When interior chimney is not an option?

[Nicholas]

Location is the side wall of a great room, from the eave to the peak is 10'.
So if the chimney is Interior, against the exterior wall, it will penetrate the roof line and go another 10-12' in the cold exterior air.
If a thimble is located 3' down from the ceiling, What has been gained by having it as an interior chimney ? You still have 10-12' of chimney on the exterior.
I was looking at "Temp-Cast" Masonry heaters, but they recommend an interior chimney, The location would be as I described above.

I really want to do a Masonry heater style setup, but there is no way to position it under the peak of the roof.

Nick

 

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part of the problem with an exterior chimney is that all that masonry mass acts like a heat-sink on the flue gas as it is leaving the firebox. effectively cooling the gas and allowing the residual moisture in the gas to condense on the walls of the chimney. This cooling also slows down the draft.
An interior chimney is never as cold as an exterior chimney. For instance my chimney is interior, at least 5 feet from an outside wall.

I'm sure you could use insulated chimney sections (which are basically double walled stove pipe with a blanket of insulation between them) all the way up inside the existing chimney at minimal cast and be fine.

I must say the units look great, but expensive.

Also the graph I saw on their web site, which shows metal wood stoves at a low efficiency, was published in 1992. Look at the small print at the bottom.
Wood stoves have come along way since 1992.

But if you want the look and have the cash go for it. I would.

 

[Gooserider]

Masonry units are cool, but I'd be concerned about putting one in the setup you're describing. What I've seen on them suggests that a masonry fireplace should not just have an interior chimney, but be located in the interior of the house as well - NOT against an outside wall.

I'd be worried that if you put a masonry unit against an outside wall, you'd be loosing a great deal of your heat to the outside.

Gooserider

 

[begreen]

Give the installers a call. I'm sure they've dealt with this situation before. Perhaps with an offset chimney to avoid the peak? Goose is right that you want to keep all of the mass of the system on the interior of the house. Otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the masonry heater.