Wood stove in fireplace?

[MegCog]

Hi we just moved and inherited a fireplace with a gas log in it. Unfortunately this only gives us ambiance but no heat. I’d love to put wood heat in here but keep the brick arch. Could I just put a freestanding wood stove in the fireplace? I’m not aware of any inserts that would allow us to keep the arch visible. The opening is about 30.5” tall at its tallest point and 24” tall on the edges. It is just under 47” wide. My ideal wood stove would also have a decorative grille.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Hi we just moved and inherited a fireplace with a gas log in it. Unfortunately this only gives us ambiance but no heat. I’d love to put wood heat in here but keep the brick arch. Could I just put a freestanding wood stove in the fireplace? I’m not aware of any inserts that would allow us to keep the arch visible. The opening is about 30.5” tall at its tallest point and 24” tall on the edges. It is just under 47” wide. My ideal wood stove would also have a decorative grille.View attachment 339066

You could put an insert in there. What brands do you like? The opening with the arch is not ideal.

 

[begreen]

If it fits, a woodburning insert could be installed without the surround, so that the arch remains visible. An insulated 6" stainless liner would also need to be installed and connected to the insert. Lastly, modern stoves need fully seasoned firewood. This can take 2 yrs. for some hardwood so get it now and look for faster drying wood. The insert will have a ceramic glass door, but some do have a screen option.

 

[MegCog]

If an insert is installed without the surround then would it look kinda unfinished?

 

[MRD1985]

If an insert is installed without the surround then would it look kinda unfinished?

Not necessarily.

 

[MegCog]

You could put an insert in there. What brands do you like? The opening with the arch is not ideal.

I

You could put an insert in there. What brands do you like? The opening with the arch is not ideal.

Our old house had a Regency insert with the decorative grille on the front of the glass. I didn’t love the heat output of it compared to the soapstone stove we have at our property up north but I did love how beautiful the whole piece was. The benefit of the regency not putting out as much heat was also that we could have fires for ambiance even in milder weather. The soapstone kicked out soooo much heat that we couldn’t as easily have fires just for ambiance on a mild day. These are the only wood stoves that I have prolonged experience with but I’d be open to other brands being recommended.

 

[MegCog]

Not necessarily.

Thank you for sharing a picture! I’ve wondered what it would look like. Why do an insert without the surround when you could maybe just fit a regular wood stove in the opening?

 

[Whitenuckler]

Thank you for sharing a picture! I’ve wondered what it would look like. Why do an insert without the surround when you could maybe just fit a regular wood stove in the opening?

A regular wood stove can only go into an alcove, which means you would need to start all over from scratch. Another option is to keep what you have and do something else in an other area of the house for wood heat only. There will also be limitations due to the venting requirements.

 

[MRD1985]

Thank you for sharing a picture! I’ve wondered what it would look like. Why do an insert without the surround when you could maybe just fit a regular wood stove in the opening?

Personal preference but my opening was too a bit too low to fit a stove with the firebox size I wanted.

That being said, my wife preferred the surround so I put it back on.

 

[kborndale]

An insert will also heat a bit better without the surround, especially in the case of a power outage where you cannot run the blower. I personally like the look without the surround better.

 

[begreen]

Thank you for sharing a picture! I’ve wondered what it would look like. Why do an insert without the surround when you could maybe just fit a regular wood stove in the opening?

Height. An insert is purpose designed to fit on the hearth with a low profile. A freestanding stove often is not. Many have controls or air intake on the bottom. The second reason is convection. An insert has a convection jacket to direct the heat into the room. Freestanding stoves often do not and are more radiant off of the top.