First insert purchase, need advice
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Thanks for asking. I've been meaning to report back here, but just hadn't gotten to it.
First thing to say is that I love the insert. I'm enjoying it so much that, just as several folks on here predicted, I'm using more than I expected. I ran out of my small supply of wood quite quickly. I'm able to dry some downstairs when we're running the furnace, but basically, I'm going to have to burn sparingly this winter, and figure out a way to dry some over the summer, so that next year will be better.
The good: The window is huge, beautiful, and wicked hot. If I keep the fire going, it heats the living room/dining room/kitchen area quite well, and the bedrooms are cool, but bearable, and the furnace stays off. Maybe the blower would help spread the heat better when the fire is low, but so long as I have plenty of wood, I'm not missing the blower. Of course, if I had one, I might feel differently, but as it is, I'm happy.
The firebox is so small, and the window so compelling, that this insert is different from a stove where you fill it and go about your business. I figured out how to use my computer remotely, using my wife's laptop, just so I can be in the living room as much as possible. Fires start pretty easily, with little smoke, and once it's going there's no smoke at all. If a log falls against the window, it creates a dark brown smudge, but if I continue to keep the fire hot, the window cleans itself like magic. As the fire cools, some ash and dust stick to the window, so before I light the next fire, I wipe the window with a damp towel. It takes about thirty seconds to restore it.
The bad: The box is very wide, but not deep at all. It's hard to fit much wood in there without the wood falling against the glass, which can sometimes be awkward for reloading. I end up with a bit of a mess in front of the stove. Of course, I don't notice the mess until the next day, and it doesn't take long to clean up, but actual wood stoves I've lived with in the past haven't had this problem.
Morso sent an oven mitt with the stove. Silly me I thought it was for wearing while reloading the stove, but really it's probably for just the handle, or for the kitchen. For Christmas I got some decent gloves and things are much better now.
The install: I am really, really glad we didn't get the surround. We'll figure something out eventually, but there's no hurry. Father in law suggested a steel grating instead of a solid sheet. It's a project for that mythical "when I have time" time. Hopefully in the spring when I'm not sitting in the living room gazing in wonder.
First thing to say is that I love the insert. I'm enjoying it so much that, just as several folks on here predicted, I'm using more than I expected. I ran out of my small supply of wood quite quickly. I'm able to dry some downstairs when we're running the furnace, but basically, I'm going to have to burn sparingly this winter, and figure out a way to dry some over the summer, so that next year will be better.
The good: The window is huge, beautiful, and wicked hot. If I keep the fire going, it heats the living room/dining room/kitchen area quite well, and the bedrooms are cool, but bearable, and the furnace stays off. Maybe the blower would help spread the heat better when the fire is low, but so long as I have plenty of wood, I'm not missing the blower. Of course, if I had one, I might feel differently, but as it is, I'm happy.
The firebox is so small, and the window so compelling, that this insert is different from a stove where you fill it and go about your business. I figured out how to use my computer remotely, using my wife's laptop, just so I can be in the living room as much as possible. Fires start pretty easily, with little smoke, and once it's going there's no smoke at all. If a log falls against the window, it creates a dark brown smudge, but if I continue to keep the fire hot, the window cleans itself like magic. As the fire cools, some ash and dust stick to the window, so before I light the next fire, I wipe the window with a damp towel. It takes about thirty seconds to restore it.
The bad: The box is very wide, but not deep at all. It's hard to fit much wood in there without the wood falling against the glass, which can sometimes be awkward for reloading. I end up with a bit of a mess in front of the stove. Of course, I don't notice the mess until the next day, and it doesn't take long to clean up, but actual wood stoves I've lived with in the past haven't had this problem.
Morso sent an oven mitt with the stove. Silly me I thought it was for wearing while reloading the stove, but really it's probably for just the handle, or for the kitchen. For Christmas I got some decent gloves and things are much better now.
The install: I am really, really glad we didn't get the surround. We'll figure something out eventually, but there's no hurry. Father in law suggested a steel grating instead of a solid sheet. It's a project for that mythical "when I have time" time. Hopefully in the spring when I'm not sitting in the living room gazing in wonder.
clemsonfor
Minister of Fire
First off the price is about right, you can get a lesser price or a larger price depending upon brand size features. If your handy consider doing the liner yourself? As far as the fireplace polluting etc, yes you get a ton of smoke in your home with a fireplace, my insert will almost never smoke into the home. As far as what they say they release in particulate matter, i would not worry about that as much, just get a new EPA stove as they get you more heat into the room vs the old ones. The tests are run in best case senarios with pine and wide open, you will probly be burning hardwoods at a lower fire, but still should see little smoke in these new stoves.
