Rear Vented, Hearth Mount for 700sqft Log Cabin

[BPF]

Hello,

New to the forum but have enjoyed learning a great deal from the threads so far.

I renovating a 700sqft old log cabin in the mountains of Colorado that I live in full time and looking to replace old VC Resolute with a newer hearth mount stove. The fireplace height is 27" so my options for rear venting stoves are limited - so far I've narrowed down the offerings to MF Nova 1, Jotul F35 Rockwood, Hearthstone Craftsbury. Although I have some baseboard heat, I'm using the stove as my primary heat source. Does anybody have any experience with these stoves and can offer any info on preferences? Any other recommendations?

A local installer who inspected the chimney also mentioned that I wouldn't be able to push the stove inside the fireplace (I assume because of code?) however I've seen multiple instances of that on this forum. Ideally I'd like the stove to sit partially inside the fireplace so as not to have to extend the hearth further into an already small living space. Is this stipulation something others have experienced?

Pics of the fireplace and current configuration below.


Thanks!

 

[begreen]

The F35 is a good choice. The VC Aspen C3 might work if there is enough flue height. Is there a 6" stainless liner in the chimney already? How tall is it? What altitude is the cabin at?
Note that the current hearth is inadequate for the Resolute and will be for a future stove. There needs to be 16" hearth protection in front of the stove door. Would an insert instead of freestanding be an option?

 

[webby3650]

Look at the Lopi evergreen insert. It’s about half in, half out, so it still give off good radiant heat. Your options for rear exit are very limited as you know. It’s not a lot of square footage, but I assume it’s not easy to heat, considering the resolute didn’t over do it.

 

[begreen]

Look at the Lopi evergreen insert. It’s about half in, half out, so it still give off good radiant heat. Your options for rear exit are very limited as you know. It’s not a lot of square footage, but I assume it’s not easy to heat, considering the resolute didn’t over do it.

I'd like to know more about the flue system. The Resolute will burn ok on a shortish chimney and/or weaker high-altitude draft. How will the Evergreen work if this is the case?

 

[Todd]

Woodstock Keystone or Palladian would look good in front of that fireplace but you wouldn’t be able to place it halfway inside due to the side loading door. If your looking to save space I think I would look into an insert.

 

[webby3650]

I'd like to know more about the flue system. The Resolute will burn ok on a shortish chimney and/or weaker high-altitude draft. How will the Evergreen work if this is the case?

Not sure. They generally breathe pretty easy though.

 

[webby3650]

The F35 is a good choice. The VC Aspen C3 might work if there is enough flue height. Is there a 6" stainless liner in the chimney already? How tall is it? What altitude is the cabin at?
Note that the current hearth is inadequate for the Resolute and will be for a future stove. There needs to be 16" hearth protection in front of the stove door. Would an insert instead of freestanding be an option?

The old aspen was such a piece of crap, I’d have a really hard time recommending it unless it had a lot of proven good reviews.. it was a total piece of crap. The area above the baffle was so low you couldn’t even lift a firebrick to gain access above the baffle. Had to pull the top every time. It was so sluggish because of this design flaw.

 

[begreen]

The old aspen was such a piece of crap, I’d have a really hard time recommending it unless it had a lot of proven good reviews.. it was a total piece of crap. The area above the baffle was so low you couldn’t even lift a firebrick to gain access above the baffle. Had to pull the top every time. It was so sluggish because of this design flaw.

It was indeed, I wouldn't recommend the original. The Aspen C3 is completely new inside. It gets better reviews so far.

 

[webby3650]

It was indeed, I wouldn't recommend the original. The Aspen C3 is completely new inside. It gets better reviews so far.

So far 😉

 

[begreen]

So far 😉

Corie did the redesign. It's completely new inside.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Didn’t somebody have an issue with an Aspen with the back end/thermostat stuck inside a fireplace and registering a higher heat?

 

[webby3650]

Corie did the redesign. It's completely new inside.

I don’t know Corie, and I sure don’t trust any VC design currently. Even the old designs were a huge maintenance problem. In the words of Fossil, the good old days weren’t… VC was only better than the competition at the time.

 

[KDubU]

Go with the F35, simple stove that looks good and will perform. As for the hearth, you can place a hearth pad out in front in case of sparks. As for what the installer said, maybe due to the tight fit? You can get the short legs option on the F35 so that would allow more room to connect the liner to the stove and still have it partially in the hearth.

 

[begreen]

I don’t know Corie, and I sure don’t trust any VC design currently. Even the old designs were a huge maintenance problem. In the words of Fossil, the good old days weren’t… VC was only better than the competition at the time.

Corie is a stove engineer and hearth.com member. He created the Englander 17-VL, then left to work at Harman, now for HHT.
Member @30WCF has the new Aspen C3.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

He’s been on Hearth oh, probably 15-20 years! If I remember right he was designing them for himself before Englander!

 

[30WCF]

Didn’t somebody have an issue with an Aspen with the back end/thermostat stuck inside a fireplace and registering a higher heat?

Someone did have a dirty spring. I’m still not sure how that happened, but apparently their spring got gummed up, causing the air to stay shut. They cleaned it and all is well. If I remember correctly, it was that way from the beginning and sounds like a one off.

 

[30WCF]

The fireplace is 27” high. What is the depth of the masonry opening and width. I’m wondering if you get enough clearance and if the automatic controls will respond to a cool down if it’s too confined. The new ones are top vent only , so it would have to be about 50% inside the fireplace.
I think out loud sometimes when I review mine, but all in all, it’s great. Feel free to look in the VC Forum at my gripes and praises, some of it is just ramblings too.
I do think one would look good there if it has the proper clearances.