trying to get maximum heat output with alcove installation

[deedub]

my new jotul 400 is set just about all the way in to my existing masonry fireplace. vent is insulated and about 25 ft tall. i have no block off plate, but kaowool insulation. i feel that i'm heating up the back and top of the masonry firebox a lot and not getting the heat i should out of this stove. short of flipping the flue collar to go out the back of the stove, has anyone had luck with some sort of reflective heat sheild behind the stove ? could another solution be to have a solid block off plate if there would be less heat gain ? thanks all.

dave

 

[bluefrier]

Does Jotul have a blower? If so I would consider getting one. I also have my stove shoved all the way in a fireplace and I am
using a 9" floor fan to blow air under the stove and back out the top. That made all the difference in the world.

 

[deedub]

Does Jotul have a blower? If so I would consider getting one. I also have my stove shoved all the way in a fireplace and I am
using a 9" floor fan to blow air under the stove and back out the top. That made all the difference in the world.

so your blowing air right at the stove's underside and it comes flowing around over the top carrying heat away from the firebox bricks and out to the room ?

 

[deedub]

here's a pic of my setup. fyi, i have since pulled the rug back and added a mantle shield.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Is that an interior fireplace?

Blufrier has it right (mon).

 

[deedub]

no, it's on an outside wall.

 

[bluefrier]

Does Jotul have a blower? If so I would consider getting one. I also have my stove shoved all the way in a fireplace and I am
using a 9" floor fan to blow air under the stove and back out the top. That made all the difference in the world.

so your blowing air right at the stove's underside and it comes flowing around over the top carrying heat away from the firebox bricks and out to the room ?

Yep, that's right

 

[deedub]

thanks blue.
i will try that tip.

 

[kmdesautelle]

Deedub - do you have a picture with the mantle shield. I have (had) the same fireplace, with my stove sitting on the hearth in front of it, I took off the wood trim and mantle (and now have a mess to re-build the fireplace)

 

[deedub]

no mantle shield pics..yet. it's basically a 4" X 30" wide piece of sheet metal that is angle up at a 45d. it's just a bit wider than the stove and it mounted with aluminum spacers at the underside of that first trim board. it basically just deflects the heat away.

 

[burntime]

I have a fireplace insert. I know there are 2 guys that would disagree but I think a stove or insert in a fireplace is a waste without a blower. Even if you run the fan on low only you will tremedously increase the heat output. This is not from a newbie either. I have run a fireplace insert in 2 homes and now a new hampton since I was about 15 and am 38 now. 23 years and still not an expert ;~) Get a blower, spend the big bucks on the one that works with the stove. Many have an auto feature that will shut off the blower when the stove cools off. I used to have to set a timer and I can tell you it is well worth the auto feature! Good luck!

BTW, I just installed a block off plate after having one in rock wool, I will burn it this weekend depending on the temp, it is supposed to add a lot more heat??? Time will tell.

 

[BrotherBart]

I burn in a stove half in and half out of a fireplace and am here to tell ya that not only is a block-off plate a must have with that configuration, placement is key. The block-off plate for a free stander should be even with the lintel in the front of the fireplace. Not above it. That causes the rising heated air pulled in under the bottom of the stove to come up the back and out over the top of it out into the room. A block-off plate mounted higher up in the damper area like most do it traps air behind the front wall of the fireplace firebox and heats the bricks instead of rolling out into the room. I trashed my first plate and put a lower one in and it is a world of difference.

 

[deedub]

on a sidenote. does anyone know why my stove temp would go down after the primary air is shut down all the way ? secondary burn and a good bed of have been established.

thanks

 

[matth007]

I have had a quadra fire 27001 for about 3 years now and like the way it performs. I purchased a blower on the advice of this page and let me tell you what a difference. Thanks for the advice.

 

[begreen]

I think you'd benefit from adding a block-off plate at the lintel level so that the heat doesn't collect up in the smoke cavity by the damper. I would also try insulating behind the stove with a layer of kaowool, and I'd move the stove out about 12" and extend the hearth with another course of slate tiles.

 

[matth007]

Where can you buy a block off plate?