Zero clearance fireplace?

[jotul8e2]

We have a small house in the Rockies (nearly 9,000 ft. in elevation) which has a) a propane fired forced air furnace; and b) a gas log direct vent "fireplace". Said gas log is installed in a purpose built wood framed bump out on the back side of the house. It does not work (thermocouple, probably), consumes nearly a gallon of propane an hour, and is rather inefficient. I am not one who is willing to spend $6 for an evening just watching gas flames dance above concrete logs.

I know wood stoves and masonry fireplaces, but know nothing whatsoever about zero clearance fireplaces/stoves. The space available is roughly 42" wide by 34" high. I could, with difficulty, increase the height, but not the width. Is a reasonably efficient zero clearance appliance practical in this space? The output need not be great - if I could put in a stove I would look at 1.5 cu. ft. fireboxes.

Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be appreciated. As would a convincing argument to just tear it all out and drywall the hole.

 

[mol1jb]

I have looked a bit into these the past few months for possible install into my house as well. With your dimensions and heating requirements in mind, I would start with looking at Pacific Energy. Their FP16 is 1.5 ish firebox and 42 in wide.

(broken link removed to http://www.pacificenergy.net/products/wood/fireplaces/fp16/)

They are also fairly reasonable as far as ZC epa fireplaces go. I got a quote from a dealer in my area the other day for $2700 for the FP16, which is quite reasonable in comparison to other ZC units out there. But they have a good reputation of making good wood burning products. Good luck

 

[begreen]

There are also several 2 cu ft epa fireplaces on the market. Astria Montecito and the RSF Pearl are a couple. All are around 42" tall though not all of that height is exposed.

 

[m159267]

Valcourt Lafayette FP10 - epa, 2.5 cu ft

 

[mminor]

Hello.

I'm attaching an EPA Zero Clearance specs sheet I created. It gives many of the important stats and is a good place to start your search.

I hope this helps.
Matt

 

[iron]

matt,

great summary that helped me before. after re-reviewing the list, i'm surprised by the fireplaces at the bottom which all claim 87% efficiency and non-cat. is that even possible?

ETA: i see those at the bottom of the list also have something like 8+ grams/hr emissions (on some websites) which is way higher than the others. something's gotta be off --- can't be super efficient with high emissions.

 

[jotul8e2]

ETA: i see those at the bottom of the list also have something like 8+ grams/hr emissions (on some websites) which is way higher than the others. something's gotta be off --- can't be super efficient with high emissions.

Sure you can - just ask Volkswagen.

Back to the topic, thank you all for getting me started. I have been reviewing dimensions and clearances and now have a solid basis to begin a search.

 

[jb6l6gc]

Selkirk has a zc line too made by sbi

 

[Coog]

Hello.

I'm attaching an EPA Zero Clearance specs sheet I created. It gives many of the important stats and is a good place to start your search.

I hope this helps.
Matt
View attachment 171895

This list will be very helpful. I have the 7100. We have a roughly 1900 sf house with a full basement. A couple of winters ago when we had those -25 spells with 30 mph winds, the 7100 kept up, barely. House would stay at 68 with frequent loads and the basement was closer to 50. Tonight it is about 20 and the house is 75. Stays pretty even with a centrally located stove and an open footprint. Can't complain.

 

[mminor]

Hi Iron,

I agree the bottom three ZC units on my snapshot Specs List (WCT6820, WCT6840, Montecito Estate), all from the same manufacturer, have suspicious "efficiency" ratings. These three units have different efficiency stats depending on which web site you look at. I researched further and found stats that certainly seem more reasonable for their size and "Emissions per Hour". Attached is my updated list - sorry for the confusion - and thanks Iron for alerting me.

More concerning to me about the these three units (WCT6820, WCT6840, Montecito Estate) is the "weight" of the fireplace which is rather low. Not sure about you guys, but I generally associate a "heavier" fireplace with a "better quality" fireplace. These three units are hundreds of pounds lighter than some of the others on the list and part of that is attributable to them NOT using real fire bricks. I would never buy a zero clearance fireplace with the fake brick-looking refractory panels (instead of real bricks), which is why I added a category for "Real Fire Brick" to my specs list below. What do you guys think?

Iron - Thanks for letting me know my list was helpful to you before you got that super nice Northstar of yours! I hope it can help others as well - at least in the beginning stages of looking.....

Matt