Opinions On Fireplace Inserts

[seventyss]

I'm looking to put in a fireplace insert and would like to have your recommendations. They seem pretty expensive and I wonder if it will be worth the effort and expense. Some are catalytic and some go in the fireplace with blower fans. It looks like some of them are stoves in front of the fireplace and use the fireplace for venting. Any wisdom would be welcome, thanks.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I've got a stove myself, and love it. But every friend I have that has an insert LOVES it. My X fiance has one, so yeah, I've spent some time workig with them, and her's will cook you out of the house in short order. I don't know anything about catalytic, or watever. All the ones I've seen have fans, and fans, at least on stoves make a world of difference as well. Wood heat is the way to go, stove or insert. They're supposed to be vey efficient, and if you've alread got a fireplace, then an insert would be a logical step for me without hesitation.

Jeff

 

[Toneman]

Have a look at these sites,

www.regency-fire.com and www.napoleonfireplaces.com

Hope this helps

 

[Breezio]

these people also have a TON of inserts.

http://www.cjshomedecor.com/

 

[green leaf]

Look into Pacific Energy stoves. I love mine.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

1 Vote for Quadrafire stoves.

I love the damn thing. Our 5100I heats the whole house and looks good doing it.

 

[Bob Wright]

My dad was a fireplace insert pioneer. We started making them in 1976 when everyone else was playing with "grate-o-lators" and other generic heat grabbing devices. They work really good and keep all the heat from going up the chimney because of the sealing off effect, keeps the room air from going up the stack is what i am trying to say. There are (were) a zillion different models out there so choose one to your liking. I used to custom build them to fit the fireplace opening if someone wanted a special one, with no additional charge. I also made some with boiler tubes in them for folks with hot water heat...Bob

 

[sunshineband]

How much do you want to spend?

I think it depends on how much you want to spend. For less than $500 I bought a used Buck fireplace insert, slid it into the fireplace, put the facia around it and have used it to heat the house ever since. I had it installed in about 1 hour or so. It felt as though it weighed somewhere between 350-400 pounds. It is cast iron black. It's not attractive looking as some of the links above, but it does the job.

Get one with a good multi-speed automatic fan, adjustable facia (seals off smoke), and if possible with grating/grille or high-temp glass to let you see the status of the fire without opening the doors.

 

[Menchhofer]

You would receive more heat from a wood stove than an insert. The insert will usually provide heat from the front and a small portion of the sides only (depending on the installation). A blower is also often used to provide additional heat movement.

Whereas a wood stove gives you heat from front, rear and both sides, including the top and the bottom, w/o w/a blower. Thus, less wood used. Most stoves can either be place in the existing fireplace or just outside of the opening....

 

[Lakeside53]

You would receive more heat from a wood stove than an insert. The insert will usually provide heat from the front and a small portion of the sides only (depending on the installation). A blower is also often used to provide additional heat movement.

Whereas a wood stove gives you heat from front, rear and both sides, including the top and the bottom, w/o w/a blower. Thus, less wood used. Most stoves can either be place in the existing fireplace or just outside of the opening....

I think it has more to do with overall efficiency... than wood stove verses insert. If they are both say 75% efficient, 25% goes up the chimney... and the rest into the room/house. Inserts use convection to remove the heat as well as blowers. I have a 75% efficient "insert" (custom surround built-in - not just plug it into an old fireplace) that puts out 80,000 btu... and has a catalytic converter to 1) reduce pollution to EPA stage 2, and 2) to increase efficiency by extracting the heat from the chimney (which is then removed by air flow past the converters heat exchanger) by "re-burning" flue gases.

I have to say this, as no one else has: interesting as it may be, isn't this thread better off in one of the other forums than in the chainsaws section?

 

[Former Saw Builder]

Quadra-Fire inserts are great I'm heating my hole house 3150S.F. with the model 5100I load it 3 times a day and it does the rest I use my geothermal air handling system to distribute the heated air throughout the hole house.


http://www.quadrafire.com/products/inserts/woodInserts.asp

 

[Newfie]

You would receive more heat from a wood stove than an insert. The insert will usually provide heat from the front and a small portion of the sides only (depending on the installation). A blower is also often used to provide additional heat movement.

Whereas a wood stove gives you heat from front, rear and both sides, including the top and the bottom, w/o w/a blower. Thus, less wood used. Most stoves can either be place in the existing fireplace or just outside of the opening....

Yes, you would most likely recieve more radiant heat from a woodstove, but at what cost? Most state fire codes would require a significant extension of the hearth, at least 18" from the front of the woodstove. My insert works with the existing hearth and provides 60% of the heat for my home. For the right situation an insert is better than a stand alone stove.

 

[woodfarmer]

install

if your going the insert route, make sure you use the stainless liner in the existing flue of the chimney.

 

[Luke]

Rsi

RSI is another company that makes a modern efficient stove/insert. They have an auto bimetalic damper and several processes for heat distribution.

