I'm looking at wood fireplace inserts for my livingroom for the purpose of having a heat source when there's a power outage. I currently heat my house (1800SF) with a pellet stove and it does a really nice job....the downside is when the power goes out. I know I could get a generator for power outages, but I'm also interested in using my beautiful fieldstone fireplace both for emergencies and just for fun without worrying about losing too much heat up the chimney. I used to live in a house many years ago that had a fireplace insert that blew heat into the room without the use of a blower. It worked very well. It seems that all the inserts now have blowers...not useful when there's a power outage....so I'd like to know if they work without the blower and if it's safe from the standpoint of overheating. Thanks for any input you can give me!!
Can inserts be used safely/effectively without the blower?
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Welcome mg. Some inserts do better than others in this respect. In general if you look for inserts that project a bit further into the room, you will find they work better in an outage. Regency makes the model H2100 Hearth Heater which has most of the stove body on the hearth. Some inserts are designed to work reasonably well even without power. Pacific Energy inserts, some Lopis have some models that heat with the blower off. They will heat even better with the blower on, but will convect a nice amount of heat during an outage.
The other alternative would be to have a free standing hearth stove just in front of the fireplace opening. That can look very nice and provide good heat without power.
The other alternative would be to have a free standing hearth stove just in front of the fireplace opening. That can look very nice and provide good heat without power.
Mt Ski Bum
Minister of Fire
mountaingirl said:
blowers are optional on most inserts, so as far as working safely w/o blowers, it's just fine, but I have heard that inserts (especially onces recessed into the fireplace more) don't spread the heat very well w/o a blower, & I have also heard concerns about electrical components in woodstove blowers getting fried if the blower isn't running to keep them cool. If you want an insert that can still spread/circulate heat well with out a blower, I'd reccommend looking at a convection stove/insert (which circulates heat/air using natural convection), &/or an insert in an "extended" installation (extended onto the hearth to provide a bigger surface area for radiant heat).
Oh, & welcome to the forums!
EDIT:
Here's some inserts to take a look at:
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uide/wood_inserts.aspx)(broken link removed to http://fireplacex.com/product
uide/wood_inserts.aspx)
The PE does a decent job without the blower ( I'm waiting on a new fan under warranty, mines warbling), but you need electricity to move the air around. I do have a central chimney that retains the heat for quite some time .. hours could be days ... depends on the outside temps.
I have discovered, in my homes layout, not using the ceiling fans, and adding a small $5 Walmart fan blowing across the glass of the insert throws more heat. Just an FYI.
I have discovered, in my homes layout, not using the ceiling fans, and adding a small $5 Walmart fan blowing across the glass of the insert throws more heat. Just an FYI.
Heated this joint for over twenty years with a insert in the fireplace. When it went south I put a free standing stove in that fireplace and will never have a insert again. The fireplace does tend to trap some heat so when I need to get it out of there in really cold weather a couple of seven dollar 4" inch fans on the hearth blowing into the fireplace moves the heat right out into the room. Ecofans would probably do the same job but the difference between a hundred and fifty apiece for them and $1.85 apiece for the little fans on clearance at Target was significant.
my regency insert manual tells you to turn the blower off when the primary air is shut down. personnaly I don't follow that advice a typical overnight burn is dry wood, fill insert run about 15 min full air full fan, 15 min half air full fan, shut down air low fan and go to bed. questioned my dealer about running no fan in power outs he suggested taking fan off to allow more convective air and aviod overheating motor when not running fan. Thats easy fan just pops off, since I've own the insert haven'nt really run into a long blackout but I keep a charged battery and a small inverter 400 watts, about 40 bucks, around to ride me through short blackouts runs a long time on low ran no generator needed house cozy
I would have liked a free standing stove, but my wife wanted an insert. So..... The insert provides plenty of heat with a blower, but only a modest amount without it. In case of a power outage, I have a marine battery with an inverter that will keep it running for a while, but it would not do for any extended length of time. I am thinking about adding a generator to provide backup electricity.
What do you recommend for a generator? Or, put another way, what do I need to know to pick a generator? This is new territory for me.
Many thanks to all of you for your feedback! I will do some more research & look into the models you have recommended - especially the convection stoves. As it turns out my son just bought a new generator for the welder on his service truck and told me I could have his old one.....which is almost big enough to power up the entire town I live in! I'm glad I found this sight, however, you have lots of good input that I greatly appreciate. I had read that Pacific Energy was a good insert to consider for working well without the blower but I thought there should be other options out there. I have a fairly tight budget so I have to research this carefully. I also need to get the roof done this year so counting pennies is HUGE! Thanks again.....glad to be here!
I'm also a newbie, and it sounds like we have a lot in common.
We also have 1800 ft and are also concerned about power outages. I decided on the Lopi Freedom. Not the cheapest, but as others have mentioned, it sticks out farther into the room which helps if there is no power. This also has the added benefit of being used as a cooktop if necessary.
We had it installed on Thursday, but they forgot to include the blower when they shipped it. We have been using it as is. I gotta say the house is warmer than we ever kept it on propane, but we also have an ideal layout for wood heat.
We also have 1800 ft and are also concerned about power outages. I decided on the Lopi Freedom. Not the cheapest, but as others have mentioned, it sticks out farther into the room which helps if there is no power. This also has the added benefit of being used as a cooktop if necessary.
We had it installed on Thursday, but they forgot to include the blower when they shipped it. We have been using it as is. I gotta say the house is warmer than we ever kept it on propane, but we also have an ideal layout for wood heat.
Glad I'm not the only one out there!
Thanks for the feedback. Guess the Lopi is a good one to look into. I have a raised hearth on my fireplace that sticks out about 12" then drops about 10" to the floor! Having the unit stick out into the room would be OK for the layout of my livingroom. I have a fieldstone fireplace but I'm guessing they would grind down the face of the stone to get a good tight fit for the insert. I also have a good source for wood....5 1/2 acres of hardwoods! I just need to find some poor soul to cut the firewood up for me! That's why I opted for the pellets to heat the house..... but when it comes to being ready when the power goes out I'm sure I could get some guy in the neighborhood to take care of the trees for me! I already have quite a bit that's stacked & seasoned but it won't hurt to have more ready!
Thanks for the feedback. Guess the Lopi is a good one to look into. I have a raised hearth on my fireplace that sticks out about 12" then drops about 10" to the floor! Having the unit stick out into the room would be OK for the layout of my livingroom. I have a fieldstone fireplace but I'm guessing they would grind down the face of the stone to get a good tight fit for the insert. I also have a good source for wood....5 1/2 acres of hardwoods! I just need to find some poor soul to cut the firewood up for me! That's why I opted for the pellets to heat the house..... but when it comes to being ready when the power goes out I'm sure I could get some guy in the neighborhood to take care of the trees for me! I already have quite a bit that's stacked & seasoned but it won't hurt to have more ready!
Modern inserts are usually hooked up to a liner. If you put a damper sealing block-off plate in, there is no need for a tight fit of the surround against the fieldstone. More important is getting a stove that will fit in your fireplace. Can you provide its height, width and depth?
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