Wood burning fireplace inserts?

[FullCry]

My wife rules the roost here,but times are hard and I have access to a lot of fire wood and a good chimney. I told her I knew she was against it--she says the house and our clothes will smell like a camp fire--but I want to get a wood burning heater and install it and save money on our gas bill this winter. She told her above statment and said my son feels the same way but if my heart is set on it to go ahead.
Will the house actually smell of smoke that bad? The only way I see it is when you re stoke the fire and with draft there should be minimal odor. Any comments on this subject will be appreciated. Thanks, FullCry

 

[outdoorlivin247]

I will have my wife sit down and reply to this...

outdoorlivin's wife says that she was 100% against it as well...but couldnt be happier with it now. There is no heat like burning wood....and not as bad as i thought on the dusty-ness of the house. There is no camp-fire smell. (We use an insert). She'll love it. Just go with it

Good luck w/ getting her convinced, I think she will love it once it is in...I would guess we save on average of $1500 a year if htat helps...

 

[husky455rancher]

i heated the house entirely with my insert for 2 years. very rarly will it smell smoky in the house. honestly if it does its usually cuse i screwed up and opened the door too fast or something like that. im heatin with wood forever lol. i laugh everytime i see the oil man now keep on drivin buddy lol

 

[Buckethead]

I've got to echo what the others have said...no issues heating with wood.

I've been using my insert for 3 years and it's a very rare occasion that I get any smoke odor in the house. We have also noticed no increase in the amount of dust and only a slight increase in the amount of bark on the floor (we have 5 dogs and one of them always manages to bring in a stick and chew it up.) We've also reduced our oil consumption from three tanks a year to one.

So, I can understand your wife's concerns but I believe she will be pleasantly surprised at the reality of heating with wood.

 

[flotek]

burn dry seasoned wood and crack the door slowly for a few seconds to increase the draft before you fling it wide open and it wont smoke up the place ,some woods have a very pleasant aroma like maple and cherry that will linger in a room .just tell her the only smell she needs to be concerned with is the smell of all the cash that is saved by not paying the gas company or the evil oil man

 

[BigPITA]

I agree with the other replies. We got our inserts last year (late October I think) and had no issues with smell or dust or smoke. Before we ran out of wood, they did a great job heating... getting the main level to 72° and the upstairs to 69° with nothing but wood. Probably could have gotten it hotter, but those levels are comfortable and we didn't have the best wood (in terms of BTUs).

One of the keys is to make sure you're using seasoned/dry wood. If you start throwing green wood in the insert, you will end up with the smoke and a smell.

Best of luck!

 

[Richard_]

and the saved money can be spent on saws , splitters and a truck to haul the wood home in

 

[FullCry]

Thanks everybody, and I'm going to get her to read this post even though she gave me the ok. I do have a bunch of seasoned wood I can get but some I just cut down this week and may have to use it later in the winter so what is the most effective way to burn some green without stinking the house up? I live in Alabama so our winters aren't near as harsh or long as you folks up North so I won't need near the amount of wood y'all do so maybe I'll make it through. Thanks again, FullCry

 

[7sleeper]

and the saved money can be spent on saws , splitters and a truck to haul the wood home in

Dream on! We all know who is going to spend the saved money...

7

 

[rick2752]

Maybe shes been hookin up with the oil delivery guy, and doesnt want to end it.:jester:......lol Just kiddin

 

[A. Stanton]

Full,
If you are short on seasoned wood, I would advise you to burn the products in the attached pics. They are like wood pellets for log burning stoves. They burn clean and leave very little ash. Burning green wood, in my opinion, is a losing proposition. It doesn't burn well; it's smokey; and leaves a lot of creasote in your chimney. You will love that wood insert if you get a Yankee ice storm and lose power for the furnance.

 

[trouba]

10-4 no smoke from mine unless I screw up the wife wasn't to thrilled at first but now she loads it when I'm not around.

i heated the house entirely with my insert for 2 years. very rarly will it smell smoky in the house. honestly if it does its usually cuse i screwed up and opened the door too fast or something like that. im heatin with wood forever lol. i laugh everytime i see the oil man now keep on drivin buddy lol

 

[FullCry]

Lol, at the Yankee ice storm. We get one of them maybe every three years and even the adults act like children if we get snow. I plan to run pipe at least half way up my chimney....is this far enough or should I go higher? I'll remember the green wood tip also.

 

[logbutcher]

She'll love the wood stove...not to worry. No smells, big $$$ saved over other fuels,....and, TA-TAAA----serious romantic evenings beside the glow of the flickering flames ( why, thank you ).

The posts are right about dry wood, split into easily burned sizes.

1. Try to get a real wood stove that sits futher into the room than an insert for more efficient heating. The fireplace throat has to be closed up for the pipe anyhow. Extending the hearth is just a fussy.

