Standing wood stove in prefab fireplace

[MnKMcNeilly]

I have an interesting situation. My home has a HUGE fireplace (50” wide, 34” tall, 25” deep) that doesn’t do anything but take the chill off of the downstairs. It really doesn’t help much with the heating and eats wood like crazy.

I would love to have a large insert, but the biggest one in the industry will still require a massive black metal border. We are talking 13+ inches from the glass to the top of the fireplace opening and 6+ inches on each side. This is a BIG stove too.

So, I would like to consider placing a stand alone wood stove in the existing fireplace.
My question...

Can this be done? The fireplace is a prefab. It is very beefy and has thick steel structure behind the 1 1/4“ brick façade. My chimney has a 10” pipe lining in it.

Attached are two pictures… One of my current situation and the other of what I would like to do but in a prefab fireplace.

I appreciate any help.

 

[bholler]

I have an interesting situation. My home has a HUGE fireplace (50” wide, 34” tall, 25” deep) that doesn’t do anything but take the chill off of the downstairs. It really doesn’t help much with the heating and eats wood like crazy.

I would love to have a large insert, but the biggest one in the industry will still require a massive black metal border. We are talking 13+ inches from the glass to the top of the fireplace opening and 6+ inches on each side. This is a BIG stove too.

So, I would like to consider placing a stand alone wood stove in the existing fireplace.
My question...

Can this be done? The fireplace is a prefab. It is very beefy and has thick steel structure behind the 1 1/4“ brick façade. My chimney has a 10” pipe lining in it.

Attached are two pictures… One of my current situation and the other of what I would like to do but in a prefab fireplace.View attachment 256286View attachment 256288

I appreciate any help.

What model fireplace is it?

 

[begreen]

I am wondering if this is a heatilator style fireplace and not a ZC. Does it have a metal chimney liner in a masonry chimney? Are there vents on the sides?

 

[MnKMcNeilly]

Thank you so much for the quick response.

bholler - attached is the plaque that tells about the fireplace (sorry, I’m new to the fireplace game)

begreen - Yes, it has a metal liner. (Picture attached)

 

[begreen]

That helps, it's a Heatilator I100 and inserts are permitted for install. There is no mention of freestanding stoves in the manual. I would be concerned about the weight of the legs in small areas, but perhaps a steel plate could be put in to distribute the load? What stove did you have in mind? Will the mantel be staying or gone?

 

[MnKMcNeilly]

begreen- The weight distribution is one of my main concerns, so I like the idea of a steel plate for support.

I don’t have a specific stove in mind. Can you point me in the right direction towards a good stove?

 

[begreen]

Another concern besides the mantel is support. The firebox seems deep, but it is sloped in the rear which is going to push the stove forward, most likely putting it's feet over the edge. Then there is flue alignment. An insert is a better solution. It could be installed without the surround or with a custom surround made or cut down an oversized surround.