Quadra Fire Voyageur First Impressions

First time poster but long time reader. We are preparing to purchase a replacement wood insert for the coming winter and had narrowed down our selection to 2 inserts before going to our local Quadra Fire dealer and saw their new Voyageur insert. It is a beautiful looking insert comparable to the Vermont Castings Montpelier or Jotul C550 as far as looks (flush mount cast iron). Appears the unit uses 2 damper controls, which may take some getting used to from our previous single control stove.

Needless to say, wife was instantly sold, and did not want to look at anything else. This is making it very difficult to justify getting a insert with a larger firebox, proven unit track record, etc. Was planning on using whatever unit we end up with for primary heating of approx. 1700 sq ft ranch house in Eastern PA, so I feel a larger unit would be better suited for our needs.

Was wondering if anyone has seen/owns this unit and can provide feedback on initial usage?

Thanks Jags, Agree w/ u freestanding is always better, but the wife wanted something that would close off the existing masonry fireplace. (battle lost)

I went back to the store where they were displaying the voyageur to check it out again. I really wasn't pleased with the way the one would need to load wood in... Even though it was 1.8 cu. ft. the layout is such that there isnt much depth (makes sense with a flush insert right?). You would need to stack it high off of a small base and rely on the andirons to keep your fuel from falling into the glass. My dad has a osburn 1600 with comparable firebox size, the firebox there has more depth, which is what I have always been used to. There you can load it without worrying about what is going to fall where. Maybe it is just a matter of preference, but that was my take on the situation. Don't get me wrong, it is a REALLY nice unit, but the more I thought about it, it just wasnt practical for the purpose we want.

Branchburner, agree with your advice. Go big or home go cold? We decided to take it to the next level with a 2.2 cu ft firebox. Now looking at Hampton HI300, brother in law has hearthstone cyldesdale with similar characteristics, and is able to heat 2,000 sq ft colonial no problem. Our ranch is much older (1950's) than his place, but is decently sealed with good insulation. Tonight will hopefully be the last trip to the wood stove store we need to make in while.