Need Some Fresh Advice Boys

[kingsixx]

I'm pretty new to this wood game but as of lately I've been into cutting, hauling and splitting my own wood for burning. Despite some sore muscles, that part is going great. My issue is that my home, which I recently moved into has a regular old fire place. While nice to look at, as most of you know its not very effective in heating the house. I get about 2 rooms out of it and the fires don't last very long. I kinda feel like I'm wasting good wood by burning it in a fire place. To make matters worse, as you all know, a lot of work goes into gathering and preparing firewood just to "toss it out the window" so to speak by not burning it to it's full potential.

Needless to say, I need either a wood burning stove or a fire place insert. I've done some searching into the archives of this site and from what I've learned, a free standing stove is much more efficient than an insert. Free standing stoves require no electric while inserts need a fan. At least that was true in 2008 and 2010 when these treads were created. My question is, has anything changed since then in wood burning stove technology?

-Are the stoves still better at heating a home than an insert or are there inserts that can keep up with the free standing stoves?

-My house is about 3600 square feet. How much stove/insert do I need to heat MOST of the home? Biggest capacity stoves I've seen so far are made by Quadra Fire, is there anything bigger out there?

-Are there ways to route the heat from the stove/insert via existing duct work in the home?

-Whats the deal with EPA rated stoves? Better/more efficient than the pre EPA models?

I'm sorry if I'm asking rookie questions but there is lots of info but most of the threads I found were 4-5 years old and I'm curious to know if anything has changed since then.

 

[howellhandmade]

I have a Napoleon EPA insert. Yes on EPA. Love it.

I got an insert instead of a stove for aesthetic reasons. The insert sitting basically flush with the fireplace works better in my living room than a freestanding stove jutting out into the room. It does a far better job of heating my 2500 sq. ft. house than I expected. I don't know how much difference there is in heating effectiveness -- I wouldn't mind having a stove (and an ash pan) but there's just not room for it.

 

[EXCALIBER]

I prefer the free standing stove. There are good models of each on the market, although I think the free standing stoves have more wood capacity. Might do a search on Blaze King wood stoves, their king model is like 4.3 cubic foot if I remember right. Also very efficient and I love mine going on 3 years with it. Good luck

 

[saxman]

I have a Lennox(Country Stove) insert in the masonry fireplace of my 1945 Cape Cod house. My stove is he Canyon C310 which is their biggest model. Don't let the " freestanders" fool you, big inserts will put out a lot of heat. My stove has a blower but unless it is super cold I don't run it as the radiant heat output is sufficient . Go to Lennox Hearth Products website and you can download specs and manuals for all their products. I would go with a local dealer in your area that will be there after the sale for supportView attachment 263633

Steve

 

[EXCALIBER]

I have a Lennox(Country Stove) insert in the masonry fireplace of my 1945 Cape Cod house. My stove is he Canyon C310 which is their biggest model. Don't let the " freestanders" fool you, big inserts will put out a lot of heat. My stove has a blower but unless it is super cold I don't run it as the radiant heat output is sufficient . Go to Lennox Hearth Products website and you can download specs and manuals for all their products. I would go with a local dealer in your area that will be there after the sale for supportView attachment 263633

Steve

No one is "fooling" anyone. Sure big inserts will put out a lot of heat, no one said they wouldn't. Inserts are limited by the size of hole they are being put in, and thus capacity is limited. Freestanding stoves do not have to be limited to a certain size. Bottom line look for efficiency, capacity, gram's per hour, ect. Look for the EPA ratings rather than the stove manufactures suggested ratings. Newer EPA stoves and inserts are great. Do your research, better to buy the right stove or insert the first time.

 

[trophyhunter]

King, that much sq' needs a seriously large stove to even begin to heat it. Maybe a wood burning central furnace would suit you the best if it's feasible to install one? Large stove would be the next logical choice followed by an insert for the fireplace.

If nothing else an insert and liner really turns that existing fireplace into something that's making much better use of your firewood.

My first EPA stove was an insert and I absolutely loved it, was dealing with half your sq' footage so whole house heating was much more realistic.

 

[Richard_]

Pacific Energy http://www.pacificenergy.net/pacificenergy/summit_classic.php

 

[Uncle John]

If you already have a gas furnace consider a wood add on

 

[formationrx]

...

id just install an old potbelly on the other side of the house...

 

[KyleOh]

+1 on the wood furnace. I heat my drafty 1920 1400sq with my hot blast and it is excellent. 8-10hr burns and keeps house 75 fairly easy. Also the prices are right.

 

[slowp]

I'd tear down part of the house and make it smaller, but I'm not a boy.

