What makes people choose a stove over fireplace?

[ElmBurner]

After doing a lot of reading here, it sure seems like more people own stoves than fireplaces. So I came up with three theories on why that is:

- Stoves are cheaper
- Stoves are more efficient
- Stoves look better

Seems to me that the efficiency is probably what sells the stove, but I haven't been able to find any hard numbers that compare the BTUs from a stove vs a fireplace (assuming non-catalytic and similar size firebox). Or how well it heats a given space, I suppose.

Comparing what I paid for a fireplace to what you can buy a stove for would argue that cost is probably an important factor as well. The fireplace surround and mantle can add quite a bit to cost and the fireplace itself isn't cheap either.

I'm not a big fan of a stove based on looks. Seems kinda risky with kids and pets too, but I imagine there are some people that like using it as a cookstove or putting a kettle on to humidify the house or whatever, so I can see that aspect as well.

When I built my place, I chose a fireplace mainly because of my wife, but chose one that could be used to heat my home (RSF Onyx2). In hindsight, I wonder if I might have been better off with a stove. My burn times are lucky to hit 8 hours and I don't ever have the problem of "cooking" myself out of the living room. It does put out a lot of heat, but nobody is walking around in shorts at Xmas time either.

Anyway...thoughts on what drives people to choose a stove over a fireplace?

 

[begreen]

Seems like lately 7 out of 10 times it's what she likes that decides. I'm lucky, my wife likes to be warm in winter which made the decision for a 24/7 burner easier. She is also practical. Putting in freestanding stove gives us options like changing to another stove that wouldn't be practical with a permanent install. Then there is sq ftg taken and finally the big one, cost. A decent fireplace install can be 2-3x more than a freestanding stove install, or more if there is fancy woodwork or stonework involved.

 

[Grisu]

I think it comes mostly down to cost. A nice efficient fireplace is easily twice the price of a stove when also counting in the finish of the chase etc. Other points: A stove is easily installed in one day and most people don't even know that there are ZC fireplaces out there whose efficiency rivals a freestanding stove. Not sure if I buy into that an EPA-approved fireplace is noticeably less efficient than a stove. There may be better and worse ones out there but the same is true for stoves. However, some people may also specifically look for the radiant heat a stove provides which a fireplace does less so.

I am not convinced of your third point. When given the option at the same price and with similar specs I have the feeling most would choose a fireplace over a stove.

 

[Dillier23]

I just tore out a fireplace to install a stove so here is what my thoughts are on a fireplace. Keep in mind I had a zero clearance fireplace that was BIG and had blowers on both sided.

- Wood consumption was outstanding! We burnt through well over a cord in less than three weeks burning the fireplace in the late afternoon to bedtime.
- No extended burn times (see above)
- Very inefficient, I would say there was more heat loss up the chimney than was put into the room unless the blower was running. Even then maybe a 20% efficiency would be pushing it.
- Drafty when the fire would go out in the middle of the night. With a huge triple wall chimney, there would be massive amounts of cold air coming down into the basement.
-lighting a new fire with a cold chimney usually ended with a room full of smoke unless I took 20-30 minutes to build a very small fire and gradually build the heat to create a draft.
- Smelly, in more ways than one. The burnt wood smell would accompany the draft into the house (see above). There were two fresh air inlets on the outside of the house, one had been plugged before I moved in. But the other had been about 8 feet off the ground and still managed to get bugs, mice and even a chipmunk inside and down to the base of the fireplace. Needless to say when the weather warmed this spring the smell of dead mice was terrible. These inlets were impossible to clean with a complete disassembly. Granted I live in the woods with corn fields in front of the house, so vermin are all around. The previous owner should have also had a screen of some sort to prevent this, but they didn't.
- Space eaters, keep in mind mine was a corner install and took a very large amount of Sq. footage out of the room. The stove opened up the room and gave us some of that space back.

Thats my opinion, based off my fireplace. Others may have a different experience.

 

[xman23]

I think peoples opinions of fireplaces versus stoves are not based current products. If you ask here's what you'll hear. My wife wanted a fireplace to, but now is happy we have a stove.

Stoves are a black box that you fill with wood and produce heat.
Stoves are smokey and dirty.

Fireplaces produce flames that fun to watch and produce heat.


My opinion after having both

Fireplaces, most aren't built with proper dimensions. This causes them draft poorly. Back puffIng filling the house with smoke.
They produce heat right in front of the fire place, but they suck more heat out of the house than they produce. Try turning the heat off in the house and heat with the fireplace.
Without doors, poping rounds shoot sparks and logs roll out into the room.
They have burnt wood smell when the fire is out.
Fireplaces burn with no air control, consuming huge amounts of wood.

Stoves are a focal point in the room
Stoves with a full glass front with a full load of wood has a rolling ball of flames washing the glass. Secondary burn is like watching the northern lights in your stove.
The stove is sealed and produce no smoke smell in the house.
My stove easily heats all of the house. No issue at negative 15 degrees.
Stoves burn clean, virtually smokeless after they are up to temperature..

 

[iamlucky13]

For this kind of discussion, it's really important to clearly distinguish between open fireplaces and fireplace inserts.

It looks like both are being referenced without clarification.

 

[Grisu]

most people don't even know that there are ZC fireplaces out there whose efficiency rivals a freestanding stove.

I think my intuition was just confirmed. What the OP has is an EPA-approved high efficiency zero clearance fireplace. (broken link removed to http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/onyx-2-fireplace)
That is neither an open fireplace nor a fireplace insert but essentially a wood stove in a convective steelbox that can be installed with close clearance to combustibles.

 

[Isaiah53]

I would not be second guessing your decision. I went through a similar process as yours and came to the same decision although it was largely driven by the interior decorator and builders who said building a house without a fireplace was not wise. I do have a stove downstairs to compare it to. It is more efficient, but not by a large margin and the FPX fireplace puts out much more heat. The family loves being around the fireplace much more than the stove.

I think most people on this site choose stoves because they can easily be added to an existing homes. Adding a ZC fireplace into an existing home is prohibitively expensive in terms of dollars and space. If you compared new home construction, I suspect the fireplace is preferred, especially if you include all the low efficiency builders grade units.

I agree with Grisu that most people, and I would add the overwhelming majority of wives, prefer the look of a fireplace over a wood stove. I think that relationship should always trump the relatively minor differences in performance.