advice on Avalon Rainier wood insert

[daisydiggins]

Hi , I'm a newbie here I posted earlier and it never showed up.Oh well. I am looking to purchase a wood insert. The salesman suggested the Medium size Avalon Rainier insert. Can anyone give me some pros and cons on this unit? I have searched the internet and came up with nothing. The stove itself is 2,000.00 with the liner, install etc, it comes to 3,400. Does that sound like it's in the ballpark price wise?
Thanks for your help in advance

 

[BrotherBart]

You put the first post in the "Suggestion Box" part of the Forum where it is resting comfortably.

The price for the Rainer insert, liner and installation are not out of line.

 

[begreen]

There are several Rainiers in our area, not including the mountain. It's a good stove.

 

[daisydiggins]

Thanks for your help. Do you know of a website that could give me the pros and cons of the insert? 3,400 is a lot for us , I want to make sure I make the right choice.

Thanks again,
Cathy

 

[BrotherBart]

How about hearth.com

https://www.hearth.com/ratings/art.php?id=1481

https://www.hearth.com/ratings/art.php?id=960

https://www.hearth.com/ratings/art.php?id=1228

https://www.hearth.com/ratings/art.php?id=1199

 

[begreen]

Also, there are some posts in the forums like this one:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/13416/

 

[daisydiggins]

Thank you for those links. They were VERY helpful. Reading one of the post, I think I might go with the Olympic. It's a bit bigger and has more burn time. I'll have to check out the measurements to see if it will even fit.

Thanks again for your input and info

 

[gpcollen1]

Avalon makes a solid product. I think there are many Rainier owners on board as well as many of us Olympic owners. They Olympic is a gem that throws some serious heat.

You will have to figure out how many square feet you are trying to heat and how big the area the stove will be in is. That Olympic in a small area will cook it out unless you move some air.

 

[daisydiggins]

Our house is on the small side. 1,200 sq. feet. The room that the insert will be in is 16x12. The insert will also have the blower. Might put a fan in the hallway to heat the back rooms. I know the Olympic heats 1,500-2,500 sq.ft. The heat might blow us out of the house.LOL My husband keeps pushing for the bigger one, but I keep telling him the heat will be to much. I called the Hearth and patio place tonight with the measurements. They are going to have someone get back to me. We shall see!

 

[begreen]

If you want to compromise maybe look at a Regency 2400i? It's midway between in capacity. Same with the Quadrafire 4100i I think.

 

[gpcollen1]

For reference, the room I have my Olympic in is 24 x 24 and is the bottom room in a split level - concrete floor and block 1/2 walls with original crappy lack of insulation - adjacent to the garage. My olympic does a great job - even in the dead of winter. But in the shoulder months it can put out a touch too much heat. I countered that with a fan that blows the heat up the stairs and allows the cold air to come down along the stairs. The air moves very well - almost too well when it gets frigid out.

I would not be too quick too jump on your husband for his bigger stove idea b/c you will probably thank him when it gets bitterly cold and you are sitting around in shorts on a sunday afternoon. Regardless, the Avalon will have a learning curve as to running it a bit cooler and also getting it cranking day in and out. One of the best things about this stove is the long burns. Overnight (6-8 hours) are easy and my daytime burns when at work (~12 hours) are fine. I come home and can get that thing cranking again in an hour or less depending on how I did with loading it up before i left. I have even left it for 24 hours and had coals enough to get going with some small splits.

You are going to have to move air around if you use the olympic in that small room.

 

[daisydiggins]

Thank you everybody for your advice. It was very helpful. I went to another fireplace store today. The salesman showed me the Napoleon 1402(2,953.00 installed) and Quadra-fire 3100i(3,643.00 installed) My first choice was the Rainier(3,400.00) I'm going to make a decision this weekend.

 

[begreen]

Best of luck and kudos for you getting so involved with the process.

 

[woodman55]

Hi , I'm a newbie here I posted earlier and it never showed up.Oh well. I am looking to purchase a wood insert. The salesman suggested the Medium size Avalon Rainier insert. Can anyone give me some pros and cons on this unit? I have searched the internet and came up with nothing. The stove itself is 2,000.00 with the liner, install etc, it comes to 3,400. Does that sound like it's in the ballpark price wise?
Thanks for your help in advance

I had the exact same one installed last year in a 2700 sq ft home that I recently renovated, new windows, insulation etc. I burnt 6 cords last winter and unless it was 20 below out I could keep the whole house at 75 and much warmer if I wanted to. We have natural gas with a gas hot water heater, a family of five washing clothes and taking showers and spent a total of less than 500 dollars last winter on gas. Price wise mine was $4500 but was also installed as an insurance claim due to a chimney fire, it was cheaper to line the chimney instead of replacing it. I would reccomend it especially with the rising cost of heating and at $3400 it should pay for itself in a few short years and there is nothing better than wood heat.

 

[woodman55]

Our house is on the small side. 1,200 sq. feet. The room that the insert will be in is 16x12. The insert will also have the blower. Might put a fan in the hallway to heat the back rooms. I know the Olympic heats 1,500-2,500 sq.ft. The heat might blow us out of the house.LOL My husband keeps pushing for the bigger one, but I keep telling him the heat will be to much. I called the Hearth and patio place tonight with the measurements. They are going to have someone get back to me. We shall see!

At 1200 sq ft you don't even need the raineer. The specs for it are 1800 sq ft and it heats us out of a 2700 sq ft home with the room its in being 425 sq ft and if we don't move some air that room gets up to 80 when it's 0 out.