Best burn times of select inserts

Longview Drew · Dec 6, 2015

Hello,

I am going to buy a new insert this week and am having a hard time deciding on which one to buy.

I have a two story house 1800 sq ft which i would like to heat most of it with an insert. I have to go with a flush mount for two reasons the wife and the Hearth is to small and the room is to small to extend it.

I have found a few that i like, Pacific energy Neo 2.5, Regency CI2600, LOPI Flush wood Hybird Fyre, Quadra Fire voyageur Grand and the Enviro Cabello 1200.

My top pick would be the LOPI but i can not find any reviews on the unit. It has the largest firebox and the stated burn time is 12 hours. The second choice is the Regency, but reading reviews for it most people are getting 7-8 hours of burn time although the stated burn time is 14 hours. My next picks would then be followed by the Quadra then PE and the Enviro.

The only one that i have gotten a quote from is the Quadra, It seemed expensive $2,900 especially for the small fire box.

My biggest question is does anyone have experience with the LOPI? Is it a good unit with some good features and how long are the actual burn times? Also the PE? I want to make sure i can leave it for 10+ hours and still have some heat coming off of it.

My natural fire place fire box i think is quite large. Opening 40" X 28" with a depth of 26". The width decreases at the back of the box to 23". Also my hearth is 21" out from the fireplace.

I may be able to convince the wife of a non flush unit but as i said the restriction of the hearth is the biggest problem. I am not sure if this makes a difference for the hearth restrictions. but the current natural fire place is raised. It is 13" from the floor of the room and is cover all in brick. Is there any way to ignore the hearth restriction with a raised fireplace?

I appreciate any feedback, I am also open to other suggestions.

Thanks in advance Drew.

Huntindog1 · Dec 7, 2015

Dont know if it will fit and work out for you .But a Pacific Energy Summit has a square firebox and you can load East / West or North/South with an 18" split.

But the Summit isnt as fancy looking insert.

Its a 3.0 cu ft insert and you can get good all night burns out of it easily.

If your wanting 10 hours of heat then go with a 3.0 cu ft or larger stove.

I would avoid insterts where you need to cut like 22 to 24 inch long splits as its hard to buy those special size firewood. If cut your own wood I dont like messing with extra long wood. 18" to 20" is
a good size.

NYSB · Dec 7, 2015

I have the Regency CI2600 in our house - installed it about 18 months ago. Took a little 'tuning' of the stove regarding the restriction plate which modulates the amount of "boost air" to the firebox, and my own learning curve of a new woodburner, but now I feel everything is dialed-in. I would read manufacturer's listed burn times as 'theoretical maximum burn time' and not really typical burn times. So much is dependent on type of installation, blower on or off, type of wood, moisture content, amount draft, etc... So even two guys with the same stove can have very different burn times. Burn time to me means how long I can let the stove go after a full load and still be able to re-kindle a fire just by laying new wood on top of the coals. In my insert I can get 8-10 hours with mostly Norway Maple, which is not particularly dense, with moisture content 16-20%. If I do half Maple and half Oak I can get 12 hours no problem, plus I get an extra 1-2 hours of real hot burning with nice secondaries. I've never filled it with just Oak alone, but I'm sure I could close to the 'theoretical maximum burn time' of 14 hours. And when I fill it for an overnight burn, I really pack it in, using every cubic inch of the 2.5cf firebox.

Everyone always says it's all about the wood - so start getting it together. If you don't have dry wood on-hand, unfortunately that means buying it... I enjoy scrounging, and in this part of the country we have a lot of opportunity for that.

The hearth depth (the distance from the front edge of the firebox to the front edge of the fireproof hearth) does change if the fireplace is elevated - you'll have to check the insert's manual for that information. Ours is not elevated, so we needed 18".

We had the same design issues in our house - we wanted one of the flush inserts. I think all the ones you listed are good. Make sure whatever flush insert you end up with has a fan - very important for moving that hot air around. We chose the Regency because it uses a catalyst. We are in a rather dense suburban area and we wanted as little smoke pollution as possible as well as long burn times, plus that was one we can actually see locally.

