Best wood stove insert

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$150 bucks!

I know this thread is old but I stumbled upon because I just scored the same exact insert off of craigslist. I was actually looking for advice on how to install it. What parts do I need etc. Doesn't seem like a tough job but I want to make sure its up to code and I don't smoke myself out.

As for the stove itself I can't wait to use it. Growing up my parents had a Federal Airtight free standing stove so I'm quiet familiar with how to operate it and I remeber it being very efficient. Everything looks pretty much the same as they had. Got it for $150 bucks!!!
For $150 you stole this stove but don't tell that to the seller. You can download a complete 24-page intstruction manual, written in English.

Here is a link to the manual.
http://rs.woodmanspartsplus.com/company_41/Manual_DWPre1990_EN4.pdf.pdf

Welcome to the unofficial Federal Airtight stove owners club and welcome to the forum!
 
I am building a 2650 sqft house and I want to get a wood stove insert. I am not planning to have this as my prime heat source but that may change as heating prices go up. What brands and features should I look for?

The only experience I have is with the one I use now, its an Englander 13nci as far as I know it works great nothing I can think of to change or add to.

I only heat one half of the house with it though where we watch tv. I can say this it wont go more than 4-6 hrs w/o adding wood some would say thats a problem its ok with me though for now it is on the small side fwtw.

Kansas
 
Dont forget to add plenty of cold air returns in the room the insert will be in. You can then circulate the heat thru the whole house better with the furnace fan. Keep in mind thermostat placement also, you dont want the thermostat in the room with the insert as it will trick the furnace into not running and your bedrooms will be cold.
 
I have a free standing PE Summit and it is the best wood stove that I have owned. What I like is that it is very easy to control. It will throw as much or as little heat as you want. The burn time is phenomenal IMO. For instance, last night I loaded it up at 9pm. Let it burn on hi for 10 minutes then closed up the air control. At six this morning I still had some large coal chunks and it was still throwing lost of heat.

I am heating 5000 sqft and I looked at them all before I purchased and I liked the construction of the PE the best.
 
Hampton HI300

I would take a look at the Hampton insert. I looked for about two months before getting one of these. great insert.
 
Thank you Dr. Ed

For $150 you stole this stove but don't tell that to the seller. You can download a complete 24-page intstruction manual, written in English.

Here is a link to the manual.
http://rs.woodmanspartsplus.com/company_41/Manual_DWPre1990_EN4.pdf.pdf

Welcome to the unofficial Federal Airtight stove owners club and welcome to the forum!

Thank you so much for the link. I have a Federal Airtight and I barely know how to use it (this is only my second season with it...with any wood stove for that matter). It was only this past weekend that I said to a friend "I gotta get a manual" - voila, Wood Doctor, you saved the day. Who knew about the Catalytic Converter? Not me. I don't know the model, but it's free standing, wood burning. It looks very similar to your insert, except it does not have anything but space under the firebox, but next weekend I will look on its underside with a flashlight to see what might or might not be there. It's a real beauty. I cleaned what looked like a few little rust marks on the top using a soft toothbrush - not with water or anything, just rubbing until that rusty stuff came off.

Thanks again. I printed out the manual.
 
I have had both an insert and a free standing wood stove. I much prefer the free standing stove for two reasons ... first, it puts out more heat, since it radiates heat even if the blower is off, and second, I can place a pot on the top to boil off water. The insert is useless without the blower running (doesn't do any good during a power outage).

That said, the insert is less intrusive, since it sticks out only about 6 inches. The stove takes over 2 feet of space in front of the fireplace.
 
I have a Lopi Revere in a older house 90 yrs. Tall ceilings ,not great insulation it does a good job heating the downstairs. Good burn times IMO. I got mine for free though so I might be biased.:clap:
 
federal airtight insert

greetings,

i have a very similar federal airtight as woodDoctor but it seems i'm missing the blower. we bought the house a year ago and we didn't use inserts before. Can i buy the blower somewhere? the temperature also isn't getting over 500 on the gauge, probably that means the catalyst needs to be changed as well. Any input is welcomed, i want to learn more about the stove because i really like it and i want it to function at its optimal level.
 
