Kent Tile Fire Placed Inside Fireplace. Will it heat as well?

[masterlock]

Hi everyone, I've been going through this forum quite a bit for the last few days and I'm quite impressed with the community here (well done). I just purchased a cute little house near Gross Point Michigan (technically I'm in Detroit) and I'm in the process of bringing the house back to life. At this point I would like some advice on the location and positioning of the stove. My goal is to balance aesthetics and efficiency. I do have a fireplace so the most aesthetic choice would be to push the stove as deep as possible into the fireplace. But if I do this will I be sacrificing efficiency and heat from the stove? If so, now much will I be sacrificing?

Here are some numbers to help with this:

Fireplace dimensions:

• Front: 42" wide 30" high
• Back: 37" wide 30" high
• Depth: 20.75" deep on bottom to 18.75" deep on top (tapers up)

Stove model: Kent Tile Fire

Stove dimensions: 22" wide x 24" high x 26" deep

House square footage: 1450 (2 story built in 1923)

So given these measurements, my Kent Tile Fire will stick out approximately 8 inches from the brick face to the face of the stove. When I add a metal surrounding trim piece around the stove that is flush with the fireplace face I'm just concerned that the stove is mostly inside the fireplace so I will be losing a lot of valuable heat. Can anyone give me some feedback and perspective on this? I've never owned or operated a wood stove before so this is a first for me and I'm just trying to find the right balance so it looks good but also heats my house effectively.

Thanks everyone!

 

[HotCoals]

You don't have to put a surround up..maybe just a block off plate up in the chimney?
Are you going to use a liner?

 

[jeff_t]

Yeah, no surround. Inserts are kinda a box in a box, with air circulating around the firebox, to move heat out into the room. The Kent doesn't work like that. Does it have a blower?

Put a full 6" stainless liner in the chimney, with a sealed block off plate at the bottom to keep heat from going up the chimney.

 

[masterlock]

No blower on this one so it sounds like my best bet is to add the block-off plate in the chimney (with a stainless steel chimney liner) but leave it open without a surround. Since this doesn't have a blower would it be beneficial to make any other modifications to the fireplace in order to prevent heat-loss? Also how about installing a secondary fan to help move the warm air out into the room?

My fireplace (pictured below) has a visible hole in the bottom that goes down into the basement. Not sure how this will affect airflow but should I consider blocking this? Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[begreen]

An insulated block off plate is essential for this installation. Install it as low as possible and make the back slightly lower than the front if possible.

It will take some experimenting to find what works the best for getting heat into the room. A fan blowing down low toward the back of the fireplace should be sufficient.

 

[masterlock]

My flue is roughly 30" long x 4" wide so I will need to manipulate the stainless steel liner (picture here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_5282-jpg.117344/) and I'm curious where I get the block off plate. Is this something I need to custom fabricate to snugly fit the flu and the liner? Also, what do you guys think about this choice of wood burner (Kent Wood Fire) for this size home (1450 sq ft 2 story 1920s house). I'd love to offset as much heating as possible this winter so I hope this little stove can do that.

 

[begreen]

Is the entire flue 30" x 4" or just the damper? If just the damper it sounds like some cutting may be in order. You can get kits or just fabricate the blockoff plate. We have good instructions in the articles and wiki sections here.

The Kent in good running condition was a great heater. It should do the job. Did you read precaud's detailed posting on this stove?

 

[HotCoals]

No blower on this one so it sounds like my best bet is to add the block-off plate in the chimney (with a stainless steel chimney liner) but leave it open without a surround. Since this doesn't have a blower would it be beneficial to make any other modifications to the fireplace in order to prevent heat-loss? Also how about installing a secondary fan to help move the warm air out into the room?

My fireplace (pictured below) has a visible hole in the bottom that goes down into the basement. Not sure how this will affect airflow but should I consider blocking this? Thanks again for the feedback!

That hole might be ash dump.
Probably don't need to block it..seems I read on here that some even hook up their intake air to it?
I don't know but you could search it.

 

[masterlock]

Is the entire flue 30" x 4" or just the damper? If just the damper it sounds like some cutting may be in order. You can get kits or just fabricate the blockoff plate. We have good instructions in the articles and wiki sections here.

Sorry, that was just the damper dimensions. Not sure how big the flue is.

The Kent in good running condition was a great heater. It should do the job. Did you read precaud's detailed posting on this stove?

Yes I did read this posting and it actually contributed toward my decision to go with the Kent Tile Fire as my first unit. It's a beautiful stove with a very solid build and seems to a great heater.

Someone on here mentioned they were able to achieve 9 hour burns pretty regularly so I hope that's actually doable. I'm sure I'll be back on here soon after it's installed asking for some tune-up advice

p.s. Here is precaud's original post in case others are interested: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/kent-tile-fire-and-sherwood-stoves.60702/

 

[dougand3]

I have a Kent Tile Fire in a masonry FP. I regularly get 9 hours with locust and hickory. Lots of hot coals to ignite a 2" pine split in 30 seconds. The convection currents are strong moving heat out. The opposite wall of great room - 16 feet away - stays at 80*. I made a blower for the Tile Fire - see precaud's thread above.