Wood Stoves for fireplaces

[synthnut]

I've been doing a lot of checking of the various wood burning stoves that will fit in a fireplace ....Not all of us want to put inserts in our fireplace .....My thinking is that you need to have a fan on a wood burner , if you are putting it in a fireplace, and in most cases you need short legs to allow the stove to fit the inside of a fireplace .....If that's the case, then

1) Why don't more companies offer a shorter leg option ?

2) Why don't more companies offer a blower motor option ?

3) Why don't more companies offer fireplace specific wood stoves, as well as inserts ?

Am I really in the minority wanting something like this ? ....Thanks, Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

Welcome to the smart minority. Hearth stoves rock. Had an insert for 21 years and won't do it again.

 

[synthnut]

BB,
That Englander that I have been burning your ear off about is looking mighty good ...I went to a couple of Home Depot's by me , and the one store had a unit that someone brought back due to missing parts ... I wanted to see if I could get it cheap, but waiting a 1/2 an hr for a manager to show ( one never did ) I left the store ...The other Home Depot said that they would order one on a special request .... I would really like to see one set up properly so I can judge for myself ......One question for you ( I know , I'm a pain in the a$$ ) ......

1) If you run your stove without the blower, will you still get good heat in your house ?......I'm thinking maybe THAT'S the way I can run a bigger stove in a smaller house , and still have a long burn time .....Either turn the blower off, or put it on low ....Sound like a plan ? .....Thanks again for your expert experience with the Englander ...Sincerely, Jim

 

[BrotherBart]

In the smaller house I would really still advise the smaller stove. Gives ya the flexibility that we have. Stoves these days wanna burn one way, hot. With our setup and the one you plan you control the heat in the house with the blower. I always chuckle at the Forum logic here that says that you control the heat by loading the big stove with a smaller load. Efficient combustion starts in a firebox with over 1100 hundred degree temps. Little stove gets there and you only have three hundred or so pounds of stuff tossing heat. The 30 gets to 500 external temp you are gonna get hot around there. Guaranteed. I think we have a unique heat distribution in this house. No fans moving stuff etc. and right now the room the stove is in is just coming up on 79 degrees and the remote thermos in all four bedrooms upstairs are reading 74 with outside temp at 35. 2500 sq foot center hall two story colonial house. Running too hot up there because I was playing with a load this evening. This is all with the blower on the minimum setting which is the lowest I run it. I don't turn it off just because I am concerned that the heat back there might affect it someday. It won't because I can reach behind the stove when it is cranking with the blower off and the housing is cold to the touch because of convection air pulled through it but I am paranoid about it anyway.

You could put the 30 in there without a blower and maybe do alright but not have any flexibility at all. You will have a hot house or crappy burns.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i tell ya what BB , if that picture was a bit sharper i could almost put it on a brochure with the fire in it, heck i opened the picture and my room temp went up 2 degrees! (LOL)

 

[synthnut]

My thought was to have the 30 in there and regulate the heat by using the blower...Hopefully the stove working WITHOUT the fan on will give adequate temps.....If it get's really cold outside and I need more heat , I can always turn the blower up until the heat is right .....So you think that the house will get too hot even if I don't use the blower with the 30 ?.....Do you know anybody using the 13 ? .....I'd really hate to have that 13 in there , and have it get really cold outside, and have a cold house because I put too small a stove in ....Then again, I don't want to roast in my house either with the 30 in there and the blower off at 10 degree's outside temp !!....Very confused ....Jim

PS...I don't mind putting in the 13 if I know it will be enough heat when it get's really cold outside ...

 

[stoveguy2esw]

My thought was to have the 30 in there and regulate the heat by using the blower...Hopefully the stove working WITHOUT the fan on will give adequate temps.....If it get's really cold outside and I need more heat , I can always turn the blower up until the heat is right .....So you think that the house will get too hot even if I don't use the blower with the 30 ?.....Do you know anybody using the 13 ? .....I'd really hate to have that 13 in there , and have it get really cold outside, and have a cold house because I put too small a stove in ....Then again, I don't want to roast in my house either with the 30 in there and the blower off at 10 degree's outside temp !!....Very confused ....Jim

PS...I don't mind putting in the 13 if I know it will be enough heat when it get's really cold outside ...

can you give me an idea how big the house is, and fireplace dimentions? floor plan? how well are you insulated? 30 might be good, 13 might be as well, depends on how much heat is required, TMonter has a 13 , he might give you some feedback

 

[stonehouse]

Here's mine. The biggest Jotul there is.
I'm 1800 sq ft, but the wife likes it hot (she sits 3 feet from it) and the house is 195 years old so it works. The guy tried to sell me the smaller one. Kudos to the store.

 

[synthnut]

I'm in a log cabin that is 1300 sq ft or so ....There are some places that I will have to get to and fix where I can see daylight in between the logs ...Not BIG daylight, but very small cracks of daylight .....Good insulation on the roof .....basement can get cold ... The fireplace is 28 tall x 36 wide x 26 deep .....It's in a living room that has a cathedral ceiling that that goes to the ridge of the house and there is a stairway in the living room that goes up to a bedroom ....It's all open ....On the ground floor it is open to the kitchen ...The only rooms not directly being hit by the heat are my sons bedroom that is off of the kitchen, and the bathroom that is off of the living room ..I'll be installing ceiling fans to hopefully force air into those rooms as well as putting small fans on the floor to push cold air out of those rooms .......Jim

 

[stoveguy2esw]

sounds like it'd fit ok, 1300 sq ft normally i would recommend a 13 , but with the lack of wall insulation in a log home,(especially with the daylight thing you mentioned) the 30 would easily handle it in the coldest of climates,(get the blower!) im not sure that a 13 would be able to keep up by itself on bitter days, but may do ok when its above freezing. you might also look at PE, im thinking they have a mid sized unit , 2 plus cf firebox, that might be good there as well (need some input from the PE crowd) you're btu range is likely in the 55K to 70 K range mostly depending on the climate there and the home structure/heat retention with a log home, dont get ANYTHING that wont handle 1500 to 1800 sq ft. easily IMHO