stove/insert to get and heat flow for floor plan

[stoveliker]

Found it:

A non-commercial service in support of responsible home heating with wood - The Outdoor Air Myth Exposed

The Wood Heat Organization was formed to support the public in the responsible use of wood energy in the home. We fulfill our mandate by providing reliable information, by conducting research into wood heating-related issues and by representing the public interest in discussions of policies that...

www.woodheat.org

This is a reliable website so the cfm a stove uses is likely ballpark correct.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

With about 2,000 square feet and nine-foot ceilings, I'd seriously consider whether you can make the Princess insert work over the Sirocco or the Ashford inserts. It's not as beautiful, but I think it would be more functional. It's rated to heat a slightly larger area, and you might just have an easier time making use of the more square firebox.

Is the hearth to your fireplace raised or flush with the floor? The first insert we owned was a Lopi Revere that stuck out about ten inches from the front of the fireplace in our finished basement. We had a raised brick hearth but needed ember protection for the carpeted floor in front of that. We built a small pad out of concrete and hardiboard, I think, and covered it with tiles. It worked quite well, but this was in a large basement room, so it didn't sit in a walking path or anything like that. We did not have a mantel so did not have to watch those clearances. That would be another thing to check.

We have a freestanding Blaze King Sirocco in our new home, and we do like the option of extending the burn. We heat mostly with wood but let the heat pump pick up the slack, if necessary. We figure that we're adding BTU's to the envelope, and everybody loves having a warm place to "bask." My kids sometimes object when I lower the thermostat, not because it's actually cold in the house, but just because they love the flames and the radiant heat. Turning down the thermostat comes at the price of sooting up the glass door in front, so there are trade offs. Because our house is new construction and well insulated and air sealed, we do appreciate having the low-end output that the thermostat provides.

 

[oaky]

With about 2,000 square feet and nine-foot ceilings, I'd seriously consider whether you can make the Princess insert work over the Sirocco or the Ashford inserts

Yes, I think I will try. With BK's ability to lower the heat output you are incentivized to go bigger. Also because it sticks out it heats better. Our brick hearth is raised, but only the height of a brick or two. It might be possible to remove most of the brick and put down a lower profile hearth pad and actually reclaim space to a certain extent.

 

[oaky]

This is a reliable website so the cfm a stove uses is likely ballpark correct.

It states 10-25 CFM for a modern wood stove.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

If you post pictures of your current setup, some of the talented folks on here might be able to make suggestions about what would work.

 

[oaky]

If you post pictures of your current setup, some of the talented folks on here might be able to make suggestions about what would work.

As I understand it, BK is the only company that offers 24 hour and lower temperature burns, which I think is a must have feature.
None of the BK stoves are rear vent. So for free standing I would have to vent up and then break a vent path through the chimney or somehow fit a tiny free standing into my existing hearth. It seems the only simple (and inexpensive installation cost) option is to go with the insert. Even if I could have an OAK for my chimney, adding air pressure to the room would still be useful to counteract exhaust elsewhere- so better to focus on that then complicate things elsewhere.
I will call the local chimney company that is listed on the BK site and see if they recommend the Princess insert installation and confer back here.

 

[kborndale]

When it gets really cold out you won't necessarily get a 24+ hour burns out of a BK. When it's turned up to put out more heat, the amount of time you get out of a load of wood won't be much more than other stoves. The real advantage of BKs is in the shoulder season when not much heat is needed and you can turn down the thermostat and then get the long burn times

 

[DuaeGuttae]

As I understand it, BK is the only company that offers 24 hour and lower temperature burns, which I think is a must have feature.
None of the BK stoves are rear vent. So for free standing I would have to vent up and then break a vent path through the chimney or somehow fit a tiny free standing into my existing hearth. It seems the only simple (and inexpensive installation cost) option is to go with the insert. Even if I could have an OAK for my chimney, adding air pressure to the room would still be useful to counteract exhaust elsewhere- so better to focus on that then complicate things elsewhere.
I will call the local chimney company that is listed on the BK site and see if they recommend the Princess insert installation and confer back here.

Yes, the thermostatic control of the BK is a very nice feature, one that we opted for on our current stove installation. We find it works well throughout a whole range of temperatures for it.

I'm sorry that I wasn't clearer in my earlier message. I concur that the Princess insert seems to be the best option considering your fireplace situation. I was suggesting pictures so that folks could get a look at your hearth and suggest extension options.

 

[oaky]

When it gets really cold out you won't necessarily get a 24+ hour burns out of a BK. When it's turned up to put out more heat, the amount of time you get out of a load of wood won't be much more than other stoves. The real advantage of BKs is in the shoulder season when not much heat is needed and you can turn down the thermostat and then get the long burn times

Its not my only heat source unless the power goes out. So I would have the option of doing 24 hour burns year round although I know full burns are needed for some amount of time to clear the glass.

 

[oaky]

The hearth:

 

[DuaeGuttae]

That's a lovely setup.

I'm not one who could give advice on tearing up the hearth and making a deeper flush extension, so I'll leave that to others. I will say, however, as a mom of four that have been raised around fireplace inserts, that I think the raised hearth has the advantage of helping to define the space more for small children and making it clearer what they have to avoid.

With our first raised hearth where we had the tile extension on carpet, we used the extension as a staging area for wood and tools, but the kids were not allowed to be on it. With our second raised hearth, we did not need an extension as our floor was tile, so the kids stood as close to the hearth as they could, but they didn't climb on it. With our current freestanding stove, our hearth is only about an inch raised, and the older kids are bad about standing on the edge of it to get close to the stove even though it's against the rules. Higher helps with that.

If you kept the raised hearth, you could use something as simple as a thin stove board or piece of metal tacked in front of the hearth to keep it basically flush. I don't know how much that would intrude into your living space or walking paths, but it's an idea.

I'm thinking that member @Caw might have something like that.

 

[oaky]

The insert sticks out so it seems that the existing 20 inch hearth would then no longer meet the safety recommendations of the PI29 manual (16 inches from door flange).
Additionally, the wood columns don't seem to meet the clearance requirements.

Definitely makes me consider not doing the princess- should be no hearth changes required for an insert that doesn't stick out. Or maybe it brings back the possibility of doing a free-standing (would put it on the right side of the chimney and then have the exhaust punch through the chimney).

If you kept the raised hearth, you could use something as simple as a thin stove board or piece of metal tacked in front of the hearth to keep it basically flush. I don't know how much that would intrude into your living space or walking paths, but it's an idea.

I am not understanding how things would be flush by putting down stove board.

I appreciate the advantage of having a well-defined barrier. On the other hand, at least in the summer, it is altering how the space can be used. I could put up some sort of barrier/gating in the winter on the side where the room is entered if boundaries aren't being properly respected. Basically take the black gate that is in the hearth and put it there.

 

[stoveliker]

could have an OAK for my chimney

I don't understand this remark?
An OAK would be connected to the air inlet of a stove. Not to the chimney.

(unfortunately the BK inserts don't have connections for OAKs. Free standing ones do, but that's not advisable in (front of) your fireplace, I'd say.)