I have heated with an insert and didn't know it needed a fan. It was old, the chimney damper was stuck open, and you had to be careful to keep the fire in the front part if you wanted any heat. The thing ate wood.

I have no idea how to heat such a large building, I guess I wouldn't. But that's just me.

 

[Ironworker]

I heat 3200 sq. ft. with a Lopi Freedom insert and does an excellent job without the blower, I only use the blower when it gets really cold. I was pleasantly surprised with it, the thing puts out a ton of heat.

 

[big cat]

I heat 3200 sq. ft. with a Lopi Freedom insert and does an excellent job without the blower, I only use the blower when it gets really cold. I was pleasantly surprised with it, the thing puts out a ton of heat.

My setup and sq footage exactly ! And it does a very good job. I use a floor fan to help circulate the air though.

 

[kingsixx]

Thanks for the replies so far fellas, appreciate the help. So far in my research, the companies that offer stoves in the larger capacities seem to be Lopi, Quadra Fire and Jotul. Still undecided on whether to get a stove or insert. I guess the practical thing to do would be to go the insert route but I'd like to maximize my heating as much as possible and I know a lot of heat from the insert tends to escape through the flue.

How involved is the installation on these things. I know it needs to be done by a pro but is it like a 2-3 day job or are they in and out in one day?

 

[Ironworker]

Thanks for the replies so far fellas, appreciate the help. So far in my research, the companies that offer stoves in the larger capacities seem to be Lopi, Quadra Fire and Jotul. Still undecided on whether to get a stove or insert. I guess the practical thing to do would be to go the insert route but I'd like to maximize my heating as much as possible and I know a lot of heat from the insert tends to escape through the flue.

How involved is the installation on these things. I know it needs to be done by a pro but is it like a 2-3 day job or are they in and out in one day?

If installed properly you should have a nice amount of insullation around the flue, and if you have a full masonry fireplace you should be fine. I initially wanted a freestanding stove thinking it would heat better, but the stove guy recommended against it saying the insert would do the same as a freestanding and I took his word and it turns out he was right. His reasoning was, no sense running a flue up the side of the house, when I already had a chimney.

 

[EXCALIBER]

Ok hate to be a hater, but I would not buy a Lopi if they paid me. When I was looking for a stove I looked at the lopi's. They looked like very nice well made stoves, and I am sure they are, however I refuse to buy from a company that flat out lies to its potential customers. I was looking at their freestanding stoves and they listed their stove the as having the largest firebox. Come to find out many of the manufacturers have much larger firebox's and have had for years and years, so how do they say they have the largest stove? Oh so they can sell more stove's to people who will not do their homework. A company that will lie to sell a product will probably not stand behind a product that they had to lie about just to sell. I am glad your lopi's are meeting your needs, but I could not, and would not buy one just on pricipal alone.

Now there was a guy on here who had a quadra fire insert, and switched to a blaze king insert and was very very satisfied that he did. His only regret was not doing it sooner. There was a thread on here about it.

 

[runBy-B]

Have you considered a masonry heater? These are time tested and are one of the best ways to heat a larger house like yours. They are even superior to wood stoves - to all wood stoves. If your climate is moderate (by the coast) a masonry heater is overkill and a wood stove probably better. But if you are inland where it gets cold a masonry heater is better. I am building a small house and I am tempted to try and build a masonry heater for it but the two things don't work well together - small and masonry heater. So I'm settling for a soapstone woodstove from Woodstock (close to NY).

These heaters are built on the thermal mass principal - i.e. intensely heat a large mass and let the large mass give off heat. So, one drawback might be finding a place in your house where you could have enough foundation support for something so heavy - maybe where the old fireplace is. We folks in the US haven't really utilized this superior form of heating like the Europeans have. A well made masonry heater takes 1st place in utilizing the heat potential in firewood.

Why do people insist on having the best wood gathering equipment, chainsaws, wood splitters etc..., but then pass by the best way to burn the wood they gather? Check out - Masonry Heater Association of North America website, it has some good info.

 

[PEKS]

Pacific Energy Pacific Energy Fireplace Products Ltd.

The PE SUMMIT would be a good fit..
The PE Super 27 is all I need and more..

 

[whatscooking]

I had to get heat into a home that i lived in while back with a fireplace. Had the stove already so i got a steel plate and put over the fireplace cut a hole for the stove pipe ran the pipe a little higher than the stove and that setup worked very well, if you have the room.

 

[ponyexpress976]

With my masonry fireplace I had the option of flush mounting my Lopi Freedom or having about 6" of it protruding onto the hearth. With the insert "out" I get a ton more radiant heat. Getting warm air back to the far bedrooms is a bit tough without tripping over fans in the hallway. But that isn't the stoves fault, just the stupid layout of the house.