Adding Firebrick for Shoulder Season?

[Somesawguy]

I have what was originally a fireplace insert for a woodstove. Now it works, ok, but it's pretty large. Now this is fine in the middle of winter, but when it's 40F outside, and the house is in the low 60's it will roast you out when you're just trying to get the chill off.

Has anyone tried adding firebrick to essentially cut the firebox size down a bit?

 

[Snyiper]

To gain the maximum benefit from firebrick it will need to be lined bottom and sides. The insert is designed to let heat out to the fireplace area where a fan usually sends it into the room. The fire brick should insulate well and make the fire box a little smaller, the damper should be used to regulate the air intake this will help as well.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Interesting concept, but before I even read the post, I was thinking of the extra firebrick for a different reason. Loading up on firebrick will give you a smaller firebox, but it should also absorb more of the heat, and hopefully release the heat from a quick hot fire over a longer period of time.

I think it'd be worth a try, give it a shot and report back.

 

[zogger]

Just change wood species and size of splits. Use like tulip poplar split real large for shoulder season wood. Or your local equivalent.

Anyway, that's how I regulate heat output, quantity of wood in the stove, size of splits/rounds and species.

Wanted to add, I have a little bitty fire going right now, the stove is just throwing "warm". Got a couple of..don't know, some hardwood, off cuts/end cuts going. Little pieces, but they are burning along just fine. I can open and close the loading door with my bare hands, but the stove itself is throwing "warm" not "hot". It works.

 

[lmbrman]

years ago my father had a little lopi freestanding stove and it worked great. Somebody installed it for him- he said he wanted a very small stove that would burn clean and use small pieces of wood. When he sold his house he told me I could have the stove. I had loaded that stove many times as a kid, and cut most of the wood he burned. When I moved the stove I found there were two layers of firebrick on the sides and back of the stove- one extra from 'stock'.

I use the stove some in my own house now, and it heats up faster with one layer (stock), but it does not hold overnight as easy as used to. Nothing scientific mind you. I was just surprised to see and extra layer- think the installer did it cause Dad wanted small wood & fires.

give it a try and report- I am curious myself.

-dave

 

[stihly dan]

Seems to me less wood, less heat.

 

[Somesawguy]

Seems to me less wood, less heat.

Yes, but it tends to spread out quite a bit since it's a larger stove.

 

[Coldfront]

The draw back is when you want a fast quick fire for some quick heat, the extra insulation from extra firebrick will take a lot longer to heat up and start throwing off heat.

 

[Streblerm]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why not just build a smaller fire? That's what I do if I only need to knock the chill or dampness off.

 

[Highbeam]

Me too. Last night I took one normal sized split an split it into thirds, added a few sticks of kindling and easily brought the house from 68 to 78 before the fire went out within a few hours. Outside temps were in the 50s.

Less wood, smaller wood, just enough to accomplish the goal of heating the space to a nice temp. You don't want to smolder a fire to keep it cold that will just plug up the chimney and smoke out your neighbors. Hot and short fires are better for all.

 

[macattack_ga]

A smaller fire on one side works well for my medium sized insert.

A slick thing I've started doing is to stack 3 or 4 splits on the side opposite the fire last thing in the evening.
If done right, the splits get bone dry and light off really quickly the next morning.

 

[Dirtboy]

My insert will blast us out also if I burn this time of year like I do in January. First thing in the morning I get the chill off with the shoulder stuff. Heats up quick and goes out when I stop adding wood. If I want a little heat before I hit the sheets, I just repeat the process.

 

[flotek]

This is why I like burning slab wood . I get about a half dozen or so slabs and criss cross them in a pile . They burn HOT and give off about 1-2 hours of heat ..just enough to take chill off the house -yet still burnsclean and it leaves little ash . There's No smoldering dirty viewing window or playing with extra firebricks