Quadra-fire??

Hampton 3100 is a nice looking insert. Go through the review section of the site, pick 3 or so that peak your interest, then go see them in person locally. Then narrow it down to one.

We have a Buck 81 insert and have no complaints whatsoever. It heats our 2350 sq. ft. house. However, all the bedrooms are off the main living area where the insert is located, which makes it easier for heating those rooms.

I can't or don't want to heat my long ranch with an insert. I am getting primary heat from a boiler. But, I think the ladies love the soapstone model inserts - they look good just sitting there.


GL Bill

There is no "best" insert - in fact, some would say that best insert is a stove sitting on the hearth!

Lots of choices - depending on style, budget and the size of your wood pile. Be sure to read the basic guide to shopping for a stove.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choosing_a_wood_stove

Make sure you check minimum fireplace size, clearance to combustibles, hearth protection and so forth very early in your process for each model you are considering. Unless you are willing to do significant rework to your hearth and/or mantel, you will find that your constraints quickly limit your selection to a relatively small number of models. Most manufacturers have the owner's manuals on their web sites, and these manuals specify all the aforementioned requirements. Go by the manuals and not the marketing brochures.

Also be prepared to put in a 6" stainless steel liner from your insert all the way up to the top of your chimney. This is likely to run you another $1500 or so in material and labor.

ABGWD4U said:

I can't or don't want to heat my long ranch with an insert. I am getting primary heat from a boiler. But, I think the ladies love the soapstone model inserts - they look good just sitting there.


GL Bill

Click to expand...

I have a long ranch. Infact it's shaped like a T and I haven't had the furnace or gas space heater on yet. It's supposed to get to 10 degrees Saturday night, so I think I might be burning the dust off the space heater this weekend.

Right now the ends of the house are 69 and the center where the stove is located, is 75. I'll admit is 40 outside right now, but I'm also not burning the insert hard.

I found this forum about a month ago when I began looking for a replacement for my current insert. My one piece of advice is choose an insert with more firebox space than you think you will need and read,read,read and then go out and look.

I checked for how well the insert was constructed. After you have looked at a few you will see what I mean.

I checked for how easy it would be to clean. Can it be cleaned (Liner sweeped) without removing the whole unit from the fireplace???

I checked for the location of the blowers and how easy they were to clean. (Bad location of blower on my current unit is one of my reasons for switching out.)

I asked about company's tech support after a sale has been made.

I asked salesperson to physically show me how to dismantal the baffles to expose the top of the firebox so I can see how it can be done and I also have them do this with the blower compartment.

A stove repair man told me to tell the salesperson to sell me on the stove...ie. it is their job to demonstrate all aspects of the unit in order to make the sale. It is amazing how few sales people are willing to do this After you have read a bit on this site you will find that you know more about the units than the sales people do. Don't get discouraged. Keep looking and you will know when you have found what you are after.

Take your time.

Ask questions.

Insist on answers.

Good Luck!!

dukeofwood501 said:

has anyone heard of the company Quadra- fire

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Nope, never heard of 'em...

First, let's say Quadra Fire is a top notch product.
Second, if you think the wife will think woodburning is a hobby, just wait till she gets a taste of warmth without the high price tag.
Then, you will be packing to the woodpile more than you expect. But, then again by that time it will already be in your blood.

precaud said:

dukeofwood501 said:

has anyone heard of the company Quadra- fire

Click to expand...

Nope, never heard of 'em...

Click to expand...

That's funny....I heard that Quad bought Harmon stoves November of 2007.

Duke of wood. There are numerous great stoves out there. Do a little research, you won't be disappointed. All new stoves are supposed to be EPA certified and all burn the smoke. Quadra-Fire makes a great stove, if I were looking right now I would be sure to check pacificenergy.net

Like webmaster says lots of people think the stove on their hearth is the best.

hello everyone we could use some advice with a Quadra fire 4300

My wife surprised me with a new used stove model above and we don't know the proper use of the 2 leavers at the bottom of the stove. Basically she was told push them both in to start the fire and leave them out once the fires going...

...well I think there's more to it.

btw I know how to do a google search but the pdf files don't work out so well at 28kbs. so I would appreciate any advice esp if I want to load the stove up for the night thanks.

Our history...we have been burning wood since '77 started out with a ben franklin stove with the isenglass(sp) then had 2 different Shenandoah's with the shaker grates...truthfully I was happy with them, but the wife wanted to actually see the fire that's why she got the Quadra.

We burn mostly ash and maple all winter but in the fall spring I've been known to burn poplar and willow when the mornings are cold but it heats up by noon...by then the fire is out and the hot coals are out of play.

Wood is our primary source of heat.

Again thanks for any advice.

The rod to the bottom right is the start-up air control. The rod in the center bottom is the primary air control. Start-up should be used when reloading/starting for 5 to 15 minutes then pulled out completely. The rod in the middle can be adjusted to your heat requirements...In for max heat, out for low heat.

dukeofwood501

I have the 5700 stove from Quadra-fire,It is there biggest free standing stove they make. I heat 24/7 with it, I bought it 2 yrs ago for 2100 Tx included, with silver trim on the door. It has done very well the last two years. . I do not have the ash drawer. I wouldn't consider this stove a casual wood-burners stove, but I am sure someone will prove me wrong..
Do as much research on here as you can. there are a lot of great folk here to answer most any question...

Thanks for the heads up fullbore... any other do's or don'ts we should know we should know about this stove? thanks

I can mail you the manual in paper format or burn it to a CD if you want. Just PM me your address.

Also would need to know the date stamp on the rating plate and the exact model number. What I'm looking for is if its an "ACT" model or the older one which is just a 4300ST. I think the plate should say "ACT" on it if that's the model it is.

quadra fire 4300 questions.

Sorry to be a nuisance but we didn't get an owners manual with this used 4300.

We've been burning it for about 48hrs and my wife says I'm over loading it because the guy that sold it to her said 'less is more'.

Well it's cold here in CNY so I have it loaded up full and I like the heat it puts out but the wife is worried the heatilater grates at the top will get stressed...btw the center control lever I leave half open cause I like looking at the flames.

Thanks for any advice.

Don't worry about loading it too much. I have the same stove and love it. Here is burning procedure:

Wake up and rake all the coal front (allowing the ash to fall in the pan)
Push both levers all the way in to get the coals glowing again.
I then pack the stove as tight as I can (i mean all the way up too the top, unless it is above 40 outside then just a few pieces)
I keep both levers in until I reach about 600-700 (stove top temp) and the I pull the lever on the right (start up air) all the way out and I pull the the other lever half way out. If the flames die then push it in and then try again a few minutes later. After about 30 minutes I pull the lever all the way out the stove settles down to about 600 and will keep the house warm for 8 hours at least. As the it cools (If I am around) I will push the lever in to burn up the coals and then repeat the process. I should mention that when I get home for work around 4 I get it going as mentioned BUT I don't pack it tight because I would be up until midnight waiting for it to burn down enough for reload so from 4-8pm it is just burning a couple pieces.

Hope this helps

OK got it, thanks for the heads up agz124.