Wood Burning Insert - Osburn 2400 or Matrix ?

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Tony Boulos

New Member
Jun 4, 2013
2
Westtown, PA
Hi all,

I'm new to the site. I've been reading several threads that you guys have posted on this forum for over a year now. I've been researching several wood burning stoves and inserts like crazy trying to figure out what would work best for my house. I've decided that this summer I will finally pull the trigger on getting an insert. I've been itching to do it for several years now but could never feel confident that it would actually work to reduce my monthly oil bills during the winter. I live in the southeastern PA region and I have several dealers around me with an abundance of manufacturers to choose from. This obviously has become very overwhelming in choosing the right one. I have a 2300 ft' two story colonial house that has a family room in the rear attached to the kitchen with an open adjacent wall. I've attached the floor plan from our appraisal for easy viewing. The family room is 12'wide by 22'long where the fireplace is located along the right side wall with an exterior chimney.

The one local dealer is suggesting that I go with an Osburn as he claims they are one of the best made stoves and inserts. He sells much more expensive stoves too so its not a salesman type pitch. I was considering buying the Osburn 2400 to get the large 3.2 firebox size and long burn times. I was about to make the purchase when the dealer wanted to come over and see the house to verify it would fit. When he came, he said not to buy the 2400 as it would make us very uncomfortable. That it would push so much heat out even at its lowest setting that we wouldn't be able to enjoy that room in the winter. That running that insert on its lowest setting continuously would make the fire burn at low temps increasing risk of creosote buildup. He said that it's too oversized for my application. Anyone have experience with this and the 2400?

So I started to look at the smaller models like the 2000 and the Matrix. My wife and I really like the flat front and modern look of the Matrix. However, I'm finding it very difficult to find reviews or people who have had them installed. Most likely because the product line is so new. The little bit of information I've read about is that they have some kind of hum in the blower due to the tight design. I'm not sure if that's been corrected or people are still having issues with that. At this point I feel like I'm back to the drawing board and wanted to reach out and get some advice.
 

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Hmmmm...a bit difficult layout for a thermal loop. If you DO go with a big stove (3.2) you will need to figure out how to dump the excess heat - maybe to the sun porch? Can you get it circulated to the Dining/living/upstairs area? A couple of properly placed fans could help.

I agree that if you have a stagnate air loop at the end where the stove will be, a large heater is gonna cook you. If you can get that air in motion, it is a different game.
 
I am thinking that a basic table fan running on low speed, placed on the floor, blowing from the dining room to the kitchen may start a thermal loop via the hallway. If so, that will help get some heat headed upstairs too.

Some things to think about. A flush insert will not heat as well as one that projects out onto the hearth during a power outage. If you have frequent outages this could be important. The sales person is partially right. Trying to run a big stove choked down "could" build up creosote - if - the wood is poorly seasoned. You don't need to make full fires in a big stove. In milder weather a partial fire of 4 splits can be allowed to burn hotter and it won't cook you out of the house. You have lots of options besides the big Osburn including their next size down model. If the house is well insulated you may do fine with a 2.5 or even a 2 cu ft insert, but don't go smaller. Some others worth looking at are the Enviro Kodiak 1700, Pacific Energy Super, Hearthstone Clydesdale.

Whatever you do, get the best seasoned wood you can find, like yesterday and stack it so that the prevailing winds blow through the stack.
 
I've been splitting wood for the past 3 months. I had taken down a few trees and pruned heavily on my property last fall (Holly, Ash, Cherry, and Bradford Pear) and stacked all the rounds in a pile till Spring. At the beginning of the season, I split all of it (about 1.5 cords) and stacked it neatly and loosely on a few racks up off the ground. The Holly was a groan to split, but all of the rest split fairly easily. I assumed it had dried quite a bit since I had noticed the infamous cracking on the outside of the rounds. I figure a cord and a half should be a decent start for this season but then again I'm just guessing.

I figured that I would start looking for the following season (2014-2015) to get a head start. Found a red oak that had been freshly taken down and trucked home about 2 cords of that. Have been slowly splitting and stacking that as well to get a head start as I know oak can take a significant amount of time to properly season.

All this work and I still don't even have the stove yet. Thanks begreen, I will start looking at some of the other competitors as well.
 
I say keep doing your homework, he is the expert so I won't comment on on his opinion. But in my experience, I have a medium insert in a 450sq ft room, house is old and and this room particularly gets cold, especially when windy out. My medium insert is not capable of cooking us out, I could have easily gone with a bigger unit. One lopi dealer told me the same thing. A big one will be too much. In my hindsight, I don't think that is true. Don't get me wrong, I love what I have and it gets the job done.but my experience tells me the salesman is not always right. Keep looking and asking, try to get more venders out to your house. You want to get it right the first time. My room warms up but it doesn't get blazing hot anywhere. The first 2 feet from the door may get uncomfortable, but your not sitting that close anyways. If I wanted less heat, I could lower the fan or even turn it off. It is also a flush model and the surround does not get hot either, just the glass. But good luck
 
Agree the layout is a little difficult but as Begreen stated you don't have to make a big fire or fill the stove up in the warmer weather but my feeling is better to have a little larger than too small. Lots of good inserts out there, another one I have not seen mentioned is Buck stove. Looks like you have a dealer in your area.
 
I agree that it's better to go a little big for a bigger firebox. Benefits are longer wood and more room for an overnight burn. You can always use less wood and smaller pieces for a quick, hot burn when you don't need as much heat. The Osburn 2400 is a great stove and very reasonably priced. We sell it as well as the Hearthstones. The Clydesdale is a great insert too but much more expensive and I don't think it works any better. Just has that cast iron look which you may or may not prefer.
 
Hey Tony, welcome to the forum. I have the Osburn 2400i and I'm very happy with it. The unit is oversized for my house, but my house is drafty and I usually don't fill it all the way. Having the extra firepower is really nice for those extra cold days. I also like that it protrudes 8-9" into the room. That being said there are a lot of great inserts that will serve you well.
 
Also worth noting: one of my buddies has the Avalon BeGreen mentioned. He loves it. The only disadvantage to a flush design is less heat if the power goes out. The Osburn 2400 has a lot of mass in the room. I think you'll be happy with either unit.
 
Another thing you could consider is a "through the wall" fan/duct blowing from the living room towards the fireplace right near the outside wall. It will help move the hot air mass from right in front of the stove. The fan on the insert will also help move the heat towards the kitchen/laundry and the through wall fan will suck it into the dining room.

I have always found that an over-sized stove is better. Dry wood and proper burn techniques will prevent the creosote.

KaptJaq
 
So what you thinking so far....
 
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