Large Open Area Insert

[Bazzin05]

Hi All,


I know this is always open to opinion but I am open to all opinions at this point. I currently have an Appalachian 52 bay insert and we are trying to heat a 2700 SQ FT very open area with lots of windows and sliding glass doors and 25 foot ceilings in the room with the insert in it. When the temperature outside gets below the mid 30s this stove won't raise the temperature more than 2 degrees in the same room the insert is in (my thermostat is 15 feet in front of the insert) and when it is in the 20's outside the insert will only hold the area to temperature. It is looking like the current insert is way too small for us to use to reliably heat this area of our house with. Does anyone have any advice or experience with similar situations? I have attached a couple of pictures of the house and area to help with perspective. In the outside picture I circled the area I am looking to heat and the small circle is where the insert is located and the last picture is looking from the insert towards the rest of the house. I would like to know if there is any inserts out there that would produce enough heat to heat this area?

Thanks in Advance!

 

[bholler]

There is not an insert out there that is big enough to do that whole house on its own. I dont even think there is a stove that is big enough you would be into big furnace territory. The square footage is hard enough but throw in 25' ceilings with lots of glass That is going to be hard to do.

 

[jetsam]

If you're still sheetrocking and doing floors, adding a large freestanding stove somewhere might not be too painful.

 

[bholler]

If you're still sheetrocking and doing floors, adding a large freestanding stove somewhere might not be too painful.

yeah but 2700 squ feet with 25' ceilings and tons of glass. What stove will do that?

 

[iamlucky13]

Appalachian's specs say your insert has a 2.8 cubic foot firebox. I'm pretty sure that's on the larger end of what's on the market. Maybe the focus should be on getting the most performance you can out of your current insert. Even if it can't handle your entire heating demand, it can still significantly reduce the energy your furnace or other primary heat source consumes and hopefully save you a decent amount of money.

I see you're doing some remodeling work. Are you looking for opportunities to improve the insulation and weather sealing as you go?

Do you have a ceiling fan you can use to push some of the heat down from that vaulted ceiling where it's going to want to hang out?

Are you familiar with chimney block-off plates and do you have one installed?

 

[jetsam]

yeah but 2700 squ feet with 25' ceilings and tons of glass. What stove will do that?

Here's what I'd get if I was able to fit in a freestanding stove: BK's King. I've never had one but they look awesome on the spec sheet, and I'm very impressed with its smaller cousin the princess insert. Bought the thing to help lower my oil bill a little and it took over heating the whole house!

I am sure there's lots of other good options too... Woodstock gets a lot of good press around here


You also might not need a monster stove if you keep the insert and add a freestanding stove elsewhere.

 

[bholler]

Here's what I'd get if I was able to fit in a freestanding stove: BK's King. I've never had one but they look awesome on the spec sheet, and I'm very impressed with its smaller cousin the princess insert. Bought the thing to help lower my oil bill a little and it took over heating the whole house!

Yes but even the king is only rated for at most 3000 squ feet with 8' ceilings that is 24000 cubic feet. 2700 squ feet with 25' ceilings is 67500 cubic feet

 

[bholler]

Yes it would make a dent in the heating bill for sure but it wont heat the whole place

 

[jetsam]

I'd guess a lot of the answer depends on how efficient all that glass is and how well insulated you are. Doesn't seem like too much house for 2 stoves to me, but bholler is a lot more of an expert than I am.

 

[HisTreeNut]

About the only thing that might heat that much space is a furnace or outdoor boiler.
You would need a couple of large stoves like the BK King, Buck 94, or Regency i3100 to possibly heat solely by wood stove heat.

 

[begreen]

Looks like there would be lots of heat loss with all that glass. Have you ever taken the temperature at the peak of that 25ft ceiling when the insert had been running strong for several hours?

 

[Bazzin05]

Hi Guys thanks for all the reply's so far. Let me clarify a little bit. There are only 25' ceilings in the room with the insert in it and it connects to bedrooms upstairs via that walkway in the picture. I haven't measured but the 25' ceilings are only in a room that is about 300 sq ft not the whole area if that changes anything. The rest of the house has normal 8' ceilings.

Begreen I have taken the temperature at the peak of the 25ft and it was only a few degrees warmer than the ground temperature, that is why so far I haven't found it necessary to install a ceiling fan up there. I have thought about the ceiling fan up in the 25ft peek to push the heat down but at this point I'm not seeing the temperature up there high enough to justify that.

 

[mellow]

The Bay 52 is going to struggle to heat that area inside the fireplace, as others have said you need to ditch the insert idea and either put legs on that bay 52 and use it as a freestander (it is rated for insert OR free standing) or buy a larger free standing stove and install a thimble/crock into that masonry so you can use your existing flex liner. As others have mentioned you want a firebox in the 3+ range for that much sq footage.

 

[Bazzin05]

Thanks for the info Mellow and everyone! You all have confirmed my concern on the situation. I will update what I end up deciding after we decide. Any other information anyone wants to volunteer or suggest I am open to hear everything so we can make the best decision possible on this.

Thanks again!

 

[FPX Dude]

Wow, that's huge air space to heat. I'd think about some kind of free standing radiant monster in a alcove to get the job done.