looking for your 2 cents

[luke3425]

Hey there everyone... I am new to the site and this is my first post.. I have been creeping around here a little doing a little research and try to decide what insert best suits my needs. We are building a 2500+ home and think we have decided on the quadrafire 7100. I am looking for reviews, good and bad, what you would consider a comperable insert, and last but certainly not least where can I find the best deal???

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[TreeTangler]

Hi Luke,

and welcome to AS. First off, if we could have a little more information we could probably assist you much more. Are you putting this in as an occasional use to look at a pretty fire, are you looking just to add a little extra warmth to one room, are you looking to try to heat the home with it? An kind of information you can give us will help. Other things that could help would be chimney and flue type and size, and additional heating sources.

 

[luke3425]

I live in North central Texas, so it is not like I will be fighting off the fridgid cold 7 days a week, but for our occasional winter burst I would prefer to heat the house with the fireplace, but asthetically pleasing is also a factor... besides, who doesnt like to watch a fire burn?

 

[philoshop]

Welcome to AS, Luke
Lots of folks will chime in here I'm sure. I'm in the often-frigid NE myself where it's heat from the stove or perish. :msp_unsure:
Sorry I can't help much, but I'm looking forward to the thread.

 

[Ironworker]

I have a Lopi freedom and am very happy with it, good luck and welcome to the site.

 

[savageactor7]

As hard as I work for my wood I rather hammer a nail through my scrotum than waste my wood feeding an insert...

...but I suppose it doesn't get as cold down there either so maybe an insert would be suitable. I dunno though there's a lot of thinking and measuring that go into an insert they can be complicated as compared to a free standing stove. btw most folks are trapped or shoe horned into inserts by circumstances beyond their control.

You really should rethink this whole insert plan. Anyway good luck with your new home this is a big moment in your life I hope that everything works out well for you.

 

[Ronaldo]

Since you are building new, could you build a location and use a freestanding type stove? They do seem to get the heat distributed better. I have a Pacific Energy product and been very satisfied if you have any dealers around to look one over.

Ron

 

[REJ2]

One of our stove sponsors turned me on to this link, looks impressive to me.

Osburn 2400 Wood Stove Insert | WoodlandDirect.com: Wood Stoves & Inserts

 

[ft. churchill]

Welcome to AS. When I was looking at freestanding stoves, Quadrafire was on my short list. I, like others prefer the freestanding stoves over an insert. My wife and I spend our winter evenings with the boob tube off, and sitting in front of the stove, talking and watching the logs burn thru the glass window. Same effect ya get with the fireplace. Alot less wood.

 

[luke3425]

thanks for all of the input and ideas. Keep them coming. I will take it all into consideration before the final purchase.

 

[apn73]

Have to agree with others above wood stove is going to be much more versatile. Here is a good site for wood heat information, A non-commercial service in support of responsible home heating with wood - woodheat.org home. They have a lot of stove and insert info there along with good tips and ideas. I have not used or talked with anyone who has used their inserts, but I have a Hearthstone wood stove and their inserts look just as nice. My in-laws have Buck inserts, and they swear by them.

 

[sb47]

I’ve never had a fireplace, though I have been in many homes that do.
I have had a freestanding wood heater for many years.
With observations of fireplaces compared to my wood stove, I think I would go with a stove over a fireplace.
I really think a stove is more versatile and is more efficient.
Though there are a few things to consider.
I think a fireplace is a little safer for homes with small children or grand kids.
A stove gets very hot if kids get to horsing around and don’t pay attention someone could accidently touch the stove.
If I were building new, I would opt for a stove with some stone work around it as to box it in, in some way to reduce the chance of accidental contact with the hot stove.
Also with partially boxing it in, I would make some duct work so you could put a fan and draw and distribute the heat from the stove area into other rooms.
My stove is at one end of my home and I have to use 2 fans to circulate the air in order to even out the heat.
Like I said earlier a heater gets very hot so placement is more important because you wont be able to put anything very close to it. that’s another reason I would box it in.
I do like the bedrooms a little cooler at night so I turn the fans off at night.
So if I was building new, and even with a stove or fireplace, I would look at a way to distribute the heat throughout the house.
My stove has a glass window in the door and it puts out plenty of that beautiful ambient light like you get from a fireplace.
On a plus side with a stove, the chimney temp is a little higher and the stoves with a catalytic burner will keep the creosote build up to a minimum.