SB

Dmitry · Dec 7, 2015

NYSB got it right. It's about wood, set up, way you burn it and definition of "burn times". Too many variables to give you a definite answer. I had the same question looking for my perfect insert. I got Travis large flush hybrid insert aka Lopi, aka FPX,aka Avalon. After a year of using I would say it's very solid unit. The look is a killer. Large glass with the view of fire for the first couple hours is spectacular. Heats well too. The burn time is similar to what NYSB described. I think it helps if your fireplace has interior location with this insert being flush.
When my wife saw it after looking at some ousburns, blaze kings etc I had no choice but to get.
It has different face plates and surrounding options. Somewhat expensive bit you look at it every day.

nmben · Dec 22, 2015

NYSB said:
I have the Regency CI2600 in our house - installed it about 18 months ago. Took a little 'tuning' of the stove regarding the restriction plate which modulates the amount of "boost air" to the firebox, and my own learning curve of a new woodburner, but now I feel everything is dialed-in. I would read manufacturer's listed burn times as 'theoretical maximum burn time' and not really typical burn times. So much is dependent on type of installation, blower on or off, type of wood, moisture content, amount draft, etc... So even two guys with the same stove can have very different burn times. Burn time to me means how long I can let the stove go after a full load and still be able to re-kindle a fire just by laying new wood on top of the coals. In my insert I can get 8-10 hours with mostly Norway Maple, which is not particularly dense, with moisture content 16-20%. If I do half Maple and half Oak I can get 12 hours no problem, plus I get an extra 1-2 hours of real hot burning with nice secondaries. I've never filled it with just Oak alone, but I'm sure I could close to the 'theoretical maximum burn time' of 14 hours. And when I fill it for an overnight burn, I really pack it in, using every cubic inch of the 2.5cf firebox.

Everyone always says it's all about the wood - so start getting it together. If you don't have dry wood on-hand, unfortunately that means buying it... I enjoy scrounging, and in this part of the country we have a lot of opportunity for that.

The hearth depth (the distance from the front edge of the firebox to the front edge of the fireproof hearth) does change if the fireplace is elevated - you'll have to check the insert's manual for that information. Ours is not elevated, so we needed 18".

We had the same design issues in our house - we wanted one of the flush inserts. I think all the ones you listed are good. Make sure whatever flush insert you end up with has a fan - very important for moving that hot air around. We chose the Regency because it uses a catalyst. We are in a rather dense suburban area and we wanted as little smoke pollution as possible as well as long burn times, plus that was one we can actually see locally.

SB

Hi NYSB;
My air damper lever does not work. How did you tune the restriction plate? Can you slide it to different locations or is it an on or off deal?
I can't get a fire going unless I unlatch the door and leave a slight crack by pushing the door with a log. I can maintain a very low-level flame fire going (with a hot spot directly across from where the air is supposed coming out).
Playing with the damper does nothing in this case. I am concerned that the lever may be disconnected from whatever mechanism it is supposed to modulate.
Thanks in advance for any ideas on how to tune my plate and importantly how the air damper works

Dmitry · Dec 23, 2015

No, it's shouldn't be this way .It's not an on/off deal The primary air control damper will regulate the amount of air your fire gets and you can add or decrease it gradually. It's the one on a bottom of your insert.
Don't panic, give us little more info.

1.How tall is your chimney?
2.What kind of wood you are using? What is moisture content of your wood measured on a fresh split surface ?

I would bet that your wood is not seasoned, we are all being there. Go buy some dry firewood at the store and experiment. You should be able to see big difference between air being on and off once fire is going.

begreen · Dec 23, 2015

In the size you are looking for you will want the Enviro Cabello 1700. The 1200 is too small. That would be at the top of the list for me in that group. Good looks, square firebox and good long burn times.

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Best burn times of select inserts

Longview Drew

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