This is my POS fireplace, what to replace it with

[Fuel]

This is the fireplace that I bought and installed 2 years ago thinking that it would save me on my gas bill. The only thing that this pos insert does is let warm air out the chimney, eat wood and belch smoke into the house. THis thing is not air tight either so it goes out about 1 hour after i go to bed and then lets warm air up the flue until i get up in the morning. I was wanting to replace it with a stove, but wood like it to actually heat and burn for up to 8 hours long if that is possible. SO what are some good brands to look at? THis fireplace is located in the center of my house and faces the door to the upstairs so it should heat the house by itself very well right?

 

[Fuel]

it seems like everyone here doesnt like Vogelzang stoves, y is that?

 

[atvdave]

I can see right away you will probably run into some clearance issues with a wood insert. I'm not sure but the TV cabinet looks too close. You can look at different wood burner web sights to see if you can find one that will work.

For a 8 hour burn time a cat insert is probably the best, but you can also get 8 hour burn times with a non-cat also if you do it right, and use good wood.

Anyway I'm sure more people will along shortly with many models to look at.

Here's what I have.. a Lopi freedom bay insert. Nice view of the fire...

 

[Fuel]

i know now that i won't be able to use a insert since this is a manufactured fireplace much like the heat n glow models that menards sells, so i am looking for a stove with glass doors more or less. the thing about it is the raised platform and the diagnal wall with the mattle were added to an existing inside corner when i put this in(i am a full time carpenter) so it is easily removed and redone for a free standing stove. I would like to at least leave the raised platform and put the stove on top of that. I could make it an inside corner again and then lay tile on the walls behind the stove. The fireplace in the picture is actually 42" wide x 36" tall.

 

[struggle]

Are you close to Omaha? I would suggest a drive to Lumberman's showroom and see what they have on hand. It seems to me they had quite a few insert on the floor when I bought my stove from them.

 

[Fuel]

2.5hr drive to omaha

 

[begreen]

It looks like the main issue is going to clearances. Usually a corner hearth needs to be around 48-60" on a side, for a close clearance stove depending on its size. As it stands, the hearth might be too small and is offset by the cabinetry on the right side which creates the clearance problem for a freestander.

 

[Fuel]

yeah, i think it is going to be a little to close, but i could rebuild the hearth cause it was added after we moved in too so i could change it if i found the right unit

 

[Fuel]

could the clearances be closer if i bricked the walls behind the unit

 

[begreen]

Maybe. A tiled (or thin-brick veneered) NFPA wall shield would get even greater clearance reductions with stoves that are tested for and permit this reduction. Napoleon makes some affordable stoves with close clearances. They would be worth looking at for minimum clearance requirements.

I'd have to see a top view sketch to be certain it would work. Regardless, this would need a new flue system. Was that in the plans?

 

[PeteD]

Check out the Lennox or BIS/Security Chimney models. I bought a Lennox Brentwood. It is a fairly small unit for my corner install - many of the others were too large. The manual has dimensions.
(broken link removed)
Click on downloads, at the bottom of the right hand side.

If you can easily fit this unit, there will be other options. You corner is bumped out significantly (it appears), so you may be able to fit a larger unit.

Pete

 

[struggle]

2.5hr drive to omaha

I drove from NW iowa (Sioux City area) to Lincoln just to look at a Hearthstone Mansfield and that was something like two hours or more. I spent about ten minutes in the store and came back home.

I was surprised at Omaha Lumberman's at the amount of stoves and fireplaces they had. Only a suggestion. I know I was glad I made the trip down there to check things out. Although I am pretty sure I was way more informed due to this site than any employee was at ether store of the products I looked at.

 

[annette]

Hi:

My Country Flame wood stove has ridiculously small clearances. Their stoves are all built with additional heat-shielding. Big stoves with rear clearances of 5 inches and corner-to-wall of 8" are darn good. (Using double-wall stove pipe)

Here's the data page that states the clearances.
(broken link removed to http://www.countryflame.com/units/wd-ov-specs.html)

You haven't stated your house's square footage, layout (other than the stairs), and your insulation level, and those are important for choosing a stove or successfully heating with one (remember, they're space heaters)

You can reduce your distance to a wall by mounting a heat-shield on spacers away from the wall, so air flows in between the 2 surfaces. Adding brick to the wall itself won't do it.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Pagey]

I'm not a carpenter, so forgive me if I'm not sure what can and can't be torn down/remodeled in those photos. But, I have a Lopi Endeavor by Travis Industries, which has a rear clearance to combustibles (CTC) of just 4.5" with an approved double wall stove pipe. I'm heating around 1800 sq. ft. (1,000 down and about 800 upstairs) pretty nicely with it. So if you could indeed remodel the room to accept a free standing wood stove, I can comfortably recommend the Endeavor (assuming you're not trying to heat 2,000 sq. ft. or more exclusively with wood).

