I have been reading this forum for a while. Great community here and it has been very helpful in my education on wood burning. I am about to take the leap to buy an EPA wood burning fireplace and would appreciate some advise on this. I am considering 3 units right now. 1) Travis Industries FPX 44 Elite, 2) Heat-N-Glo Northstar, and 3) BIS Tradition. They all seem to have their pros and cons.
I like the FPX 44 Elite the best but it seems to be a little finicky and I don't really care for the catalytic system but I do like the "posi-pressure" system (if it really works as advertised). The BIS Tradition also seems good but my local dealer swears by using insulated flue pipe, which really drives the cost up vs. double wall air cooled flue pipe. That leaves me with the Northstar but I don't know much about it.
Question: Does insulated flue pipe really make that much difference in the performance of the unit? My understanding is that the Tradition can use either double wall or insulated but my dealer will not install double wall and insist on insulated. Also, does anyone have any experience with the 44 Elite?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I like the FPX 44 Elite the best but it seems to be a little finicky and I don't really care for the catalytic system but I do like the "posi-pressure" system (if it really works as advertised). The BIS Tradition also seems good but my local dealer swears by using insulated flue pipe, which really drives the cost up vs. double wall air cooled flue pipe. That leaves me with the Northstar but I don't know much about it.
Question: Does insulated flue pipe really make that much difference in the performance of the unit? My understanding is that the Tradition can use either double wall or insulated but my dealer will not install double wall and insist on insulated. Also, does anyone have any experience with the 44 Elite?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
