Posted on 11/25/2009 9:12:49 PM PST by Sun
Is a wood stove insert warmer than a regular fireplace, even without the fan (if there's a power outage)?
mine burns old stock certificates
We had an insert made for our fireplace when I was a kid. It actually projected out of the firebox onto the hearth somewhat. No fan. Kept us toasty warm.
Don’t forget to get an estimate on the lining of your chimney. his may be required. Ours had to be insulated.
It cost us about 2k on top of the stove, which we purchased for $600 used. It paid for itself a long time ago.
“So try buying a marine battery or two and keep them charged.”
Good idea.
We’ve had power outages for up to three days in the dead of winter, and our pipes never freeze. Maybe because my husband insulated the pipes.
Grandpa used to trickle a bit of water from one of the faucets, and that worked for him.
Yes. We put one in our downstairs fireplace over a year ago. Has a fan on it but when the power goes out we sure are happy to have it.
Absolutely- if you have an open fireplace it sucks air up and out of the room
I had a huge fireplace and it was barely effective at heating the one room
Then I added an insert and I used a LOT less wood, and the heat would drive you out of the room
I had to put fans to blow the heat around and it heated almost my whole house
“my question is....with a wood stove downstairs, can the upstairs fireplace (currently with a gas fireplace that works poorly) also have a wood insert?....does two fireplaces mean two chimneys?”
Maybe somebody here can answer your question, cherry.
“Our 2 bathrooms are included in “the core” and we did not have an issue with water freezing during the lenght of our 3 day stay with nighttime temps in the 20s outside.”
That’s good enough for me. :)
“We had an insert made for our fireplace when I was a kid. It actually projected out of the firebox onto the hearth somewhat. No fan. Kept us toasty warm.”
So the modern ones would certainly keep us warm.
We lived in the DFW area for 15 years before moving to SW Ohio ... granted not subzero weather, but a good constant 20’s at night. We had a a conventional mortar fireplace... and put an “airtight” insert in it. It did have a blower but we seldom used it. To hot with it in that room.
During the late after noon, early eve ... I wold open the intakes to burn hotter ... that minmizes creostoe build up, but at night I would shut the air off almost completely and 4 good sized logs would last all night.
2200 square feet on one floor .. we used a small box fan in the hallway to aid circular air flow through the house and very seldom did the furnace ever need to assist.
Big downside ... as in insert in an existing fireplace, there is no room for an ashbox under the firebox. Every two or three days I would let the clinker bed die down to almost nothing, shovel the ash into a metal ash can (metal is important ... hot hot clinkers) and haul them out. Messy job
A free standing unit is by far more efficient and easier to maintain. Most have an ash bin/drawer
I have a Soapstone airtight stove in my 32 x 28 wood shop in SW Ohio, and I stay nice and cozy with wood heat alone. It is 10x more efficient than the fireplace insert, and easier as well. Downside in a woodshop ... finishing unless water based is volatile. that and dust particulate. lol Was a good way to make the case for a complete dust system.
Actually, there's enough space on it to place several pots and pans simultaneously.
We here on FR tend to be averse to government regulations but I believe the EPA mandates on wood burning inserts/stoves were a good thing.
Here is a list of EPA certified wood stoves/inserts along with regional contact info for the manufacturers. Notice the efficiencies! 2009 list of EPA certified woodburning inserts/stoves
Be sure and check to see what government energy efficiency assistance programs may apply in your area. Also, make sure the insert is properly sized for the fireplace and that air can't flow around the insert and up the chimney. As part of this project, you may want to go ahead and instal an insulated stainless steel chimney flue.
I guess it all depends on the size of the fireplace. Our insert has an ashbox. Our insert also sticks out 14 inches from the wall and we can cook on the top of it.
We actually installed it almost 23 years ago, and I have a friend who got one in the early '80s.
This model has been around for awhile.
It uses special stove glass. I once had to replace the pane on one side (got cracked about 15 years ago by accidentally getting hit with a metal bar we use for stirring the coals) and when I replaced the pane I made the mistake of over-tightening the holding screws. First fire, the glass cracked because it couldn't expand. I didn't make that mistake again.
I have a Quadra-Fire pellet stove which burns wood pellets, corn or a mix of the two, and is wired to my emergency generator which kicks on automatically @ power interrupt. 1000 gal propane tank buried in the back yard ought to keep the feet warm and the meat frozen for a few days. (:^0)
Maybe somebody here can answer your question, cherry.
Depends. Contact a local chimney sweep and have him come out to look at your home.
I had one for about 15 years. Works great and three logs will last all night if configured right. I got lazy and went gas.
Not only that, but I saw a MythBusters about using a open fireplace, and it actually makes the OTHER rooms colder by drawing the warmer air from in them into the fireplace.
“Don’t know, I’ve been living here on Maui for 40 years. No need for heat in our houses.”
I hear you on that Fish Hawk, as we in Kea’au on the Big Island have not needed to even close the windows in our house ever, although up the road in Volcano they do use fireplaces and wood stoves. Wood stoves and or Fireplace inserts are far superior to just plain Fireplaces......where as stated correctly earlier 80% of the heat goes up the chimney.
Before moving here, we lived in the High Sierra Nevada mountains where we had minus 42 degrees for three straight days in 1972. Our wood stove kept us warm and when the electricity went off the stove top was put to good use making soups, stews and other creations.
To Sun. No question about it...go wood stove insert for the fireplace, or look into the newest efficient kerosene stoves.
A free standing woodburning stove will emit more heat than a fireplace. But if it is an insert into a fireplace, then it isn’t going to emit any more heat without a fan. Is there a battery powered fan system that you can add to your insert wood stove.
At one point we considered a pellet stove, but they also require electricity. I am currently considering a propane gas stove with a very large propane tank.
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