Other Half Wants Fireplace Back!

[hardwood715]

As most of you know, I have been using the Old Gold Marc Insert dated 1980 to heat the place . Fairly great shape, sat idle for a long time, anyway..... This year the other half was toasted out of the living room, due to too much heat. That big ole firebox , and the blower I guess made the Living Room too hot for her. I tried fans in the stairwell, was gonna compromise the ceiling with a vent and duct-fan, till I read Elks comments on screwing with the fire protection in the ceiling..... So she says, why cant we just use the fireplace????????? Why cant we throw away the heat right up the chimney is my response! I love it when the oil guy delivers 50 gallons instead of 275!! So my dilema, I want to get a newer EPA insert,glass door, with the proper liner, SO I DONT HAVE TO PULL IT OUT TO CLEAN ANYMORE! But How do I go about not roasting the Living room to the mid 80s! Geez you think she'd be hapy watching TV up in her room

 

[Mrs-GVA]

Get a pellet stove. You can set the temperature. We haven't used our furnace in 3 years

 

[TMonter]

Get a smaller insert say with a 2 Cubic foot firebox. It should heat adequately and will offer far more control than your old insert. How big is the space you heat with your current insert?

 

[titan]

So the overheating is due to a small room with inadequate air circulation?If you can't remedy the lack of air circ.,maybe an automatic pellet stove with programmable controls is in order.However if you need to burn wood,try smaller fires with low-btu softwoods.Just my .02.

 

[wg_bent]

Have her stop by Steve. Let her see mine. My Osburn does get our LR to 80's but only in the warmer weather. I could if I ran it harder, but mostly the convection currents plus the blower keep the overheating at bay.

You've seen my house... I'd never say my livingroom is too hot. Just toasty.

 

[R&D Guy]

A pellet stove doesn't sound bad seeing how it sounds as if you don't have access to gas - now there's perfect room temp every time with no mess! I'd agree with the previous post that a smaller firebox might help.

I had a woodstove in my last house, and had the same upper 70's, low 80's issue. That can be the big drawback with wood, but the nice thing is that air conditioning is free in the winter.

Whatever you get I'd be sure to get one with a big window. One of the things I miss is watching a wood fire burn down with the secondary’s going. With a more modern insert, you'll likely have better control of the burn rate.

 

[seattlepioneer]

Open a window.



Seattle Pioneer

 

[wg_bent]

Folks... Is this the first "My stove stove is too big" post?

 

[elkimmeg]

If the wife want to return to a fire place, then I doubt she is thinking in terms of a pellet stove. Part of the fireplace appeal is
the open fire. A pelletstove is like looking at a mini blast furnace not the same. However as mentioned easier to regulate.

I think we need to know more about the house and room layout including sizes. A properly configured insert with a decent viewing glass is the way to go.
Another approach is working with that insert to produce longer not as hot productive burns. A more even heat for a longer time.

Another way to move heat around is the placement of fans Posibly a ceiling fan as well It is quite evident the old insert is over powering that room.

Old fasion heaing used high and low wall vents to adjacent rooms. I have to know the layout to figure that arangement or even to follow through with the suggestion

 

[Gooserider]

Would this be a good place to reccomend a soapstone insert - sounds like the "kindler, gentler, heat" claims might be what is needed?

Gooserider

 

[hardwood715]

Appreciate all the replies, yes Warren I think I will try to get her to check yours out, that Osburn sure makes mine look like a prehistoric dinosaur. Elk- the first floor consists soley of the living room, and huge kitchen, an open archway leads to kitchen from living room, and has like an open square serving window from the countertop into living room, first floor greater amount of heat, staiway up from living room leads to small hall with 2 bedrooms- one on each side of bathroom centered in hall directly opposite stairs. a third level consists of 1 huge bedroom, and attic. attic of course is closed off from bedroom. stairwell down from kitchen ( door in place) leads to ground floor garage, and stairs down to basement from garage. Yes open windows alot in winter especially in Living room, where fireplace with insert is. The fasco fan is only operable in one positin, HIGH, and I use the stove stat to turn it on and off. firebox is 3.2 CF , and the insert stretches out over hearth 13 inches deep from fireplace face and is 30 inches wide. there is a ceiling fan in the living room, and when i put that small square archway fan in stairwell, it is comfortable up stairs, does move the heat, its just that that initial room, living room can get toasty, compared to rest of house, Me I dont mind ,,, trying to find a peaceful solution for the other half!

 

[begreen]

Is the Goldmark hard to maintain a medium sized fire in? What about loading less wood and using larger splits that burn slower? Seems to be a good compromise if it will work in the stove.

