Enviro EF3 (or 2) Insert

Hi folks,

I've finally pestered SWMBO enough this fall and got the thumbs up to purchase another fireplace insert for our house. We already have Breckwell P24I on one side of the house, but require another stove to heat the other side of the house. The amount of house that generally doesn't get heated by the current stove is about 1200ft^2, so that's the number I'm aiming for with the new insert.

I'm currently trying to decide between the Enviro EF2FPI, the Enviro EF3FPI, and a St. Croix York insert.


The EF2 is $2000, the EF3 is $2600, and the St Croix is $2200 (a never used floor model).

The EF2 is rated at 34K BTU, while the other two are rated at 40k BTU. HOWEVER (!), the free standing model of the EF2 is rated at 87% (!) efficiency, while the others are rated in the ~76% range. Given that I assume the EF2 insert is also in the mid-high 80s, it's actual heat output is in the 29.5kBTU range while the other two are in the 30.2k BTU range. Is it viable to make a comparison like that based on the input rating and the efficiency of the stove?

The liner/tee kit will be the same at either place, and I'll do the install myself.

Either stove is visually appealing to me, but I'd like input. Included is also an image of what the house layout looks like, and where the stove would be located.

All 3 will fit in my current masonry chimney.



Any input would be appreciated, as I'm looking to make the purchase in the next couple of days.

Thanks!

EDIT: It looks like at this point i just need to decide between the EF2 or the EF3.

Initially I was leaning towards the EF3, but when I saw it at the first dealer, he also showed me the EF2 at an appealing price. Would it sufficiently heat the area I show in the photos? Those two bedrooms in the upper part of the photos aren't used really, so I primarily care about the master BR/dining room, and kitchen.

When I went to see what the second dealer had, I saw the floor model on sale of the St Croix and the stove is more appealing, but I'm worried about St Croix because I found an awful lot of negative reviews online about their customer service/warranty, etc, whereas I've generally read positive things about Enviro.

Another thing that concerns me is that the St Croix YORK isn't listed as qualifying for the 10% tax credit, but the ASHBY-P is listed (looks like a newer model with slight design changes). However since what I'm buying is technically a YORK, I'm worried I won't get that money/won't qualify.

I wouldn't lean away from the York just because of the tax credit, but I did see a lot of negative reviews online regarding the company. I might be able to convince the dealer to drop the price a bit since it wouldn't qualify for the rebate.

Mostly I just want something that will work well. The EF2 insert is listed as 87% which surprises me, and I'm really curious if it's feasible to do the (.87*34000=29580 vs .758*40000=30320) comparison regarding efficiency and expected heat output.

Again, I'm not looking to heat the entire house, just that area covered in the photo which is less than the 1500 ft^2 that the EF2 is rated at doing. Hmm, the more I think about it, the more tempting the EF2 for $1995 looks.

Anyone with an EF2 chime in as to how well it performs and what square footage they heat with it?

Thanks for the input!

I'm so torn. My concern is that although the EF3 is newer, the efficiency is also rated lower, and hence I won't see much of a heat output upgrade by spending the extra $600 on it. They both also have the same convection blower.

Does your EF2 have 1 or 2 rows of heat exchange tubes? IIRC the EF3 has 2..

I ended up going with the Regency GFI55 (45kBTU) insert.

I'll post pics of the install and final product! I wish the weather was cooperating on my days off (wed/thurs/fri).