fireplace wood insert

Hummmmmmmmm. Matt, search the site read the posts, do your home work and ask about individual stoves. At his point a Vogalzanger is in your future with a question like that. We are here to help you, not to stop your research.

BTW, welcome to the vast knowledge of the best smokey folk on the Web.

mattd81 said:

what fireplace wood burning insert should i buy??? I live in a 1,500 sq ft ranch in mass. I would like to spend under 2,000? with pipe. I would like to install the insert myself. any help on the idea would be Great!

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I don't know that you are completely realistic on that total price tag, though you might be able to get close.

Please post more details about what you currently have for a setup - since you mention an insert, I assume you already have a fireplace?

Is it masonry, or a prefab "Zero Clearance" unit?

What are the dimensions of the fireplace opening?

How deep is it?

Does the firebox taper or change shape as it goes back? If so, it would be helpful if you could give a rough sketch with dimensions.

What kind of chimney do you have currently? Masonry or metal? If masonry, does it have clay tile flue liners? What kind of condition is it? What is the current flue dimension?

What does the hearth look like? How wide is it? Is there any trim around the opening? Do you have a mantle over the opening, if so, how big and what's it made of?

I know, lots of questions (and this is just a starter) but we don't even know where to start with what you've told us so far. Once you tell us answers to as many of the above questions as you can, we can start suggesting more options and units you might want to look at.

Right now it's kind of like you've said "What kind of car should I buy? I want something with 4 wheels...."

Gooserider

If you keep an eye on the local newspaper ads and craigslist, you could easily get an nice used insert you can install yourself for under $2000 total. It may take a litlle time.

After becoming discouraged with the price of new inserts available here, I looked for about a year and until I found a slightly used Lopi Freedom insert three weeks ago for $1000 in Craigslist. I thought it was overpriced being used, but went to see it because there are not many nice looking used inserts for sale in Oklahoma City. It was only after I went to see it did I discover it came with 17 ft. of rigid Heat Fab 304 6" pipe, 5 ft. of flex oval with the connectors to go with it. The seller accepted $900 and I spent another $100 installing it. It works great and my wife loves it.

It is just a matter of being patient, becoming knowledgeable about the different models which fit your fireplace from user reviews, and then acting quickly when the opportunity rises.

I just bought my Osburn 1600 from Craigslist on saturday for $400.00. It is in excellent conditon and worth the hour long trip to pick it up. There is another one on there for $300.00 that is quite similar to mine. look under the Boston listings. If you can't find it email me for the owners email address. He emailed me back after I bought mine.