woodstove replacing fireplace

[clinchbilly]

We live in a doublewide moblie home, this will be our third winter in this home. We are using a heat pump for heat, and a propane heater as a back up. The dw has a fire place in it, but all the heat goes out the chimmeny, just for looks. What i was thinking was removing the mantle, leaving fire box intact. Bricking up the firebox leaving room for a double insulated pipe to go in and tie it in with the flu thats already there. Build the harth on out, use a veneer brick or rock on the wall covering up where mantle was. Think it will work?? Comments?

[clinchbilly]

Im sorry didnt finsh. After finsh puttin in a moblie home appoved wood stove, cant handle any more $300.00 light bills!

[light rain]

Have you considered an insert? We knew an elderly couple in VA that heated their whole house with an insert in the fireplace. Never once when we visited was their house anything but comfortable. The main thing is whatever you decide get some expert advice and guidance so you don't have any problems with a fire later.

You may want to run the plans by your insurance carrier 1ST. Big Rockpile had some headaches with something similar last year...

[unregistered41671]

Originally Posted by light rain

Have you considered an insert? We knew an elderly couple in VA that heated their whole house with an insert in the fireplace. Never once when we visited was their house anything but comfortable. The main thing is whatever you decide get some expert advice and guidance so you don't have any problems with a fire later.

You may want to run the plans by your insurance carrier 1ST. Big Rockpile had some headaches with something similar last year...

I do not think you can put an insert into a pre-fab fireplace.

[Ozarks Tom]

We put an insert in our standard fireplace last year, and ran the furnace fan to distribute the heat throughout the house. Stayed very comfortable. Even though we already had a stainless steel liner in the chimney we had to have a triple wall pipe run up from the insert.

If you go that route, shop around for installation if you're not doing it yourself. The prices for installation varied tremendously, and that was in July.

[simi-steading]

You could consider a grate heater too.. It blows air out into the room that collects heat in the fireplace.. There are several styles.. I plan to build something similar, but not the same for my fireplace..



Other styles here..
https://www.google.com/search?q=fire...eater&imgdii=_






,

[FarmerKat]

We live in a double wide and put a stove in last winter. We had the same situation with the fireplace - it did not heat anything up. We just picked a place in the middle of the house (for better distribution of heat) and put the stove there. It was really simple to make a hole through the roof (look on youtube - there are many instructional videos). We also added a support for the floor.

We got a list of requirements from the insurance company before doing anything. They have a list of safety items it must meet - distance from walls, chimney height, etc. It increased our premium by $20 a year (well worth it).

Check your PM, I will send you a link to our blog where we posted some pics about the stove.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by clinchbilly

... We are using a heat pump for heat, ...

Those things are supposed to be so great that you should not need anything else.

... all the heat goes out the chimmeny, just for looks.

That is common among fireplaces.

... What i was thinking was removing the mantle, leaving fire box intact. Bricking up the firebox leaving room for a double insulated pipe to go in and tie it in with the flu thats already there. Build the harth on out, use a veneer brick or rock on the wall covering up where mantle was. Think it will work?? Comments?

I would not trust that.

The 'flu' and chimney that pre-exists, is at question in my mind. As you said, it was made for looks, not for heating. What proof do we have that when the chimney gets hot, there is nothing combustible hidden in the wall/roof?

Why risk it?

Set a pad in the center of the room, with concrete backer board. Put your free-standing stove right there. Cut a hole through the roof, and run your stove-pipe straight up.

[NorthwoodsMike]

I would do a woodburning insert connected to chimney liner.

[Ceilismom]

Originally Posted by Possum Belly

I do not think you can put an insert into a pre-fab fireplace.

We just dealt with this exact thing. The chimney pipe was rated to 1700 degrees, we needed 2100 (if memory serves) degrees for a wood stove install, and there was not an insert on the market that would heat our home (a large modular) that would also fit in the opening of the prefab fireplace. And even if that had been an option, the prefab fireplace was a corner install, so would have eaten up even more of the room if we'd installed a stove and run its' chimney pipe through the fireplace. Basically any option involving keeping the existing fireplace would have been unsafe, a poor compromise, or both.

