Pacific Energy owners / Insert Owners

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f700

Member
Jan 8, 2008
45
New Hampshire
I am new to the stove market and am looking for advice. The room I want to put my stove in is 576 sq ft. It has 12 foot ceilings and is attached to the main house which is 1800 sq. ft. The opening to the house is about 4 ft wide. I am looking at either the Jotul Castine or the Oslo. Question, do you think the Oslo will be to big? I don't want the family room to be a sauna. At this point, I am not looking for this as a primary heat source, but with oil prices, it maybe some day. Thoughts or other recommendations for stoves?
 
I am looking for opinions on the Pacific Energy Pacific Insert. My real questions are, how well does it really heat. Does it meat the claims as far as heating the specified square footage? Or if you did this, do you wish you put a free standing stove in instead. With the advice I have received so far on this forum, the insert is the easiest as I can put it into my ZC fireplace. I know if I go the stove route I have to run all new Class A 2100 degree chimmney and redo my heart (which isn't a problem) but I am looking to get the most efficient use of the wood. If I go stove route, I am going Jotul Oslo. Opinions....thoughts?
 
Both choices are good. The Pacific is a great heater with a strong reputation for long burn times. The Oslo is a great looker. A couple things to watch for with a stove on the hearth are the mantle clearance and the Oslo side door. The hearth will need to be large enough to accommodate this stove safely. But the F500 will have the advantage of working better in power outages if they are frequent in your area. If you have a generator, then maybe not a big deal. Go with what you like the best.
 
Well that is funny you mention that...never really thought of the power outage thing. but knock on wood, we really don't lose power that often.
 
Hi F 700, I have been using my F 500 for two months and heat 2100 sq.ft., 24/7. The stove is centally located and the second floor has cathedral ceilings with four skylights. When temps last week were -5 in the morning, the thermostat for the furnace was set at 66* and the furnace cycled a few times early in the morning. The stove is a great heater I and am very happy with it. It is also great having two doors, especially the side door for loading. As for your situation, I think that unless you find a way to move the heat from the room the stove is in, that room will be very warm. Hope this helps and good luck with your choice.

Jim
 
Well, getting pretty close to pulling the trigger on my insert. After carefull thought and deliberation, I have decided between:

Pacific Energy Pacific Insert
Hampton Insert
Lopi Rever Insert.


I realize all are good, but looking for honest feedback from users. I am leaning towards the Pacific as it appears to get somewhat better reviews. My house is 2300 sq. ft, so I want to get as much heat as possilble since I can't go larger than these. Feed back appreciated.
 
Obviously I am partial to PE, but all are great choices from what I read.
Why so small? is that all the fireplace will accept?
Realize, an insert that small might not heat the home. But should put a good amount of heat out.
 
My brother just put in an Avalon Ranier (similar to the Revere I believe) and it heats like crazy! I'm sure if you were to PM him, he'd answer any questions you might have.
 
JMF1 said:
My brother just put in an Avalon Ranier (similar to the Revere I believe) and it heats like crazy! I'm sure if you were to PM him, he'd answer any questions you might have.

And he would do that how? Without your bro's hearth.com handle.
 
You need a zero clearance approved insert for a zero clearance fireplace.
 
A real size check on any stove or insert is the EPA Efficiency Tag Every new stove has to have one when sold. Stoves are tested the same for these numbers. They will be smaller than a manufactures numbers. This is another way to compare inserts, as with fire box volume bigger is better in both cases.
 
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