Which one would you install an insert in?

I will try to be as consise as possible but as you may know my lady and I are in the process of finding a house. We’re at that step now and hope to move forward.

The house is a two level, one chimney and having only seen pictures (hoping to see it tomorrow) that the chimney is just a double chimney. I was not aware how well these work but from what I know as heat travels upwards, would the downstairs might be the best way to heat the house more comfortably? Also if the furnace does this, could I use the furnace fan to circulate the heat as well?

I’m merely asking as a few houses in the area do have this kind of set up. They are older but should have an optimal setup for insert install.
I’m likely to do a poll later on the insert brand, still no idea.

House is some 1500 square feet and knowing inserts I researched were between about 1300-1700+. Not a rule that I follow of course but this would be a different scenario as I’d be heating two levels at twice the space I’m used to. There’s also a safety element here and don’t want any tiny hands getting into trouble so if I actually put this upstairs, it would mean that I have thought well over this to make sure things go right.


Thanks ahead of time!

 

I have a couple thoughts here.
Heat rises. So putting the insert in the lower level may make more sense, But only if the space is insulated.
Pushing heat from the upper level to the lower level will be difficult.
Using a furnace blower to circulate air sounds like a good idea but the air will feel cold because you will be moving a lot of air.
You could use two inserts. One on each floor...

 

FB, I have zero experience with this but I am in similar boat. Bought an insert recently going into 1st floor firebox. My house is 2 levels as well approx 2000 sq ft. Am looking to upgrade my thermostat to one with the fan circulating feature as well as one with a remote sensor. This will all be trial and error but I plan on putting the sensor upstairs in the hallway, so if the winter nights become to chilly the hvac heat will kick on. I surmise with the insert running on the 1st floor the heat will never kick on reading from the 1st floor thermostat. While am not a fan of those smart thermostats and they are ridiculously priced the Nest product does this. You can also build a circulate fan schedule based on time of day, etc...so we will see how it works out, again all trial and error it will be for me but that's the plan so far.

 

Most new furnaces have a feature built in that will run the fan on a low speed for heat pump mode. This lowest speed may help to move air slow so you don't feel a cold draft

 

I thought the same as keeping the heat downstairs and wondered that if I don’t close up the other fireplace with some kind of insert, cold air would be rushing in much more too. I guess I assumed that there was an intake inside the house that allows for recirculating of air, drawing residual heat throughout the house. Maybe on closer inspection could I find out more? I’ve lived in my parents as they had an oil furnace put in last 15 years if I remember...but never operated one myself. New adventure here so to speak! I’ll keep you guys updated, I had to ask what the best idea might be.

 

On the furnace?
Your furnace should have a return duct. Sometimes the returns are less than adequate though. Like mine. The returns are pulled from the living room/kitchen and hallway. No returns in the bedrooms.

 

You and I ought to talk more about this I think we’re likely to have a very similar set up and I also plan to install the nest system as well. if I were to blow a lot of air around it would be to push air via large fan in the heating room and keep the door open, the trial and error plan might work here. Most of the long term burners here say to push cold air INTO the room instead of out so I forsee heat doing much better in the lower room, keep some wood in the bin nearby outside and try heating the house best I can that way and then maybe if necessary, close up the fireplace upstairs temporarily? More on that question later.

 

Ok I’ll check, might just be supplementary but because it stays so mild here, I’m betting it might help circulate cooler air in the first place.

 

Absolutely FB I'd be glad to! I plan on picking up the Nest this week, on sale at Lowes plus you get a free Google Mini (I don't care for it but kids will have fun with it). With my house layout trying figure out which way to blow a fan into the room with the insert. Again it will all be trial and error. I feel better with the Nest setup as I don't know how warm my upstairs is going to get with the insert. My insert is very close to the stairs so I am thinking a lot of that hot air is going to rise upstairs. I also have a return vent not 5 feet from the insert so hoping with the circulate fan option that hot air will get sucked into the venting system. We shall see!

 

I think you'll find that the insert in the first floor will heat the house nicely. Getting the air/ heat to circulate will only make the insert more efficient.

My wood insert is on the main floor (upper? I guess) and while it doesn't really heat the basement, it doesn't get too cold because of air circulation.

 

I appreciate all your inputs but when I saw the house today, water damage to the foundation was revealed and evidently an issue. Suffice to say they encouraged a french drain to be installed and the house was needing lots, let’s emphasize LOTS of improvements.

The house is off the list. On the good side of this: I learned a lot for this matter if I ever decide to have a split level home and two fireplaces to convert. The search is on still and goes to show I’m not backing down on my want for wood heat. ReelFaster don’t think this conversation is over. I may even private message you out of a whim because new housing and size grants a bit of a learning curve for us all. Thanks for hanging in.

 

Another thing to consider when looking at houses and burning locations within is woodpile location(s) and the "wood path".

Will you have to lug wood up stairs or can you open the back door and walk 10ft to the stove.

My setup does not require stairs but I do lug it ALL the way through the laundry room, kitchen, dining, and living room to get to the stove. If there were stairs involved, I doubt I would be burning like I do. Ideally you open the front door, grab a few splits and turn around and toss them in the stove - that's how it was at my last house.

 

I have a similar layout. It's a raised ranch with a walkout basement thru the garage. 2200 SF up and 2200 SF down. Two fireplace flues in a masonry chimney in the center of the house. One in the basement and one in the living room upstairs. We put a wood burning stove in the unfinished basement about 5-6 years ago. Moving the wood thru the garage and close to the stove is a piece of cake. It has worked pretty good if the temp are above 20 degrees. If the temp gets down in the 0-10 range its cold upstairs. We have tried all of the methods of moving heat upstairs and moving cold air down. The fan on the furnace on fan only doesn't help at all. The ducts go thru the attic and the air gets cooled off. We are now considering an insert for the first floor fireplace. It needs flue work anyway and a new liner. (Looking at Quadrafire inserts Horkn)

 

Of coarse, you could swoop in and offer a really lowball number if the area/lot is what your looking for. Buying the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood is the way to go! And you can always recoup your money for any improvements.

 

Great points, B2B!
I really appreciate my walk-out basement for this reason. And the unfinished basement. I bring a cord of wood in at a time and it last me 6 weeks. At some point I plan to put a double door in the basement so I can drive my quad and yard cart right in.

 

Oh goodness I’ve been thinking about that too to a huge extent. Space for the trailer and making the stacks neat and tidy. I had some pretty interesting looking stacks but nothing super neat. But I must think about a woodshed and might have too many irons in the fire to build it myself. This would include that the property may require something bigger. Thing of it is, properties get bigger so do their prices. We’re looking for a lot that is about a 1/4-1/3 of an acre but that’s getting more difficult as the market here has been red hot for sure.

I got four offers in a matter of 48 hours while my lady got 5. Realtor was overwhelmed that evening when he put them on the market live. Watched our phones and just took rides out. Anyways I will post pictures about the rebuild and whatnot. Just interesting how different a house looks when you take out carpet and put in flooring and stuff like that...then sell it.

 

I’d do this if I were more likely to be a contractor or had a good friend for that.But like most wives and ladies, mine get leery when projects require work or with professionals that can run up large money on such projects. Often they don’t get done in time either....so more move in ready is desired here. I don’t blame her. Lots of things to look at...but we got a great realtor so hopefully he can set something up.

 

Absolutely FatBoy85 !! I will be here, best of luck to you in your search and yes don't give up on some type of option for heating with wood. My insert location is about 10 - 15ft from a small wood shed I am going to build on our concrete patio that will hold close to a cord. Should be an easy loading setup.