New Regency I1200s!

[NickDL]

We finally pulled the trigger on purchasing a new wood insert. We bought our current home just over 4 years ago and were really excited to have a wood burning fireplace. Unfortunately we found out that it is a piece of crap Heatilator that is great for ambiance but pathetic for heat. I bought the Grate Wall of Fire grate and a fireback. They helped a little but obviously did not give us anywhere near what we were looking for. We are fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at things, to have all electric which means heat pump. Last winter killed us on our electric bill and the house never feels toasty to us, we grew up with gas heat. We're not looking to heat the whole house, just supplement the heat pump and make the first floor toasty. We have a center hall colonial that seems to be pretty well insulated for the most part.

So this year we made the decision to go for it and get an insert, aka: my wife is letting me get my way and having the insert installed versus having new carpets installed, which is obviously what she would prefer. I keep telling her that this will help with our electric bill, not a whole lot but it at least some. Unfortunately the builder installed the smallest unit, an EC36. So I am stuck with a small insert. If I had my way I would rip our the unit and do a full rebuild but that cost more money and takes more time than we have.

This Friday is the big day for the installation. I am excited to be getting the insert! Of course as luck would have it, it's supposed to be 75 degrees on Friday! Now the biggest pain is going to be cutting a good portion of my wood down to fit this insert. I'm reading that it takes 16 to 18 inch logs and some to a good portion of my wood is over that. Fortunately I do have a good amount that is around that length. I guess that I'll be pulling out my miter saw to cut those splits down to proper size.

So wish us luck and I'll post pictures after it's installed.

 

[Wolves1]

Good luck your wife should love it. We ran out of wood March 2013 and used the oil heat my wife said its not the same heat lets get an extra cord this year. She loves it so much that she's out outside helping me stack 6 cords of wood.

 

[jscs.moore]

We finally pulled the trigger on purchasing a new wood insert. We bought our current home just over 4 years ago and were really excited to have a wood burning fireplace. Unfortunately we found out that it is a piece of crap Heatilator that is great for ambiance but pathetic for heat. I bought the Grate Wall of Fire grate and a fireback. They helped a little but obviously did not give us anywhere near what we were looking for. We are fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at things, to have all electric which means heat pump. Last winter killed us on our electric bill and the house never feels toasty to us, we grew up with gas heat. We're not looking to heat the whole house, just supplement the heat pump and make the first floor toasty. We have a center hall colonial that seems to be pretty well insulated for the most part.

So this year we made the decision to go for it and get an insert, aka: my wife is letting me get my way and having the insert installed versus having new carpets installed, which is obviously what she would prefer. I keep telling her that this will help with our electric bill, not a whole lot but it at least some. Unfortunately the builder installed the smallest unit, an EC36. So I am stuck with a small insert. If I had my way I would rip our the unit and do a full rebuild but that cost more money and takes more time than we have.

This Friday is the big day for the installation. I am excited to be getting the insert! Of course as luck would have it, it's supposed to be 75 degrees on Friday! Now the biggest pain is going to be cutting a good portion of my wood down to fit this insert. I'm reading that it takes 16 to 18 inch logs and some to a good portion of my wood is over that. Fortunately I do have a good amount that is around that length. I guess that I'll be pulling out my miter saw to cut those splits down to proper size.

So wish us luck and I'll post pictures after it's installed.

 

[jscs.moore]

Yeah...I just moved into a Center Hall Colonial (2,000 Sq.Ft) this past August that has an electric heat pump. My wife and I also spent our entire lives with gas heat so we have been very concerned about heating bills and feeling cold all the time with the heat pump. We recently pulled the trigger and had a Hampton HI300 wood burning insert installed in our masonary fireplace. Had our first break in fire last week when it was briefly in the mid 50s. I love it already and we are looking forward to using it throughout the winter months (probably not 24/7 for a while). Some of our neighbors have warned us about the power going out easily in our area and sky high electric bills when it get bitter cold in winter...some have told us they can pay $700 or $800 per month! I'm a newbie to the wood burning insert and I know it will take some time to get completley comfortable with it but I am already feeling less anxious about this winter knowing we have a solid supplemtal heating system for our house. Good luck with your insert!

 

[NickDL]

jscs.moore, congrats on the new home! We used ours last week when the temps were colder and I couldn't believe how well it worked. I'm really hoping that it works just as well when the temperatures are cold permanently. Just make sure that you have really good & seasoned wood, it will make a drastic difference. Also, if you don't already have one, you should seriously think about getting a generator. I'm not sure about your unit, but ours is pretty flush, so I'm not expecting a ton of heat without using the fan. Last year we had a couple of bills that were $600, that's what really pushed me to go for it, even if it only helps a little bit, we will enjoy the nice warmth that will be provided. Congrats & good luck in your new home & your new insert!

 

[NickDL]

 

[jscs.moore]

jscs.moore, congrats on the new home! We used ours last week when the temps were colder and I couldn't believe how well it worked. I'm really hoping that it works just as well when the temperatures are cold permanently. Just make sure that you have really good & seasoned wood, it will make a drastic difference. Also, if you don't already have one, you should seriously think about getting a generator. I'm not sure about your unit, but ours is pretty flush, so I'm not expecting a ton of heat without using the fan. Last year we had a couple of bills that were $600, that's what really pushed me to go for it, even if it only helps a little bit, we will enjoy the nice warmth that will be provided. Congrats & good luck in your new home & your new insert!

Thanks! Yeah...I've completed all of my "break-in burns" and did my first real burn overnight last weekend when the temp went down to about 37degrees overnight. I was easily able to keep the whole downstairs at right around 73/74degrees and the upstairs around 70! I did use the internal fan and the living room ceiling fan to help move the heat...I also used kiln dried wood only as my cord wood is still seasoning. But I'm very happy with the ability of the Hampton to heat our house! I'll have to look into a generator...haven't thought about it. Any suggestions

 

[NickDL]

I did overkill for a generator. I picked up a Honda just because of their reputation. I bought it after hurricane Sandy. We haven't lost power since except for a few minutes, of course, because we are prepared.