Looking for reviews

[Windebrook]

Hi everyone. I am new to here, from the Berkshires in Massachusetts, and am looking to get a fireplace insert. I have looked over several threads and am a bit overwhelmed. My question is, do you have a review area that members review each insert independently? I would like to be able to just look at each one individually from your experiences without having to keep notes while reading all the numerous (but interesting) threads. I know if I ask for a general consensus I will get a hundred different opinions. Thanks for any help on this. Bev

Stone/masonry fireplace located in dining room
42 front/27 back x 32 high x 20 deep
973 sq ft area (~1300 sq ft open dining/kitchen area including higher ceiling)
Dining area - 9 ft walls up to 13 ft cathedral ceilings
Kitchen area - 8 ft walls up to 12 ft cathedral ceiling

My perfect stove:

1) Great heater that can be turned down during dining for big family events as table will need to be turned and moved to center of room about 5 ft from front of fireplace

2) Quiet fan

3) Long burn time

4) Large clean window/view

5) Larger/deeper box (>2.0)

6) Thermostat control? Or at least ability to turn fan off.

7) Possible to open burn?

8) Easy maintenance - stove and flue/chimney

 

[begreen]

Welcome Bev, love the Berkshires. They were my home (Cornwall, CT) many years ago.

We have a review section here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/ratings.php

All inserts have the option to turn the blower off and most are multiple speed or have a continuous speed control so it can be run on low. Thermostatic control is rare. A wood insert is not like a gas insert that one can turn up and down at will. If you want a low fire, just build a smaller one. Don't fill the stove to capacity.

There is one insert with a thermostat that will burn low and slow. That is the BlazeKing Princess. It is an excellent catalytic insert. In non-catalytic heaters I would look at the Hampton 300i, the Hearthstone Clydesdale, Pacific Energy Summit, Enviro Kodiak or Venice 1700 for starters. You haven't mentioned style which can be a determining factor. I'd forget about open burn, some inserts may have this option but in practice it is done quite rarely. Fortunately with the nice fireview it really isn't needed.

 

[prezes13]

In my opinion you just described a blaze king princess insert. Reasarch threads about princess and you wil find out all personal expirience from many happy owners of that stove.

 

[Rickb]

In my opinion you just described a blaze king princess insert. Reasarch threads about princess and you wil find out all personal expirience from many happy owners of that stove.

agree.......... Could not blindly describe a stove better.

 

[Grisu]

Welcome Bev!

I hope in reading the various threads you have found out that any modern insert requires dry wood to function properly. Do you already have any seasoned firewood at your disposal?

Besides the BlazeKing Princess which is a certainly a very good option, I also want to suggest the Pacific Energy Super/T5 or the Neo 2.5 if you like a more modern look and a somewhat larger firebox. I think both should be able to heat 1300 sqft quite well and PEs unique baffle design is very maintenance friendly. The blower of the Super is also not that loud and can be turned off when needed. I have found the air convects around the insert quite well without the blower.

 

[Windebrook]

Hi all, Thanks for your responses. I checked the review section and found it helpful…thank you. Yes we have seasoned firewood and 34 acres to work from as well. I like the BK Princess a lot - unfortunately it extends out quite a bit, meaning our floor level hearth cannot accommodate it. We may have to add trim around existing hearth to accommodate other stoves, but cannot add what it looks like the princess would need. But do loooove that burn time! Looked at a Hampton I300, didn't like look so much or that it has only high and low fan. Same fan issue with Enviro Cabella 1700, which I thought was winning until realized that. Also could not find many reviews on it. Love the size of firebox on PE Summit, though door seems small/low to floor. Also like the baffle’s ease of removal for doing a liner sweep straight into box. Like the Clydesdale due to large door, max wood size, ability to change door swing and electrical side, variable speed control, but a bit worried about dirty glass. The Clydesdale says it will heat 2000 sq ft but can't find anything on Summit about that. So if I could ask for opinions I would like to know about the following from owners of the PE Summit and the Clydesdale :

What size do you heat and how well do they heat your area?

What is your average start up time?

How is fan noise when on high?

What is your overnight burn time in northern climate, mid winter?

Is window size good for flame view? Does glass stay clean?

Can you load them in either direction? (front to back, side to side)

Is maintenance easy, including ash removal and especially removal of tubes on Clydesdale for easy sweep of liner?

Can someone explain what the Summit means by “heat output cord wood - 99,000 BTU and heat output EPA 38,500 BTU“. Clydesdale just says 75,000 BTU.

If I have a higher BTU stove, is it possible to overheat my area or can I regulate that easily? Am considering trying to push air into other areas of house so would like larger stove, but do not want to be overwhelmed in area it is in.

What happens to stove during power outage (which we get all the time). Will it over-fire if fan is not running?

What is difference between cast iron and steel insert and which do you prefer?

And finally, what do you do if surround is not large enough to cover opening, or too large? We have field stone with a 4” blue stone border around our opening which means that most surrounds I look at will completely cover the blue stone sides but leave the top exposed or vice versa. If we get one tall enough to cover top, the sides will extend over field stone, which is not flat to say the least.

So sorry for lengthy questionnaire. Thank you again for any help with this. This site is so helpful

Oh, one more if I could...

Any quality or maintenance issues?

 

[begreen]

Can you post a picture of the fireplace? A hearth extension may not be that big a deal, but it would help to see the existing setup to determine options. The more a stove projects out onto the hearth the better is can heat in a power outage. Most folks do not run the fan on high. It will be noisy, but not so loud you can't hold a conversation near the stove. On medium or low speed a good fan system is going to be reasonably quiet enough so that you wouldn't need to turn up the TV to hear over it. The Summit's baffle design is unique. The whole secondary manifold and insulated baffle are contained in a stainless steel baffle box. Pull a pin and the assembly pops out. Nice for easy cleaning. With the high ceilings there will be extra cubic feet of air to heat. I don't think you will overheat the place unless you want to. You control the heat via the fuel load size and amount of air it gets. In milder weather most of us just cut back on the fuel to 3-4 splits and feed it more wood when that burns down or let it burn out if the place is warm enough. The stove loads both E/W and N/S.

PS: Did you go to the reviews section with the link previously provided?
PPS: Use the search box above and type in the stove Make and model to search for postings.

 

[prezes13]

I give you my experience since it looks like we are heating pretty much the same area with a vaulted ceiling. My cape cod insert is a none catalytic stove. It's totally flushed so it doesn't project into the room at all. Fan has an infinite adjustment and is relatively quiet. No need to run on high, unless you are in danger of over firing the stove. View area is huge. Glass stays clean as long as you burn dry wood and don't have the stove chocked too much. I have no problem getting the kitchen, dining, living room area into a high 70 within 4 or so hours from a totally cold start(60 or less). I never get the house too hot because we found out that over 78 is uncomfortable. I load my stove east west and most inserts you will, but I can put a 24" splits in mine. If I want north south I have to cut my splits into a 12". Too be honest I never had a really good wood so I cannot tell you what burn time I would get on cord wood but towards the end of season I put 10-12 Eco bricks at 5:30 pm. And when I was leaving for work at 6am. The fan was still on. Temperature outside was in the 40. I don't have block off plate and un insulated liner in an outside chimney roughly 14 feet. This year I am planing on putting a block off plate with insulation on top of it and maybe insulating the fire place a bit. I have about 2,5 cords of maple that was seasoned for two years plus one ton of Eco bricks. I am also planingon running my stove 24/7. After this season I should be able to give a better review. I wouldn't look into the btu number the manufacturers are giving. It's in a perfect condition something you will be never able to achieve. Look by the size of a fire box.