Any benefit to an insert over a free standing stove?

[pfmaloney]

I don't believe that website is referring to Pellet stoves/inserts, but rather wood burning ones.

 

[kykel]

http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hoinsfs.htm

they upgraded the stoves convection blower so its a little louder.make sure to ask the dealer if your stove will have the upgrade. All stoves have the blowers so there is some noise. the higher the setting the louder the noise. I dont find it to be annoying. Its soothing to me. as long as I hear the stove I know im holding the oilman at bay.

 

[briansol]

As an insert owner, i wish i bought a free standing model and put it next to my fireplace (to the left in the avatar pic) instead. When the power went out last october for own snowpocolypse, i wish i could have burned wood... instead i had a cold metal thing and a pipe in the way of it. Had it been colder, or loasted more days, i likely would have been on the roof ripping off my exhaust piping. ugh.

hindsight.....

cleaning is a pain, but it can be moved with out too much issue. But i'm a strapping young lad... an older lady couldn't do it though, i'm sure.

Noise isn't really an issue... it's no louder than an ac unit or a fan... etc.

 

[Aquion]

Brian:

We used the fireplace during the Snowpocolypse. It couldn't even heat the living room up.

 

[briansol]

Well, that might just be a design flaw with your fireplace then. I burned a bit of wood in mine raw before i bought the stove insert. It wasn't great, but it was enough to warm the room.

I'm likely going to be putting in a wood stove in my lower living level (i have a split level, and my pellet stove is on level 3 of 4. this would go on level 2) when I have some extra money which will give me 4 fuel options - wood, pellet, oil, electric (I have a few space heaters/'amish electric fireplace things' acting as my tv stands) and finally one that doesn't rely on electricity.

But, that's only more money i would rather be saving for my planned property purchase in new hampshire. I need to get out of this hell hole called ct. lol but that's another topic.

 

[Aquion]

Brian:

Where do you get your pellets?

 

[briansol]

bt in bristol

 

[Aquion]

I was considering getting at least a ton of Easyblaze from them. I might try a ton from HD in Middletown too

 

[saladdin]

Would I be better off with a free standing stove or an insert here?

View attachment 76943

Won't work. All your pellets will keep falling out like that.

 

[briansol]

BT are good people. they are on this board too. owner is nice, even the forklift guys are easy to deal with. just bring cash! you get a better deal.
they will help load you too if you can't take a full ton as well, and you can make a 2nd trip with the receipt/etc same day if you have a smaller truck like i do (dakota) that can't really hold a full ton without falling apart.

 

[roadrunnermoore]

Well, I found some information on stoves vs. inserts in a fireplace. One of the problems with putting a stove in the fireplace is that a lot of the heat gets sucked up the chimney. The inserts were designed to minimize this problem. I also took a trip over to Cedar Mountain Stoves in Newington and was told that a lot of pellet stoves are fed from the back, so sticking them in a fireplace would make filling them awkward.

I think we are going to go with the M55 cast insert. Am I going to be able hear the TV over the sound of this stove?

I have my M55 cast insert about 8 feet from my tv and have never had any problem.

 

[Centurion]

All pellet stoves have a room circulation fan and the noise is proportional to the speed of the fan. When I had the Harman Accentra insert in the living room fireplace, I would operate it on the low fan setting while watching tv. Otherwise I would put it in auto and let the thermostat determine heat output and fan speed. One thing to look out for is that your chimney doesn't allow rain water to come down onto the rear portion of the insert. I would most definitely recommend an appropriate SS chimney liner for your stove with a rain cap. I think you will love the looks of either the Accentra or the M55 in your home as well as the wonderful heat output. As far as the hopper size, I would typically top the hopper off in the morning before going to work and before goingto bed. The hopper never ran out of pellets no matter how cold it was outside.

John

 

[Don2222]

Would I be better off with a free standing stove or an insert here?

Hello

I like a nice propane insert that stays clean, looks great when having company and nice to hang the xmass stockings on for the kids.

For heat I like a pellet stove right next to 80 bags of wood pellets in the basement where it is easy to toss a bag into the hopper and if a couple spill then it is only the basement!

My 2cents!

you could also put a pellet stove in the corner of the same room. Venting a pellet stove out thru the wall makes it real easy to clean the venting and service the stove!

Just food for thought!

 

[earl764]

I was in this boat last year. I couldn't find a place in my house that a free standing stove could go that made sense. Either too close to a window or off in an odd spot.

I wound up going w/ an insert. I can hold over a full bag of pellets in my insert. Very easy to load, and from the front. My only real complaint is maintenance. It's more of a pain to work on the unit. Nothing too bad, but an annoyance since you have to slide the unit out.

An insert is usually more expensive. I bought a pretty high end unit. I had a faulty auger motor that shipped from the factory, but after that was resolved under warranty I've been in great shape since.

I wanted a pellet stove and my only real option was the insert. I do miss being able to have a wood fire now and then, but the pellet stove makes up for that in costs savings as well as the enjoyment from seeing the fire in it. It's in my living room/main living space. It really adds a lot of warmth to the room(no pun intended). I heat the entire house with it.

The house is a center chimney cape w/ 1664 square feet, two floors. Built in 1948, decent re-insulation projects over the years but plenty of outside air still leaks in. The stove handles it all.

