Rear Flue Stove ?

[synthnut]

I'm in a beautiful log cabin that has a nice heating system where I have a wood burning furnace tied into my oil burning system ....I have not lived there in the winter as it's my Summer cabin , but the last owner lived there full time ...It's a great place , but I am not thrilled with the way the wood burning section works ....The heat comes up in the firebox, and once a certain temp is reached , the fan kicks on and the house heats ....The problem is that the fan will continue to stay on until the heat in the firebox goes lower and then it cycles on and off till it finally stops altogether ....The heat goes throuout the house which is really nice, but it gets too hot !!....To the point of openning windows !!...There is a basement where the unit is . and there is also a small duct opening in the main duct to allow heat to go into the basement, but that also gets really hot ....The heat is very hard to regulate and what I would like to do is put a small wood stove in the fireplace in the living room ....The cabin is only about 1300 sq ft , and once it's warm , it really stays nice .....The problem with putting a wood stove in the fireplace is that it's only 28 inches high !!.....It's a beautiful stone fireplace that runs clear up to the peak of the roof where I think I should have no problem with flue length, but I need to find a stove that has a rear outlet flue that the top of the pipe is only 27 or 28 inches off the floor ........Is there such a stove ? ..... I was looking at the Englander stoves which I would have to put in with a shoehorn ....I was thinking that the 13NC would fit nicely in the fireplace , mainlly because I thought it was shorter than the 30NC ....Wrong again .....

I would like to start a fire to get the house warm using the larger wood burner in the basement, and then continue heating the house with the wood burner that I am trying to put in the fireplace in the living room .... Any ideas for a stove for my 28 inch high living room fireplace ? .....Thanks, Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

With the two inch leg option this one might, emphasis on "might", make it.

(broken link removed to http://www.buckstove.com/wood/model261.html)

 

[DAKSY]

How well is your camp insulated?
For a poor to average insulated 1300 sf structure, I'd
probably go for something as big as the Jotul F500 OSLO...
You can get the short leg kit & turn the flue-collar to horizontal
& it'll probably fit in there nicely...
My $.02, FWIW...

 

[synthnut]

Thanks for the reply guys .....I will look further into the Buck Stove .......The Jotul stoves seem to be very high in price and a buddy of mine put a Castine 400 in his house that had a small fireplace, and had a similar situation as I have .....He can't seem to get a good burn going in that stove to save his life ..... He's to the point of opening windows , and the door to his stove to get enough of a draft going just to get the fire started ....Even after the flue is warm , the stove does not really burn all that well on into the burn ....He could have other issues going on too , I have not really gone over to check his installation out .... I have also read a few threads on this forum about the temperamental nature of the Castine , and would not want to spend that much money on an Oslo , especially with the reputaton of the Castine .....Any other stoves maybe ? .....Thanks again , Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

The Buck is pretty much the only rear vent steel stove out there these days. The Jotuls really are good stoves. I am just partial to steel stoves.

 

[synthnut]

Brother Bart ,
After looking again at the Englanders, maybe I can cut the legs down a tad to make one or the other of these stoves fit .....The NC30 will hold a lot more wood , and would give me a much longer burn ( more sleep ) and since it's almost the same price as the 13NC , it might be a better buy for me ..... What are the legs made of ? ....Cast , or Steel ? ....... Do you think I would do much harm taking 2" off of the legs ? .....I can make it fit if I can cut the legs, with a little bit of room to spare ....Thanks, Jim

 

[tickbitty]

If you can't work one of the stoves you like out, would you consider an insert? There are some that extend out onto the hearth as much as a foot or so, (like the Lopi Republic 1750i I just got) and several other types and brands, so it is essentially ends up being a hearth mount stove with no legs so it can sit low on the hearth safely. This one is like 21" tall I think. You don't have to put on the surround so it ends up looking like a legless stove too. (I would prefer a taller stove for the improved view but couldn't do it with the clearances on my present hearth and mantel) Here are a bunch on this other thread I started yesterday. (#5 post has the pics) https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/50201/

 

