Need advice for woodstove in all-masonry alcove

[Brian Hawthorne]

Looking for advice on installing a woodstove in an existing all-masonry alcove in a freestanding chimney. The alcove is part of the central chimney beside the fireplace, and we’ve been using it to store firewood.

We just had a professional install a Harman Accentra52i pellet stove insert in our freestanding masonry fireplace, complete with fresh air intake, stainless steel liner, etc. This is now our primary heating.

We had been heating with a listed Waterford wood stove since we moved into this 1987 house 22 years ago. It is connected to a separate flue. Since we get a fair number of power outages, we like the idea of having a woodstove for emergency backup heat. But we really don’t need the giant Waterford for that and would love some floor space back. We just need enough heat to keep the pipes from freezing in a power outage.

We want to replace the big Waterford with a small listed Waterford stove that we removed from another building (see photo of clearances plate). but instead of installing it free standing, want to install it in the existing masonry alcove. It is alcove rated, but my understanding is that the alcove clearances (see picture) are to combustible walls, and this alcove has masonry walls with no combustibles. Can we install the small stove in the alcove for emergencies? I know most of the heat would be absorbed by the masonry, but that’s perfect for emergency heat to keep the pipes from freezing.

 

[begreen]

There are no clearance issues in an entirely masonry enclosure. That actually isn't an alcove. It's more like a cement tunnel.

 

[Brian Hawthorne]

Thanks! That was my assumption, but I’ve learned not to trust my assumptions without checking with people who know more than me.