Got a Hampton HI300 that we really like. This is its tenth winter, and we heat with wood exclusively. (Meaning that over the weekend when the temps were well below 0, I kept myself awake till about 2 a.m. for the last stoking.) This is on the main level, we also have a soapstone freestanding stove in the basement. Our fireplace opening limited how large a stove we could fit in, and this was the largest or I'd have gone with greater capacity, bigger firebox. Our house is 30' x 30', two-story with walkout basement (a sizable box!), and those two units do the job. The only time I allow my baseboard hot water oil burner system to fire up is when we travel.
When I was shopping for this insert one thing I paid close attention to was the noise of the blower--a loud one would really annoy me. This unit has a two-speed fan, and I keep it on low except in rare instances when we need to heat up a cold house after being gone for some time. The thermostat is quite reliable, so the blower comes on once the fire is right, and shuts off when the fire dies. I leave it set and never have to mess with it. You can barely hear the fan running--it's very quiet. (High speed is not at all quiet of course.) Over time, dust buildup on the fan (squirrel cage design) makes it a little noisy, so about every two years I pull out the fan assembly and clean it with toothbrush, vacuum, etc.
The exterior of the stove is cast iron. You have the choice of plain black cast, or a very handsome "timberline brown" enamel, which costs more. I've been forever grateful that I didn't try to save a few $--the enamel finish is easy on the eyes and cleans up really well.
