Wood stove in new construction home

[bfic78]

Good afternoon! We’re in the process of building a new home in East Tennessee. The home comes with a wood fireplace, but considering I want to use wood as a major contributor to our home heating/backup for power loss, I’m looking beyond their standard fireplace. We were looking at ZC inserts but have shifted towards fitting a free standing stove in the chase. The home has 2 main levels and a 3/4 finished basement. I had them place large cold air returns in both staircases and plan to run the fan on at all times to circulate air. Total finished SF is a touch over 2500. We are looking at the Pacific Energy Alderlea T6. The clearances inside the fireplace are currently 50“ wide by 26” deep. We’re going to have them do brick face inside of the fireplace opening, as it was already supposed to have a 5’ tall brick mantle with shiplap above that to the ceiling. I’ll attach some pictures for reference. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[begreen]

The 50" wide chase is going to restrict alcove stove options. The Alderlea T6 is a wide stove that needs at least a 61 1/4" wide alcove. The T5 needs at least 52". I thought of the Pacific Energy FP30 LE zero-clearance fireplace. It has the same firebox as the T6 and Summit in a ZC fireplace form but that requires at least a 56.5" wide chase.

Are the return vents at least 10 ft away from this location?

 

[bfic78]

Thank you for the reply! We were originally looking at the FP30, but it appeared that the chase needed to be at least 54” wide. What if the T6 was out in front of the chase and had a horizontal bend to vent into the chase, the a 90 elbow to vent up the chase? The returns are more than 10 ft away. I would say the closest is about 15 ft.

 

[begreen]

It looks like the Jotul F45 v2 will just squeak in.

 

[begreen]

Thank you for the reply! We were originally looking at the FP30, but it appeared that the chase needed to be at least 54” wide. What if the T6 was out in front of the chase and had a horizontal bend to vent into the chase, the a 90 elbow to vent up the chase? The returns are more than 10 ft away. I would say the closest is about 15 ft.

Yes, if it is out of the alcove then no problem. I would use 45º elbows for the offset instead of 90s.

 

[bfic78]

I’ll check it out! Also, does having the entire chase done with non combustible brick face make a difference? For example, looking at Jotuls user manual, the clearances required get dramatically less when there is wall and ceiling protection. Or is that not the case because it’s technically not a masonry fireplace?

 

[begreen]

Also, does having the entire chase done with non combustible brick face make a difference?

Only clearance reductions tested by the stove manufacturer count. A brick veneer in this case gets nothing for clearance reduction. Note that in Jotul's F45 manual they specify and show NFPA 211 ventilated wall shielding for the clearance reduction. The brick veneer could be applied to that shielding if cement board was used.

 

[begreen]

We were originally looking at the FP30, but it appeared that the chase needed to be at least 54” wide.

Did you check out other ZC manufacturers like RSF or the Osburn Stratford II? There is also the Astria Montecito Estate which qualifies for the 26% tax credit on the whole installation if done this year.

 

[bfic78]

Did you check out other ZC manufacturers like RSF or the Osburn Stratford II? There is also the Astria Montecito Estate which qualifies for the 26% tax credit on the whole installation if done this year.

We have. I’ve looked at the Osburn Everest II, Lafayette II, Pioneer II, and I believe a few others. Considered zone heating down into the basement on the units that cleared. I like the estate but the quote for the unit alone ($8800) has us hesitant even with the credit. We also like the idea of cooking on the wood stove if the power went out.

 

[EbS-P]

What is the elevation. With 2x6 walls and decent air sealing, the am curious about what the manual J calc says you need for heating. Wood stove won’t heat any of the basement without running fan. Generally many people don’t see much benefit from that but new construction I’m hoping you will. Check out the Blaze King Ashford 30. It would be on my list. Build a woodshed now if you can!

 

[bfic78]

What is the elevation. With 2x6 walls and decent air sealing, the am curious about what the manual J calc says you need for heating. Wood stove won’t heat any of the basement without running fan. Generally many people don’t see much benefit from that but new construction I’m hoping you will. Check out the Blaze King Ashford 30. It would be on my list. Build a woodshed now if you can!

Thanks for the advice! It’s 29’ of elevation from the basement foundation floor to peak. If you took out the basement it’s about 20’ of elevation and 1712 finished SF. I will check out the blaze king. We’re debating what it going to put out more efficient heat and be a better stove, the wood stove installed out of the chase, then some 45 degree bends to get it up the chase, or the ZC installed right in the chase. Like I said previously I like the fact that you can cook on a stove in case of a power outage and I think the conduct heat better but are the immediate bends in the stove pipe due to our situation going to nullify that?

**Edit**

After looking up the blaze king Ashford 30, it appears that may have the clearance to fit right into the alcove for a vertical vent. I have to measure again but I believe the inside is 51” wide. Per the instructions it appears that from centerline of the pipe to the wall needs to be 25.5” on clearance. I will have to look into this a bit further.