Fireplace advice, Part 2

[EddieWalker]

About 2 1/2 years ago, I started a thread asking for advise on what I could use to put a fireplace in my home. At the time, I was limited to what I could do because of what my ex wife wanted and our goals at that time. Since then, things have changes and I no longer have a wife, or anybody offering what they want. Until recently, I was still going to build it the way she wanted because it's what I put all the time into figuring out and planning towards.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/115372-fireplace-advice-appreciated.html

Then I had a flash and realized that I might actually want a free standing, wood stove. A week later, Northern Tool sends me a sales catalog of fireplaces and I see several for $600 plus shipping and the chimeney. I have the perfect corner for this, and lots of wood that I could burn on my land. I used to like spiltting wood, but don't know if I will any more or not. Of course, I might just buy a splitter and make it simple.

I'm not wanting anything fancy, just a heat source, glass doors to see the flames and a blower to heat the house. I'm thinking about Northern Tool for this, but since it's mail order, I don't know if it's any good or not. Some of their stuff is great, others are not so good.

I've installed a few in houses that I flipped, and bought them from Tractor Supply. I never used them, but never got a complaint or call back on them. I don't care for Tractor Supply any more, but wont let that stop me if they have the best deal out there.

For those of you with free standing wood stoves, or if they are called something else, what can you tell me to look for? Where did you get yours? What do you like about it, and what do you hate? Really, just anything that might be useful for me to decide on what to buy.

I also don't know what the requirements are for flooring and walls around them. This will be in the corner, and I currently have engineered wood floors and sheetrock walls.

I'm thinking about sending the exhause out the side wall, and then up. I have a metal roof, and can go through it if I have to, but would realy prefer not to. Anything to pay attention to when doing this? I'm sure there will be instructions and I can always call the manufacturer if I run into problems, but would really like to hear from those of you who have actually done this and know what to do first hand.


Thank you,
Eddie

 

[Egon]

Eddie, become aware of efficiency standards for the stoves as they are not all built equally.

Usually the stove builder will supply you with clearances which become secondary to the codes of your area.

Freestanding I'd prefer one that has an ash box in the pedestal.

Also do a lot of investigating about stove size. Too big or too small have their negatives.

All this information will be available on the internet. Just start with stoves and then get into individual builders.

Watching the flame is addictive!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[IH3444]

Eddie if you buy a high quality wood stove that meets the present energy star standards for a biomass stove, you can get a tax credit of 30%.

You can read about stoves at Hearth.com - Information on Gas Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Gas Logs, Pellet Stoves, Fireplaces, Chimneys and Hearth Products.

Some quality wood stoves come to mind, Joutol, Harmon, Hearthstone.

Look also at the soapstone stoves, there are good at retaining heat long after the fire burns out.

 

[Mousefield]

I have a wood stove in my shop and one in our house. A few things that you should watch for, other may have already suggested this.
Size the stove to the house. If possible try to have the chimney go straight out of the roof. If you can it will probably have a better draught, less chance to creosote up the chimney and the chimney will be easier (usually) to clean. Make sure you have enough clearance from the walls and you may have to put something under the stove like brick or tile. Check with the building inspector as what the requirements are. Improperly installed it may void you house insurance if you should have a fire due to the wood stove. Always burn dry wood, ours it at least 3 years old, I have a 5 year supply cut,split and stacked under cover.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Can't go wrong with Vermont Casting, Jotul or Pacific Energy.
Ditto Egon. Look at BTU's and sq ft per stove. If the stove is too small for overall house size you will burn it out quickly. If it is too large you may create a possible house fire scenario
by under burning and creating a creosote build up.

Look at attachable shelves, possible cooking area etc. Take advantage of the heat source. Nothing like coming in after a long day of felling trees, bucking wood and splitting, to settled down to a stew cooked in a cast iron pot over a wood stove or a big 'ol pot of beans!

Make sure you wood is at least 2 years old and buy a stove pipe thermometer. Also a metal ash can with top and always empty it far away from your house. Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand as well.

I 'sweep' my own chimney twice a year. Once before fall start up and once during the winter.
I usually get less than a pint of ash and that amount of the ash comes from the top 3-6 feet of the pipe.

Keep us posted and have fun... nothing like a wood fire!

 

[Dallas_Lilly]

Personally I think the pipe running up the outside of a wall never looks good. They almost always turn black and ugly IMHO. I think it would be worth it to go through the roof.

I have had a Pacific Energy and now own a Regency wood stove. Both have been great stoves, the Pacific Energy just wasnt a big enough stove. Quadrafire (sp) is supposed to be one of the better stoves made but are spendy.

I had an ash pan and do not now, I really really wish i I still did. It makes a world of differnce in ash clean up. I hate cleaning ashes right now because you get a light ash dusting of everything within a couple of feet of the stove.

We currently have a blower, I do not use it much except when bringing the temp up in a really cold house, other than that it is annoying to me to listen to the hum of it.

