Installing wood stove fully inside fireplace

[dcefaratti]

I have a small fireplace with an arched opening. All the hearth installation diagrams I’ve seen show the stove in front of the fireplace opening. I would like to place the stove fully inside the opening because I don’t have sufficient mantel clearance with the stove outside. I don’t see much difference (safety wise) between doing this or, installing an insert. Would this type of installation be considered an alcove installation? The opening is just large enough to fit a Jotul F100 Nordic QT (approximately 22”X23”). There’s more space once I get in the fireplace, but clearances do to not meet alcove installation. Would I lose any heating benefits with this type of installation? Lastly, does anyone know of a stove shorter than the Jotul F100? Sorry for the barrage, any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

 

[wg_bent]

Big difference between a wood stove and an insert. INserts are designed to push heat out into the room either through convection or forced convection (blower). With a stove like the one your're considering, you'd be pumping the heat directly at the masonry. I can't comment on how your fireplace is designed or the safety of what your proposing, but it's not the same as an insert.

 

[begreen]

Alcove clearances don't apply when installing inside the masonry fireplace. Mantle clearances still do apply and need to be honored.

Note that Jotul insists on a proper block-off plate:

A new sheet metal damper block-off plate must be
installed around the connector pipe at the damper
frame and sealed with the proper sealant (usually
High-Temp Silicone).

 

[benking]

I installed a Jotul F3CB in my fireplace and its been keeping my cape in Maine warm all winter. I find it takes about an hour from when you start a fire till when you start seeing the heat rise in the room. The bricks from the chimney absorb a lot of heat but when the house cools I find that mass of heat helps keep the temp in the house up. I to could not allow the stove to stick out due to hearth clearance but I was able to get the F3 competely inside the fireplace. Getting it in required a friend and my wife. We had to take the legs off (short leg kit) as well as the top of the stove to get it in properly. Once inside the fireplace there was more room and the stove could be reassembled.

Choosing a stove over an insert was based on looks and it allows us to take the stove with us if we move, not that we couldn't have taken the insert out but stoves seem more versitle to me than inserts. Also most if not all inserts depend on electricity to maximize heat distribution. I think stoves without blowers are at a disadvantage but I myself like the simplicty of no electricty involved.

I put in a full length SS flex liner as well and the setup has been working without a hitch since October. Let me know if you have any questions.