New to forum.. Looking at wood burning inserts and have most interest in Avalon Perfect-fit or possibly Jotul C 350 Winterport. Hearth in our home only protrudes 4 inches so flush or almost flush mount inserts seem to be best for appearance. Both seem a bit pricey. Jotul was quoted at $3200 and Avalon at $3500. Had a very large insert years ago (Mountaineer) and these have very small fire boxes in comparison but seems efficiencies have come a long way. Any advice or experience with these or other suggestions will be appreciated.
New wood burning insert
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Are those prices just for the unit or installed?? I am assuming that is just the price of the stove. I just went thru the same process and the same stoves.
The search feature is your friend. That being said... Need more info such as size/type of house, new/old construction, primary heat/ or as suplement?
Basically the jotul 350 is very small insert rated up to I think 1200Sq.ft .You dont want to go too small .The avalon or the xp33 elite by xtrodanair. Same stove diffrent faceplate.
is in the 1200-2000Sq.ft size, much larger firebox. You can always damp down the fire, but with the smaller stove you can only get out so much heat.
I ended up going for the Xp33 Elite, another two weeks for the install though : (.
Prices seem on the high side( if they dont include installation and the liner). I am paying 3k for the stove, figure another 1.2-2K on the installl, liner insuation etc.
You will find a plethora of infomation on this site, and the members will bend over backwords to help you with questions.
The search feature is your friend. That being said... Need more info such as size/type of house, new/old construction, primary heat/ or as suplement?
Basically the jotul 350 is very small insert rated up to I think 1200Sq.ft .You dont want to go too small .The avalon or the xp33 elite by xtrodanair. Same stove diffrent faceplate.
is in the 1200-2000Sq.ft size, much larger firebox. You can always damp down the fire, but with the smaller stove you can only get out so much heat.
I ended up going for the Xp33 Elite, another two weeks for the install though : (.
Prices seem on the high side( if they dont include installation and the liner). I am paying 3k for the stove, figure another 1.2-2K on the installl, liner insuation etc.
You will find a plethora of infomation on this site, and the members will bend over backwords to help you with questions.
Sounds like the hearth is already undersized. You will need to have 18" in front of the new insert. That's not as bad as it sounds, there are usually several solutions to extend it.
Is this a prefab setup or an existing gas s fire place I have never seen a masonry fireplace with only a 4" hearth
No doubt inflation has hit wood stoves! But the installation is what has really soared, because it used to not be required to line the chimney fully - so that adds about $1000 and sometimes more to the game.
The key is to research BEFORE you buy. I have been seeing a lot of folks here lately posting AFTER they make a purchase. While we can help with installation and operation advice, it's better to start with stove sizing and use. So, what type of fireplace (masonry or metal), what area are you looking to heat, and do you have a big woodpile and access to a lot - or are you looking for just evening/weekend kind of use. These are all important variables.
The key is to research BEFORE you buy. I have been seeing a lot of folks here lately posting AFTER they make a purchase. While we can help with installation and operation advice, it's better to start with stove sizing and use. So, what type of fireplace (masonry or metal), what area are you looking to heat, and do you have a big woodpile and access to a lot - or are you looking for just evening/weekend kind of use. These are all important variables.
Ripleyrr said:
I bought the larger Jotul C450 for $2145 in March 2007 and installed it myself. My liner kit and insulation cost me about $650. The C450 is super and heats really well. Also, the Jotul and the VC Winter Warm Large are the best looking inserts on the market. How large is your house and is it ranch or what? Also, is the $3200 just for the stove? Reason I ask is that I'm in SW or SW central Ohio (Dayton area) and was wondering what they're getting for just the stove?
First I have to say thanks for all the responses and information. Now on to the insert---The prices are just for insert,,, no delivery or anything at all. I also thought the Jotul seemed too small and the shop wasn't knowledgable about installation or very helpful with questions so had put that on back burner. Our house is large (3100 sq. ft. trilevel) but the heat/ac bills are pretty good so mostly looking for enjoying fire with family. We've had both insert and prefab fireplaces before and used the prefab for enjoyment and the insert for heat. No one here enough to use for main heat now so looking for the enjoymnet of fire without loosing too much up chimney. Last house for us,,,, getting up in age,, so we hope to get this right the first time. Fireplace is masonary and plan to use one of the extenders in front during the winter for insert use. Had three chimney folks look at putting in the ss liner. $1095 installed and hooked up to insert is the one I plan to use. "Master of Fire" said from Dayton area--- us too (Centerville). Guess I should have said SW Ohio. Went to shops in Cincinnati area over weekend and got the prices. The Jotul sales person wasn't very helpful and didn't mention sizes at all. Think the 4 inch hearth and not wanting the front of insert to hang over that was the reason for only quoting the 350 Winterport. We have plenty of wood access (17acres) though a 2 hour drive away but all the tools to do the job and haul home and have done so for the past several years. Guess evening/weekend use would be the best description. Considered doing the liner myself (have done most types DIY jobs without problems over the years) but time is a bit limited and seemed a little experience might be nice in making sure was insulated properly. Fireplace opening is 34 1/2 W, 28 1/2 H, and 28D. Firebox is same W. at rear with taper inward after 16 inch rise. Thanks again for all the input...... Great site.