You WANT a blower. If i start a fire and get hot and dont turn the blower on my 450sqft room creeps up a few degrees in a half hour to hour, but if i turn the blower on once hot i can rocket the temp up 10 degrees in there if its cold in the first hour. I have a large model and heated about 2000sqft all last night and we were 20F last night and i only have ceiling insulation (r19) in my older home, with new windows. Mine protrudes about 40% into the room as well, which i think helps get the heat out as i have more metal that can radiate into the room. A flush mount will not put heat except for the front and what can naturally convect around it. As far as when the power goes out i have a generator and would not be out one, even if it was a cheapo harborfreight 800watter to run a tv and blower on the stove but at least the blower to heat my home. A problem i see for you is that your hearth is sunken below the firebox? Or is this just those doors on there that make it look like that, it it is higher you will either need to do some brick work to raise the hearth for one that sits into the room or go with a fluch mount.
As far as the cords, who cares i dont notice mine, i have it running behind the TV cabinet which has cords visible out ov the back anyhow, there is also another thing infront of it that hides it. In your case you can always get wire mold and hide the cord along the wall to an outlet nearby.
And for being a weekend burner, once you feel that you can heat the room so hot that you need to open a window or door in 2 hours without circulating the air with a floor fan to other rooms you will be hooked and want to burn 24/7. Esp when you see the effect it has on your power/gas bills. And with a 5K investment you will really want to burn as much as possible, but if you burn each afternoon when home through the night you can really get a good savings out of it.
I burn 24/7 but live in upstate SC, but like i said have little insulation in my home, several nights in the 40s 50s and days in the low sixties with no heat i will be 61F in the house in the mourning. I have to this day not turned on my heat, the last night low as 20 yesterday the high was high, low 40s the previous day low was 24f and that day was 39.
I use to have a fireplace we used to heat the room, what a waste of time and energy cutting wood for almost no heat, i wish my wife would have given into me sooner
I would personallly GET a blower, but not one where they charge you a 25% premium to have one. If you need to brick up that hearth to get one that protrudes do that. There are plenty of models with huge windows, mine is big and stays crystal clear. Dont let other folks (not on this board) that "know" about stoves tell you the glass will turn black. It will only do this on a bad design model or if you burn green wood.
You WANT a blower. If i start a fire and get hot and dont turn the blower on my 450sqft room creeps up a few degrees in a half hour to hour, but if i turn the blower on once hot i can rocket the temp up 10 degrees in there if its cold in the first hour. I have a large model and heated about 2000sqft all last night and we were 20F last night and i only have ceiling insulation (r19) in my older home, with new windows. Mine protrudes about 40% into the room as well, which i think helps get the heat out as i have more metal that can radiate into the room. A flush mount will not put heat except for the front and what can naturally convect around it. As far as when the power goes out i have a generator and would not be out one, even if it was a cheapo harborfreight 800watter to run a tv and blower on the stove but at least the blower to heat my home. A problem i see for you is that your hearth is sunken below the firebox? Or is this just those doors on there that make it look like that, it it is higher you will either need to do some brick work to raise the hearth for one that sits into the room or go with a fluch mount.
As far as the cords, who cares i dont notice mine, i have it running behind the TV cabinet which has cords visible out ov the back anyhow, there is also another thing infront of it that hides it. In your case you can always get wire mold and hide the cord along the wall to an outlet nearby.
And for being a weekend burner, once you feel that you can heat the room so hot that you need to open a window or door in 2 hours without circulating the air with a floor fan to other rooms you will be hooked and want to burn 24/7. Esp when you see the effect it has on your power/gas bills. And with a 5K investment you will really want to burn as much as possible, but if you burn each afternoon when home through the night you can really get a good savings out of it.
I burn 24/7 but live in upstate SC, but like i said have little insulation in my home, several nights in the 40s 50s and days in the low sixties with no heat i will be 61F in the house in the mourning. I have to this day not turned on my heat, the last night low as 20 yesterday the high was high, low 40s the previous day low was 24f and that day was 39.
I use to have a fireplace we used to heat the room, what a waste of time and energy cutting wood for almost no heat, i wish my wife would have given into me sooner
I would personallly GET a blower, but not one where they charge you a 25% premium to have one. If you need to brick up that hearth to get one that protrudes do that. There are plenty of models with huge windows, mine is big and stays crystal clear. Dont let other folks (not on this board) that "know" about stoves tell you the glass will turn black. It will only do this on a bad design model or if you burn green wood.
Lanningjw
Minister of Fire
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