Introduction and some questions!

[Npd]

Hello all!

We are the owners of a 2800sqft 1960s ranch over here in the Midwest. It is heated with natural gas forced air. It is a fun home, very open and lots of floor to ceiling windows! Our existing fireplace is stone, wood burning only.

We are coming up on our third winter here, and it just gets too chilly on the side of the house with all the windows. An actually thermometer might show a degree or two difference, but it's just not as comfortable as the rest of the house. We have tried wood burning fires, but obviously most of that heats dissappears.

We originally wanted a wood burning insert, but I'm afraid the installation with the uneven stone work would be an issue for an installer.

I have started looking seriously at a stove. The local dealers have suggest the Jotul f3cb with short legs and the Hearthstone Homestead. If we go with a stove, it will have to me wider than tall, since of the arched fireplace. So there aren't too many options that I can find.

Dimensions are as follows,
Fireplace opening width 46"
Fireplace opening top of arch height 29"
Fireplace width at back 34"
Hearth depth is 12"
hearth height is 14"

I've never owned a wood stove before, I know from reading there is work involved. We would be using it maybe a handful of times a week, I do not plan to use it 24/7, but I hope it to be convenient enough to use it 3 or 4 times a week.

I'd love to hear thoughts from people other than dealers. My wife is totally fine with wood burning, her only concern is the entire home smelling like smoke, which I assured here would not be the case.

Thanks guys!
Dan

 

[begreen]

That's a beautiful fireplace. What is the height at the sides of the arch? What is the depth of the fireplace's firebox at the bottom and the top of the arch?

 

[Poindexter]

In 2800 sqft is there some other place you could put a freestander and not mess with an aesthetically pkleasing fireplace? It is perfectly fine to pencil out a rough floor plan, take a pic with your phone and post it.; Your drawing doesn't have to be perfect, just roughly to scale is A-OK.

No matter where you put it a single woodstove isn't going to heat 2800sqft on one level very evenly.

 

[Npd]

Thanks for the response guys! Regarding measurements, from the front of the stone...

Top to back is 19.5"
Bottom to back is 25.5"
Sides are ~21"
The hearth/ledge is about 1" higher than the floor of the fireplace.

I totally understand the difficulties of heating a ranch. At this point though heat that side of the house would be a nice benefit.

 

[EbS-P]

Aesthetically the arch is quite beautiful and a focal point of the room. An insert (assuming it fits) with its rectangular surround would just cover it up. A hearth mounted stove is an option And you need to get a stove that fits or you need the hearth to be extended quite a bit, not ideal and quite a job to make it look right. That leaves a freestanding stove installed in another location or even a nice gas log set or a gas stove. We have a 1960s ranch too, and decided to embrace our giant sandstone fireplace keeping it the focal point with as little modification and covering it up as we could.

I love our Jøtul F400. And if the installer can fit the F3cb in that’s what I would do. I set mine as far back as I could in the fire place, and sacrificed some heating potential. I was able to top vent it that way which with only 13’ if liner was the only way I wanted it done as the F400 can spill smoke if it’s a rear vent. I don’t know how particular the F3 is . I needed a blower as the stove top would just get too hot without it. If you don’t have really dry wood plan on getting saw dust bricks or logs.

insist on an insulated liner and a block off plate. If I had natural gas I would have explored gas stoves last year. Howe that is helpful

evan.

 

[begreen]

Consider installing an insert, but without the standard surround. There's room for a good-sized insert. A custom, inset surround could be made and painted black that preserves the look of that nice arch. Or you could just run the insert without a surround.

You will likely need ember protection in front of the insert at floor level. This can be as simple as a sheet of metal.

There are some tricks for helping move the air in a ranch house. Is there a basement? Is there a ceiling fan in the fireplace room?

 

[EbS-P]

An insert with a custom surround would be my choice unless you really like the stove look.

Consider installing an insert, but without the standard surround. There's room for a good-sized insert. A custom, inset surround could be made and painted black that preserves the look of that nice arch. Or you could just run the insert without a surround.

You will likely need ember protection in front of the insert at floor level. This can be as simple as a sheet of metal.

There are some tricks for helping move the air in a ranch house. Is there a basement? Is there a ceiling fan in the fireplace room?

 

[Npd]

I have looked into gas stoves, but the look might not do it for me. I will say that it would be used ALOT if it was push button gas.

