What the heck would you do with this thing?

[edge-of-the-woods]

So we're in a new house, and the walk-out basement has a double fireplace. What are my options for something that has a big firebox and burns efficiently, in terms of an insert or setting a freestanding stove in this spot?

A few years back, in our first house, I got one of the first Regency CI2600 inserts. Let's just say I did not love it. I didn't like that the fire box narrowed significantly at the back, and I didn't like how I needed to babysit it to get it going and get a decent overnight burn.

That said, I really love the idea of an insert, but is that practical in this case? Could I put an insert with a metal cover on the back in this fireplace and get good performance out of it? Am I better off finding a free-standing stove that will fit here?

Bottom line, I want to be burning wood again, but I'm looking for as low-maintenance and as much bang for my buck as possible. We have a new baby due at the end of November, and I really want a stove that I can load up significantly and let it burn for a long time, and not have to babysit it or be filling it back up every 6 to 8 hours.

We have a decent supplier/installer right down the road, but I feel like they would sell us the most expensive unit, not necessarily the best fit for us.


Thank you for all of your sage advice in advance!

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

So I should have done about a minute of research before posting this. Apparently free-standing will require much more height clearance than I have. We have what looks like a 24 inch high space. So unless I'm missing something, that leaves me looking at inserts again.

I like inserts, but this time around, I don't care about elegant lines or how flush it is or any of that crap. I want a beast that throws heat. I want Apollo himself to appear in my basement and go, "Whoah! Lemme back up a bit."

 

[Grateful11]

This insert will fit. We have it's little brother.
(broken link removed to https://www.century-heating.com/en/products/inserts/wood-insert-model-cw2900/)

 

[HisTreeNut]

Maybe put 2 BK's in it or 2 old-school Bucks...although both options would probably heat the whole neighborhood. lol



Sent from my VS835 using Tapatalk

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

That Century looks nice but the firebox is only 2.4, I was looking for bigger.

Is this Buck 91 legit?! The firebox is really 4.4cf?

 

[begreen]

I would stick with inserts that have a 6" flue collar if possible. An insulated 8" liner is large. A 3 cu ft stove will generate plenty of heat off. Even a 2.4 cu ft insert can blast out a lot of heat, it just will need to be refilled more frequently.

Tell us more about the space. Does it have any heat in it now? How large is it? Is it insulated? If the space gets overheated, is there an adjacent space to dump excess heat into?

 

[Woody Stover]

That Century looks nice but the firebox is only 2.4, I was looking for bigger.
Is this Buck 91 legit?! The firebox is really 4.4cf?

No, it's more like 3, usable volume. They must have measured the box with the cat shield and cat out. That said, I loved that stove and it threw big heat. Built like a truck and well-engineered. You might have to tweak the air control if it's not set up perfectly from the factory, but it's an easy fix. The firebox is trapezoidal..would be easier to load a more square box fully, but I think many inserts are that shape to fit traditional masonry fireplaces, which narrow toward the back.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

It's a basement. Of a two-story 2,500 sf house. Floor plan attached.

 

[bholler]

It's a basement. Of a two-story 2,500 sf house. Floor plan attached.

View attachment 249407.

Are the walls down there insulated well? Heating 2 stories from the basement is certainly possible but it is going to take allot of BTUs. Doing that with long burn times is going to be difficult especially in an insert

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I would stick with inserts that have a 6" flue collar if possible. An insulated 8" liner is large. A 3 cu ft stove will generate plenty of heat off. Even a 2.4 cu ft insert can blast out a lot of heat, it just will need to be refilled more frequently.

Tell us more about the space. Does it have any heat in it now? How large is it? Is it insulated? If the space gets overheated, is there an adjacent space to dump excess heat into?

Thanks! It's an open basement. The oil furnace is in the far end, and there's forced hot air throughout the upper levels, but no vents in the basement. Despite that, it stays relatively warm down there in winter. Like 65 maybe.

No insulation to speak of, really.

I could always open the door at the top of the stairs to dump heat upstairs, or open the double-door walkout. We also have a programmable thermostat that I can set to circulate air throughout the house for X percent of every hour.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Are the walls down there insulated well? Heating 2 stories from the basement is certainly possible but it is going to take allot of BTUs. Doing that with long burn times is going to be difficult especially in an insert

So we're on five acres and I have a lot of wood sitting around and plenty coming down. I don't need to burn, but I'd like to make use of the wood rather than leave it to rot. Figured that over the next 30 years I could use an insert in the basement to chip away at the oil bill. Is that crazy?

 

[bholler]

Thanks! It's an open basement. The oil furnace is in the far end, and there's forced hot air throughout the upper levels, but no vents in the basement. Despite that, it stays relatively warm down there in winter. Like 65 maybe.

No insulation to speak of, really.

I could always open the door at the top of the stairs to dump heat upstairs, or open the double-door walkout. We also have a programmable thermostat that I can set to circulate air throughout the house for X percent of every hour.

Spend your time and money insulating the basement before going forward with a stove. It will be very frustrating to try to heat from an uninsulated basement.

 

[bholler]

So we're on five acres and I have a lot of wood sitting around and plenty coming down. I don't need to burn, but I'd like to make use of the wood rather than leave it to rot. Figured that over the next 30 years I could use an insert in the basement to chip away at the oil bill. Is that crazy?

No not crazy at all. But you want to insulate the basement or much of the wood you process will be used to heat the earth surrounding your house.

 

[Highbeam]

It's a basement. Of a two-story 2,500 sf house. Floor plan attached.

View attachment 249407.

I’m really easily confused. Is this a 2500 sf two story house on top of a 1250 sf basement? Plus an apartment or including the apartment?

 

[sardo_67]

Free standing large stove is what you want.

What is your budget, what are you looking to spend?

My brother has the same issue as you where the fire box is an odd shape so mathematically he has like a 3cu box able to take 22” wood you can’t.

 

[sardo_67]

So we're on five acres and I have a lot of wood sitting around and plenty coming down. I don't need to burn, but I'd like to make use of the wood rather than leave it to rot. Figured that over the next 30 years I could use an insert in the basement to chip away at the oil bill. Is that crazy?

Not at all. I grew up near Litchfield, house build in 85, half the basement was a 2 car garage with other half a “cellar” then 2 floors over that. Old 80s Gibraltar coal/wood stove in the cellar. Would only burn 4-5hr but extremely hot and heated the entire house, 85-90 in the cellar then 75-80 first fooor with 65-70 on the third and zero oil use when burning.

What you want to do is not a bad idea at all. You’ll just need a larger like 75,000+ BTU stove.

If I were you I’d put in a Hearthstone Manchester or go all out on an Eqinox 8000 they say is 100k+. Deans stove in plaintsville has one they want 3500 for. You can probably get them so deliver and install as part of the price.

 

[billb3]

Double-sided fireplace. Nice. /sarcasm
You might find a short leg stove with a rear vent that clears that 24 inch limit.

Like this:

 

[begreen]

If the priority is long burn time then a BK Princess insert may be a good option. Can you supply the fireplace opening W & H and Rear W & H, and depth, top and bottom?

Do you already have a 3+ full cord supply of fully seasoned firewood on hand that is split and stacked?