Thermostatic control and being placed in an existing masonry fireplace

[NEBurner]

I’ve been researching different stoves over the past few months, spoken to various dealers in the area and have become interested in blaze king for their long “burn times”, particularly the Ashford 30.2. There are two dealers within 45 minutes of me.
I live in an 2500 sq foot early American Colonial replica built in 1994 with 2x6 walls and R19 insulation with a 35 ft center chimney and a relatively open first floor. The fireplace opening is 50” H x 55 “ W. I was told by one dealer that “Blaze King will void the warranty for placing the stove in an existing fireplace and told us that the stove will not likely produce the way you expect. The stove has a thermostatic air damper that closes off the hotter it gets and opens the cooler it gets. That’s why using a fan on a Blaze King stove increases fuel consumption. Putting this in the fireplace, despite the size of the opening could increase the temperature of the air damper and prevent the stove from burning the way you would want it to. The fan should help address this but it’s not a tested and approved use of the stove and potentially could damage the stove or not work without power going to the fan.”
I then reached out to a second dealer who stated that they spoke with their blaze king rep who stated that it would not void the warranty on the stove.
About 10 days ago I reached out directly to Blaze King via email and have not heard back. So I figured I would ask here. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stoveliker]

A blaze King *insert* is meant, designed for being put in a fireplace.

If your dealers don't know about that, I'd run away from them and report them to Blaze King.

@BKVP is on this forum and knows all there is to know about blaze King stoves and inserts.

One note is that the long burn times are real. BUT, burning in that mode implies a low heat output. You fill the stove with wood (a certain amount of BTUs) and either release those in e.g. 8 hrs, or in 24 hrs. The 8 hr burn gives more heat per hour than the 24 hr burn.

Second, get wood now. These appliances need dry wood. Buying "seasoned" wood generally results in disappointment as it's not dry. Put it off the ground now, top cover it, and let it dry during the summer (and possibly next summer...).

Third, at 35 ft, you may have too much draft and may need a key damper in the flue, which is a hassle for inserts.

 

[BKVP]

I’ve been researching different stoves over the past few months, spoken to various dealers in the area and have become interested in blaze king for their long “burn times”, particularly the Ashford 30.2. There are two dealers within 45 minutes of me.
I live in an 2500 sq foot early American Colonial replica built in 1994 with 2x6 walls and R19 insulation with a 35 ft center chimney and a relatively open first floor. The fireplace opening is 50” H x 55 “ W. I was told by one dealer that “Blaze King will void the warranty for placing the stove in an existing fireplace and told us that the stove will not likely produce the way you expect. The stove has a thermostatic air damper that closes off the hotter it gets and opens the cooler it gets. That’s why using a fan on a Blaze King stove increases fuel consumption. Putting this in the fireplace, despite the size of the opening could increase the temperature of the air damper and prevent the stove from burning the way you would want it to. The fan should help address this but it’s not a tested and approved use of the stove and potentially could damage the stove or not work without power going to the fan.”
I then reached out to a second dealer who stated that they spoke with their blaze king rep who stated that it would not void the warranty on the stove.
About 10 days ago I reached out directly to Blaze King via email and have not heard back. So I figured I would ask here. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry you did not hear back. I'll check phone logs to see who dropped the ball.

It will not void the warranty. Is it possible that the brick in your fireplace, reflecting high temperatures back at the thermostat could alter the thermostat function. It is highly dependent upon how close the back of the stove is to the back of the fireplace. We recommend 6" minimum.

Please also consider all the controls on the right hand side: the bypass, thermostat knob and fan rheostat, are located mid and rear of that side. Recently a person installed a freestanding stove with about 9" clearance on each side. The user wound up having to offset the stove to the left to gain full access to controls.

Again my apologies for no one returning your call.

 

[NEBurner]

A blaze King *insert* is meant, designed for being put in a fireplace.

If your dealers don't know about that, I'd run away from them and report them to Blaze King.

@BKVP is on this forum and knows all there is to know about blaze King stoves and inserts.

One note is that the long burn times are real. BUT, burning in that mode implies a low heat output. You fill the stove with wood (a certain amount of BTUs) and either release those in e.g. 8 hrs, or in 24 hrs. The 8 hr burn gives more heat per hour than the 24 hr burn.

Second, get wood now. These appliances need dry wood. Buying "seasoned" wood generally results in disappointment as it's not dry. Put it off the ground now, top cover it, and let it dry during the summer (and possibly next summer...).