 

[hardwood715]

Alot of factors due to the design of the beast as BroBart would call it. Its next to impossible to line the chimney due to the 30 X 3 in flue outlet/damper slide, so as recommended I burn hot fires at least once a day. also have to pull it out to clean the fireplace/smoke chamber/ throat of chimney when I brush it down. Non-cat/Pre EPA. There are 4 knmobs, 2 on each door to adjust intake air, but I am constantly reminded not to smoulder large splits due to creosote. SO I guess I could be more BRAVER so to speak in burning larger splits with less air, its like a crap shoot adjusting them 4 air screw/knobs to find a sweet spot, alot of work goes into this to burn wood and use less fuel oil for sure, more modern stove seems easier to maintain and operate!

 

[Highbeam]

"easier to maintain and operate! " Safer, more efficient, prettier view, etc.

I don't know how you do it. My insert directly dumped onto the throat of the old fireplace opening and the draft was a nightmare. Hard to get going and then would suck like a hoover once it got rolling through the large chimney tile. I am fortunate to have a barely EPA legal stove with a large window to keep an eye on it.

 

[wg_bent]

I do think the Soapstone advise is good. Look into the Morgan. It's a really nice stove. I sort of wish I had investigated that one. (one stove I didn't go look at)

 

[Rhone]

I was thinking the same thing, sounds like a perfect call for a soapstone insert. The only ones I know of are the Hearthstone Clydesdale and Hearthstone Morgan. Did I read that right, a 30" X 3" damper? That damper will have to go or be cut. I have the Clydesdale, and love the subtle heat and they have really big windows. Just make sure you understand the differences with soapstone. When I light a fire, it's about 1 hour before it's reached 180F and the blowers turn on and about 1.5 - 2.5 hours when I start feeling real heat. Also, when the fire is dead it's about 1.5 - 2 hours it still puts out heat (the blowers stay on). On occasion, when all the planets are in alignment or something I have gotten it from a dead cold start to real heat in an hour but very, very rare.

Just understand soapstone is an adjustment. There's no "instant" change, when you come home to a cold house and light a fire it'll remain cool for several hours while you wait for the insert to start heating from the "lag". Likewise, if you feel things are too hot and you turn it down it doesn't cool instantly it'll keep putting out lots of heat for some time until it discharges the stored energy. So there is an adjustment, it'll be different than what you're used to. After a couple months you'll know when to do things without even thinking about it. When I first started with my soapstone insert I frequently got the place pretty warm (but only twice in 2 years roasting) before I learned how far in advance I should turn it down to compensate for the buffer. I'm very happy with the soapstone and almost never feel roasted, but it isn't as capable of taking the chill out of a cold morning or quickly warming a cold house. I'm extremely happy with it after being roasted by my previous stove for 25 years (and let me tell you did I hate that) I'm probably never going back to non-soapstone.

 

[carpniels]

It sounds like this old monster has to go. And indeed the flue/damper has to be changed. Has been done before, no biggie.

Anything modern that fits should work fine. More manageble, better control. nice heat, less wood usage. All better than what you have now.

Carpniels

PS. Doesn't the jotul kennebec have soapstone? I thought I read that somewhere on the forum but I could be mistaken.

 

[BrotherBart]

Guys, the 30x3 exhaust opening in on his insert. It isn't his damper frame in the chimney.

And the Jotul does not have soapstone.

 

[hardwood715]

BrotherBart is right, Sorry for confusion, the damperslide on the stove is 30x3 therefore i never had any type of liner or direct connect to the first clay tile. I like the looks of the Morgan, and yes the monster must retire. Any new stove I decide to get will definatly allow me to line with the proper pipe to the top of the chimney. and lessen the burden of cleaning, and sleeping for that matter, with peace of mind, thanks for all the replies, and BTY have a great summer and collect alot of wood folks!

 

[elkimmeg]

Hardwood I'm glad you are retiring that setup. What you have is called a slam in installation, done back in the late 70' early 80's. Not safe by today's standards.

If I had to do an inspection there, You would get my special red sticker on that stove condeming it. I'll also bet you used quite a bit of wood feeding that beast.


Remember any new insert, sized properly, is not going to heat like your original beast. Adjust your thinking to 24/7 and achieving a productive heat range

 

[Hogwildz]

I did not read all the replies. But simple answer to me would be replace with new insert & liner. Making sure new insert has a variable speed blower. I know when I cut my blower down, it makes a BIG difference on how much heat is pumped out. If you go smaller, remember you will be losing burn time & filling more. Lowering the blower setting (if variable speed) works well for me.

 

[R&D Guy]

I did not read all the replies. But simple answer to me would be replace with new insert & liner. Making sure new insert has a variable speed blower. I know when I cut my blower down, it makes a BIG difference on how much heat is pumped out. If you go smaller, remember you will be losing burn time & filling more. Lowering the blower setting (if variable speed) works well for me.

Good point. I'd look into a flush insert - meaning one that does not protrude into the room. The look is Really clean, and with some Mfg's you can get different faces. The other nice feature is a lower heat transfer with the blowers off since less surface area is in the room. I'd think that would get you closer to the temperature control your wife is looking for, and I bet she'll like the updated look too.