Need advice: buying a wood stove insert

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jameskira

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Jul 24, 2007
8
Hi,

We live in Amherst, MA and want to buy a wood stove insert for our fireplace. Our house is about 1500 sq feet, and we hope to use the insert as our primary heat source, with our oil furnace as backup. So what are the best brands for inserts, what is soapstone and should I consider it, any recommendations on local dealers/installers.

Any and all advice appreciated....don't assume I know anything!

- Sue
 
Hi Sue and welcome to the hearth.

There are a ton of good choices for inserts out there. You may be somewhat limited by the size and construction of your existing fireplace. Is it a masonry fireplace or a zero clearance pre fabricated one? Also, what are the dimensions?

It would also be helpful to know a bit about the layout of your house and the location of the fireplace. Is it located in the basement? Is the chimney on an outside wall of the house? Approximately how tall is the chimney? What part of the country are you located in?

I know it seems like a lot of questions, but with a few answers it will be easier to help you.
 
The folks over there at Old Hadleigh Hearth & Home 119 Willimansett Street South Hadley, MA 01075 (413) 538-9845

are very well known - they install and sell a lot of the major brands.

Soapstone is best for stoves, not inserts - which means you would have to set the stove in front of the fireplace and vent it up the flue. Brands include HearthStone (at the dealers) and Woodstock (direct from the maker in NH) - both are good stoves.

An article on stove materials is here:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/comparing_stove_materials/

Here are some basics:
1. check to see if the fireplace is 100% masonry - as opposed to "prefab" metal.
2. Measure the opening size - width and height - also, how far the hearth (the masonry floor) extends in front of the fireplace.
3. Is there a wood mantel - is it just on top, or does it surround three sides -

With this info in hand, and perhaps a picture, you will do better in your shopping.

Chances are that you will have to line your chimney with 6" stainless steel pipe in order to pass current codes.....so be certain to figure this in the budget....

And hello neighbor - I am in Southampton.

(I just remembered - some of these stores may be having sales which correspond with the big E...so check it out)
 
Really the basics have been covered as to stuff to get back to us on. You should consider also how you will use the stove.
a few more questions:
24/7, or just evening fires? What kind of wood? How big is the fireplace?
 
Thanks for responding. O.K., I'll try to answer your questions. We live in a 1921 bungalow in Western MA, the fireplace is in the living room on the 1st floor, and looks to me like it was built when the house was built....bricks all around, a nice mantle above, and then the base of the fireplace comes out into the room about 18 inches, again all brick. The opening is approx. 3-4 feet wide and 2-3 feet tall (I am at work so am guessing...but it is a BIG fireplace!)

We'd like to use it for our primary heat source (our house is about 1500 sq feet), but will need to work up to that gradually. My guess is that the first year or two we will use it for about 50% of our heating needs, and our oil furnace the other 50%.

Thanks for all your advice!

- Sue
 
Oh, and the chimney is on the outside wall of the house and extends about 5 feet above the roof line (?)

The fireplace is located smack in the center of the house, right next to the stairs that lead to two bedrooms on the second floor.
 
jameskira said:
Hi,

We live in Amherst, MA and want to buy a wood stove insert for our fireplace. Our house is about 1500 sq feet, and we hope to use the insert as our primary heat source, with our oil furnace as backup. So what are the best brands for inserts, what is soapstone and should I consider it, any recommendations on local dealers/installers.

Any and all advice appreciated....don't assume I know anything!

- Sue

You will probably need to get the chimney lined, preferably with an insulated liner since it's an exterior chimney. Do you know what the current flue dimensions are? Is the flue tile lined? Is it straight - if you open the damper and look up can you see the sky?

What kind of space do you have available for wood storage, and how do you plan to handle getting your wood supply? Scrounge? Purchase "log length" and process it yourself? (my approach) Purchase "cut & split"? Note that you need to have your wood stash ready a year or more before you want to burn it so that it has time to season properly. It is way late this year to process your own, and have it ready so you will have to do cut & split, and even that is getting late - it may be worth considering going through this winter on fossil fuel while you research your options and make the purchase in the spring when there is less of a rush.

From the size fireplace you mention, you will have a pretty wide range of choices, just about any insert should fit. Pretty much any of the brands mentioned frequently in these forums are good and will function in a similar way. Probably the three biggest factors to consider are firebox size, aesthetics and price. The latter two are up to you, and we can't help a great deal there. Firebox size is the key factor that determines how much heat you can get from the unit, and how long it will burn. I am a fan of the 2-3 cubic foot size as that seems to work pretty well. Smaller than 2 cf tends to have trouble getting an overnight burn, larger than 3 cf will run you out of the house at full bore.

Soapstone is one of the three main materials used in stove making - it is pretty, tends to be more expensive, and it's proponents argue that it puts out a more even "friendlier" heat than plate steel or cast iron, and holds the heat longer. It does take a longer time to start delivering heat when starting from a cold stove, so it is best for those that burn 24/7. Soapstone probably offers less benefits for an insert than it does in a stand alone stove.

Plate steel tends to be more modernistic and / or industrial looking, and is generally considered fast heating, but varies more with the state of the fire. It tends to be among the lower cost stoves - Englander makes good quality stoves that are considered the "best BTU for the buck" in terms of value, but are on the plain side cosmetically.

Cast iron tends to be in the middle for cost and heat stability, often tends to be more decorative in design with "classic" looking scrolls and ribbing on the castings etc.

If you search the threads you will find lots of debates about the differences and merrits of the various materials, however I would not get that hung up about it, the differences aren't that great, pick something you can afford and like the looks of, don't worry about the material that much.

Gooserider
 
jameskira said:
Oh, and the chimney is on the outside wall of the house and extends about 5 feet above the roof line (?)

The fireplace is located smack in the center of the house, right next to the stairs that lead to two bedrooms on the second floor.

How is the chimney on the outside and the center? What did I miss?

Goose is right. Need a liner. If it's that big, Go for something big. A PE Summit, Quadrafire 5100, An Osburn 2400, Lopi Freedom.

None of those are quite as nice looking as the one your wife liked, but add a gold door and they look pretty nice

The Jotul is nice too, just not as big as the ones I mentioned above.
 
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