As I've reported here, Julie and I are going to have to shell out some scratch to replace the firebox in our 94-year-old fireplace. We're trying to decide whether or not to rebuild the traditional fireplace, or get a wood stove instead. We had hoped to use our fireplace as the primary source of heat this winter, but now that's not likely to happen. To be honest, though, the old fireplace is so inefficient that we lose much of the heat up the chimney. A wood stove insert with blowers would be really helpful, and make it much more likely that we could rely on the wood stove instead of wasteful and expensive central heat. But we would lose the aesthetic pleasure of sitting by the fire, which to me is not nothing.
I'd love to know y'all's experiences, and to get some advice here.
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I confronted precisely this problem a few years ago. My solutions? I bought the wood burning insert with the largest glass viewing area I could find. Mine is called the Jotul Tamarack, which has since been discontinued and replaced with an exact replica (?!) the Jotul Kennebec.
And? I'm in love with it. Produces lots of heat and yet still feels like a real open fire. And trust me, fire is very important to us. We spend summers in Alaska and have big outdoor fires almost every day.
Good luck
Kirk's right. The most important thing about a wood stove is to learn how to operate it as a wood stove, not as a very tiny fireplace. (Which won't work, as, duh, it has a door on it.)
The key with a wood stoves is to get it hot enough, and then turn back the air-flow into it. Don't turn the air back too far, or it won't fully combust, but don't leave it wide open. I suspect newer wood stoves have some sort of temp gauge on them, so that's probably helpful. At night, you can turn it back more, but that puts out more tar, so be aware of that.
Also, you want, essentially, one and a half logs on fire at once. One fully burning, and the next one started. Do not overload it. It is not a fireplace. The correct term is a 'small hot fire'.
Also, you need to season wood for six months before burning it, but if you have a fireplace you already know that. Please note that the dimensions of the wood stove might require slightly smaller pieces of wood.
I'm probably using the wrong terms and not explaining it well. I learned all this via trial and error, my house had a wood stove when I was growing up and didn't start with central heating, just electric wall heaters, so we used the wood stove a lot. I believe there are books and websites that explain this better. Just be aware it's not a tiny fireplace.
Incidentally, I'm amazed that no one has mentioned two largest benefit of a wood stove over a fireplace:
You can't burn your house down with an errant spark from a wood stove. They're obviously not perfectly safe, you have to keep them maintained, but they are a good deal safer than fireplaces.
And also you won't be breathing small amounts of smoke the entire time, which is slightly cancergenic in any form.
...and, yet again, the 'text entered was wrong'. This captcha stuff doesn't work. Everyone please remember to copy your comments to the clipboard before submitting, or you will lose them.
Since it's 94 years old I'm assuming you have an entirely brick fireplace. Brick fireplaces are visually appealing, and add some value to your home but they are extremely expensive to maintain and very inefficient. Steel fireplaces are much cheaper to maintain and can be used for the purpose of generating heat (as opposed to a brick fireplace). They also have a much shorter lifespan than a brick fireplace. Wood stoves are ultimately the cheapest solution, they also put out the most heat. They add almost no value to your home, and can be easily removed or replaced.
I have installed many wood stove inserts for customers inside their existing fireplace. I have to say I have not heard one complaint, in fact the last guy called to tell me how much he loved his quadra-fire. He even stated that even though he bought the smallest insert available he said it heats his 3 bedroom one story home very well. If you are looking for heat output I would say go with an insert. If you are looking for something beautiful to look at while relaxing at home stay with traditional.
We had an open fireplace when we moved in 15 years ago, and found it was nice for the ambiance, but when we used it, our electric bills shot up. It took all the heat out of the house.
about 5 years ago, I obtained a Vermont Castings Vigilant parlor stove of late 70's vintage which I installed on the hearth. This was one of the first attempts at building a downdraft burning stove, and works great. We heat the whole house with it. There are now more efficient models around now, but this is so much more efficient than our fireplace and works wonderfully.
Since wood stoves can be burned with the doors open for a while when you want those open flames, having it burning efficiently closed most of the time is definately worth it.
Modern stoves burn with very little particulates, and are much better for the enviroment than leaving the wood to rot or burn in a forest fire.
I have about 7 acres and only this year (at age 45) discovered how much I love getting out there at daybreak and cutting and chopping wood for the winter. The ultimate form of recycling and using a renewable resource. Why use up the coal and oil they utilize for electricity when I can step out back and get wood that is laying there for my heat?
Being raised in the country, the convenience factor is not much of a worry. We didn't come from a culture of paying for everything to be done for us, and like the self-sufficiency of providing our own heat and being independent when the power goes off. Those who value ease and convenience over self-sufficiency will not want to do this. I guess that's fine. To each their own. Please leave me to my own.
I purposely live in a place where smoke doesn't bother anyone, and my stove doesn't generate much smoke in any case since I burn it efficiently.
All in all, you have choices to make, so just get all the facts, make your choice, and then live your life.
Good luck!
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