New guy with insert Q's

Jagtec1 · Dec 22, 2010

Hello to everyone! We are thinking of installing a wood burning insert in our existing masonry firebox. It will be in a smaller room (23x12 ish) and not for heating the entire house. Do I NEED to use a surround? I'm not nuts about the way they look, and neither is my wife. Can we just install the insert and seal the existing flue using a block off plate with a hole in it for the liner?

We also have not decided on a brand yet, but have looked at LOPI, and some of the small Englander and Summers Heat brand. Are the Home Depot/Lowes units to be avoided? We love to have fires, but they are inefficient....so we figured why not install something that will help heat a bit. I don't want to spend $4K on this, but don't want total crap either! Any way to fall in the middle?? I plan to do the liner myself with a friend who has done a few.

Thanks in advance!

k3c4forlife · Dec 22, 2010

Welcome to the site.

The surround is really just a preference. You actually get more heat from the stove without the surround because the heated air around the stove is allowed to flow out into the room (if you have the block off plate).

I havent really heard anything bad about the Summers Heat stoves. I think youll find that half of the people on here generally pick from the top 10-20 stove brands out there and the other half have huge stoves from the 70s or some really weird stove that was in the house when they moved in.

Read up on any stove you are looking to get. If youre looking to do something cheaper, I'm a huge fan of the craigslist search option. Ive posted this a few times in the last few weeks, but here it goes again.

My recommendation would be to start searching craigslist daily when you wake up, at lunch, and after dinner in search of a new stove. Give it a few weeks and youâ€™ll find someone who upgraded to propane or natural gas that is just looking to get rid of a nice stove for cheap. They go really fast, so make a schedule of searching regularly. (I did the same thing for my splitter). Buy the liner, probably like $800 for a good one (not sure on the price, mine was like $500 total to go like 15â€™, I only have a single floor ranch) and you would only be using the chimney as an easy way to get the flue to the roof.
See the attached picture. I bought the Regency for like $300 and the liner for $500. The full upgrade, installed was only like $600 after I bought the additional parts and sold the old stove to someone looking for a small one for their workshop.

With the people on here, you can do anything stove/flue/installation/burning/firewood/seasoning related. Really a great site.

Jagtec1 · Dec 23, 2010

Thanks! I was also wondering what thoughts are on using a "stove" that is set into the fireplace, vs. an "insert"? I'm thinking the Lopi Answer stove on cast legs placed into the box. I only have 17" hearth space to work with in front of the box, so space is tight. I would like to buy this prior to the 1st of the new year, for the tax rebate.

begreen · Dec 23, 2010

Welcome. You don't have to use the surround if you don't like the look, but I'd recommend you use an insert model if the intent is to put the box right on the fireplace floor. They are purpose built for this application.

Lopi makes an excellent, high quality stove and insert. But Englander (they make the Summer's Heat model too) makes a nice middle-road model at a very good price. They are quite efficient and there are many satisfied owners of these inserts. You might also want to look at the Napoleon 1402 insert for comparison.

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New guy with insert Q's

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