 

[Xena]

Go with a free standing in front of the fireplace. Makes like a whole lot easier imo.
The Leyden would look great installed like that.

 

[Don2222]

I was in this boat last year. I couldn't find a place in my house that a free standing stove could go that made sense. Either too close to a window or off in an odd spot.

I wound up going w/ an insert. I can hold over a full bag of pellets in my insert. Very easy to load, and from the front. My only real complaint is maintenance. It's more of a pain to work on the unit. Nothing too bad, but an annoyance since you have to slide the unit out.

An insert is usually more expensive. I bought a pretty high end unit. I had a faulty auger motor that shipped from the factory, but after that was resolved under warranty I've been in great shape since.

I wanted a pellet stove and my only real option was the insert. I do miss being able to have a wood fire now and then, but the pellet stove makes up for that in costs savings as well as the enjoyment from seeing the fire in it. It's in my living room/main living space. It really adds a lot of warmth to the room(no pun intended). I heat the entire house with it.

The house is a center chimney cape w/ 1664 square feet, two floors. Built in 1948, decent re-insulation projects over the years but plenty of outside air still leaks in. The stove handles it all.

Pellet stoves work better going into a center chimney that a chimney on the side of the house. The outside chimneys are cold and the pellet exhaust is not is as hot as a wood fire so drafting is not as good! A liner is recommended and those ribbed flex liners hold alot of pellet ash that really have to be cleaned every year or the stove will not work good!

 

[rona]

There is many disadvantages with a insert versus a stand alone. If you have a choice place your stove upstairs as that is where you want the heat. I have seen many people try to heat the upstairs with a stove in the basement and it usually costs more money and isn't as cost effective. If you aren't using the basement there is no use keeping the basement hot while shivering upstairs. Remember a pellet stove is a glorified space heater and not a furnace.
Now getting back to advantages of a stand alone stove versus insert. The stand alone stove will cost less then a insert. You will have a sizable investment in stove pipe that has to go up your chimney versus a through the wall kit. Most of the time you will have a larger hopper to hold fuel and a larger ash drawer meaning you can leave the house for 24 or 36 hours and still have a warm house when you get home. It is a lot easier to maintain the stove if you don't have to dismantle things and pull it out in the open.
If and when you decide to sell it a stand alone stove will sell better then a insert.

 

[Don2222]

There is many disadvantages with a insert versus a stand alone. If you have a choice place your stove upstairs as that is where you want the heat. I have seen many people try to heat the upstairs with a stove in the basement and it usually costs more money and isn't as cost effective. If you aren't using the basement there is no use keeping the basement hot while shivering upstairs. Remember a pellet stove is a glorified space heater and not a furnace.
Now getting back to advantages of a stand alone stove versus insert. The stand alone stove will cost less then a insert. You will have a sizable investment in stove pipe that has to go up your chimney versus a through the wall kit. Most of the time you will have a larger hopper to hold fuel and a larger ash drawer meaning you can leave the house for 24 or 36 hours and still have a warm house when you get home. It is a lot easier to maintain the stove if you don't have to dismantle things and pull it out in the open.
If and when you decide to sell it a stand alone stove will sell better then a insert.

Hi Rona

You have a point but the style of the home makes a big difference.

I have a split and can heat the whole house quite comfortably with one 45k BTU pellet stove in the center of the basement and 2 floor registers providing 150 Deg F air into the living and kitchen. The bedrooms are a tad cooler for sleeping. This basement install was highly engineered to do the whole job right with no insulation in the basement ceiling and there is insulation in the basement walls.

X2 on the cost and maintenance on the insert.

 

[rona]

Hi Rona

You have a point but the style of the home makes a big difference.

I have a split and can heat the whole house quite comfortably with one 45k BTU pellet stove in the center of the basement and 2 floor registers providing 150 Deg F air into the living and kitchen. The bedrooms are a tad cooler for sleeping. This basement install was highly engineered to do the whole job right with no insulation in the basement ceiling and there is insulation in the basement walls.

X2 on the cost and maintenance on the insert.

I guess I should have asked about house design as that determines a lot of things. You bring up another often overlooked point which is insulating basement walls. Our experience was replacing a wood stove in the basement with a pellet stove. It just didn't work and I tried 3 different stoves before I gave up. I then put a stove on the main level and problem was solved. We have a finished basement but don't use it other then washing clothes so am not worried about it being cool.
Helping a dealer do service calls gave me the experience not to buy a inset. I can understand if you don't have a choice but they do eat up more time and expense.

 

[FordMastertech]

It's weird, the picture shows up correctly on my iPad but upside down on my PC.

Thats a Apple thing, happens alot.

 

[boblo45]

I think you will have to turn your house upside down for the pellet stove to work. Other than looks I cannot see any benefit of an insert over a free standing and I have an insert.

Now I see how you remove the ash from there!

 

[boblo45]

I have my M55 cast insert about 8 feet from my tv and have never had any problem.

I have a flat panel screen above my insert and do not have any problems with hearing sound from the tv. Especially with heat level 4.

 

[Aquion]

Yeah, same here. I'm glad we went with the insert. I have no problem hearing the TV over it. It looks great and keeps the house plenty warm.

 

[kenstogie]

I would only heat my upstairs b4 the pellet stove. Now I use and heat my basement where the stove is, use no oil and spend less on heat. So it is possible you can heat moremand spend less.