Thoughts about Wood insert pro's and con's

Understand your concern, that is a lot of money. Besides less expensive inserts, DIY installation is a possibility if you're somewhat handy.
It would also help if you can post a couple of pictures of your fireplace, and describe your house a bit.

There are certainly less expensive inserts, but that price for the Lopi and installation seems about right to me. yes, its not cheap.

I have an insert. If i had an extended hearth, i probably would have gone for a free standing because of the added heat output. Inserts rely on blowers. That being said, i didnt have the space and the insert allows me to utilize a wood stove in my fireplace, drastically cutting down on my oil use.

Do you have any specific questions?

First off, welcome to Hearth.com!

Is this for occasional use as supplemental heat and ambiance or full-time "I hate oil/gas/electric" heating? $4600 is no small chunk of change and if your only burning for ambiance then I'd probably say pass. If you are going to be burning throughout the fall/winter to save $$ on your heat then you should see a relatively quick payback on that investment. Are you planning on buying wood or scrounging/processing your own? There are many ways to obtain your fuel supply and which one is best depends on your ability to commit time, equipment, and the amount of wood you need. Scrounging your own wood has the benefit of free fuel but requires maximum commitment on your part of both time and equipment. Having log loads delivered cuts down on the time required but you still need your own processing equipment to cut and split. Either way you should plan on spending $300-$700 on a quality chainsaw and related gear, plus $1000+ on a splitter if you do not want to split by hand with a maul/axe or rent a splitter whenever you need one. Buying your wood already cut & split is the least commitment of time and equipment and it's viability depends on the price of firewood in your area which varies quite a bit. (Generally between $100-$300 a cord. [128 cu ft])

Also, can you set a freestanding stove on your hearth? A picture would be a huge help here along with fireplace dimensions. A freestanding stove installation will give off more heat than an insert if you have the time/space. The stoves are significantly less money than an insert as well.

EJL923 said:

There are certainly less expensive inserts, but that price for the Lopi and installation seems about right to me. yes, its not cheap.

I have an insert. If i had an extended hearth, i probably would have gone for a free standing because of the added heat output. Inserts rely on blowers. That being said, i didnt have the space and the insert allows me to utilize a wood stove in my fireplace, drastically cutting down on my oil use.

Do you have any specific questions?

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Seemed about right to me too. The chimney liner is probably over half the cost.

In the Eastern PA area the Declaration will run you about 2,900-3,200. That leaves about $1,400 - $1,700 for the liner/installation, which is in line with my three liner/installations.

The quote seems accurate.

JSangrey said:

I do not have the room for a free standing stove in this situation. I plan on getting wood delivered this year at least due to how late it is in the season. The wood I cut would not be seasoned enough to burn this year. The reason I liked the Lopi was the quality of the stove and the flush mount. We dont not have small children yet, but in the future the flush mount would be nice because it does not get in the way. I plan on burning this as a supplement to my gas boiler/radiator heat. My gas bill is near $400 in the coldest month of the winter and I want to curb that back a little. I am hoping to never pay more than $100 for gas once I make this investment. Also, the ambiance of the stove is a plus. With the Lopi, the brochure I have says the glass will not blacken or anything so you will always be able to see the fire. Let me know if any of you contest to this. Also, is a insert a value added item when it comes to increasing your home value. Thanks for all your comments.

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Most/all EPA approved stoves have a good air wash that keeps the glass relatively clean, though the occasional wipe down is needed.

In regards to the added value an insert or stove brings; little to none would be the answer.

JSangrey said:

I do not have the room for a free standing stove in this situation. I plan on getting wood delivered this year at least due to how late it is in the season. The wood I cut would not be seasoned enough to burn this year.

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Any wood you get delivered at this point will not be seasoned or dry unless you get damn lucky.

Lopi cannot know if the glass will blacken or not, that all depends on the quality of the fuel you are putting in. Wet wood means dirtier glass. Just because the stove has a airwash system, doesnt mean the glass will not blacken. Also, finding quality fuel now,,for this year,,,will be a major major challenge 4 u. If ya wanna get your gas bill down to around 100 bucks a month,,,you will have to burn a good amount of wood to do that. Inserts and stoves are fantastic,,but you have to put the time into learning them and getting ahead on your wood. :roll:

I can tell you that the idea of supplemental heat may change once you start burning. I got my insert installed a week ago and I love it. It does need a blower to get the heat out from behind it. Mine has about 10" out the front and 14 inside the box. I think the fireplace sucked more heat out of the house than it ever created. And I could cruise through the wood. If I burned all day long in the fireplace I would use as much wood as this insert uses in a week. I bought my insert used but everything else needed for install such as liner, insulation etc. was about $700. I installed myself and it took all day but it wasn't that difficult, just a bit time consuming. So all in mine ran me $1k. I was a bit behind on my wood as well (only 2 cords of good stuff) and I don't like to but it. I found a place that sells 2x4 trim ends. For $10 I get about 1/2 cord. This will get me through this year anyway. As far as value added to the home I don't think it will raise the value of it at all but I really like the looks of it and think that it may help a potential buyer make a decision.

