Looking at Fireplace Xtrordinair Large Hybrid Fyre

[Tuffymojo]

I'm at the beginning stages of looking for a wood burning insert. I'm hoping to get some input for my particular situation. I have a 1400 sqft 2 story home built in the 1920's. This old home has little insulation and very drafty windows. I also happen to live in Iowa where we can get some pretty chilly temps in the winter. I have an endless supply of wood but will defiantly need to start properly seasoning it. I have an open fireplace now but want a moreefficient way to supplement my natural gas furnace.
I like the looks of flush face inserts. So far I have looked into quadra fire voyageur and voyageur grand. When measuring I was told the grand needs 2 more inches to make clearance with my side wall - can't make it work. My box is big enough for almost everything but my close sidewall proximity is killing me. I'd like to go bigger than the voyageur. Bigger is better right? I checked out another hearth store and he mentioned Fireplace Xtrordinair Large Hybrid Fyre. Side wall clearance is only 10.5" which I have. This cat stove is very intriguing to me as a flush face, which I want, and a large fire box. The way I read it this is not a positive pressure unit correct? With my old drafty inefficient house is there a best type of insert to use? Cat vs non cat? Is the hybrid frye overkill for my size house? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Richie]

Yeah, a great company for sure. I have an elite 44 and can tell you that for an insert it cranks out huge heat. I just installed a steel cat and the thing just roars. The posi pressure is a unique feature that should be really effective in a leaky house. The only thing is power outages. I have a whole house generator so it is no problem for me. A free standing stove is perfect in those situations. How large is the firebox in the hybrid fyre? With the cat I can get 8-10 hour burns with oak. It ain't a blaze king however I am happy with the burn times. The looks of xtrordinair products is just outstanding. I love the way it looks. Free standing stoves to me are not very attractive depending on decor of the house.

 

[Tuffymojo]

Thanks for the reply. I believe the fire box is 3 cubic feet. I have heard of these steel cats what are all of the benefits and drawbacks? I also don't think the hybrid fyre is a positive pressure system though. I don't really know though. Not sure if that changes anything for my application? How are the fan noise levels on the elite44?

 

[prezes13]

I have a cape cod flush insert. It's a smaller one 2.2cf fire box no cat. I am sure they use the same fans they are relatively quiet on low. I run my on low because I don't see a reason to ran it higher it heats house perfectly. It's a very nice high quality insert. Only draw back for me is a shallow fire box so even tough I can put 24" logs when loading E-W, N-S which is preferred by many is limited because I can fit roughly 12" logs.