The previous fire experience was in other houses. Recently bought this one.
The previous fire experience was in other houses. Recently bought this one.
[/quote]Greg, is that you.Good luck with that stove i think you will be very happy with it.[/quote]
Yes its me. Thanks for the info. You have me thinking I could almost do the liner install my self. Almost thinking going 5.5 " liner with insulation, rather then 6" and having issues getting it down the chimney.
GM
Yes its me. Thanks for the info. You have me thinking I could almost do the liner install my self. Almost thinking going 5.5 " liner with insulation, rather then 6" and having issues getting it down the chimney.
GM
Greg, is that you.Good luck with that stove i think you will be very happy with it.[/quote]
Yes its me. Thanks for the info. You have me thinking I could almost do the liner install my self. Almost thinking going 5.5 " liner with insulation, rather then 6" and having issues getting it down the chimney.
GM[/quote]Since you have a 25ft run on that stack i would think you will be ok with 5.5
and insulation on top of that you should have good draft. :coolsmile:
Yes its me. Thanks for the info. You have me thinking I could almost do the liner install my self. Almost thinking going 5.5 " liner with insulation, rather then 6" and having issues getting it down the chimney.
GM[/quote]Since you have a 25ft run on that stack i would think you will be ok with 5.5
and insulation on top of that you should have good draft. :coolsmile:
Can you post a photo? That 4" hearth has me concerned, but perhaps I'm not visualizing this correctly.
Sorry guys. Got called back to work last week and haven't been on the computer last several days. Will try to post picture of the fireplace tomorrow. Wife is asleep and dig. camera is on the nightstand. Spend last 2 days stripping the latex paint from inside the firebox. As I said before, appeared the previous owner had decided not to use the fireplace anymore. Lookslike when he had new laminate flooring put in the room, he had the brick work on the front of the fireplace redone, removed the original hearth, and the 4 inch protrusion on the front of the hearth done then. It is 1/2 brick sticking out in front of the firebrick on the floor of the firebox and extending on each side to the outter edges of the brick around the opening. It is about 10 inches above the floor. Have decided to try to find matching brick and run it out about 16 inches further at the floor level. Going to cut the flooring away and put the extension right on the slab that exists in that part of the house.
Are you interested in more of a cast look on the insert or are you willing to go for a plate type one? Depending on the requirements Kuma, Blaze King and Quadrafire make some nice large inserts.
[quote author="Ripleyrr" date="1194274310""Master of Fire" said from Dayton area--- us too (Centerville). Guess I should have said SW Ohio.
The previous fire experience was in other houses. Recently bought this one.[/quote]
Rip,
Think you meant me (Castiron)...I live in Centerville 1 mile from you as the crow flies! VERY SMALL WORLD............ The "Master of Fire" is not the persons forum name but is based on the number of posts....once a person has achieved a certain number of posts they put a label below the name of "Master of Fire"....bottom line: there are a lot of "Masters of Fire".....
The previous fire experience was in other houses. Recently bought this one.[/quote]
Rip,
Think you meant me (Castiron)...I live in Centerville 1 mile from you as the crow flies! VERY SMALL WORLD............ The "Master of Fire" is not the persons forum name but is based on the number of posts....once a person has achieved a certain number of posts they put a label below the name of "Master of Fire"....bottom line: there are a lot of "Masters of Fire".....
Ripleyrr said:
Putting the brick back seems like a good plan, but as a minor note, there has been a recent change in the codes - Used to be most stoves only required 16" clearance in front of the loading doors in the US, 18" in Canada. Tne codes were changed, in part to standardize things, and now it is 18" everywhere. Not a big deal, but something you might want to keep in mind when planning your extension.
Gooserider
Thanks for info on code change. Try to work out the 18 inch. Wife just bought new persian rug based on the 16 inch measurement. Oh well, little loss in every big operation. Trying to attach photo of fireplace. Photo is 1.3 Mb. Can't include as attachment here. Be glad to send if someone gives me instruction.
Ripleyrr said:
Ouch... I can sympathize with the persian problem, although I would suggest that putting an expensive rug in front of a hearth, no matter how wide it is, is not a good idea. You will inevitably get some amount of wood trash being tracked in with the fuel, and are almost as certain to have an ember or two get out past the hearth sooner or later - it's in the nature of the beast. While those wool or other mostly non-combustible hearth rugs don't meet code, I think they are a good idea if only because they can protect more expensive / harder to repair floors with something that's more or less disposable.
On the photo, as mentioned you need to resize it - usually 640x480 and about 3/4 "quality" scale seems to work pretty well.
Another option is to use one of the various photo display sites, such as Photobucket, and just put a link to the photo or page. (going to the page works very well when you have a bunch of photos to show.)
Gooserider
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