhaust, or is there some type of 2 into 1 converter thing?

I'm not doing the work myself, I just need to know what the hell I'm talking about so I don't get ripped off and I know what type of system I want.

Thanks

 

[barmstrong2]

Here's what I got in my living room. Existing chimney. 28" x 28" opening
I want to install this

http://www.efireplacestore.com/cui-vfp30ca30bp.html?refnum=OCT-176-9442

or something like that.

My dad has a couple in his vacation home that direct vent to the outside. He's talking about direct vent through the chimney. I guess this means I would need 2 pipes (or whatever the lingo is) going up the chimney to a cap on top? Does that mean the stove has to have two holes for the pipes, one for air and one for exhaust, or is there some type of 2 into 1 converter thing?

I'm not doing the work myself, I just need to know what the hell I'm talking about so I don't get ripped off and I know what type of system I want.

Thanks

The term your looking for is coaxial vent kit. Be sure the model you're thinking of buying has one available. Tell the stove shop you're dealing with exactly what you're doing and they should get you all you need.

Just clicked the link you provided. That's a vent free model. Visit some shops in your area where you can look at options and talk with a salesman.

 

[jamesfarrell]

The term your looking for is coaxial vent kit. Be sure the model you're thinking of buying has one available. Tell the stove shop you're dealing with exactly what you're doing and they should get you all you need.

Just clicked the link you provided. That's a vent free model. Visit some shops in your area where you can look at options and talk with a salesman.

Complete moron with this stuff. I don't even know what a flue is. I believe it's the size of the inside of the chimney? If I look inside the fire place and open the damper can I tell the size?

My issue is this. I have to educate myself first. I talked to a chimney company and they said $80 a foot for a liner? Is that right? I'd rather order all the stuff online, but not knowing what I'm doing sucks. So, I'm reliant on the Brick and Mortar shops. You know how that goes. They don't sell many stoves, but when they do, they make up for the loss in sales and I walk out with my pants down around my ankles.

 

[jamesfarrell]

At this point, I don't even know what the hell I want, I know that a direct vent has a pipe within a pipe and a B-vent is just an exhaust pipe and the stove gets the air from the inside of the house. I have read that B-vent is less efficient as far as heat. Like everything, it's got to be as frign complicated as possible. I want to save myself money here. I'm not doing the chimney work myself, it's too high. I don't do heights and I don't have a ladder to get up that high. Two floor house chimney is very very high up. But I'd like to save some money perhaps if I buy the stove and parts online. I have a buddy lined up for the plumbing aspect of it. Sorry for the tone, I get angry when I'm not knowledgable on stuff. I prefer to educate myself so that I know more than these snakes at the stores. Can't stand getting ripped off.

 

[barmstrong2]

Not to worry. None of us were born with this information.
So, you have a fireplace, 28" X28". You'll need to know the depth, and, does the firebox taper down toward the rear. If so, what after the dimensions at the rear of the firebox.
I wouldn't fret over b vent vs coaxial vent. The difference in heat output is insignificant.
I would be looking for fireplace inserts over free standing stoves.
Do you need propane or do you have natural gas in your home?
The trim for inserts can get very confusing. You're much better off to deal with a salesman who is familiar with this than trying to buy online. You might save a few bucks but I guarantee you will have incorrect parts, missing parts, etc.

 

[danimal1968]

At this point, I don't even know what the hell I want, I know that a direct vent has a pipe within a pipe and a B-vent is just an exhaust pipe and the stove gets the air from the inside of the house. I have read that B-vent is less efficient as far as heat. Like everything, it's got to be as frign complicated as possible. I want to save myself money here. I'm not doing the chimney work myself, it's too high. I don't do heights and I don't have a ladder to get up that high. Two floor house chimney is very very high up. But I'd like to save some money perhaps if I buy the stove and parts online. I have a buddy lined up for the plumbing aspect of it. Sorry for the tone, I get angry when I'm not knowledgable on stuff. I prefer to educate myself so that I know more than these snakes at the stores. Can't stand getting ripped off.

To educate yourself somewhat -

Woodstock is best known as a wood stove company, but they do have gas stoves, and they have some informative articles on their website.

Go here: (broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/360)

And scroll to the bottom right where they have a series of articles, including Gas Stove Basics and why they don't do ventless.

I think most of their diagrams show direct vent piping where the exhaust vent is actually inside the intake vent. If there is not enough room to do it that way, the vents are also made where they are side-by-side.

Also: avoid units that are "ventless" or vent-free. They do not exhaust at all except into the room.

 

[jamesfarrell]

The local stove store wanted $4000 for an insert. Installed and done. My fireplace is 27x27 opening. 4K? That's basically the smallest one there is. 4k?

I priced it out separately with comparitive inserts online.
2k for insert
$1200 for the liner (local Chimney company)

$1200 for 25' of round metal pipe?

I want to get a gas burning stove. But I have only 20" of hearth space (bricks on the floor) from the front of the fireplace. and out to the hardwood floors. So I don't know if the stove could go into the fireplace a little bit.

I am an Oracle Developer. This stove crap is far more complicated than anything I've ever come across. It's at the point, where because I don't know my ass from my elbow that I'm already angry about this. Chimney company asking me how big my flue is, how tall the chimney is? Well it's so tall, I don't have a ladder to get up there and measure the thing.

So I can't get a stove until I know what I'm dealing with for a chimney and the chimney guy asks me what I'm getting for a stove.

Are these stoves some type of dark art or something? Like Alchemy?