Help with Fireplace

[adubree86]

So we just bought a home out in the country and after 3 months of winter I'm already tired of paying the LP bill. I'd love to start either supplementing or completely heating with either wood or pellets. I'm really trying to do the most amount of research as possible but I just keep seeming to confuse myself with all the options. Any help you guys could provide would be awesome. Heres the run down of our home.

We live in a 1620sf ranch. We have an existing masonry fireplace with no insert or anything in our living room which is the middle of the house. The living room has cathedral ceilings. The kitchen/dinning is to the left of the fireplace and is open to the living room and had 9' ceilings. The three bedrooms are to the right of the fireplace and down a hallway. The bedrooms also have 9' ceilings. This is a 1970s brick home and definitely has some air leaks. The insulation is the attic is average at best but will be updated this coming summer. I've attached the dimensions of our existing fireplace. We are completely open to pretty much all options that will occupy our existing fireplace space. We don't want a stand alone stove in the corner of the room but aren't opposed to stoves that sit partially in the opening and extend out onto the hearth. My wife seems to like the looks of Quadrafire Voyager Grand the most. Looks are important but efficiency is probably the highest on our list.

Now for the slightly complicated thing. We have a nanny that takes care of our two little girls at home during the day. Whatever we get I'm hoping to have 10-11hr burn times while I'm away from the house for work so the nanny doesn't have to mess with adding wood. I usually walk out the door at 7am and home by 6pm.

 

[webby3650]

11 hour burns? Look at Blaze King then. Their burn times will out perform any other stove. 11 hours would be normal for a BK, 20+ isn’t uncommon.

 

[adubree86]

Like I said I'm new to all this. Is 11 hrs too much to ask for? It very well could be and I just don't know any better. Basically just need something that will keep the house comfortable while I'm away at work.

 

[adubree86]

the blaze king princess insert looks very interesting.

 

[moresnow]

the blaze king princess insert looks very interesting.

Definitely worth your research time. They also can run nice and low output for a gentle heat release. Bonus for fall and spring seasons.

 

[Tegbert]

I know this comparison is between two different types and technologies but here it is. Using pine only.

My freestanding lopi rockport has a 2.15 cubic foot box.

My blaze king ashford 25 insert has a 2.3 cubic foot box.

Both on low the rockport will burn through a load to very little coals in about 5 hours and the ashford as low as I can take it without stalling the cat is around 10 sometimes 11 hours.

On alder the rockport eats up a load at around 6 hours and the ashford about 12. So pretty much double but that is also on low so it depends on what your heating needs are. Running low may not be enough for your home but at least you could have an easy relight.

There are people who report that they get easy relighting after 12 hours or so on some PE inserts too. But even then it is all depending on your wood and how you pack the stove.

I’m confused about your drawing on the right. You say the opening is 26” tall but inside to the smoke shelf or damper is only 14” is that right or am I misreading what that is?

Also a lot of inserts stick out from the opening especially the princess so unless your floor in front of the hearth is non combustible you may need a hearth extension board.




Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[adubree86]

The 14" is the break point of the back wall where it starts to angle toward the front opening. Total opening height it 26" The hearth kinda complicates things as well. We have hardwood floors. The hearth is built up 15" aff and is only 17" deep.

 

[adubree86]

Here’s a photo of our fireplace

 

[Tegbert]

So a measurement you will need to know also is the depth at the top of the opening as some fire boxes are square and will fit just fine at the bottom but would hit at the top before all the way in. Or find the inserts dimensions you are interested in and see how far they go in and the height of them to see where you need to measure from. Seeing that it is 25” deep most inserts should fit no problem as most are no where near being 26” tall just have to make sure it will clear in the back before the angle up top.

The princess definitely would fit but since it sticks out 12” you would definitely need a hearth extension board at least.