Third, at 35 ft, you may have too much draft and may need a key damper in the flue, which is a hassle for inserts.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking more of a freestanding stove simply because the opening is an abnormal size and I didn’t want to try and fill the space with the metal surround.

Appreciate the advice about the seasoned firewood. I have 3 cords now that by next fall will be seasoned for about a year and a half.

The chimney height was something I was concerned about simply because it’s a high chimney and the draft may pull pretty hard.

 

[NEBurner]

I'm sorry you did not hear back. I'll check phone logs to see who dropped the ball.

It will not void the warranty. Is it possible that the brick in your fireplace, reflecting high temperatures back at the thermostat could alter the thermostat function. It is highly dependent upon how close the back of the stove is to the back of the fireplace. We recommend 6" minimum.

Please also consider all the controls on the right hand side: the bypass, thermostat knob and fan rheostat, are located mid and rear of that side. Recently a person installed a freestanding stove with about 9" clearance on each side. The user wound up having to offset the stove to the left to gain full access to controls.

Again my apologies for no one returning your call.

Thanks for the response. No worries as far as the response to the email. I was just apprehensive in investing in a stove if somehow the setup would void the warranty. The two different responses by the local dealers made me come on here to see if anyone else had heard something similar.

As far as clearances go the 6” would be possible. The back of the fireplace is about 42” wide. At the 6” point the width is 47”. So I believe there might still be room to access the thermostat. But certainly something to consider.

Really appreciate you taking the time to respond and affirming that it wouldn’t void the warranty.

 

[EbS-P]

Thanks for the response. No worries as far as the response to the email. I was just apprehensive in investing in a stove if somehow the setup would void the warranty. The two different responses by the local dealers made me come on here to see if anyone else had heard something similar.

As far as clearances go the 6” would be possible. The back of the fireplace is about 42” wide. At the 6” point the width is 47”. So I believe there might still be room to access the thermostat. But certainly something to consider.

Really appreciate you taking the time to respond and affirming that it wouldn’t void the warranty.

I have found this fan sitting in the fireplace floor behind my stove blowing up really helps keep heat moving out to the room. It’s completely quiet up to setting three. Has enough setting its almost set it and forget it. If you go the BK route and the thermostat/ heat output is not what you were expecting it’s worth a try.

AC Infinity AIRBLAZE T12, Universal Fireplace Blower Fan Kit 12" with Temperature and Speed Controller, Compatible with Lennox, Hearth Glo, Majestic, Rotom Fireplaces, for Home Heat Circulation https://a.co/d/duzgJ8N

 

[kborndale]

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking more of a freestanding stove simply because the opening is an abnormal size and I didn’t want to try and fill the space with the metal surround.

Appreciate the advice about the seasoned firewood. I have 3 cords now that by next fall will be seasoned for about a year and a half.

The chimney height was something I was concerned about simply because it’s a high chimney and the draft may pull pretty hard.

Just be aware that a year and a half may not be long enough to dry some hardwoods (especially oak) enough to be used in a modern stove.

 

[stoveliker]

Okay. I know @Ashful has BK stoves sitting in fireplaces too. He may have more to say.

The fan approach of ebs-p seems like a good idea.

 

[Ashful]

Hi guys,

As @stoveliker mentioned, I have some Ashford 30.1's installed in fireplaces of similar size to yours, and they're working great. One is on more than 30 feet of insulated liner, and it does indeed suck hard, but it's easily tamed down with use of a key damper in the stove pipe. The Ashford 30's are so controllable that you won't have any issues with run-away, but the super-strong draft created by that much pipe will cause enough turbulence inside the stove that the fly ash could cause you some headaches with clogging the combustor, if you run the thing hard with that much draft. Not a huge deal, you can just remove it and vacuum it or blow it clean, but it's much easier to just use a key damper to avoid the issue altogether. I also seem to get better overall efficiency with the key damper installed, esp. without an OAK on my stoves.

No issue with the thermostat in a fireplace. I actually have one of mine only 4" from the back wall of the fireplace, which in my case is an exterior wall, and it still behaves just fine. I'd say that if you can maintain 6" from back of stove to fireplace wall, you should be golden.

I really can't say enough good things about my Ashfords. There's no perfect stove, but these hit the sweet spot for me, having the right mix of wide output / burn time range, good looks, and a convective jacket that works well in a masonry fireplace on an exterior wall.