Alot of good information already.I'm a new member myself but have spent much more time reading. Seems people are consistently talking good about the pacific energy stoves on this site and other wood heat sites.They do look nice too.The Jotul brand is nicely crafted but the lack of ash pan seems like it might be a slight inconvienence. I have been heating my (much smaller)house four years with a small,cheap lowes 1/2 off century free standing stove.I get enough heat out of it for propane not to kick on. First year here propane bill almost killed me. For some reason the flush mounted inserts don't seem to put is much heat,but maybe another owner of one can give their opinion on that matter. I think a big factor not only for heat but performance and draft is not putting chimney outside the house like so many builders love to do. also if you can opt for a larger hearth,which comes in very handy for firewood(not being a fire hazard) and or setting a free standing stove. congrats on new home and good luck
 
I have an old Treemont in the basement fireplace and would like to put a nice insert in the upstairs( first floor) fireplace so this thread has been quite useful. The question I have is will I need a flue liner insert or will the existing one be sufficient?
 
The question I have is will I need a flue liner insert or will the existing one be sufficient?

Slvrmple, Yes, unless you want to pull the stove out atleast once a year to clean the creosote behind it and chimney. Especialy new stoves requiring the specified pipe. to big chimney= cold, cresote will stick to cold surface. if you have a damper, that may need cut out to install liner, but the stove will perform much better.
 
thanks reccutter. I am missing the blower for the insert, do you know where i could find a replacement? i removed the cap where the blower should be, there is a hole and 3 screws. the shape of the cap is triangular- quarter of a circle, like a pizza slice. I've seen blowers on ebay but from the measurements it seems i can only hold the blower by 2 screws at best out of the four required on the blower... any advice on that?

thank you.
 
grainger should have the entire blower assembly... unless your insert needs a special high temp blower. then you will need to mail order from a specialty wood stove supplier

best to take old one off and let grainger match it up
you can download the manual for your stove still.

hopefully wooddoctor should be along to help you out

thanks reccutter. I am missing the blower for the insert, do you know where i could find a replacement? i removed the cap where the blower should be, there is a hole and 3 screws. the shape of the cap is triangular- quarter of a circle, like a pizza slice. I've seen blowers on ebay but from the measurements it seems i can only hold the blower by 2 screws at best out of the four required on the blower... any advice on that?

thank you.
 
grainger should have the entire blower assembly... unless your insert needs a special high temp blower. then you will need to mail order from a specialty wood stove supplier

best to take old one off and let grainger match it up
you can download the manual for your stove still.

hopefully wooddoctor should be along to help you out
Here's a suppilier for Fasco squirrel cage blowers:
http://www.electricmotorwarehouse.com/fasco/fasco_blower.htm
Best blower match that I see for my Federal Airtight 288 stove is the 50747-D401. Check out the dimensions, especially the mounting holes on the flange. None of these are 2-speed, but that's a small sacrifice. Fasco clones are also available from various suppliers at slightly reduced prices.
 
Here's a suppilier for Fasco squirrel cage blowers:
http://www.electricmotorwarehouse.com/fasco/fasco_blower.htm
Best blower match that I see for my Federal Airtight 288 stove is the 50747-D401. Check out the dimensions, especially the mounting holes on the flange. None of these are 2-speed, but that's a small sacrifice. Fasco clones are also available from various suppliers at slightly reduced prices.

Hey Doc...
Your'e gonna need your own forum soon with all of these Federals out there!
It's wonderful that you are able to help.
 
Thank you wood doctor, I wouldn't have been able to locate the blower without your help. There are 2-3 similar blowers on the site with similar mounting holes but i ordered the one you mentioned.

I hope all goes as planned, i want to have some warm air blow into our family room and kitchen, we are having temps in the teens at night and it is getting harder to warm the area into the 60's.

I will post here back mentioning the installation and how it went, maybe it would be a help for someone out there.

thank you all for the help
 
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So i got the Centrifugal Blower 115 Volts Fasco # 50747-D401 delivered today. It was a perfect match with my federal airtight insert. It made a big difference in spreading the heat around the room and the entire floor. I just need to ground this thing, i didn't have the proper wiring to do so.... I attached a photo as well.
 
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