I agree, I didnt realize they converted over to a hybrid, too bad the new one is one inch too big for my fireplace.
We had our installed beginning of last month. Luckily our box was just an inch larger than it had to be. We love the look of the fireplace, that it doesn't stick out onto our shelf, (raised above the floor about 18"). It does throw a lot of heat, but I'm a little disappointed with it. I was hoping it would make our family room where it is "cozy", but it doesn't. I think the problem is we have a big story family room and the heat DEFINITELY rise. As you walk halfway up the steps the air temp increases by a couple of degrees. The heat rises and goes through the bedrooms upstairs doing a good job of keeping the temp's up up there w/o the heat going on. But our family room and kitchen are connected and it is a fairly large space. I guess I can't expect it to heat the whole thing.
Likely a fireplace that came out onto the shelf would heat better because of more radiant heat, but we are glad we have a flush model. Even though our stone shelf is a little over a foot wide, and we have over 3 feet of tile in front of that, there have been times when we open the doors and coals and hot ash spill over, over the shelf and onto the tile, because of ash building up or a log falling and burning against the window.
The fan is nice because it's adjustable. On high it's a little loud, but it's a smooth sound. But it's infinitely adjustable and can be as quiet as you want it and still pushed air out. I don't know how the amount of hot air it pushes compared to other models.
One nice thing is the firebox is huge! I have a lot of wood cut up from before, and this box takes at least a 24" log, probably a few inches longer. That means less chainsaw cuts for me and less carrying/stacking/moving small pieces of wood.
The glass is a pain. I just clean it yesterday morning and by the evening it was already black, and the fire was hot. My brother has the Osburne glass fronted fireplace and recommended the Sams Club oven cleaner, that works much better than the fireplace glass cleaner i had. I know oven/stove/broiler cleaner is not recommended, but I wonder why? Does it hurt the glass? After using a month it doesn't seem to be doing any harm, i open newspapers up below the opened door to catch the drips.
Also, can anyone tell me how to take the front place off this unit. I would like to see if there is any insulation or that special fire retardant stuff around the chimney so the radiant inside doesn't escape up the chimney. I don't think they did that during my installation.
The thing burns for about 6 hrs. Last night I put two moderate logs on at 11pm, and at 6:30am I just put a few smaller pieces on and it started right up. The fan runs through the night most nights, but sometimes it shuts off, I guess that is dependent on how hard the wood i put in is. Some of my wood is a little old and starting to rot.
One last thing. I'm a firebug and like running the fireplace. But luckily I live in the country and have an inexhaustible supply of hardwoods (cherry/maple) right on my property. I enjoy the exercise of the wood. But I am not sure if this whole thing is worth it if I had to buy my wood.
We had the box installed w/o a fax until our custom made front came in from mid-oct to early nov, we compared heating bills and out oil useage definitely was lower, but we'll have a better gauge when we get the next refill. But the oil burner keeps running, probably for the basement and the hot water. But I'd like to fine tune this set up as much as possible and get everything I can for my money and effort in keeping this fed. It's a hungry beast 24/7!