2. Check on the flue specs for the insert or stove. Most are now 6"; your chimney may be too large for a good draft. Then you drop a SS pipe down the flue sealed at both ends. Most fireplace chimneys are too large for EPA stoves and may not be suitable for a wood stove structurally e.g. deteriorating mortar, cracked liner, etc..

3. Look up stove/insert ratings on hearthnet.com . Ask the dealer for references for the models and service and warranty.

4. Ask your wife what SHE likes in appearance for a stove/insert. The porcelain finish on cast iron is slick and easy to keep clean.

5. Whatever anyone says, wood does bring debris in the house. I've been trained by SWMBO to sweep up after bringing in the day's loads for the two wood stoves here. Just a minute of quick pickup.

Bill is in the mail.
You near Magnolia Springs/ Pensacola/ Camp Elgin ?

 

[FullCry]

closing the hearth

Hey Log butcher, how do you close the fire place hearth? With cement or what? Thanks, FullCry

 

[logbutcher]

Short answers to closing up the fireplace:
One way is too just close the "throat" --where the opening goes into the flue/chimney. Remove the metal damper. Make a cardboard template with a cutout for the pipe. Best to use SS cut in a pro shop. Then attach with brick or cement angle irons and bolts.
Better method is to close up the fireplace opening if using a non-insert stove.

Again. it's more important to first check out your flue--that's the engine for any wood stove. Most fireplace chimneys will not draw for a good stove--too large = no draft. Probably need a liner closed off at the top.

So where the H are you in 'Bama ? With all those snakes and heat why bother with a wood stove ? :jawdrop:

 

[FullCry]

I'm in Auburn Al. and it still gets cold and humid here in the winter. I am going to use a non insert stove. My chimney doesn't have a flue--wonder what's up with that--. If i close in the chimney opening do you mean brick it up? If not what do I do? This old house was built in the 1930's and the fireplace still stinks and we have been here 17 years and never used it. BTW them snakes and wild hogs aint too bad nor or the gators either.

 

[logbutcher]

I'm in Auburn Al. and it still gets cold and humid here in the winter. I am going to use a non insert stove. My chimney doesn't have a flue--wonder what's up with that--. If i close in the chimney opening do you mean brick it up? If not what do I do? This old house was built in the 1930's and the fireplace still stinks and we have been here 17 years and never used it. BTW them snakes and wild hogs aint too bad nor or the gators either.

The chimney IS the flue; sometimes lined with tile.
You'll stihl need to line any masonry or brick chimney for any stove. Most have good luck with SS pipe. Block off the top and bottom with SS plate with cutouts for the pipe. Make the carboard template for the fireplace opening or for the throat with the pipe hole, and for the chimney top (angle it for drainage ). And, no, don't brick anything up ! :monkey:

We ain't got no stinkin ugly wild hogs Downeast, thank god. They are vicious beasts. No serious snakes either, or that armpit molding heat, or those crotch busting swamps. :censored:

What we got: turkeys, black bear, deer, coons, possum, moose, partridge, nicely bloody deerflies, then snow. And not too many homo sapiens. It's Paradise boy.

 

[PARAL]

I plan to run pipe at least half way up my chimney....is this far enough or should I go higher?

The best option is to run a Stainless Steel liner all the way up the chimney. This way you will be able to clean it. Burning wood you will have to deal with creosote and the possibility of a fire in the flue. Proper maintenance, setup, and awareness will almost remove that danger.

Also, for the proper operation of modern efficient wood stoves you need proper draft and therefore need a smaller flue (6" round most likely) than you currently have. But I repeat another poster ...

On top you want to have a SS chimney cap plate to seal the opening and attach the new SS liner. This will keep water, cold air, and animals from getting down there.

On the bottom you want a block-off plate with the liner passing through. Put some high temperature insulation on the chimney side and this will keep your all of your hot air from going up the chimney.

Here is my story with purchasing a liner for my stove/insert.

My Liner Purchase

Do it right the first time and enjoy safe and real warmth for years to come!

 

[FullCry]

More questions

Hey Log butcher, do you need to adopt a 48 yr. old redneck son? Sounds nice up there. I have come very close to being bitten by a water moccasin once or twice but I got lucky. I let non poisonous snakes walk lol now and only kill Rattlers, Copper heads, moccasins, etc. We have a type of Rattle snake here that is called the Canebrake Rattlesnake and the second most poisonous pit viper in the country due to the length of it's fangs and the sheer amount of venom it injects in a bite and may bite more than once.
Anyway, is SS six inch pipe just stove pipe or stainless pipe? When you make the pattern for the flue with pipe hole for the heater then how do you attacth the flue plate? The top of my chimney is bricked up and has a chunk of concrete over it and it never rains down the chimney,so would i mount the flange up there inside this area or bust it off and mount the plate on a level surface? I do have wire crammed in the top of the chimney to keep bats and chimney sweeps out of it. Please be patient for I'm learning. Thanks, FullCry
PS. I almost go ran over by a whitetail deer one time for it got spooked and I was on the trail it was running up. I just stepped off to the side as it flew by. Now that was cool.