New Guy with a question about inserts

[Wildcatfan55]

Hello,
After lurking around the site for a couple weeks I have decided to ask a few questions and see what suggestions the experts can come up with. Im newly married and we are in the process of building our house in east tennessee, its around 1950 sq. ft. of conditioned space with a great room where the insert will be located. the house has an open floor plan. I have a masonary fireplace in need of an insert, we want something with a large viewing area and also so efficiency. efficiency is second as we are in the process of putting in geothermal and a wood furnace in the basement garage. any suggestions would help, really like the buck 91 and 94, looked at a juca but don't know if they still make them. Any help will be greatly appreciated....thanks in advance.

 

[RSNovi]

I recently had a Jotul woodstove installed in my house and am very happy with the stove. I am now working with the same dealer to install a Jotul insert into my parents masonry fireplace. Their opening is just a tad too small for the C550 so they are going to go with the C450. I really like the quality of Jotul.

 

[zzr7ky]

I would take a good look at installing a free standing stove and vent it into the chimney. I had several inserts over the years. Freestanding is easy to clean, quiet, and gives more heat to the home.

If you have a smaller need for heat, and a short burning season you will save some floor space with the insert.

I would also go with a rigid stainless liner if you can. Easy to clean, thicker metal.
ATB,
Mike

 

[OhioBurner©]

If you have geothermal and a woodfurnace I wouldnt be so concerned with squeezing out every btu you could, and pick out something that you like that will be easy to operate. I am new to inserts as well, never even new what they were until a couple years ago, and we just put one in this year. I highly recommend looking at the Jotuls.... http://www.jotul.com/en-us/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Products/Wood/Wood-inserts/ we put a Rockland in (C550) and a 6" stainless double wall liner up the chimney (if you have a large liner like the 8x12" we had for a fireplace you need to reduce that down to 6" round for proper drafting). The Jotul's I think are one of the nicest looking stoves and I think it even looks better than the open fireplace did. Our existing hearth was large enough since this unit sits flush to the wall, so the only modification we had to do to install the unit was a new chimney liner and either narrow or raise the mantle (for now we just removed it). One thing we didnt do that folks here recommend is a 'blocker plate'. I'll do that maybe next year when I have the chance to pull the unit out again. So far seems easy to operate although its only been a few days we have even ran it yet so the jury is still out.

There are other nice units as well, others may advise. Some say the units that protrude out will throw out a little more heat, especially without using the blower, but we didnt want to have to extend our hearth and the flush unit looked so nice.

 

[krex1010]

Since you are looking for something to provide supplemental heat and ambiance the lopi declaration has a huge viewing area and is A true flush mounted insert and it has a large firebox, Avalon also makes has a model of the identical stove but I forget what they call it, these stoves are pretty pricey though, but I don't know if that is an issue for you.
I have a pacific energy stove which I am happy with.
Alot of brands will have models with the features you want, and in my opinion if you stick with any of the reputable brands you will get a good stove. Just don't get suckered into btu ratings and square footage numbers that the brochures talk about. Btus come from the wood not the stoves. So for a large open house like yours get a larger stove and get a blower if you are getting an insert.
And start getting your wood now!

 

[btuser]

Another vote fo the Lopi Declaration.

 

[98dingo]

Napoleon NZ26 or NZ26wi if the wrought iron look fits your decor. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to function. EPA certified and heat up to 2000 sq. ft.

 

[bigdaddybry]

And start getting your wood now!

And a big ole +1 on that. Have the first fire of the season going tonite and the 18 month stacked red oak is still hissing

 

[begreen]

Is the masonry fireplace in already or is it "planned". If it is in already, the Buck should do you well. If not, you have the option of putting in a freestanding stove on a nice stone hearth for better heat and still a good fire view. Or a good zero clearance unit which can get a stone veneer, or a masonry heater. But don't build it new with the masonry fireplace tacked on the outside of the house. That's a bad design unless you go to the expense of isolating the interior masonry from the exterior masonry to stop heat transference. This is not an issue if the fireplace is totally interior.

 

[eujamfh]

We have a Buck 91 and I love it. Buck makes very solid stoves and are good people. With a 91 (or 94 for that matter) you could probably heat the whole house depending on the floor plan. It certainly would take a good dent out of your requirement. Sounds like a great heating setup...very similar to what I would like to have once we settle down and stop moving with the military.

 

[jocam]

I just did a large kitchen family room reno and we installed a Morso 5660. It is contemporary and sleek. I've attached photos. Please realize my hearth is not complete. For those observant, I have had a few small fires in it. It really is amazing seeing the flames and secondary burning thru the glass. I love it.

 

[Wildcatfan55]

Thanks guys for all the reply's, Im really looking for something that has a large viewing area and will fill out the fireplace as well, the masonary is 8 foot wide and goes all the way to the ceiling 13 feet at the peek, so a little insert will look undersized. It is a masonary freplace large enough for the model 91 and all other large inserts I have researched. Would like to use a screen at some times but know this isnt possible with the 91. Thanks again and keep the good info coming.

 

[OhioBurner©]

Yeah I wouldnt mess with a small one anyways. You got a big room and a nice size house with open floor plan. Also, some (or most?) have optional surrounds that can add to the look and make the stove appear bigger. Take some measurements of you fireplace and start checking out the dimensions of the common name brands. I think you can't really go wrong with most of them, I like the Jotul's with the old cast iron look and gothic arches (nice wide glass for viewing, and stays clean) but check out the larger models of the other name brands as well, I dont really think you can go wrong. Just pick out ones that fit your decor and then do a double check here just to make sure there arent issues with that model. Asking here what folks recommend without narrowing down or being limited in size... well its like picking out a jellybean out of a whole bag. Another thing to consider is what finishes are available, and what size lenght of wood they will take. Good luck!