Hi everyone, new member here. I have been heating my house for 1.5 seasons now with my old (mid 90's) built in fireplace insert. Time for an upgrade to a larger, more modern unit. I have searched online pretty intensely looking for what I think I want and for now have settled on the three or so options above (but still open to suggestions). I really like the Montecito Estate because of its looks, ample size, efficiency and no expensive cat to replace. But in researching it and reading all that I could on this forum (using search function), I'm somewhat confused about making the right choice. It seems many forum members have spoken so highly of the Fireplace Extrordinair 44 Elite it's hard to choose anything but that unit. I like the way it looks, almost as much as the Montecito with nickel trim, and it's certainly big with a lot of capacity. But offhand I'm not a big fan of a catalytic converter due to its cost and need for periodic replacement (even if once every 7 years or so).
But the more I read and the more I learn it seems the cat machines may actually be cheaper in the long run than the non-cat machines. Apparently the cat allows you to turn the air down for a long slow burn at night, saving wood (and during the day as well, if desired). As the cat burns the smoke, the flammable gases that otherwise would escape unburned up the flu creates a second source of heat (other than the primary flame). So this means the amount of wood you need to produce the same amount of heat is significantly reduced. Which directly means:
(1) You spend less time shuttling wood in and out of the house and into the firebox.
(2) You spend less time and hard labor cutting, splitting, transporting and stacking firewood because you need less each year than you otherwise would. This directly means you also save money on the associated expenses in transportation, logsplitter and chainsaw maintenance/depreciation (for cutting your own wood) AND/OR saving you money that you would have to pay someone else to deliver the pre-cut wood to you (about $175 cord in my area).
(3) Since the cat system burns so clean, almost no creosote is deposited on your flu liner, theoretically meaning you would need your chimney serviced/cleaned less often - possibly cutting your chimney cleaning expenses in half or better(?).
Combining these money saving advantages (not even accounting for your labor savings), I can very easily see where this could save a couple thousand dollars for a person who uses a fireplace to heat a house of approx 2300 sqft (with minimal heat pump usage) over the lifespan of a catalytic converter, which apparently last on average about 7 years(?). And from what I can tell, a new cat costs about $500 to replace (in today's dollars, I'm sure due to inflation and the precious metals within them they'll be more later). So doing the math it seems the addition of a cat even though it is costly to replace, is well worth it in the long run (not even considering environmental concerns). This is what I "think" I've learned reading the archived messages on this forum. Please correct me if I'm wrong or have gone down the wrong path here.
So the natural question that arises after this cat revelation: are the more efficient non-cat fireplaces like the Montecito with the secondary burn chamber comparable to the cat machines in heat output? And what about the slow burn mode where the oxygen supply is restricted? Will this tend to gunk up the stove and flu in a way that would warrant much more frequent professional cleanings? What do you think about the long term cost/benefit scenario of the better non-cat machines compared to the catalytic machine as described above?
And what about the newer Extrordinair Elite 36? That looks like a nice size fireplace, perhaps more appropriate for my needs than the bigger 44. I know it's newer though, any feedback on these units yet? And I cant seem to find pricing on any of these units online. How much can I look forward to paying for one of these fireplaces? Thanks in advance for any and all help. I'm kind of in a mad rush to get this figured out, as I have to tell my contractor which model I want pretty soon.
But the more I read and the more I learn it seems the cat machines may actually be cheaper in the long run than the non-cat machines. Apparently the cat allows you to turn the air down for a long slow burn at night, saving wood (and during the day as well, if desired). As the cat burns the smoke, the flammable gases that otherwise would escape unburned up the flu creates a second source of heat (other than the primary flame). So this means the amount of wood you need to produce the same amount of heat is significantly reduced. Which directly means:
(1) You spend less time shuttling wood in and out of the house and into the firebox.
(2) You spend less time and hard labor cutting, splitting, transporting and stacking firewood because you need less each year than you otherwise would. This directly means you also save money on the associated expenses in transportation, logsplitter and chainsaw maintenance/depreciation (for cutting your own wood) AND/OR saving you money that you would have to pay someone else to deliver the pre-cut wood to you (about $175 cord in my area).
(3) Since the cat system burns so clean, almost no creosote is deposited on your flu liner, theoretically meaning you would need your chimney serviced/cleaned less often - possibly cutting your chimney cleaning expenses in half or better(?).
Combining these money saving advantages (not even accounting for your labor savings), I can very easily see where this could save a couple thousand dollars for a person who uses a fireplace to heat a house of approx 2300 sqft (with minimal heat pump usage) over the lifespan of a catalytic converter, which apparently last on average about 7 years(?). And from what I can tell, a new cat costs about $500 to replace (in today's dollars, I'm sure due to inflation and the precious metals within them they'll be more later). So doing the math it seems the addition of a cat even though it is costly to replace, is well worth it in the long run (not even considering environmental concerns). This is what I "think" I've learned reading the archived messages on this forum. Please correct me if I'm wrong or have gone down the wrong path here.
So the natural question that arises after this cat revelation: are the more efficient non-cat fireplaces like the Montecito with the secondary burn chamber comparable to the cat machines in heat output? And what about the slow burn mode where the oxygen supply is restricted? Will this tend to gunk up the stove and flu in a way that would warrant much more frequent professional cleanings? What do you think about the long term cost/benefit scenario of the better non-cat machines compared to the catalytic machine as described above?
And what about the newer Extrordinair Elite 36? That looks like a nice size fireplace, perhaps more appropriate for my needs than the bigger 44. I know it's newer though, any feedback on these units yet? And I cant seem to find pricing on any of these units online. How much can I look forward to paying for one of these fireplaces? Thanks in advance for any and all help. I'm kind of in a mad rush to get this figured out, as I have to tell my contractor which model I want pretty soon.