[synthnut]

tickbitty,
Thanks so much for the idea .....The insert without the surround really doesn't look all that bad ....As a matter of fact , if I were a betting man , I would say that a lot of these inserts are nothing more than a standard stove with the legs cut off ....Of course I am sure that I will hear from a lot of folks that they are different , but I'm not sure this is the case to a large degree .... There might be minor differences , but nothing to really stop one from just using a regular stove with the legs either cut down or a new bottom mount made for the stove to rest on ... I'd sure like a view of these stoves from the inside to see if there is any kind of safety insulation or ?? on the bottom of the stove that makes it safer to put low to the floor, or is it just an air control put in a different location ???? ....I'm sure that I could go to a welder buddy of mine and have him weld up some kind of bottom mount for just about ANY stove to lower it down so I can use it ....After seeling these inserts sitting on the bottom of a fireplace , I think I might do just that !!.....Thanks again for the idea ....You have helped me tremendously with your idea ...Keep Warm ........Sincerely, Jim

 

[tickbitty]

Yes I think some of the stoves are essentially the same as inserts. The Avalon line of stoves by Travis are exactly the same stoves, with or without legs, the pendleton, Ranier, or Olympic (you would probably need the Ranier size or up) The Lopi stoves are the same or very similar as well, and it looks like Buck and I am sure several others do the same. THey have the flue on top, but you can position some of them so that most of it is outside the firebox if you want it that way, and the way the shrouds and blowers work maximizes the heat coming out from the front and not up the chimney. So maybe that will work for you. Some of those have nice sized fireboxes too so with the blowers especially you can get serious heat from them versus trying to go with a small hearth stove with a small firebox.

All that said, I think the Morso stoves are really nice looking and pretty compact. The Morso 7110 is really great looking and is under 27" tall, it has a rear exit, too. But it's only rated to heat "up to" your square footage (my understanding was that if you really want it for serious heat, not just occasionally or for atmosphere you should have your square footage somewhere within the heat range they give, not at the top, but I am sure that's just up to the individual for what they expect.) It does have a pretty small firebox though. (smaller than some of those inserts mentioned) It looks really plain jane in pictures but is really a beautiful elegant stove, to my eye. (a bit expensive though.)

 

[CJRages]

Another rear-venting option is the Quadrafire Cumberland Gap.

Take a look here.
(broken link removed to http://www.quadrafire.com/Products/Wood_Burning/Wood_Model.asp?f=CUMBERLNDGAP)

I'm not sure that the height will work though. 28 3/16" to the top of the rear vent in owners manual.
That's cutting things close for you huh?

If anyone knows of other rear venting stoves I would appreciate the information as well.

 

[synthnut]

It's funny how you think you might save some additional clearance by going with a rear outlet and then I look a little closer and most of the stoves have the top of the flue on the rear outlet higher than the top of the stove or the thimble on the stove with it in the verticle position !!....Why bother, especially if the stove comes with a blower !!...You might just as well sit the stove back into the fireplace , and turn a blower on and save an elbow and added pipe !!....Jim

 

[atomichawg]

Jotul Oslo with short leg kit will fit nicely, plus its an awesome stove. We had a similar clearance issue and it works great. Get the blue/ black enamel finish. You'll be glad you did.

 

[ChillyGator]

I had the same problem with a 'short' fireplace and inability to build up a hearth pad to take a bigger stove. At the end I was looking at the Morso 7110 & 2110 and Jotul F400 (Castine) and F3CB. My house is approximatly 1600 sq ft of heated area in north Florida.

I bought the 7110 because my local dealer had it in stock and then reduced it 22% last spring. I would have liked the 2110 but would've had to pay shipping and full retail (same with Jotul's - none of my size in stock).

The 7110 is a great stove, very easy to run, puts out lots of heat for the size, looks nice, etc......however, it must be fed every 3-4 hours to have a 300* stovetop at reload during cold weather (below 40*) and 16" wood is about all it can take.

I've burnt up about 1/3 cord (red oak) the last two weeks with Artic Air visiting Florida (THANK GOD I PUT THE STOVE LAST YEAR!) and it keeps about 600-700 sq ft very toasty but I had to move my TV/Sitting area from my den to my living room to keep the cold at bay. My house is kind of chopped up and trying to move air around was a real pain and not very successful (even with an AirShare connecting my living room to my den). Now I stay toasty in my 'living room' and keep the furnace set at 64* (it never came on last night until about 3:00 am) for the rest of the house.

If I were in your place, I would look at the Morso 2110 (and 3610 if it will fit) and Jotul's F400 or F500 and maybe the Hearthstone Homestead (cat stove).

 

[synthnut]

Thanks for the info guys ...I think for the amount of heat it produces , and the cost of the stove , I think I am going to go with the Englander 30 and make my own base for it .... It has an optional blower , and it has a nice size fire box ....It will be a tight fit , but I think I can make it work for me ....Thanks again for your help ...Sincerely, Jim