Insert or Zero Clearance wood Fireplace
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In modern EPA units, both are competitive, but an insert presupposes there is a fireplace already in place and a ZC unit is the fireplace.
So if I was building a house then it would be better to buy a ZC unite rather than having a masonary with a insert.
aansorge
Minister of Fire
So what are some good ones,I'm heating 2000 sf in south Louisiana in a new well insulated home where the average temp in January is 50 degrees.
andybaker
Feeling the Heat
They are both SBI fireplaces. I haven't seen one, but the Valcourt is reported to be a good unit. In your mild climate in a well insulated house I would not go too large. You might also look at the BIS Traditions CE and RSF Topaz.
Yes that was concerned about going to big, I had some other good choices but they where for up to 2500 sf.
For your climate I would stay between 2 and 2.5 cu ft.. Even then you might be opening a window at 50F outside.
I may get bashed for saying this but .... in your situation, unless you have a lot of wood that is freely available, you might be better off with a gas or propane insert. Either will be a big savings on the initial purchase and even more if you are buying wood. You will use the unit so little that it would make more sense to me. With a gas or propane unit, you can dial down the temps. As posted, once your wood unit is running, you'll probably have to open a window. There's a huge difference in heating a room to 72* when it's 50* outside than if it's 0*.
Of course, if you have lots of free wood on your property, then go for it. Zero Clearance is the way to go if you want a fireplace look.
Of course, if you have lots of free wood on your property, then go for it. Zero Clearance is the way to go if you want a fireplace look.
madison
Minister of Fire
I wouldn't want to be the one to talk you out of a masonry fireplace if that's what you really want. Sure a masonry fireplace coupled with a stove or insert will cost a lot more than an epa ZC fireplace by itself.
But masonry fireplaces are timeless. They often last as long as the house, if not longer. Think of the picture of a house after it's burned down. What do you usually see left -- often it's just the masonry fireplace and chimney. Stove's, inserts, and zc fireplaces on the otherhand are more like appliances. Good ones may last 20 or 30 years but usually the technology becomes outdated and they need to be replaced.
Look through the old threads here on ZC fireplaces. A good number of them are about tearing them out and replacing them with freestanding stoves. OTOH, I don't recall seeing any threads about tearing out masonry fireplaces.
Don't get me wrong. Am not saying one is better than the other. It really depends on what's important to you, how much you have to spend, and where you want to spend it.
aansorge
Minister of Fire
The ZC tear out threads are about ripping out old ZC fireplaces. The new high efficiency ZC fireplaces are basically wood stoves wrapped in an insulated box. Most are good units.
aansorge
Minister of Fire
The enerzone 2.5 ZC and its twins are simple, solid units. However I did weld on a plate onto the front grill to reduce the ashes that get sucked into the fan motors. The front grill below the door should really have downward slanted and slipperier slats to let falling ashes fall onto the hearth rather than hang out onto the slats. Why? Because when you turn the fans back on, they suck the ashes into the fireplace motors reducing the life of the motors.
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