On my hearth it was 16” from the opening but the ashford sticks out about 4” so I have a board down in front of the hearth.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[adubree86]

How much clearance is needed from the unit to the edge of hearth? Also, from the top of the opening straight back is 19-1/2" deep. I'm planning to re-veneer the entire fireplace. I plan to take it all the way to the ceiling with metal studs and cement board and them complete cover with cultured stone veneer. If abosultely necessary I could build out the hearth further into the living space so its all one level. I plan to pour a tumbled edge concrete hearth.

 

[Tegbert]

16” from the door on the stove to the edge.


Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[adubree86]

The new veneer and concrete will be something along these lines but the concrete will be stained darker.

 

[ManitobaSky]

Here is the link for the (broken link removed to https://www.blazeking.com/EN/PDF/brochures/Broch_Inserts.pdf) inserts. From first glance it looks like any of the three would fit.

 

[adubree86]

I like the ashford as well but do you think that would be an appropriate size for 1620sf? Also are there any other offerings other than blaze king I should be looking into.

 

[adubree86]

anybody else?

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Considering the air leaks and moderate insulation, depending when that will be fixed, and long burn times, I would suggest a slightly larger model. Not too big, unless you want to cook yourself out of the house. Look at a stove/insert for 1500 - 2200 sqf.

 

[adubree86]

Air leaks will be fixed rather soon. I've got a bunch of outlet/switch gaskets on order. I need to seal all my can lights in the kitchen. Attic insulation will be done this spring. I'll also be encapsulating my crawl space this spring which should help tremendously. I've been reading up as much as possible on the Blaze Kings and really do seem to like what they offer. The Princess insert is rated from 1000-2300sqft.

 

[Jan Pijpelink]

Air leaks will be fixed rather soon. I've got a bunch of outlet/switch gaskets on order. I need to seal all my can lights in the kitchen. Attic insulation will be done this spring. I'll also be encapsulating my crawl space this spring which should help tremendously. I've been reading up as much as possible on the Blaze Kings and really do seem to like what they offer. The Princess insert is rated from 1000-2300sqft.

Have you checked the stove reviews on this site? Very informative.

 

[Markie123]

I just bought voyageur grand waiting for install. We look at Blaze King also almost bought it but decided against it because of the catalytic.

 

[adubree86]

Well we went and got prices on 4 stoves today. The most expensive was the Lopi medium flush. 2.2cuft firebox, rated for up to 2000sf. The next two were within $150 of each other. The blaze king princess 2.54cuft firebox rated for 1000-2300sqft and the quadrafire voyager grand 2.35cuft rated from 1100-2800sqft. The last was a brand I’m not as familiar with. The enerzone solution 2.3cuft firebox rated from 750-2100sqft. It was about $700 cheaper than the voyager and blaze king.

 

[begreen]

Of these stoves the Blaze Kings are going to provide the longest burn times. The others are good stoves, but they will need reloading more frequently.

Questions: How tall is the chimney from firebox floor to the top? What are the inner dimensions of the flue liner in the chimney?

 

[adubree86]

The chimney is a brick chimney with an 11” square clay liner. From the floor of the fireplace to top of chimney is 12’6”.

 

[begreen]

So the ID is great, there should be plenty of room for an insulated liner. They height is marginal,.This could affect draft performance. Some stoves are really fussy about draft and need at least 15-16' of flue. There are some inserts that will work ok with a shorter liner. If there are dealers in your area you might want to also look at Pacific Energy and Enviro inserts for this reason. The other option is to extend the chimney a few more feet to increase draft. The larger inserts made by PE and Enviro will provide 10-12 hr burn times and work ok with 13' flues.

Or the chimney height can be increased by a mason, a class A extension, or an extendaflue topper.

 

[adubree86]

Instead of a standard cap I could go with an extension cap. I’ll look into the other manufactures as well.

 

[begreen]

Extendaflue sells some extenders. For a 12 x 12 liner they are not inexpensive but they are well made.
https://extendaflue.com/product/large-chimney-pots-cast-classic-cc1212/