Stove or Fireplace OR BOTH ?

[mikeyd]

Over the last few months I've appreciated the comments and thoughts that many of you have shared what is turning out to be a very long term project at our seasonal property.

In the interest of keeping it short and not repeating from previous posts I'm currently trying to replace a Superior prefab with an air tight fireplace. My first choice on an NZ26WI was a miss due to some chase size constraints and structural component limitations - I'm over it and have learned a lot along the way. Thanks to some of your feedback, along with the installer I'm working with, I started looking at a BIS NOVA and for the most part this unit will work with limited chase / cavity adjustments so that's good news.

My question is whether this is the route I should be going down at all to heat what is a pretty large space or should I simply replace the firelace all together with a stove like a Napoleon 1900. If I placed where the current fireplace is, would it be reasonable to expect it to heat the the whole building ?

Realizing that a stove will always beat a fireplace hands down in terms of performance but DW is very much interested in keeping the fireplace "look and feel". If I go with the NOVA in the current space I suspect I will also need a stove in the adajacent room in order to really heat the main floor areas and main floor bedroom. I am hoping to limit the use of the central FA furnace during the winter months.

I don't suspect the NOVA will be able to heat the entire main level. We have a pretty open floor plan on the main level with a loft and sleeping quarters upstairs. The master bedroom is located on the main floor next to the main living room / kitchen with a "great room" off to the front of it. There is also an unheated lower level which will eventually get a pellet stove or a good bunsen burner ;-P


Initial thought was to simply keep the superior unit and place a stove in the far corner of the great room and let the heat radiate out. My fear is all the heat will simply get stuck in that room due to it having the lowest part of the cathedral ceiling.


Under the above scenario, what to then do with the superior ??? We certainly wouldn't fire it up and see it draft away all the conditioned air up the chimney while the stove bunred in the other room ... I really dislike >:-( the superior prefab so have opted to take it out completely - the question is what shoulf I eventually replace with it. My wife is looking at cosmetics and I'm trying to eveluate performance.

Is it common to have 2 appliances in a larger dwelling ? I see it as a lot of work and almost foolish in trying to keep 2 appliances going that are located on the same floor.

Thoughts on approach ? Some pix attached.

 

[skinanbones]

I think the Nova would have a hard time heating all that space efectively. Personaly i would look at something like a Pacific Energy Super 27, they come in allot of differant styles and finishes. It can heat up to 2000 sq ft and will go for 8-10 hrs. I'm heating my house with one and love it as allot of other people on here do.

I think if a stove was placed where the superior is now with how open the home is it wouldn't take much more than the ceiling fans you have running in reverse to allow to heat the majour amount of the house

 

[HotCoals]

Put a nice stove in the corner and a nice flat screen in the fireplace..lol.
Nice place!

 

[begreen]

I'm assuming this is just to heat the 2000 sq ft and not the lower 1000 sq ft section correct? If you want to heat everything then I might be looking at a big EPA ZC fireplace that can be ducted to supply the lower section. Otherwise, a 3 cu ft stove is what I would put in, replacing the current setup with a nice hearth and a stove that is pleasing to the eyes. This is the focal point of the room, so I would invest in something that is attractive as well as effective.

 

[m159267]

I'm replacing a contractor-grade ZC FP with an EPA unit. My research has it narrowed down to a BIS Ultra (2.5 cu ft box) or a Supreme Plus unit (3.0 cu ft box). I am having a hard time finding any user-related info on the Supreme Plus (made in Canada). It has an amazing BTU rating for a very small footprint (stainless steel box instead of a brick liner). I noticed that skinanbones is from Ontario - are you familiar with the Supreme line?

 

[mikeyd]

The ultra may be too large for my application in terms of depth however that Supreme unit might work. I also came across it some time ago but didn't really pay much attention to it. I would be interested in gathering some opinions or thoughts. Claims to have 100k BTU input with max output of 76k and as you pointed out as SS liner.

(broken link removed to http://www.supremem.com/supreme_plus_zero-clearance_fireplace.php)


Got good ratings from this website (dare I say a Hearth.com competitor???)
http://www.hvac-for-beginners.com/wood-fireplace-ratings.html

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

A freestanding stove would be more efficient but take up more space in the room. I would recommend you look at the Fireplace Extrordinaire, probably the 36 Elite, made by Travis Industries. It's a great heater, good looking and would retain the fireplace feel.

 

[skinanbones]

Sorry guys have nevver heard of the Supreme units before as we tend stick with RSF or BIS only for zero clearances in our stores

 

[chimneyguy123]

The napoleon 1900 heats up to 3500 sq ft I wold get rid of the superior, and go with the flat screen tv there

 

[mikeyd]

Looks like we are going to go with a BIS NOVA in the main room to replace the Superior due to the limited size of the chase & cavity. It won't give me the heat output I was initially looking for but DW would like to keep the "look and feel" of the fireplace so we'll probably put a stove in the other room (where the flamingo is) to get some more heat during the winter season.

Any thoughts out there on the new Regency CS2400 to go with our modern looking BIS NOVA ? I'll most likely be trying to settle on a medium sized stove like it or the Napoleon 1400 or possbily the mid sized PE units.