Build in stove suggestions

As you're looking at various models, I think you may find them listed as "EPA Fireplaces" or "Zero Clearance Stoves".

Keeping the total cost that low might be difficult, unless you can do most of the work yourself.

Others who know more than I do should be along shortly.

-SF

Good luck even finding a good fireplace for under $2000. The ones we sell retail for $3000-$4000. Thats for just the unit. You still have to pay for venting and al least $1000 of labor to do a tear out and reinstall. Then you also will need new finishing materials around the fireplace. I'd say if you are going to do it right you are looking at a $5k-$10k project.

Where's BTB? He did so much research on those things I think he knows more about the different brands than some of us dealers. He should be able to suggest a lower cost unit. I did some quick poking around and I remebered the BIS Ultima.

http://www.woodstoves.net/security/bisultima.htm
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/0canwood.htm

Not the prettiest thing IMO but its lower cost and it should do the job.

My Ultima + 25' of the cheaper (air-cooled) chimney + outside air kit + forced-air kit was something like $2500, although I got that price direct from a distributor via the sweep that installed it. It was going to cost me a bit more + freight retail. It was one of the least-pricey EPA ZC units I found at the time.

I heat with it full-time in the winter, so I'm not sure I'd notice any cold-air infiltration. Plus I have an uninsulated chase, so the chimney is really the least of the problems. The chimney won't leak air directly into the house, but by design I think it will always have the potential to dump cold air right on top of the unit when it's not running. There are air openings in the chimney top and bottom. If you seal well around the face of the unit then it shouldn't draft directly into the room at least. There are some small holes in the outer shell I sealed up with foil tape to make it a little more air-tight.

I have had no draft problems, but I do have a lot of favorable conditions: 25' straight-up chimney in a not-too-cold climate coming off of a "stove" with essentially no exposed connector pipe. (All ZC units are presumably similar in the last respect.) So I'm completely happy with my choice to save a few $$.

jtp10181 said:

Where's BTB? He did so much research on those things I think he knows more about the different brands than some of us dealers.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the commendation. Consumer research like I can offer though is one thing, valuable as far as it goes, but also limited by nature. Real world experience like dealers get, from years in the field, and from the experience of many of their different customers is something else perhaps more valuable.

As to prices, I have only researched for the larger units. Naturally, the smaller size units would be cheaper. The OP can probably do some google searches for online dealers and request some quotes (links to two such were in post above). The BIS Ultima mentioned would be the size/price range to look into further.