Sad day, started the furnace

[Tracks74]

Some of you may recall, we bought a 1960's home in May. We live near Milwaukee and have been getting by on 100% wood heat until today.
Temperatures have been between 15 and 25F the past two days and my insert couldn't keep up.
We have a Vermont Castings Montpelier insert. House is a 1780sf ranch, so it was asking a lot from the insert.
Now, of course, I am looking into options of different stoves.....


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[electrathon]

Proper/modern insulation would be cheaper and simpler than replacing the stove.

 

[STANG302]

I'm on the west side of WI and feel your pain. The wind in addition to the cold front moving through is cutting through my old farm house.

 

[Tracks74]

Proper/modern insulation would be cheaper and simpler than replacing the stove.

Already done when the roof was completely rebuilt.
I think it is just too much home for the unit.
VCs website says the unit is for homes up to 1500sf. Also my unit is on the far end of the home.


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[Squisher]

A second stove could be just the thing, maybe at the other end of the house?

I've read a bunch about two stoves being a pain to manage but so far I'm not of the same opinion.

Whatever it takes, I loathe hearing the furnace kick in. It doesn't stand a chance though now since I added the insert upstairs this year.

 

[webby3650]

I run 2 stoves once the temps drop into the teens. I don't mind it at all as long as at least one of them is a Blaze King! I sometimes forget to put wood in it!

 

[Squisher]

It's true. Those BK's are so easy a child could run one.

Now PE's. That's a little more advanced, takes a real expert. Lol.

I kid, I kid. I know how feisty these low and slow burners can get.

 

[JA600L]

How tall is the fireplace opening? Can you install a rear venting stove?

 

[Tracks74]

I will give you some measurements late tonight when I get back home


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[begreen]

Is the insert in an interior fireplace or exterior wall fireplace? Is there a block-off plate in place at the damper area?

 

[kennyp2339]

kid, I kid. I know how feisty these low and slow burners can get.

When you only have to load the stove up once a day you tend to have a lot of extra time on your hands, so many of us take up the next best thing, bragging about our stoves.. its better than smoking or drinking.

 

[begreen]

And some just skip straight to the drinking.

 

[jatoxico]

its better than smoking or drinking.

Says you!

 

[Tracks74]

Is the insert in an interior fireplace or exterior wall fireplace? Is there a block-off plate in place at the damper area?

Fireplace is in the wall that adjoins my garage. So I would call it an interior fireplace.
I will check tonight but I think there is access to a damper from the garage.


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[begreen]

Is the garage heated? If not there's some heat loss from the insert to the garage. A blockoff plate would be above the insert in the fireplace. The garage side should be solid brick or block.

 

[Tracks74]

Garage is not heated. I will take some pics when I get home. Busy day at work


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[Woody Stover]

I think it is just too much home for the unit. VCs website says the unit is for homes up to 1500sf. Also my unit is on the far end of the home.

Yeah, "up to" 1500...if you live in TN; In WI, Ma Nature is a harsh taskmaster, as I found out in my thirty years there. Keeping heat in with a block-off plate above the stove, as begreen suggests, will help. But I fear you may need more firepower. You might also have to move heat from the stove room to the rest of the house. A small fan moving cool, dense air to the stove room along the floor will displace heated air back toward the center of the house. Get those fireplace measurement, then you can figure out what your options are.

 

[begreen]

Getting a little insulation behind the insert and an insulated block-off plate in place can make a notable difference in the heat output going into the house. That will help at a very low cost to get through this winter.

FWIW, it's not the end of the world for the furnace or boiler to cycle once in awhile. Actually it's a good thing in many cases.

 

[glennm]

I used a Montpellier in a 2600 sq ft bungalow for a couple of years. We had an fc3b in the back room when it got really cold. The Monty worked really hard to keep up. Last year we changed it to a regency i3100. Now I only need the one stove and it works much better. The regency moves a lot of hot air and I can easily get the house warm quickly.

 

[Tracks74]

Alright, finally got time to get measurements. Attaching 3 hand drawn views.

 

[Tracks74]

I see they all loaded upside down


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[Tracks74]

This is better


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[begreen]

I rotated the first batch. Looks like a nice big firebox that will accommodate most inserts.

 

[heavy hammer]

I'm with squisher I don't see how running two stoves is a hassle. You will use more wood but that's a given. But the heat is great, I have oil heat and it only gets used to keep my daughters bedroom warm since she doesn't like her door open at night. Two stoves is the way to do it.

 

[Tracks74]

With measurements in hand, I agree with begreen that almost all inserts would work. Now I have more questions, many of which I am sure you all have heard before.

Given an 1800sf ranch, built in the mid 60's that has many improvements, residing in Central Wisconsin. Which inserts should I consider. I looked at past threads and did my own reading. Seems like a 3.0 cubic foot firebox will be the way I should go if I stay with the insert.

Osburn 2400, Regency I3100, Lopi Freedom, Quadrafire 5100i, Pacific Energy Summit in non-cat

Would the Blaze King Princess put out enough heat in the cat version?

Of course there is always the option of redoing the hearth and putting in a stove that sets in to the fireplace part way, but there are some costs to that.

I will say that my wife has really disliked having the blower fan running on the Montepelier. The saying, "Happy wife happy life" is coming to mind...