questions from a new homeowner (with pictures)

[RyanC4936]

Hello!

First off, I appreciate the time of anyone who finds this thread and offers an opinion.

My wife and I bought a small ranch(1300ish sq ft) a few months ago and it’s been great, there is a large fieldstone chimney outside that is beautiful but there wasn’t a fireplace to be seen inside- the homeowners said that they moved in 20+years ago and covered it up- fast foward to buying the house we uncovered it to find what you see in the pictures.

We had a family friend come inspect the masonry from the foundation up and said it was in good shape, two separate flues for furnace and fireplace, needs very minor repair work, but my questions now are about a wood stove.

It seems the last owners already had an insert and done some modifications- and it also seems the smoke shelf has rusted through. From what I’ve gathered these things are irrelevant to my installing a wood stove?

We’d love to not have to rip the entire place apart and couldn’t really afford it, so is there a major concern? Or are we making a mountain out of a mole hill. This would be supplemental heat for our 1300ish sq ft ranch in the winter.

Thank you!

 

[Ashful]

Tough to tell what the perspective is on that last photo, but I'm guessing you have a corrugated liner running up thru an old clay lined stack, and that you want to plant a free-standing wood stove in front of the opening of that fireplace. If so, you'll be looking for rear-exit stoves with an outlet low enough to clear the lintel of the fireplace, or else punching thru the wall above the lintel with a thimble, which will likely give better performance.

Either way, you'll want to get internal dimensions on the existing clay liner, which looks pretty easy to access from the chimney top. That will tell us if you have space for a new 6" liner, preferably blanket wrapped. Also, overall height from floor of fireplace to top of chimney is going to be a useful number, in your stove selection and planning.

 

[EbS-P]

I would be looking at an insert. 1.5-2 cu ft. Read up on R value hearth extension requirements for installs that are flush with the floor. A hearth installed stove Can be a workaround to the R value but comes with other trade offs.

It has a liner but it’s not insulated (and it’s old and has an unknown history). Chances are you will needed an insulated liner. Read up on the tax if you can take advantage of it.

You need wood now to have any hope of burning dry wood this winter. How much where is it coming from and where will it be stored? Did you rule out a pellet insert? Will this be a DIY project?

Stove supply is tight demand is really really high. Spend a week reading everything you can asking questions and make a decision ASAP.

Brands to look at Drolet, Osborn, regency, blaze king, pacific energy.

 

[RyanC4936]

Ashful- you are correct, I took a few pictures of measurements

Ebs-P- I’ll look into that, we will be burning wood. I’m an arborist by trade so there is no shortage of fuel I have seasoned logs ready to go. Eventually I’d like a outdoor furnace but right now it’s not in the budget we are a young family.

We had another person mention Drolet as well so we’ve been looking at them.

Thanks for the quick responses

 

[begreen]

Take a look at 1.5-2 cu ft inserts. Ideally, for those that allow N/S loading. The True North TN20 insert, or the Pacific Energy Super insert are N/S loaders that would work ok here. The Drolet 1800i might work too. There are several 1.5 cu ft inserts like the Lopi Answer, Drolet 1500i that would fit, but for an easy install, measure carefully for depth due to the back slope of the fireplace. That may point you to a shallower E/W loader for easy install, or cutting out some of the back slope metal to accommodate a deeper insert. Another option would be a freestander that fits under the lintel and top vents. It looks like a box stove like the VC Aspen C3 will fit here.

Ranch houses are a bit tougher to heat, especially rooms at the opposite end of the house. Fans blowing air from the cooler part of the house towards the warm stove room help. Is there a basement or is this on a slab?

 

[Ashful]

Go with begreen on stove selection, he's the expert. All I can add is to say there's a wide range of price ranges, from the budget Drolet to the rather spendy PE or Blaze King. Of course, quality and performance generally trend with price, but there are exceptions. Not all cheap stoves are junk, and not all expensive stoves are performers. This is where folks on this forum can steer you right, eg. Drolet vs. US Stove.

The chimney's 11" ID clay liner will make for an easy pull for a new corrugated liner with blanket wrap. You'll need to figure out how to get it thru the old damper, sometimes this means some cutting there, but nothing unmanageable.

begreen's suggestion for a north-south loading insert is likely good. I'd check the BK Ashford 25 for that. I'd also be looking at smaller rear-exit stoves that could be set half back into the opening, something like the Jotul F 45 Greenville with optional short leg kit and flue collar set to rear exit. In your small space, the advantage of the Ashford would be low output without giving up burn time. The Jotul could work fine too, just manage daily BTU's with shorter fires.

 

[EbS-P]

I like my Drolet 1800i insert. It was the cheapest option I could find. Both the 1500i and 1800i are tax credit eligible.

I really like my Jotul but I don’t see them as great hearth stoves now. Top vented cleanings would require removal of the liner from the stove so the debris won’t fall on top of the blanket. Read the F45 v2 manual. Procedure to replace blanket Requires removal of the back heat shield.

Wood really doesn’t start drying untill it’s split. Plan ahead.

I installed my insert by myself with insulation wrap. Not a difficult job but it took 3 people to get the liner around one small offset. I have easy roof access.