Here's a link to the Endeavor: (broken link removed to http://lopistoves.com/productuide/detail.aspx?id=209)

CTCs for the Endeavor: (broken link removed to http://lopistoves.com/productuide/detail.aspx?id=209#Installation)

 

[mranum]

Check out the Lennox or BIS/Security Chimney models. I bought a Lennox Brentwood. It is a fairly small unit for my corner install - many of the others were too large. The manual has dimensions.
(broken link removed)
Click on downloads, at the bottom of the right hand side.

If you can easily fit this unit, there will be other options. You corner is bumped out significantly (it appears), so you may be able to fit a larger unit.

Pete

I agree with PeteD here. I put in a BIS Ultima this summer which is the same as the Brentwood and it looks like you could fit it there. Nice unit too.

 

[david Lee]

Lennox now has the "Ladera" which is even more compact than the Brentwood. It's a louverless product designed to fit smaller homes. It should fit within the area you have to work with.

 

[edwardkelly]

I just posted a thread where I have a pretty similar issue... My fireplace looks very similar to yours, so I could learn a bit here too

 

[Fuel]

my home is about 1200sq ft and is moderatly to well insulated with 10year old Pella windows(very good windows) and steel insulated doors

 

[Fuel]

i really like the lopi and the country flame, how much were these units

 

[Pagey]

i really like the lopi and the country flame, how much were these units

My Lopi Endeavor was $2,000. That was the dealer's 2007 price, I believe. She said they'd had two increases since then...of course that may have been exaggerated so I'd "buy now". In any event, I went ahead with the purchase, as the 2008 price would have been at least 20% higher.

 

[Fuel]

i can just leave the fireplace in there and buy an add on wood furnace for that money

 

[Pagey]

i can just leave the fireplace in there and buy an add on wood furnace for that money

They're not cheap, but Travis makes a quality product, and I expect it to last.

 

[Islander08]

I'm with the other posters that suggested the Lennox / Security BIS line.

I recently replaced my own POS open fireplace (Superior) with a BIS Nova / Lennox Ladera. I bet you could drop it right into that space. The Ladera / Nova was the smallest footprint ZC stove I could find, and the price was quite good too. Seems to have favorable clearances and install requirements compared to others I looked at (RSF, Kozy Heat, and a couple others I can't recall)

Been burning for 3 weeks now, and I'm happy with my BIS Nova. It puts out great heat, is easy to run with some practice, and the blower is fairly quiet. It does put out good usable heat...I'm impressed how it moves it out of the enclosure into the house.

Its a plain, simple design. The louverless design I like...no big louvers or fancy curvy sheetmetal cutouts. They say they have a cast iron facade kit, but its not available yet, and probably costs a fortune. I'm facing mine with cement board/tile.

Great view of the fire and always interesting to watch the flames with the secondary combustion. Seems like the firebox design is quite refined. Dual action air valve works well. Glass gets a little fouled, but not too bad, and might be better if we maintained a hotter fire.

I've got an issue with my blower cycling on-off (seems like rouge thermal protection device) when it gets hot, but I expect that to be easily resolved.

The Ladera/Nova is a new model, so not much info out there (dealers around here hadn't heard of it). I bought it from FireplacesNow.com (no affiliation or endorsement) which shipped it direct to my home without incident. They are working on my blower problem, but I'm a getting a little disappointed with their service. No big deal though...relatively minor issue.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

it seems like everyone here doesnt like Vogelzang stoves, y is that?

Because the are junk.

 

[annette]

To answer the price question about the Country Flame:
My stove is their 2.3 cubic foot model, and sold for about $2000 in 2005. (I got it half-price as an unused floor model. I feel lucky that I got this stove)