Need Help: RSF Opel 3 vs Napoleon NZ-26

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babzog

Member
Oct 25, 2011
231
Eastern Ontario, Canada
Hey folks,

Not new to the wood burning game (have had a Regency F2100 in the basement since 2001) but am considering adding a second unit to the upstairs (ground floor, custom bungalow). Reason being: the geothermal heats the end of the house (where it's installed) quite well, but doesn't push the heat down to the far end where the bedrooms are. As well, a large bay window in the living rm makes that room rather cold, even though it's fairly centrally located.

Our goal is to heat the living rm and also get heat into the bedrooms.

Now, we can't just rely on the heat wafting around and making its way into the cols bedrooms since we close the door between the living rm and bedrooms at night soas not to wake the kids when we're watching TV. As well, at night, the kids' bedroom doors are closed and ours is pushed mostly closed... not the best way to allow heat to move about.

So, we've been considering the ZC fireplaces with central heating hookup capability. Had quotes come in from three dealers (two presenting the RSF Opel 3, one the BIS Tradition CE or Nova) and waiting on a fourth (Napoleon NZ-26). There aren't any other dealers in my area and even the ones in Ottawa who might travel out of town to deal with a new customer seem limited to those options.

The BIS are almost ruled out due to the length of ducting required to get heat from the fireplace to the master bedroom (could top out at around 40') and I was told by the dealer that their 5" duct and smaller cfm blower won't move enough air over that distance. The Opel 3 and NZ-26 both have 8" ducts and 630+ cfm blowers to move larger quantities of air.

I like the look of both units (esp the NZ-26WI) and both have similar heat output specs. My concern comes from the fact that the Opel3 is an EPA-exempt stove when the cat is not installed (we wouldn't install one), which from reading this article, suggests to me that I'd be losing a ton of heat up the flue due to the fireplace simply pushing a ton of air through the unit. The EPA website also indicates that the burn rate for exemption is > 5kg / hr, or > 11 lbs / hr, which is a fair bit of wood - frequent reloads. In comparision, the NZ-26 produces the same BTUs from a firebox half the size (1.7 cu ft vs 3.6 cu ft). The NZ-26 also has the secondary burn tubes across the baffle, whereas the Opel only has the front tube for the airwash.

From my experience with my Regency, those secondary burn tubes really help to extract the heat from the wood... every time they light up, I hear the heat expansion in the stove pipe. Plus, they look awesome when all lit up! And.. no smoke!

So.... I'm at a bit of a crossroad. Both units seem to be quite good and come from reputable companies. I presume that the smaller Napoleon firebox will mean more frequent loading of wood... but at the same time, does the Opel 3, due to being EPA-exempt, chew through the wood at a greater rate (as suggested by the chimney sweep online article)? Is the EPA-exempt Opel a smoker compared to a unit with secondary burn? Which will provide heat (to the living space) more efficiently soas to satisfy our goals?

Price-wise: The NZ-26WI is about $1500 more than the Opel 3 due to the wrought iron front .... I also like the cleaner look of the NZ-26WI with the convection grates being tightly coupled with the door rather than separated by several inches. OTOH, if we went with the standard NZ-26, we'd come in about $500 less than the Opel 3. So, both units are still in the running at this time (when the job is going to cost $12k+ to frame, install and finish and pay the taxman, we're not going to quarrel over a few hundred for one appearance over another - we gotta look at it for the next 25 years and I don't want to be saying "I wish I spent the extra $$").

Really interested in hearing from dealers and installers who've dealt with both units as well as folks who've had good and bad experiences with either.
 
Update (someone sent me a PM and this is a copy of my reply).

I went with the Opel 3 because we wanted it for primary heating. I preferred the secondary burn tech of the Napoleon (air tubes vs cat) but RSF didn't have that in 2011. Their new model, if I'm not mistaken, does (use secondary burn tubes) which, in my experience, is a FAR FAR FAR superior, cleaner and easier to maintain secondary combustion system than a catalytic combuster (which gets clogged if you burn anything other than perfect wood). Frankly, I hate the cat - after a reload, you must wait till the wood is all charred and the firebox is piping hot before engaging it and turning down the air. That takes 20-30min of babysitting? With air tubes, you just turn the air down after a reload (maybe let it catch and burn for a few minutes to start heating up) and walk away. If you don't fuss with the cat, it'll clog up and your unit won't burn properly, you'll have to take it out, maybe breaking a screw in the process (I did) if you don't soak it with penetrating oil first, clean it which means boiling it in a big pan with vinegar and distilled water (smells lovely), then bake it to dry it out and reinstall with new fireproof gasket. Total PITA.

The RSF does blacken the glass quite a bit when the primary air is turned down. You can burn most of it off with a hot fire (takes a couple hours) but it'll blacken up again when the air is turned down. Just not enough airflow to wash the glass. Never had that problem problem with my Regency and I suspect that the cat, reducing the flow of the exhaust gases, is causing the smoke to "pile up" near the front of the firebox and thus blacken the glass. The secondary tube units have no exhaust restriction and the gases leaving the firebox are already burnt... simpler and superior design in every way.

It's a great fireplace, it heats super super well! I'm in my underwear in the fireplace / TV room some nights when that thing is running, despite the hot air being drawn off and sent to the forced air ductwork! LOL If you get the central air kit (recommended), I highly suggest you wash the fan blades periodically. They will get crudded up after being used continuously (pet hair, dust, ash particles) which will cause it to go out of balance which will seize the bearings. A new fan is $800 so a couple of washings a year is cheap protection. Mine went but was within the warranty period so it was replaced at no charge (stove dealer didn't like that).

The bimetal damper is kinda neat, but not foolproof. I had an overfire this year where the collar was glowing!

I really liked the Napoleon for the refined look with the wrought iron doors. The secondary burn was also appealing as at the time, I didn't really want the cat. The Nap was also nearly $1k more with the door option, IIRC. The RSF firebox was larger though and it only had one door, which I felt would give a better seal. The Bis would be great as a cozy fireplace but not as a home heating option - too small ductwork to make it effective. Only the Napolean and RSF are really suitable for home heating. Myself, if I were to do this again, after having operated a cat for a couple of heating seasons, I would not buy a cat stove. When they work, they work well, but there's too much fiddling IMO to make it worth the bother. I'd buy an RSF stove again, they're made well, but I'd buy the Focus 320, not the Opel 3 (which is an older design, the Focus uses the air tube tech and is their latest unit).
 
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