How to Get Heat out of this Small Fireplace

[HoosierTransplant]

So, my 2nd floor office has a very small fireplace in it. The opening is 18" wide (at back of firebox), 18" deep, and 28" tall. My main woodstove is downstairs and doesn't circulate well to this part of the house. I work from home out of the office 2-3 days a week, and so I'd love a way to get a bit of heat out of this thing.

I assume no stove or insert would fit in this, correct? I haven't found anything.

Is there any hope of putting a good grate, fireback, or something else that could produce a bit of heat. It's a modest room -- 12x14 ft, and if I could just raise the temp in the room 5-10 degrees that would be nice.

Safety-wise, the floor of the firebox & the hearth is ceramic tile. The rest of the inside of the firebox looks like firebrick. The facade is stone. I have not idea how deep the brick runs. The house is 100 years old and well-built. Haven't had the flue inspected yet.

Thoughts?

 

[HoosierTransplant]

This thread looks related, but there weren't many suggestions: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/ideas-for-a-small-fireplace-opening.133466/#post-1792996

 

[HoosierTransplant]

Putting an F602 in would be awesome. It is ok to cram a stove into a fireplace opening like this: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/jotul-602-install-almost-complete.60414/#post-60414

I definitely don't meet the "alcove" clearances, and neither does the install in the thread above.....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/jotul-602-in-fireplace-max-heat-output.58832/

 

[rwhite]

There are some great looking free standing stoves that would work great in that space. Morso and Jotul are the first that come to mind.

 

[TreeGoomba]

Hi Hoosier Transplant, I'm right up the road from you in Franklin Lakes. I have a Morso 2b stove that heats a similar size space in a very old house too. Great little stove, easy to use and maintain. It is a small firebox though and requires reloading every 2-4 hours.

 

[HoosierTransplant]

Ah, very cool, Goomba.

Do I have to worry about clearances when I put a stove in a fireplace? Or do those not apply? How do Mantles work?

 

[HoosierTransplant]

This comment suggests alcove clearances don't apply for stove installs into fireplaces: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/installing-wood-stove-fully-inside-fireplace.11623/#post-209653

 

[rwhite]

This comment suggests alcove clearances don't apply for stove installs into fireplaces: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/installing-wood-stove-fully-inside-fireplace.11623/#post-209653

That is correct. The clearance to the front and proper protection and height to the mantle will be your only concerns if the fire place is solid masonry. Then just get an insulated liner and block off plate installed and your golden

 

[cookin2night]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E8O814/?tag=hearthamazon-20

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[cookin2night]

http://www.thetoolworkshop.com/vogelzanginternationaldeluxeboxwoodstovebx42e.aspx

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[begreen]

This comment suggests alcove clearances don't apply for stove installs into fireplaces: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/installing-wood-stove-fully-inside-fireplace.11623/#post-209653

Yes, but the clearance to the mantel still needs to be taken into account if the mantel is combustible. In your case it looks like the mantel would need a simple shield on 1" spacers underneath it.

 

[Ashful]

Haven't seen the house, but one glance at that fireplace screams DIY. Do you believe it's original to the house, or some prior homeowner's addition?

 

[byQ]

How is that much mass supported on a second floor? What is below it on the first floor? And it looks like the chimney is mostly outside of the house, is it?

 

[HoosierTransplant]

Yes, but the clearance to the mantel still needs to be taken into account if the mantel is combustible. In your case it looks like the mantel would need a simple shield on 1" spacers underneath it.

Bottom of Mantel is 46" from ground, but only sticks out about 3" past the stone. I don't even see anywhere in the manual that addresses shielding the mantel.

I was thinking use a hearth pad in front of the tile to get enough protection in front of the stove door.

How is that much mass supported on a second floor? What is below it on the first floor? And it looks like the chimney is mostly outside of the house, is it?

There is a fireplace directly below it on the first floor -- another small one that looks like a coal fireplace as well. Firebox dimensions are about the same. Chimney is definitely original to the house. It's on exterior wall which runs the height of the building.

Haven't seen the house, but one glance at that fireplace screams DIY. Do you believe it's original to the house, or some prior homeowner's addition?

Chimney's definitely original to the house, but the stone facade is definitely not. There was a stone facade on the downstairs fireplace, as well, which we've pulled off and found original brick underneath.

So, structurally, I've no doubt that it's solid. Chimney itself is not DIY. Facade very well could be. I do wonder what's under the ceramic tiles -- whether there's brick or sheet rock or what...

 

[HoosierTransplant]

That is correct. The clearance to the front and proper protection and height to the mantle will be your only concerns if the fire place is solid masonry. Then just get an insulated liner and block off plate installed and your golden

Wow, this is sweet. Need to work the budget to get this into it....

 

[begreen]

Mantel clearances are not defined for every stove. Some stoves were not tested or considered for this application. In this case however, Jotul has defined it for the F602CB. Consider the unit to top trim dimension B.

 

[HoosierTransplant]

Mantel clearances are not defined for every stove. Some stoves were not tested or considered for this application. In this case however, Jotul has defined it for the F602CB. Consider the unit to top trim dimension B.
View attachment 189904

Nice. Thank you! I've been looking at that diagram, but wasn't sure how to fit in the Mantel. Since the stove will stick out a bit from the front of the firebox, I suppose dimension B is the right one to look at. The unit height is 25 3/16". To top trim it needs 21" clearance, which would total 46 3/16" from the floor. My mantle is 46". So close. I'd be open to putting some short of shield on it.....

 

[rwhite]

Something to be prepared for if the flue from the 1st floor exits next to the other one is you may end up needing to block the lower flue off. If its a basement there may be negative pressure and it will draw smoke down an adjacent flue.