As a noob to wood burning my wife and I (she grew up with wood heat) are looking for a wood burning fireplace insert. After much research, there seems to be some discrepancies in the firebox sizes compared to the BTU and square footage heated. For example, the Regency I2400 is rated for 2000 ft² and 75000 BTU but only has a 2.3 ft³ firebox. On the other hand the Jotul C550 Rockland is only rated for 1800 ft² and 65000 BTU but has a 2.8 ft³?? firebox. Please see my comparison chart below. Can someone shed a little light as to the differences? We have a 1850 ft² house in northwest Ohio. It is a fairly open floor plan partially 2 story and partially 1 story house with cathedral ceilings. The fireplace chase where we hope to put the insert is an exterior chase. We would like to heat 24/7 with wood. We really like the Jotul C550 but the dealer we talked to doubted if it would heat our house effectively. I would also like to hear from anyone with a C550 that uses it as a primary heat source and has a similar square footage house.
Woodburning Insert Firebox Size BTUs Square Footage Burn Time
Lopi - Freedom 2.9 ft³ 73300 2250 12 hr
Lopi – Declaration 2.9 ft³ 73300 2000 12 hr
Jotul – C550 Rockland 2.8 ft³ ????? 65000 1800 10 hr
Pacific Energy – Pacific Insert 2.5 ft³ 72000 2000 ?
Quadra-Fire – 4100i 2.47 ft³ 65600 1725 (for NW OH) 16 hr
Hearthstone – Clydesdale 2.4 ft³ 60000 2000 10 hr
Regency – I2400 2.3 ft³ 75000 2000 8 hr
Napoleon – 1402 2.25 ft³ 70000 2000 9 hr
Woodburning Insert Firebox Size BTUs Square Footage Burn Time
Lopi - Freedom 2.9 ft³ 73300 2250 12 hr
Lopi – Declaration 2.9 ft³ 73300 2000 12 hr
Jotul – C550 Rockland 2.8 ft³ ????? 65000 1800 10 hr
Pacific Energy – Pacific Insert 2.5 ft³ 72000 2000 ?
Quadra-Fire – 4100i 2.47 ft³ 65600 1725 (for NW OH) 16 hr
Hearthstone – Clydesdale 2.4 ft³ 60000 2000 10 hr
Regency – I2400 2.3 ft³ 75000 2000 8 hr
Napoleon – 1402 2.25 ft³ 70000 2000 9 hr