Consider installing an insert, but without the standard surround. There's room for a good-sized insert. A custom, inset surround could be made and painted black that preserves the look of that nice arch. Or you could just run the insert without a surround.

You will likely need ember protection in front of the insert at floor level. This can be as simple as a sheet of metal.

There are some tricks for helping move the air in a ranch house. Is there a basement? Is there a ceiling fan in the fireplace room?

Great ideas and points. Neither of the installers said anything about custom surround. I'll look into that.

Regarding ember protection, you specifically said ember protection for insert, I'm guessing I'd need it too for a wood stove? Forgive me, I've never owned either. Kinda figured the heart was enough.

 

[EbS-P]

Jøtul makes some nice looking (to me) gas stoves. I know very little about install requirements, but push button and no wood and ash mess would be very appealing. I’m guessing a hearth mounted gas stove has been done before but is not very common. Installing a wood insert would be the easiest choice to install by far. The nice thing about the gas stove is that could always go in another location and can be direct vented.

Wood Inserts and free standers need floor protection even if on a hearth if the floor is is less than 16” away (horizontally) from the front of the stove/insert. That’s why mine is set so deep so I have 16” from door to the edge of the hearth. I could have moved it forward but then I’d need ember protection on the floor and it just seemed like a toe stubber at the time.

When shopping for my stove last years I spent hours and hours reading install manuals for about 10 different stoves/inserts . The result is a perfectly burning stove that both physically and aesthetically fits the space. I just saw that the Jotul GF 300 comes in ivory. I was ok not having natural gas until now. Now I’m jealous. Never having to think about firewood again.... and I like splitting it by hand....hmmmm......

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Anyway, food for thought while I was holding a sleeping toddler.

Evan

 

[begreen]

The question is, will it fit in the space or if sitting on the hearth, will the flue exit clear the lintel? Jotul makes great looking stoves, but do they have a solution that fits this particular situation?

 

[EbS-P]

And do you want to deal with pilot lights valves and thermocouples? I took my first trip over to the “it’s a gas” forum today......

The question is, will it fit in the space or if sitting on the hearth, will the flue exit clear the lintel? Jotul makes great looking stoves, but do they have a solution that fits this particular situation?

 

[peakbagger]

On an entirely different note, why not address the fundamental problem that the windows are pouring heat into the outdoors and creating significant radiant heat loss issues that make the room cold and sitting near the windows even colder due to radiant loss. At best the R value for the windows might be in the 2 to 5 range and that does not include infiltration from any opening windows. Folks will sometimes use drapes to cut down on radiant loss but the drapes usually end well above the floor and stop at the top of the window. That makes a very effective convective chimney where warm air gets sucked into the top and cold air gets dumped on the floor.

Common building practice over the years is put in too many windows to make a place bright and cheery but in a cold climate that does not work very well as the space overheats during the day (unless blinds are used) and then is cold at night. If you dont want get rid of windows, double cellular blinds with side deals work remarkable well. They stop radiant loss at night and usually double the R value. They transmit light diffusely so the room is still bright during the day.

Some folks just buy iso board foam and wrap it in fabric and cut it snug to fit in the window openings for rooms that they dont use a lot. It works well but is usually something you install in the fall and take out and store in the spring.

Get you heat loss and radiant loss under control and you find it takes a less heat to make the space comfortable.

 

[EbS-P]

A very valid point. We had 4 or 5 floor too ceiling winds in a house I grew up in and I knew it was winter when the iso board came out. We had a nice textured wallpaper on them as I remember. If the looks matter and the windows are a part of the look it’s going to be a hard sell.

 

[DBoon]

Some folks just buy iso board foam and wrap it in fabric and cut it snug to fit in the window openings for rooms that they dont use a lot.

Yeah, count me in that club from a few years back before I replaced the crappy hold windows in condo with something better. They still get pulled out and used overnights during the depths of winter when I'm at my condo.

I agree that the fireplace opening is really beautiful. If you can find a way to locate a stove there without destroying the aesthetics that would be the way to go. I had a small fireplace opening that I snuck a Lopi Answer into and it works really well. You'd have to get the blower option for it. Dimensions here (broken link removed to https://www.lopistoves.com/product-detail.aspx?model=208#dim-tab)