save an old beast and save money?

[tjcole50]

Here we go again another option for us. My old Country Comfort i thought was just severly neglected and beat to death. well it is but still a beast of a stove. I thought several parts were broken/warped and shot. Now futher knowledge and investigation shows she just needs some tlc. Tell me what you guys think here. Instead of spending the money on a new stove can I save this old one and bring it up to par? My thinking is this, the stove needs a new Cat which i found recently online! The baffle is not warped it is actually mising two bolts holding the right side of it up, easy fix. Now it is currently a direct connect. It has about 10 foot of oval stainless running up and dumping into 13x13 clay flue. In my recent chaos posting fury I was thinking another option could be to run 8" SS liner down my clay liner and simply use a 8" to oval adapter and place it on top of my current stove. I Would also add a block off plate and roxul above the old damper frame and block plate. If I run 8" i figure that gives me the future option of sliding the current CC stove out and pushing a new one in when we finally decide on a replacement stove. Then I would already have the large 8" required on most larger stoves and all I would have to do is remove the adapter and drop it on top of the new one! Is this a viable option and would doing this with my current stove actually improve its heat output significantly? Or is a new stove going to blast off that much more heat into our house? Thank you again for the help and tolerating my rambles.


Edit if this is a good idea what is the best way to figure out my oval to round adapter size ? I was thinking of one from rockford supply
(broken link removed to http://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/pic.php?pic=oval-round-lg.jpg&cap=Oval_to_Round_Connector_for_Flexible_Chimney_Liner)

any advice on how to tell air inlets located on the bottom sides of my stove are actually functioning? I also have a secondary burn tube on this stove it seems. I have no manual so any help with proper function is appreciated it is a Country Comfort cc 325

 

[rwhite]

I would suppose that if it drafts off a 13x13 open flue that it would draft off an 8" liner. My worry would be be if I found a stove I wanted and it had a 6" outlet would it draft properly into an 8". If you are sure you are going to have an 8" liner when you upgrade I would go that route. I would get the old girl fixed up and see how it runs. If you decide to keep it I would just do the proper size liner. There are plenty of large stoves out there with a 6" flue requirement

 

[Hardrockmaple]

errr....your sure your stove has both a catalyst AND a secondary burn tube?

 

[tjcole50]

errr....your sure your stove has both a catalyst AND a secondary burn tube?

I was think 8" would give me any option for all the large inserts unless you can run 6" with those?

 

[Hogwildz]

Most stoves actually call for a 6" flue. That said, there are quite a few that do take an 8" flue.
You should line either way, but I would look at what ones you would be seriously interested in for future install, make sure it will fit, then line accordingly.

Re: the insert you have, here is some starting points for research.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/country-comfort-wood-stoves/

 

[tjcole50]

Most stoves actually call for a 6" flue. That said, there are quite a few that do take an 8" flue.
You should line either way, but I would look at what ones you would be seriously interested in for future install, make sure it will fit, then line accordingly.

Re: the insert you have, here is some starting points for research.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/country-comfort-wood-stoves/

Thanks for links. Yea all the stoves I am seriously interested in are 8" but I'm thinking patching up the old girl I have and running off of 8" till funds permit and we choose a new beast
Edit osburn 2400 being only one requiring 6"

 

[Hogwildz]

AT least get a liner all the way up

 

[tjcole50]

AT least get a liner all the way up

You think liner , block plate, and roxul would have a much higher heat return with current stove?
What about an opinion on smaller hearth mount rear exit and having fire place opening blocked off? Would that have a larger heat out put than say a larger insert?

 

[Hogwildz]

Many here feel a freestander on the heart will heat better than an insert. I only have an insert, so cannot say one will heat better than another.
I will say that my Summit with a blower going circulates a lot of heat. And has even heated the place during a power outage without the blower,
I personally feel both a freestander and an insert produce the same amount of heat, and even with an insert, only so much heated air is going to fill the fireplace cavity (with block off plate)before it has to go out into the house.
Personally again, I feel an insert with a blower running, will circulate the heated air much better.
Of course very home and set up is different with different results.
Which you choose is a matter of preference. I kind of like the fact the the insert takes up minimal space in the room, and I don't have to worry about tripping over it etc.
With an insulated line and a block off plate, your going to keep more heat in the home, and less up the old masonry chimney being absorbed and released to the outside world. And many experienced less cold draft with a block off plate.

To consider a rear exit, keep in mind this will limit your choices of stove as to only ones with rear exhaust outlets, which is fewer than top exhausting stoves.