woodstove insert vs woodstove in the chimney

[ryandd59]

I have been heating with a woodstove insert for the last 7 or 8 years. It does keep us warm but not without the blower on full speed, the loudest most obnoxious blower you can possibly imagine. It's an old Earth Stove bay view something or another... anyway, the blower is louder than any speaker or tv we can use. we've made do because it never occurred to me to try anything different. But is it possibly worth me taking this thing out and putting some sheet metal or some insullation to block out the chimney above and install a free standing type woodstove? Prior to this house, we had a freestanding woodstove and that thing heated our entire house with or without the blower running. And that blower was way quieter. Obviously our house now is a bit bigger and with two stores, I don't expect quite the same heat no matter how i go about it, but I would like to hear our tv when we sit down while not hearing the heat pump kick on.

 

[begreen]

Is the fireplace large enough to fit a freestanding stove? How many sq ft are you heating? While looking, consider replacing it with a modern insert. Many have fairly quiet blowers. If the insert sticks out onto the hearth a bit, the blower may only be needed on colder days and then not at high speed. Either way, you will gain a nice fire view and will burn less wood.

 

[EbS-P]

I have both. My stove sits all the way inside the fireplace. It needs a blower. 120$ gets a really quiet one. If your lintel height is 30” or less it really restricts stove choices. So for short fireplaces I would choose insert. If you wanted to sacrifice floor space and punch a new hole for a thimble above the fireplace you would have lots of options.

Don’t put any thermostatically controlled stove in the fireplace.