Wood Stove Insert

[curdy]

I have a 50 yr old split level home with 2 fireplaces. One is on the bottom level in a large family room that can be closed off with a door. The other is in a formal living room on the main level which also contains the kitchen, dining room and the front entry way. This level is very open, and I'm assuming not ideal to burn in because it will draw air from the entire floor and the hallway upstairs. My thought was to have an insert installed on that floor. We could make use of the crazy amount of firewood I have, and use the oil heat a little less. Does anyone have some advice on a good brand and what I should expect to pay for the stove and the installation?

I'm not looking for the top of the line model here...something that looks nice in a formal living room and can heat around 2000 sq ft.

Thanks!

 

[Grenfell]

Funny you should post this now. I'm not an arborist but I'm looking at getting a wood burning insert installed in my fireplace. Not sure about the US, but some good brands here in Canada are Napoleon (Quebec I think), Jotul (Norway) and Pacific Energy (US I think?).

Total cost installed is essentially $4000-5000 CDN with all the chimney inserts, surrounds, blowers, insurance crap, etc.

This is for a two-storey chimney, 50-80,000 BTU insert.

I may have a certain sugar maple to burn in a few months...

C.

 

[BostonBull]

I second the Jotul! Great Stove

 

[curdy]

I have a good friend who owns a fireplace/stove store. He spoke highly of the Jotul and carries that line. Looking to get a good deal from him. I still need to get over to his shop and check them out.

 

[TreesnHorses]

We have the mother of all woodburning stoves, a KitchenQueen, amish-made in Michigan. However, I wouldn't want it in a formal living room since it looks like, well, a stove and oven. You ought to look at a soapstone woodstove- they are lovely and extremely functional. Try Lehmann's.

 

[Al Smith]

I have a Lopi ,glass front insert,forced air blower.What's real nice is the fact you get that ambiance of the flames through the glass,plus the efficiency of an air tight stove.
15 below zero,nice warm fire,a beverage or 2,a loving woman,I tell ya,it can't get any better.

 

[Big Woody]

Why not get one of these. Vermont Castings Defiant. After all, it is in the Smithsonian. Claimed to be the cleanest burning ever tested by the EPA (catalytic). I noticed the Jotuls seem to be non-catalytic (although cast iron and not plate steel).

I would be skeptical of the BTU output stove makers claim (especially 82K) in product literature. Found this out buying the Defiant in the picture). You have to go by the EPA rating which is usually much less then the manufacturer claims (should be displayed with the stove - maybe required by law?). For example the defiant is claimed at 52K in product literature but the EPA rating is around 44K-48K? I think the Buck stoves (plate steel) are also around 44K (which have blowers). Makers will claim higher output with certain wood etc. but without a standardized test the claims are meaningless and more for marketing. I think if you dumped 82K into a room it would drive you out in short order.

 

[Grenfell]

I think if you dumped 82K into a room it would drive you out in short order.

Me, yes. But my wife would be curled up right beside it...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

without a standardized test the claims are meaningless and more for marketing.

Bingo. True no matter WHAT product or service is being offered.

 

[Grenfell]

Bingo. True no matter WHAT product or service is being offered.

Yep, reminds me of stereo power ratings.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Yeah, or "scientific findings" by enviro-wackos.

 

[Big Woody]

You are right about the fire viewing aspect. First the damper is fully open or fully shut - no in-between. When you shut it to suck the smoke through the cat. combuster it drops the air flow down quit a bit. A lot of times no flames - just a glowing orange of the wood chunks. Sometimes there are decent flames but this is pretty variable. You can have a nice viewing fire if you leave the damper in the open state and adjust the fresh air vent to the level you want. Of course then you lose the efficiency. You can run with the doors open that way as well.

Also it seems to be more designed to put out max heat.
With the damper closed the only way to regulate heat output is to close the fresh air vent to a reduced level. This can cause a problem since if the temp. drops enough too much smoke is produced and it starts to overload the cat. combuster. Then you can smell a small amount of smoke in the room. If the temp drops enough it starts to cause mini explosions inside the stove from the smoke erupting. I have seen this many times with my stove.

I didn't know all of these things when I bought it. However I probably would by it again as I really like the stoves heat output, appearance and efficiency. I am not too concerned about the fire viewing aspect. My only real issue is not being able to fine tune the heat output as much as I would like while the cat. combuster is in operation. As the years go by I will probably figure it out a little better.

 

[cord arrow]

Older Buckstove

this older buck heats my 2000 sq.ft. ranch too well.
non-cat, no fire-brick, plate steel. 8" flue.
helps that flue is in dead center of the house.
(works even better when my wife's hanging fire-hazards catch fire)

 

[infomet]

Buck 91.
If you don' have room, then 80 or 81.
The big blower will help on the open floor.
Wilson

 

[keith c raymond]

We have a Jotul insert and it heats quite well..

 

[046]

just placed a deposit for a custom fireplace insert to be made.

 

[curdy]

just placed a deposit for a custom fireplace insert to be made.

Custom insert eh? How about some details and maybe some pictures/plans?

 

[simmech]

My wife and I are considering an insert for our fireplace also. We have a Heatilator EC42 fireplace in our family room, but are really considering replacing it. We've been looking at Lopi, Quadrafire, and Lennox inserts. If anyone has any info on these, let me know.

 

[billkath]

Regency wood stove insert

I have a regency wood stove insert. Works quite well.

Bill

 

[bikepilot]

I got a country flame free of craigs list. It actually works quite well. Forced air blower, brass framed glass door etc. My parents used a Treemont (sp?) when they lived in VA. It worked really well. Kept our 2700sq ft home comfortable year round with very minimal use of the heat pump. Cosmetically, the country flame is a little nicer than the treemont, but overall, I'd say the treemont got a little hotter and had a nicer shaped firebox/ash tray.

good luck