Options for fireplace without Chimney

[Michaeld1344]

Hello,
When I bought my house 3 years ago, there was an old pellet stove installed. It was pretty worn out and I've since taken it out. I'm looking to replace it with potentially a wood stove insert. The fireplace is only a brick fireplace and does not have a true chimney as the pellet stove just vented horizontally out of the house. The space above the fireplace doesn't go anywhere, it just dead ends a couple feet up.



Could a wood stove insert work here with an external metal chimney?

My house's primary heat source is a heat pump and I'm looking to supplement that during the cold parts of the winter and my wife and I just enjoy the coziness of having a wood heat source. Let me know if anyone has any suggestion for this application. Thanks!

Fireplace dimensions are W=34" H=26.5" D=18.5"

 

[begreen]

A wood insert needs to be installed in a true masonry fireplace. This looks like more of a brick alcove. What is unknown is how it was constructed and the amount of masonry between the interior and the surrounding combustibles.

 

[Michaeld1344]

The sides of the opening are made of full size cinder blocks, 8" thick. I'm not sure what's behind those. Above the opening there are cinder "beams" extending the full width of the fireplace and which extend 8" high with additional masonry structure on top. The back wall is just one layer of brick to the outside.

 

[begreen]

The heat loss in the back of the cavity must be high with only one layer of brick. An insert is designed to vent straight up. Rear venting would require a freestanding stove.

 

[Michaeld1344]

Ah okay. Yeah, it's a weird design. I can't imagine it was original to the house. It must have been a modification someone made at some point.

Do they make freestanding stoves that could fit in a space like that? I was hoping to go with a wood burning stove over a pellet stove since I have a lot of wood on my property.

 

[begreen]

The 26" lintel height will be the determining factor followed by the mantel clearance requirement. The Jotul Rockford F35 with the short leg kit might work, but the hearth would need an extension at the floor level and it needs 20" from stovetop to the mantel.

 

[Michaeld1344]

Thanks for your help! I think I could raise the mantle if needed.

I will look into the Jotul Rockford F35. I saw you recommend MF Fire Nova series on another thread. I'm wondering if that might be an option too.

 

[begreen]

I think the Nova series are top-vent only.

 

[Michaeld1344]

I’m planning to move forward with the F35 Rockwood. I made some modifications to the mantle and I now have all the proper clearances (with a floor level hearth extension).

With the short leg kit, I will have about 3 inches above the stove to the top of the fireplace opening and the concrete/cinder beams/lentils that span the opening since there isn’t a true chimney above. Do I need to set up any shielding to protect the masonry elements that are close to the stove? Obviously they are non combustible, but I’m not sure if they are fire rated since the original purpose of the fireplace was for housing a pellet stove. Would being 3” from the heat of the stove negatively impact their structural integrity over time? Thanks for any input!

 

[begreen]

If the structure is 100% noncombustible then it does not need additional protection, but the heat losses to outdoors may be high. Will the stove have a blower on it to move heat out into the room?

 

[Michaeld1344]

The stove is not coming with a blower. I have done zero research into blowers at this point so thanks for bringing that up. I’ll have to study up to see what my options are! I will search through some threads for options.

If you have any suggestions let me know. Would a blower attach to the stove itself or sit on the hearth below or in front? Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!