So, the fireplace (ugliest one I've ever seen, and the fact that the manufacturer is out of business should tell you something) and chimney pipe (which hadn't been installed correctly to begin with) came out, and brand new triple wall chimney pipe, tile hearth and walls, and a nice, new, very efficient soapstone stove went in its' place. It wasn't cheap, but it now heats the house instead of the outdoors.

[han_solo]

Originally Posted by Ceilismom

We just dealt with this exact thing. The chimney pipe was rated to 1700 degrees, we needed 2100 (if memory serves) degrees for a wood stove install, and there was not an insert on the market that would heat our home (a large modular) that would also fit in the opening of the prefab fireplace. And even if that had been an option, the prefab fireplace was a corner install, so would have eaten up even more of the room if we'd installed a stove and run its' chimney pipe through the fireplace. Basically any option involving keeping the existing fireplace would have been unsafe, a poor compromise, or both.

So, the fireplace (ugliest one I've ever seen, and the fact that the manufacturer is out of business should tell you something) and chimney pipe (which hadn't been installed correctly to begin with) came out, and brand new triple wall chimney pipe, tile hearth and walls, and a nice, new, very efficient soapstone stove went in its' place. It wasn't cheap, but it now heats the house instead of the outdoors.

How did you find out what the chimney is rated?

[han_solo]

I have a fireplace also and it sucks. I wanted a woodstove last year and was checking into them. I had to get a insurance adjuster and he said he would not bc the walls. He just looked at one and something about inside the walls were black and it was a dw. If i am able to do anything it will be a furance outside

[Ceilismom]

Originally Posted by han_solo

How did you find out what the chimney is rated?

It's simply what the chimney sweep told us when he came out to inspect the piece of junk. Double-wall chimney pipe, presumably Temco brand as the rest of the fireplace was, in a house manufactured in 2006. There was no owner's manual when we bought the house, and I've not been able to find that specific info online, so who knows?

[clinchbilly]

Thanks for all the feedback. Guess be best to tear fireplace out and start from scratch. Cant put a price on saftey.

[light rain]

So CB, how did you solve your fireplace problem?

[Jolly]

Originally Posted by clinchbilly

Thanks for all the feedback. Guess be best to tear fireplace out and start from scratch. Cant put a price on saftey.

I'm surprised nobody recommended a set of gas logs.

Cost for a propane set is not expensive and a trailer would be easy to plumb.

[johng]

I did something very similar to what you are wanting to do except in a house. I had a prefab fire place. No matter how much wood I burnt in the fireplace I couldn't hardly ever warm it up more than 2-3 degrees in the house.

So I tore out the prefab fire place put in a ceiling thimble and ran a new stainless double insulated stove pipe up the chase that was already in place. Then I built a new hearth for the stove to sit on and then built out the wall around the stove with stacked stone. It turned out great!! Now I only use a fraction of the wood I used to and can completely heat the house with just the wood stove. We put in a Jotul F500

[NJ Rich]

We had a fireplace insert professionally installed last year. It is a unit that complies with all of our house insurance company requirements. That is an important part. A professional dealer/installer will guide you to the best model for your needs. Ask around about the local dealers. Those with bad reputations will be known from past buyers or local knowledge.

If you do not comply with local codes; buy a UL listed unit; have it installed and inspected you may void your insurance policy. Talk with your insurance agent before buying any wood stove.

It wasn't cheap and ours is a"top of the line model". We are very satisfied with ours. It is burning now. My book keeper wife thinks we saved enough on Natural Gas to pay for the fire wood.

[gila_dog]

I've always been of the opinion that a source of outside combustion air was a very good idea, and maybe even required for mobile home installations. Otherwise the combustion air has to be sucked from cracks around windows and doors all over the house toward the stove, making those rooms colder. Any truth to this? Our wood stove has a hole in the bottom where an air duct from the outside is connected.

Question answered:

http://www.woodheat.org/the-outdoor-...h-exposed.html

Or maybe not:

https://chimneysweeponline.com/hooa3.htm