Need Advise on replacing VC Insert Model #0044

[jscs.moore]

My wife and I just moved into a new home (2 story colonial) that has an old VC fireplace insert model #0044 from 1983. It looks beautiful, but it does not have a liner and looks like the previous owner hasn't used it in many years. Here's my question, the house has electric heat (heat pump) and it does get pretty cold here in eastern PA in the winter. I really want a secondary source of heat & emergency heat during power outages (we have two small children). Should I even bother trying to have a certified chimney professional get this insert up and working (i.e. installing a liner, etc.) or should I just bite the bullet and spend the $4,000 to $4,500 for an upgraded insert...I'm seriously thinking about the Hampton HI300. Our neighbor has one and loves it. P.S. My wife has many other ideas for spending $4,500 bucks and is telling me to just make the VC #0044 work and be done with it...help!!

 

[Grisu]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you tried a forum search? There are quite a few threads about it. Here is one: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/questions-for-vermont-casting-0044-0046-owners.32250/
Since you are in PA you could maybe run it with coal this winter.

Not sure if I would sink more money in the insert. As it has an oval flue outlet you will need an adapter and my guess is also more than a 6" liner which will limit your future insert choices.

The Hampton is a nice insert but only medium size. How big is your house and how well do you think is it insulated? You may benefit from going larger.

Do you have any dry wood (less than 20% internal moisture) yet? Without that you will have trouble heating with wood this winter.

 

[jscs.moore]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you tried a forum search? There are quite a few threads about it. Here is one: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/questions-for-vermont-casting-0044-0046-owners.32250/
Since you are in PA you could maybe run it with coal this winter.

Not sure if I would sink more money in the insert. As it has an oval flue outlet you will need an adapter and my guess is also more than a 6" liner which will limit your future insert choices.

The Hampton is a nice insert but only medium size. How big is your house and how well do you think is it insulated? You may benefit from going larger.

Do you have any dry wood (less than 20% internal moisture) yet? Without that you will have trouble heating with wood this winter.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm a newbie to all of this, my house is a 2 story colonial, approximately 2000 sq ft. with an unfinished basement. But the first floor has a very open floor plan with the fireplace in the living room on a raised hearth...in my novice opinion, the right insert could probably heat most of the first and some of the second floor nicely...but I just don't know for sure. Yes, I could possibly go with a bigger insert (maybe HI400 or Hearsthone Clysdale was another recommendation)...but at this point I don't even know what the fireplace opening will accomodate. I have a highly recommended local chimney sweep coming out next week to inspect the VC#0044 and the chimney to give me some adivce. No wood stacked yet...I guess I thought I would just order a cord or two of seasoned firewood for delivery when I'm ready to burn? This is all a little overwhelming but I think the chimney sweep is going to tell me to probably nix the VC#0044 and upgrade...or at least that would be my guess?

 

[tigger]

Realize that most of the wood that is sold as "seasoned" is not. A $20 moisture meter would be a good investment. Just remember to test on a freshly split piece of wood.

 

[tigger]

JSCS-I'm running blazeking insert. Last winter was my first with it. It was great! I would highly recommend you look into them.

 

[begreen]

Best looking is subjective. As a newby I suggest sticking with a simple stove. Take a look at the Enviro Venice (Boston or Cabella) 1700 inserts too. But before getting too many suggestions we need to know more about the fireplace and chimney in order to make sure it will fit.
How large is the area that you want to heat? How often will there be a fire in it? What are the fireplace dimensions including depth, top and bottom. How tall is the chimney?

And as many here will tell you, burning dry wood is essential for getting the best performance out of a modern stove or insert. Finding fully seasoned wood at this time of year is hard unless you have a kiln dried wood seller in the area.

 

[begreen]

Merged threads to avoid duplicate responses.