I just bought a house that has a fireplace. Since the fireplace is not efficient I'm in the market for a fireplace insert. I went to several dealers and they have recommended the Harmon 300i. for the stove and complete installation is $4600. I would like to know what everyone thinks of the stove I will be using it as a substitute once in a while for my primary heat source. My house is 2200 ft.². I am new at having to deal with the fireplace/insert or woodstove so any advice would be wonderful. And greatly appreciated
I am buying a new house, in this house has a fireplace. I am in the market to purchase and inserts a
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I personally really dont like the stove. It is hard to work on has delicate expensive parts that will need replaced eventually. It is not easy to figure out how to operate it properly. And what really bothers me about it is in oreder to service the combustion chamber there are bolts that are through bolted to unsecured nuts on the back of the insert. That means to clean that combustion chamber you need to pull out the insert. We now pull it out and weld those bolts fast but i cant beleive they designed it that way. And yes i have called and complained to Harman every time i work on one of them
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
I like my insert. 
The insert I had before couldn't load n-s. The new one does and I like that a lot. Inserts need a fan to kick out the heat; a stove would be better in a power outage, but they take floor space. If you go insert, I would put in as big a one as I could, and make sure it can be loaded n-s.
The insert I had before couldn't load n-s. The new one does and I like that a lot. Inserts need a fan to kick out the heat; a stove would be better in a power outage, but they take floor space. If you go insert, I would put in as big a one as I could, and make sure it can be loaded n-s.
I'm not sure this is always the case. I have a blower on my insert. Mine is not a flush mount so it sticks out about 7 inches. Perhaps that helps. In my case yes the blower it helps heat the house quicker but over the long haul of say burning non stop over the weekend, it doesn't actually add to the heat.
The blower helps to move the heat but the insert stove ( atleast mine ) will put out the same heat with or without a blower. I can heat my main level efficiently with or without the blower it just takes longer to feel the heat at the other end of the house from a cold start with the blower off.
claydogg84
Minister of Fire
What you're saying completely contradicts itself. You can't say the insert puts the same amount of heat regardless of the blower being utilized and then say it takes longer to heat the house without it.
iron
Minister of Fire
i find that with our ZC fireplace, it takes about 2+ hours from a cold start with a half-packed box to heat up the masonry around the fireplace to the point it makes a difference in the rest of the house. the blower definitely helps heat the space for the first 30-60 mins, but after that, it's overkill in our 1600 SF upstairs area. after 4 hours, you start cracking windows open...
Clydeburner
Member
I recently upgraded my old hearth mount setup with an insert. ..
My dealers near me carry BK and a low model SBI (maker of Osburn) at one and Harmon and Hearthstone at another. I had my mind made up on a BK Princess insert, only to find out BK didn't recommend the install with the offset my flue would have to make....
After about a year being set on the BK I started looking again, stopped in one dealer figuring I would be installing another hearth model (hearthstone homestead) and was directed to the Clydesdale insert. It had a bigger firebox (smaller then some may rec with our size homes) and a blower.
I searched here for reviews and experiences and all seem positive so I bit the bullet, I did my own install that way I knew it was put n correct and not just tossed in the fireplace like many have had done.
I still think of the BK sitting on the hearth, but am very happy with the operation of this unit. I can load it up get it settled in and come back 10-12 hours later to a stovetop close to 200°, fan still on (medium speed) and have plenty enough coals for a matchless re-light. The cast iron/soapstone combo heat more evenly than my old steel model with less temperature curves throughout the whole house. My oil boiler only runs to heat my 40 gal water tank
You will have to pick the one that fits YOUR needs and one you won't mind to look at. I would suggest to get the biggest stove you can fit and to insulate the fireplace behind it. Insist on having a block off plate installed and an insulated liner if your flue is on an external wall.
Good luck you will get plenty of feed back from some great people here
My dealers near me carry BK and a low model SBI (maker of Osburn) at one and Harmon and Hearthstone at another. I had my mind made up on a BK Princess insert, only to find out BK didn't recommend the install with the offset my flue would have to make....
After about a year being set on the BK I started looking again, stopped in one dealer figuring I would be installing another hearth model (hearthstone homestead) and was directed to the Clydesdale insert. It had a bigger firebox (smaller then some may rec with our size homes) and a blower.
I searched here for reviews and experiences and all seem positive so I bit the bullet, I did my own install that way I knew it was put n correct and not just tossed in the fireplace like many have had done.
I still think of the BK sitting on the hearth, but am very happy with the operation of this unit. I can load it up get it settled in and come back 10-12 hours later to a stovetop close to 200°, fan still on (medium speed) and have plenty enough coals for a matchless re-light. The cast iron/soapstone combo heat more evenly than my old steel model with less temperature curves throughout the whole house. My oil boiler only runs to heat my 40 gal water tank
You will have to pick the one that fits YOUR needs and one you won't mind to look at. I would suggest to get the biggest stove you can fit and to insulate the fireplace behind it. Insist on having a block off plate installed and an insulated liner if your flue is on an external wall.