The clearances dont seem to matter much on the newer stoves as the older stoves. My newest stove when it is hotter than a two dollar pistol on the top and front can still be brushed against on the sides and back. I wouldnt hold my hand there for very long but its not as hot as one would imagine.

From your previous threads my guess is this wont be just a stove install and will include making the house a nicer place with some type of rock behind it so you shouldnt have a problem with clearances.

 

[Redgoatea]

I love my free standing wood stove but it's getting older and I looked into replacing it this summer. Didn't get around to it but I'd be very leery of an efficient unit for $600.

Put me down for another vote for venting out the roof. I know it's a hassle but most wood stove vendors carry flashing that is molded to fit onto your metal roof. Plus in my house I have very high ceilings so there's 15' of vent flu from the stove up to the roof. That 15' radiates out quite a bit of heat in addition to what the stove does making it even more efficient. 7

 

[MossRoad]

We bought a Napoleon free standing stove two years ago. It works very nice for us. We installed it in the basement and ran the pipe straight up through the first floor, attic and roof. Everyone says straight up is better for the draft, and who are we to argue? :laughing:

I would suggest going in person to a fireplace/stove store locally and talking with them. There are so many different brands, types, etc... that is is good to see them in person. Also, some types of chimney pipes are not sold to the general public. A factory trained installer has to install them.

I added up all the prices for buying the stove and chimney pipe over the internet and installing them myself. Then I talked to the local fireplace/stove store. They had the same prices as the internet, had what I considered to be better chimney pipe for the price I was quoted and they installed the stove (carried it into the basement and set in place), cut the holes in the floor, ceiling and roof, installed the chimney pipe, flashed the roof, everything, for $500.00. That was 2 guys all day with a warranty on their work. I couldn't beat that. :thumbsup: They even lit the test fires, cleaned everything up and came back and checked on it a week later to make sure everything was okey dokey. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

All I had to do myself was frame and box in around the chimney pipe where it came up through the first floor. They had a steel box set in the floor that had the proper dimensions for clearance from combustibles with the chimney pipe coming through the center. Then there was a matching flange on the ceiling with the same dimensions. All I had to do was frame on the outside of those two squares and I was done. Very easy. :thumbsup:

As for blower, we did not get one because the stove is in a small room in the basement. Instead, we put a duct over the stove to the first floor of the house. We put a high temperature in-line fan in the duct. We have a portable greenhouse thermostat for heating or cooling that we plug into the wall and plug the fan into that. We set it to cool the basement. So, when the basement room gets up to 78 degrees, the fan comes on and blows the heat upstairs. If the fire goes out and the basement cools down below 78, the fan turns off and no cool air is pumped upstairs. It works pretty slick.

 

[CurlyDave]

I heated with wood in a freestanding stove for 25 years in the SF CA Bay Area.

In your climate, I would go with a gas or propane free standing stove over wood.

Until you have lived with wood, you just don't appreciate the mess associated with bringing logs into the house, burning them and removing the ash. There will always be 10 to 20 times as much dust in your house than without a wood stove.

Gas actually has a nicer fire, and is clean.

 

[dmccarty]

We bought our wood burning stove from Wood Stoves Cookstove Sale Amish Coal Stove Furnaces Fireplaces Free Standing MT. Annette was one of the owners who was very friendly and very helpful. We ended up needing some 45 degree SS chimney pieces and she got them to us ASAP.

We bought this model, Obadiah's - Osburn 2200 Bay window woodstove

I heats our 2500 sf home and we have 10 foot ceiling and big windows/doors aka holes in the wall. We can keep the living room at 80 while the rest of the house might be at 70. If the temp drops into the low 20s then the house will be a bit colder. Not the semi tropical heat that SWMBO prefers.

The model we have has little side light windows which work well since the stove sits at a 45 degree angle in a corner. I can see the fire while sitting in the study.

When we built the house we had a 6 inch PVC pipe run under the slab from outside the house to the top of the hearth were the stove sits. The pipe brings in outside air for the fire. Works real well.

Best thing I bought for the stove was a stove thermometer which took forever to find. Found one at TSC. It really helped me burn the stove more efficiently.

This stove does have the ash bin at the bottom. Never use it. Just easier to open the door and shovel the ash into a bucket. :thumbsup: I have learned the Way Of The Ash Shovel. :laughing: One CAN take hot ashes and coals out of the fire without smoking or ashing up the house. But one has to be Zen like. :laughing:

Welders gloves help one be in a Zen state.

Ashes go into the garden. Usually after being put in a bucket with a lid. Amazing how long those coals can stay hot....

We do get some ash around the stove if I don't open the stove door just right. But to be honest I don't really see it anywhere else in the house. We have dust now and its from us and the dog. Far more of this dander than the ash.

Keeping the chimney in the envelope of the house is the best thing to do to get/keep a proper draft. Chimneys on an outside wall will be cold and can be hard to draft when starting the fire. When starting the fire, turn off the clothes dryer....

Later,
Dan