 

[rarefish383]

I live in Western MD where it can get cold and damp. We put a Russo insert in 26 years ago. We heat virtually 100% with wood. I've had to replace the catalytic combuster 3 times. The last time it was $300. The living room, dining room and kitchen stay toasty warm, lots of the time we have to leave a window cracked. We keep the bedroom doors closed and they get a tad chilly. The family room addition is blanket comfy. The Russo is a pretty big insert, with a big glass window, in the front load only door. Has been great for heating, not much for gazing at flickering flames. As a matter of fact, there are none. It burns so efficient that you don't see a flame. If you open up the draft enough to see the flame it will melt the house! I like my insert, but I know smaller free standing stoves will heat as well or better, Joe.

 

[brenndatomu]

Centrally located double sided stone (brick?) fireplace with an insert (one side fireview, the other with a screen)? Of course a centrally placed stove would probably be cheaper/easier, but once you got the stone of a fireplace heated up, It'd release heat for quite a while.
But if you already have the house designed or partially built, central FP might be a headache to do now...

 

[John_in_KS]

I had a fireplace built in when I bought the house back in the 70's. It was a highly rated firebox (companies long been out of business now). It had a fireplace screen with bi-fold doors and with ducts into the bedrooms.

After a couple of years I got rid of the pretty bi-fold doors and installed "air-tight doors". Made a huge difference. Got waay more heat with a whole lot less wood. And it didn't suck cold air into the house and up the chimney.

Worst thing about the fireplace is the bricks. But they are also the best thing. Best because they radiate a wonderful warmth to the house. Worst because they radiate a terrible cold to the house if you don't have a fire going. Maybe they build them differently these days and insulate the bricks between the room and the outdoors which would help. I would definitely check on that before having one built.

I do like the ash dump on the outside of the house that's a plus.

I never liked the blowers. They made a lot of noise when on and since the return air was at the fireplace they sucked cold air past my chair , not good.... The kids have been long gone so I don't heat their rooms anymore so when the blower motor went out I never replaced it.

The "air tight doors" got to looking really rusty and bad but last summer we took them off and painted them with high temp paint. They made it thru the winter and still look like new.

Knowing what I know now I would never have another fireplace. I would like a small wood stove in the living room but probably have an OWB for my main heat.

 

[kodiak]

As hard as I work for my wood I rather hammer a nail through my scrotum than waste my wood feeding an insert...

...but I suppose it doesn't get as cold down there either so maybe an insert would be suitable. I dunno though there's a lot of thinking and measuring that go into an insert they can be complicated as compared to a free standing stove. btw most folks are trapped or shoe horned into inserts by circumstances beyond their control.

You really should rethink this whole insert plan. Anyway good luck with your new home this is a big moment in your life I hope that everything works out well for you.

savageactor7 When you think insert, you must be thinking of what gets put into an existing masonry fireplace in order to make it more of a heating appliance. Note that the OP is building new so his options are plenty for an efficient appliance that has the look and space efficiency of a fireplace but still put out a great amount of heat in an energy efficient manor.

To the OP - I believe what you are really looking for is a Zero Clearance fireplace, not an insert. Here is a discussion on fireplaces http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/189200.htm

 

[dave_376]

Let me start off by saying I didn't read all of the replies to this thread.

If I was in the process of building a new home there is NO way I would plan on putting in an insert. I would have a freestanding stove!!!! The only reason I have an insert is because we purchased our house after it was built and there is no room for a stove.

 

[kodiak]

Let me start off by saying I didn't read all of the replies to this thread.

If I was in the process of building a new home there is NO way I would plan on putting in an insert. I would have a freestanding stove!!!! The only reason I have an insert is because we purchased our house after it was built and there is no room for a stove.

To be clear, did you put in an insert or a Zero Clearance FP? New construction would use a ZC, not an insert.

 

[boca joe]

Where I live in NE S.C. our seasonal temps are quite similar to yours. We've heated our home(1700 sq ft) with a fireplace insert(Stoll-made by the Amish) going on 30 years and still going strong. Burn 3-5 cords a year. But now-a-days the EPA has changed the landscape entirely.

Were I starting from scratch today like you seem to be, I would consider the following:
1) Open house plan to the extent it suited my lifestyle.
2) Central heat & air return near the wood heat source - maybe even tied in.
3) Wood heat source centrally located(not on an exterior wall).
4) Seriously consider building(or installing) a Russian fireplace instead of a wood stove.
5) Use the masonry of the Russian fireplace to help cool my home in the summertime by replacing winter's wood with a bucket or two of chipped ice a couple of times a week.

Just my two cents. Best of luck.

 

[planman]

ZC fireplace

I think your right on with a ZC, you dont need a stove. Im going on my 3rd year with my Country Flame Inglenook ZC in North East PA where it gets cold sometimes -10 in early AM. We use it as a supplement to our oil heat and it works great.