 

[seventyss]

Thanks for all the good information. I looked at the answer insert made by Lopi yesterday. It was a very small insert for $1298. The liner (vent) was $489 with $395 for installation. No blower included. I had hoped that I could come in lower than $2200. I'm wondering if I can buy the liner and install it myself? Would it be better to buy in the summer?

 

[046]

my custom insert requires no exhaust liner or cat converter.
it's a free breathing design to work exactly like a normal fireplace. huge logs and all.
my firebox is almost twice as large as other inserts mentioned so far with aprox. 150,000 btu output

overlap from from firebox to rock edge of my fireplace is aprox. 2inch. VS 1-2 feet for most inserts. this allows fit for small to large fireplaces. good for mfg but not so good for large sized fireplace owners.

it's one big heat exchanger with a huge blower. with option to hook to central ducts.
I spec'd multi level fan control and brass trimm.

it's on the truck enroute to me right now. can't wait to get that sweetie working.. hoping by middle of next week.

total cost including shipping should end up aprox. $1900
only problem is these folks maintain a multi year waiting list.
waited for 3 years to get this.

here's pic of typical stainless vent required. my custom insert uses existing chimney vent with no mods.

 

[yukiginger]

046, I'd love more details on this custom insert - website or contact information for them. Sounds interesting.

Seventyss, I recommend checking ********** for a wealth of information on this topic. They even have a ratings section for wood and gas units, so you can see what owners think.

I have a Quadrafire 4100i insert, heating most of a 2,600 sq. ft. house, and I am quite pleased. A blower is mandatory for an insert, in my opinion. I would also prefer a stove but if you have a masonry fireplace an insert might be the best bet. If you have enough hearth or a large enough fireplace then a stove might be mounted in or in front of the fireplace opening. I love the idea of soapstone stoves (Hearthstone and Woodstock stoves), but other quality stove and insert manufacturers include Lopi, Regency, Quadrafire, Napoleon, Jotul, Pacific Energy, etc. If you want long burns nothing beats a large firebox so keep this in mind when shopping.

A full liner is not too difficult to install if you are good on a ladder or your roof pitch is not that great.

Good luck.

Mark

 

[woojr]

I think you need to decide what you're doing with whatever device you use. I have used home made steel boxes that I parked in front of my 150+ year old fireplace and cooked us out in the coldest weather (around zero here). Later coverted it to a boiler and tied it to the radiators... then in the late
80's went to a new oil burner and and loved it until last year. Bought what I call an assist stove. Something that helps out with the heating chores, feels good, and looks okay.
A small old Hearthstone that looks like something that fell from space. Its a hybrid of cast iron and soapstone. Would only take small pieces about a foot long. And not many. Well it worked worked well in my small house where the stove and chimney a centrally located. Only rated at 30 some thousand btus, it took care of the three rooms where we spend most of our time.
THe heat this stove gives off is what I call softer. The steel stoves make your skin feel like you've been welding. Well anyway, I like it so much I decided to get a bigger one for this year. One you could actually still see throught the glass. I have this stove fairly close to the fireplace face and added sheet metal heat deflectors. It provides about 100% of the heat required on days that average around 32 degrees and using about 50-60 pounds of hardwood per day. When its colder I have to put in more... lately with warmer weather I've had to let go out.
My point is to make up your mind what fits your house, budget, and willingness to feed and clean it. Also how important is the looks. Its easier if you go to a few stores this time of year. They have the real models working.
You might also meet some customers with experiences about certain models and how they set them up. You may even find a pellet stove you like...
I new a man who grew up in 1930's Poland who said they had large tile stoves built into the house. Basically turned the masonry walls into heaters.
Said it felt great.. very even heat.
This summer I may rework that old boiler and use it again... doesn't look like oil's going down anytime soon. Good luck, woojr

 

[046]

046, I'd love more details on this custom insert - website or contact information for them. Sounds interesting.Mark

here comes the strange part, the custom insert mfg have ask me not to disclose the name on the forums.

their backlog is bad enough as it is. they would prefer to stay a small company.

I'll post pictures after I get it installed.

 

[046]

That likely has to do with EPA laws that state all wood stoves designed for home heating that are not whole house furnaces designed to be tied into duct work or hydronic systems must pass EPA emission standards.

Call me a cynic but I would bet they are hiding.

Dan

all their inserts and freestanding furnaces past epa regulations the same way all normal fireplaces do.

most fireplaces burns hot enough to not create huge amounts of creosote. problem occurs when you control burn rate by reducing oxygen. this air tight design causes incomplete combustion with more creosote created. hince the need for catalytic converters.

also there is a limit to how much heat you can pull out of an air tight design. since it's already runnning borderline not being hot enough for complete combustion.

everyone that's used a fireplace know a large log burns slower than small ones. only surface of log is burning, self controling burntime.