Great site...Help please

[BUNCH1999]

Hi,

I did a search of the site and found a ton of useful information, but as I am not sure exactly what I need to look for I have decided to put my question here.

The idea of a fireplace insert or wood burning stove was put in my head by a co-worker who lives in CT. He has a very large new house (~4,000 sqft) with a relatively open floor plan and uses a Hearthstone woodstove. I stayed at his place a week or two ago and the house stayed very comfortable in the 68 to 70F range. The outside temp was in the teens.

I live in GA were we have very mild winters but the idea of supplementing my electric bill is enticing. I live in a rural area with an abundant supply of hardwood. My house is two stories (~ 3,600 sqft – 1,800 per floor). There is an existing fireplace with a very small hearth (16in) so I think I need to go the insert route, but could add to the hearth to accommodate a wood stove. The fireplace is on the far left side of the house in a formal living room, that we do not use (the master bed room is above this room). The primary living areas are on the other side of the house (den, kitchen, and remaining bedrooms above).

This house is not very energy efficient and I am in the process of putting insulation under the floor (crawl space), and replacing the windows upstairs. I would like to know if a fireplace insert would do anything to help with heating the house (especially the side of the house away from the fireplace).

I am initially interested in the Hearthstone Clydesdale based on recommendation from my friend and reputation of the brand, but I am reluctant to make the financial investment in the unit if it will not work for my needs.

I would go to a store with expertise in this area but there are none in my area and I will need to travel to Atlanta when it is time to get serious.

Thanks in advance for all of you help!

I will be glad to answer additional questions or provide additional information

 

[webbie]

Since woodstoves are "space heaters" the general rule is to place them into the area your are heating - or at least in such a way that the heat will easily travel.

While some heat may flow, the room where the stove is located will get the warmest, and you will also miss the fun of watching the fire, etc.

Perhaps you should look into installing a chimney at the end of the house where you spend more time. Another option is a pellet stove or corn stove, assuming you can find these fuels in your area.

 

[RedRanger]

Bunch: Don`t know how far south you are from Atlanta, but from reading the weather news from there, have seen minus 6, or I think approx.27F. To me thats cold, at least it is here out on the west coast of Canada. Really, a stove is always your best option if you can do it. Locate it centrally, warms more of the house, and like the song says(When The Lights Go Out In Georgia), you still have heat and can cook on that stovetop as well.

No matter what you decide, it is a capital investment, so why not make the most of it. eg: so you have emergency heat, a place to heat up food, and some ambience that the whole family can enjoy. Just my 2cents worth.

 

[jtb51b]

I am just west of you (Gardendale AL) and I recently began heating primarily with wood. I heat in the basement of my home and the heat is forced (don't think it will just flow) to the upstair area. I use my basement as a workshop and therefore enjoy the heat all day but in the end it really helps out the upstairs as well. My gas furnace doesn't kick on unless the upstairs reaches 65* which while not pleasent is bearable. This only happens in the early morning hours, on the coldest days, when I fail to awake and re-load. I have a very old and quite probably inneficiant stove but it works for me. Give it a shot, I would be willing to bet you will enjoy it-- after all a house warmed with wood is a warmer feeling house to me.

Jason

 

[BUNCH1999]

Thanks for the posts. It definitely gets cold here, 25F this morning; just not for very much of the year. The idea of putting in two stoves is a good one and one I had not thought of.

I was thinking an insert since I have a brick and mortar fireplace already and wanted to make use of the existing structure.

Based on what I am reading so far I should forget about an insert and focus on a stove?


Jason,

How do you force the air up from your basement? Do you have it connected to your central heat and air system? I have a basement and could leverage a similare arrangement.

 

[Corie]

I guess I never had any idea it got so cold in Georgia? Weird, eh?

 

[Hubjeep]

I considered the Hearthstone Clydesdale too. It has a very nice (big) viewing area, soapstone blocks that are lifetime warrantied, and is cast iron. It is a E-W loader (left to right) accepting up to 22" logs IIRC. The Napoleon and PE Pacific at the same dealer were N-S loaders, which I liked figuring it would be easier to pack it with logs before bed without any rolling out. The PE Summit seems to be a favorite large stove around here.

 

[BUNCH1999]

Corie,

It is not this cold every year, but we do get below freezing a few times each season. The big difference is that we are not as acclimated to the cold down here, so high 30Fs low 40Fs feel COLD to us.

 

[jtb51b]

Bunch,
I do use my furnace to pull the warm air up. This is by far NOT the most economical setup, if I had a nice stove mine would be upstairs. I do use my basement a lot so its nice for it to be warm but it takes a little more work and a lot more fans to keep it warm upstairs. You can warm the space around the heater quickly but to convect heat or move it to another area take a lot more time. I will probably have a seperate system in place by next winter, I will keep this one in the basement but add another nicer stove to the upstairs. Not to mention with the price of class A chimney pipe an upstairs solution is quite a bit less expensive. Mine was about double to put in the basement vs. the upstairs.

Jason