A stove's only as good as the wood it burns, so your supply will determine the color of your glass and frequency of cleaning. A flush face insert does look purdy, but you will lose a little radiant heat. I cant speak to any inserts in which it extends onto the hearth, i can only compare to free standing stoves ie been around. I am happy with my flush face, and do think it will be a selling feature if i ever go down that road.

That's a high price for supplemental heating. As Joey pointed out, it may take more wood than you're expecting to get your heating bill down to 100/month. I bought my first insert (Lopi Revere I think) used off ebay and my oslo off craigslist. You can find some pretty good deals on these sites if you're patient and know what to look for. Are you planning to stay in this house a long time? If you're not sure there's no way I'd drop that kind of cash on this.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't place that much emphasis on the flush install. I think the more of the insert on the hearth, the better. At least if the power goes out you'll have a little more radiant heat that way. We have small children and have never had a problem with them bothering the stove. It's a quick learning experience for them either way.

JSangrey said:

I do not have the room for a free standing stove in this situation.

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I didn't think I did either, but then I realized I could put a free standing stove inside the fireplace. If you hadn't thought of that option, it's one more thing to consider. Mid size stoves seem to run about $1000 less than many inserts.

In our last house we had the stove installed in January 2009, so we got one and a half season's heat out of it before moving. Definitely didn't pay itself off in lower heating bills. But it made the house feel warm, which the heatpump never really did, and it worked when the power was out. I doubt it added any value when we sold the house. I considered taking it, but then there would be a hearth and a hole in the ceiling. To me it seems more likely that a wood stove would be the sort of feature that would help a house sell faster, more than it would be a feature that would make it sell for more. But it just depends on your local market and who is buying at the time.

I couldn't have installed this new stove myself, because it weighs about 400 lbs, and there's just no way I could have gotten it up onto the hearth, even with my wife's help. The two guys from the store spent about two hours or so on it.

Here's our stove, which isn't small, in our fireplace, which isn't huge (clickable thumbnail):

i have a enviro venice 1700 insert.
it is one of the only ones rated for a ZC fireplace.
it puts out massive amounts of heat with dry wood.
i can heat up to 3000 SQ ft up till the weather drops below 15-20 Fahrenheit. then the furnace must be turned on to keep the house above 67.

JSangrey said:

So I decided on the Lopi Declaration Plus fireplace insert I believe. I am just trying to find the best deal on it now. I showed my wife the Enviro Venice 1700 and she didnt like the looks of it. She thinks anything but a flush mount is going to look funny with our mantle right above it. I don't know, nothing against the ladies out there but sometimes women can be a bit picky. Us men are all about funtionality ! I liked that Enviro Venice, but she likes the Lopi. She wins, but either way I get a stove out of it hopefully. If anyone has any feedback on the Lopi brand I would greatly appreciate it. Also, I am looking for a place that sells stainless chimney lines for a reasonable price. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks for everyones feedback.

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photos to show your wife.
sometimes seeing it in a photo is easier than imagining it.

Talked two of my buddies with fireplaces into buying inserts... they thank me everytime Im at their houses. You get the same aesthetic view of the fire and flames, but can actually heat the house and save thousands in heating bills. I'd mention the addiction to wood gathering, splitting, and stacking, but your wife might get scared. If it were me, there wouldn't be a decision to be made. Good luck.

JSangrey said:

Very nicely done. Is that actual granite surrounding the insert ? That is gorgous. Goes very well with the room. We have a old tudor style home with very english looking lines, she is afraid the insert will not look right with the mantle ledge right above it. From a guys perspective, we are all about function. It just depends on the application. Yours is very nicely done with your decor though in my opinion. I liked the ledge of the enviro venice 1700 because you can warm water or coffee or anything on that ledge. Thanks for the awsome pics and advice !

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yes its real granite. it was set up like that when i bought the house. i plan on filling in below the insert with a decorative shroud so it does not appear to be hovering off the ground.

My Lopi was a good stove. It was older and a different model though.

Is your chimney inside or outside your home? Mine goes up the center of the house some are on the outside.

We heat with the insert all winter long with $15 a month NG bill.

You gotta run the blower almost all the time.

My advise is to read the forum and figure out the best insert for you or see if you can fit a stove on the hearth pad.