Good luck you will get plenty of feed back from some great people here
Respectfully disagree. Same amount of BTU output. House gets to same temperature and stays at the same temperature with or without the blower. It just gets their quicker with the blower. Doesn't mean it actually gets warmer though. Similar to forced hot air furnace vs baseboard radiator heat. They will both get the heat you want. Heat radiates and rises with or without the help of a blower. Forced air ( blower ) gets it their quicker that's all. Doesn't mean it puts out more heat though.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I might argue that while you are burning the same amount of wood either way and the BTU output of the wood itself is the same, with the blower on you're moving a lot more heat off of the hot stove and into the surrounding room, and with the blower off a good chunk of that goes up the chimney. That effect is much stronger if you're not properly blockoff plated and insulated.
I heat primarily with an insert these days. I don't think my blower fan does anything to move air into other rooms (it's not that strong), but it does a great deal to move cooler room air over the stove's convection deck and get heat out of the firebox that way.
I agree with all this. In my case with my insert I'm seeing the same effect with or without the blower. I can't sense much heat loss up the masonry chimney as it's blocked.not sure how much heat goes up the steel flex liner flue though but nothing can be done about that it's based on the stoves design and efficiency rating I suppose. Certainly less heat loss up the flue than an open fireplace though.
When I fire up in a cold house I use the blower to get heat quicker dispersed into the room and take the chill out faster. But then I turn it off and I've noticed the room temperatures stay the same either way. It's the radiant heat output that keeps the temps steady, ofcourse until the stoves output drops when the wood burns down.
If I really want to heat the entire house with the insert I sometimes turn on my forced air furnace fan. That drags some of the warm air into the air return ducts and redistributes it throughout the house. However there's only so much BTU being put out from the insert so when I do that the hearth room and kitchen room temps ( where I spend most of my time and want the warmest) drop since some of that warm air is being dragged into other rooms that I'm not occupying.
That said to the original poster, you will have to experiment with your insert to see what works best and whatnot. Lots of factors come into play for heating with a wood stove and/or stove insert, such as your inserts size and output, house floor plan layout, insulation rating in the house, wood type and dryness, etc.
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I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I'm curious what kind of offset you could possibly have that BK doesn't recommend? I can't imagine what it could be, if a liner will go down it.I recently upgraded my old hearth mount setup with an insert. ..
My dealers near me carry BK and a low model SBI (maker of Osburn) at one and Harmon and Hearthstone at another. I had my mind made up on a BK Princess insert, only to find out BK didn't recommend the install with the offset my flue would have to make....
After about a year being set on the BK I started looking again, stopped in one dealer figuring I would be installing another hearth model (hearthstone homestead) and was directed to the Clydesdale insert. It had a bigger firebox (smaller then some may rec with our size homes) and a blower.
I searched here for reviews and experiences and all seem positive so I bit the bullet, I did my own install that way I knew it was put n correct and not just tossed in the fireplace like many have had done.
I still think of the BK sitting on the hearth, but am very happy with the operation of this unit. I can load it up get it settled in and come back 10-12 hours later to a stovetop close to 200°, fan still on (medium speed) and have plenty enough coals for a matchless re-light. The cast iron/soapstone combo heat more evenly than my old steel model with less temperature curves throughout the whole house. My oil boiler only runs to heat my 40 gal water tank
You will have to pick the one that fits YOUR needs and one you won't mind to look at. I would suggest to get the biggest stove you can fit and to insulate the fireplace behind it. Insist on having a block off plate installed and an insulated liner if your flue is on an external wall.
Good luck you will get plenty of feed back from some great people here
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I was just reading the princess insert install instructions to see if they said anything about that. They didn't, but I did find this tip:
Who did the install where the woodstove vents into the next room over??
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Monticello in what state? Or do you live in Thomas Jefferson's home? If so, you need a big stove!
Seriously, what dealers do you have within, say, 150 miles?Some guy that bought a BK?
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Clydeburner
Member
The lentil depth recommended "according to my local BK dealer" is 9"-18",my depth is 27" and BK didnt recommend using an offset box or horizontal run. I think the mason who built my chimney didnt know what he was doing as there is little to no smoke shelf either.
As it turns out the Hearthstone clydesdale was one of a few stoves that had an offset flue collar at 30° which is also why I chose it. I initially was going to have the dealer install the stoves, for security reasons, but, I feel doing it myself was a better idea as I now know what is in there. I also feel I could of set the BK Princess on the hearth and vented her the same as I did the Clyde, stove collar 30° offset to a SS 90° adjusted at 30° to 15" single wall SS Pipe to another SS 90° adjusted at 30° to the smooth wall insulated liner. A concern was my draft for the BK being a basement install on a bi-level, the dealer thought it also might not have enough pull for the cat, turns out I draft -.23, off the charts, ha. This is also the reason I fab'd a key damper in.
Needless to say I am happy with the Clyde and it's operation and output, but still in love with the Princess..... I will one day ask the king for her hand in marriage
jetsam
Minister of Fire
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Some guy that bought a BK?
OP can probably just go over and pick up his princess then; he's probably too dead to object much.
Clydeburner
Member
Ha yes I know the princess is a 30° offset but the depth that the stove set back due to the blower assembly being part of the surround the dealer said it would not work along with the flue depth and not being directly connected ... I really think the dealer didn't want the job the more I think about it ,but that is my fault.....
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