Osburn 2400 . . . should i be looking at something else?

[Chip Wood]

we're in a 1940 fixer-upper with stone exterior walls on the first floor and wood frame on the small second floor. poorly insulated at the moment and that's something we'll be spending money and time on in the coming year or two, along with replacing a large single-pane window in the living room.

roughly 1700 sq ft interior space

main fireplace dimensions;
49"w x 34"h at the front
tapers back with steel firebox, 24" deep at 24" high
short, floor-level hearth extends just barely 16"

chimney is 18' with exterior exposure

only existing heat source is 5 mini-splits that really struggle when temps get below freezing, and a combination of electric and propane space heaters. there used to be a forced air oil burner but it was long since dead when we moved in. last winter we just closed off the living room and office portion of the house (as well as guest bedrooms) and still struggled to keep it near 60f when it got really cold out. we're generally fine with low to mid 60's, though it'd be nice to be able to get it warmer, for guests and such.

there are two chimneys and three flues, all of which have loose and damaged tiles and will need to be re-lined. at the moment i'm only focusing on the main fireplace in the living room to get us some heat before this winter is over. kinda late to be getting started, but cash flow, fixer-upper, blah blah. right now it looks like we won't get a liner til around the end of January. i'm not doing the liner myself, though i may do some prep like cutting a clear 6" path through the throat/damper.

there is an old insert with an 8" exhaust/liner that has been more crushed than ovalized to make it through the damper, and apparently ends right above the the smoke shelf. the insert may or may not be sound, but it isn't safe to use in its present configuration, with the flue in the condition it's in. i don't know if it's worth saving this insert to use in the second fireplace later on.

i'm attaching rough diagrams of the first and second floors. the living room, where the main fireplace is, has a cathedral ceiling. the door to the rest of the house opens at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the second floor.

questions: does this look like a viable floor plan for effectively heating most or all of the house with a properly sized insert in the living room?

i admit i'm getting a bit overwhelmed looking at brands and model specs, but strictly by the numbers i'm having a hard time finding anything besides the 2400 with the same (apparent) bang for the buck. the only downside i can see is that it isn't anywhere near flush and i'm not wild about using a mat. are there other, comparable inserts at a similar price i should look at?

so far i'm not seeing too many faceplate options big enough for this fireplace.

brevity vs thoroughness . . . sorry to be so long-winded.

 

[begreen]

Due to the closed off nature of the rooms the insert is going to primarily be heating only the living room unless some system to move the heat to the kitchen area is implemented. Is there a basement thru which an insulated duct could be run to the kitchen area? The peaked ceiling will compound the problem. Heat is going to want to stratify up near the peak. A couple ceiling fans can help circulated the air somewhat.

The Osburn 2400 is a good basic workhorse. It's going to be oversized unless a means to move the heat can be devised. Also, it needs R=1.0 floor protection at least 16" in front of the stove door. It looks like that will mean extending the hearth. PE makes an oversized surround for their inserts. If you find something else you prefer it might be possible to make an extension for the surround out of black painted sheet metal.

 

[Chip Wood]

thanks for your reply. the living room does have a ceiling fan, but i'd assumed we'd have an additional floor fan (or two) to get the air circulating.

the flush PE inserts could be a good option, a quick glance online shows reasonable prices too. it looks like their oversized surrounds would still be a bit small though.

 

[NoobTube]

Hi Chip, I'm putting in a 2400 in the coming week, and batted around several different stoves. For your hearth, you are definitely going to need to extend it either via a pad or building it out by getting a mason in there for flooring. Mine is 20" and its not enough because of the amount the 2400 will stick out. I'm just buying a cheap hearth extension pad for the burning months and taking it out during the summer.

Ask anyone here who has the 2400, its super capable of heating. your biggest issue is getting that heat distributed. I would recommend a fan blowing cold air from the top of the stairs down to start. If that doesnt work, there is another option for you. I noticed that the wall of the stair way shares a wall with your living room. If you took that wall down and kept a post there (again speculating on construction here...) that would create a pretty easy path for hot air to get up the stairs and into the bed rooms up there. If that wall is open (ie. nothing in it like water lines or ducting, that would easily improve your heat distribution method.

 

[Chip Wood]

thanks Noob. if i can't id a flush alternative, i would have to go with an extension pad. ain't no money for additional masonry at this point.

i had considered putting a vent with a fan at the top of that wall. that would mean the hottest part of the room could vent directly into the top of the stairwell. as it is, the main bedroom is about the easiest to keep warm as that's the highest point.

 

[NoobTube]

I think I understand what you are talking about with that wall. A vent would maybe work, but might not look all that great. an open staircase would definitely give you much more airflow. My parents old house had an open staircase to the upstairs (saltbox contemporary) and heat easily went up their from the fireplace in the living room.
Kind of like this: Fireplace would have been to the right of where the camera view is. on the wall that is not shown.

If it was closed off, I think it would have had a hard time.
The hearth extensions aren't that expensive (well it depends on what you are looking for). I think the cheapest ones are around $150 for a 12" x 48" extension pad.

 

[begreen]

Regency I3100?

Note the hearth extension pad for the Osburn 2400 must have a rating of at least R=1.0

 

[NoobTube]

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-...Safe-Hearth-Extender-Steel-Edge-Colorado-Rose

There you go. R- 2.4 Rating. Less than 150.

 

[Chip Wood]

i hadn't thought of taking that wall out, that would certainly facilitate airflow through out the house.

i'll check out the Regency, thanks!

 

[begreen]

Good deal. How the heck do they get a 2.4 R rating in a 1.5" thick tiled pad? Says it is rigid cement board from China. Wondering if something got overstated or mistranslated?
Also
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E8O814/?tag=hearthamazon-20

 

[NoobTube]

According to their breakdown: Yeah I don't know either.

 

[begreen]

Methinks that is a huge exaggeration or they are looking at k values and did the math wrong. (If these are k values then the sum R value is .41.) Look at the R values listed for the tile and thinset. That's nonsense. Can you provide a link to that image source?

 

[NoobTube]

Sure click on the link and then in the picture on the right, there is another small icon for a picture and its directly off of Woodland Direct.

 

[begreen]

Got it. I see it now. Still can't get over the R=.58 thinset. Someone in marketing is off their rocker. There are lots of places selling this product this season, but only one is claiming it has a high R value as far as I can see. Based on the construction I would say this is a type 1 ember protection only hearth.