L.P. gas to wood

[mobetter]

Hello ,        

Been lurking here a few weeks and need some options on wood burning zero clearence fireplaces.  Currently we have a Majestic DV360 RFN direct vent gas log fireplace. The gas fireplace sits in a corner that measures 76" across.    The RSF Onyx and Napoleon 26 would fit as well as the BIS Ultima. Is there a medium sized unit that is heads and tails better than the others?    I see some of these units can only use their brand of pipe which can make the cost add up fast, what are your experiences, thoughts?                                                                                                                                          This is a great site, Thanks

 

[begreen]

You are looking at good brands. Maybe look at KozyHeat too. Yes, this will be a complete tearout and replacement and will be pricey. If you could add a woodstove elsewhere and leave the gas unit alone, that might work as a less expensive alternative.

 

[Jags]

Mo - just to clarify, you can't yank the gas unit and just slam in a wood unit. It needs a stack designed for wood (and hearth, etc.) If this is obvious to you, I apologize ahead of time.

 

[mobetter]

Thanks Jags,


I think I have a pretty good idea what is involved, after reading up on this great site the last few weeks.The gas log fireplace has been a pain since we moved in. First the glass was sooting up, we had a tech check it out and he found it was never converted to L.P.He did the conversion and found another problem, the stove was shipped rear vent and was converted to top vent. There is an insulation blanket that needs to be cut out for the combustion air "it wasn't".

The only way it will stay lit is to leave the door cracked, not very efficient. The remedy is to rip it out of the corner chase and remove the top insulation blanket.I have decided to rip it out and bump the chase out a little to fit a Kozy Heat Z42 or similar in there, 6" Stainless class A chimney all the way out. A nice river rock veneer and raised hearth on the corner install.I have a bountiful supply of wood as in 10 acres of ash oak shag bark hickory iron wood etc right out my front door. So if I have to demo the wall to fix the gas burner I would just as soon put in a good wood eater. The house is 2400sf single story on a 4' crawl space, and perhaps 1000sf of that is great room with 18' cathedral ceilings.

 

[Hogwildz]

2400 sf is going to take a large firebox 3cf or better, and and open floor plan to heat. Otherwise your going to be space heating.
Get a ceiling fan in that cathedral ceiling if that is where the fireplace or stove is going.

 

[mobetter]

Perhaps the Napoleon High Country? By the way there are already 2 ceiling fans in the "big" room.


Cold in the Winter and hot in the Summer, what a waste of space!

 

[Hogwildz]

I am not familiar with all the boxes you mentioned, but I considered the RSF at one point. I liked the fact that on some models you can actually run ducts off it to transport heat to other areas.
Might be something to consider?

 

[mobetter]

That Napoleon has a 4.8 c.f. firebox. Perhaps a tad large and too many $$$s, the Z42 has ~ 3 c.f. firebox with provisions for ducting. And I have read on here perhaps the best bang for the buck in a zero clearance.

 

[Hogwildz]

My personal opinion is a fireplace with ductwork capabilities is the way to go. Of course if you have the means & space to run the duct?
Sure beats hoping the heat travels, or setting box fans at every doorway.
Trust me on this fact. Go large. If you have large and don't need it all at some times, its easy to build smaller fires and it is possible to burn them efficiently and safely. If you go too small, and in the coldest days & night don't have the punch you need, cause its at max and has no more. That will be a sheety feeling and costly mistake.
If you go the ductable route, I would go as large as you can afford. I heat 2400sf with my Summit, at 0 or near that, I can get her steady at about 73 degrees, and the end of burn about 68. teens to 20 I get about 75 to 78 high end, 70 to 71 near the end, above 20, 80 is easy. If I went with medium sized, I would be an unhappy camper. Luckily I have a great open floorplan and this home was just made for wood heat.

If your wide open, your golden, if not, that duct will help alot otherwise you may or may not be able to distribute the heat more evenly, but at minimal will take box fans etc all over the place.

 

[mobetter]

Thanks for the insight on bigger is better. I tend to agree that I would be pretty bummed if I went too small and couldn't get the big BTUs when needed.
At 97,000 BTUs, that Summit really puts out . It appears the Kozy Heat Z42 has the same size firebox 3.0 Summit 2.98 Z42. My Plans are to just heat the great room ~ 1000 s.f.

I may run one duct into the master which shares a wall with the corner chase. Should 3 c.f. be enough? I started looking at smaller units that would fit the existing wall(~2 c.f.), but really like the idea of bigger than I think I would need. What do you all run in a 3+c.f. zero clerance unit?