What kind of firebox is this?

[Shari]

Can anyone tell me anything about our firebox? We are in the planning stages of installing a hearth mounted wood stove and I just want to make sure there are no problems keeping this type of firebox when the wood stove is installed. The firebox is metal, the floor is brick. That is a blower grate you are seeing. Yes, it's messy in there tonight!

Note: There were glass doors on this fireplace which were removed this heating season. We do burn the fp with a screen but I removed it for the picture.

Shari

 

[DAKSY]

Looks like a heatform firebox to me.
Probably nothing wrong with using it as long as the steel
walls are still in good shape...
If you plan to leave it exposed after your woodstove install,
you might wanna paint it with hi-temp StoveBrite black paint...
It'll be a better looking set-up...

 

[Hogwildz]

Agreed, looks like a heatform.
Are there a couple square vents on the wall to each side of it? Most heatforms I ever seen had the circulation vents, mine does also.

 

[Shari]

Agreed, looks like a heatform.
Are there a couple square vents on the wall to each side of it? Most heatforms I ever seen had the circulation vents, mine does also.

Hogz,

Our fireplace opens to the living room and is stone on three sides, the backside being the kitchen. The vents you are speaking of are on the narrow end of the fireplace (the red rectangle in the attached photo). With a fire going in the fireplace with the fan vented grate we added a small fan blowing into the bottom circulation vent on the narrow end of the fireplace. We can really move some heated area around.

Shari

 

[Hogwildz]

Sounds like a heatform.
Even with the insert, you may or may not get heat to those bedrooms. But the dining room, kitchen & living rooms should be nice & toasty.

 

[Shari]

The only rooms in the bedroom wing that we are looking to heat is the front bedroom and the full bath. We are 'empty nesters' (Yeah!) so we don't really use the two bedrooms in the back of the house. Now, if we had company staying the night we do have oil f/a for backup heat.

Shari

 

[Todd]

I have an old Superior Heatform fireplace and once those things heat up they can really throw out some BTU's. The only problem is they eat too much wood. Like you, I'm going to install an insert or stove in mine some day. I hope you provide some pictures of your install soon.

 

[kksalm]

I've got one of those also. I've been thinking about yarding it out and building a mini-masonry insert with secondary burn tubes above the fire. I'm going to need to mortar in an airtight door preferably with windows. My next trip to Seattle I'm hoping to find an uncertified wood stove on the cheap and cut the doors with frames intact off with a cutting torch. My ideas keep evolving since I'm always going back to this great forum and getting another idea. Maybe someday I'll lose my internet connection and get something done.
Best regards to the forum, kksalm