Quadrafire Voyager, Hearthstone Clydsdale, or Jotul 450?

[toofab]

After this cold harsh winter in upstate NY we have decided to search for a new wood burning insert.
We have a 2000 sq. ft classic colonial, and are looking to supplement our heat. I'm just looking for some reviews on the inserts, any info good or bad to help us make an educated purchase!

We are stuck btwn the

Quadrafire Voyager
Hearthstone Clydsdale
Jotul 450
possible Morso 5660

Any info would be helpful!
TIA

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Those are all good stoves. It may come down to what will fit in your fireplace. I would probably lean towards the Jotul or Hearthstone, only because I've had a lot of experience and positive feedback from customers on those.

 

[certified106]

Its hard to go wrong with a jotul or a hearthstone as they are both top notch. Have you looked at the pacific energy inserts at all as they seem really well built also. I am not real familiar with quadrafire stoves as I don't know anyone around here that has one.

 

[toofab]

thank you for your replies and recommendations. I will look into the pacific energy, there isn't a dealer all that close, but maybe we'll make a road trip and check them out. I'm a little concerned that the clydsdale is going to cook us out of the room, but i do love the look and feel of it.

 

[begreen]

You're off to a good start. They're all good inserts. Connected to a decent liner, they should provide good, trouble free heat.

How large is the room where the insert will be installed? How open it is to the rest of the house?

 

[toofab]

the room is 13 x 18 ish and there are 2 4' openings on the wall opposite the woodburning insert. I really appreciate all the help!

 

[jtp10181]

Check your measurements before you get too invested / excited. The Voyageur takes a deeper firebox than a lot of other inserts. It was a new model for Quad this past season and it was a hot seller, we put more of those in than any other insert this past season and a couple people waited 2 months to get one after all the stock ran out. I have not had any complaints or issues really, just one bad weld on a control lever, easily fixed and under warranty.

 

[toofab]

The voyager is beautiful! I measured my firebox first, and the voyager definitely fits This is why the decision is so hard, so many of them fit in the fire box! Thank you again, i've read some of the reviews on here from the clydesdale and those reviews seem to be pretty good. I haven't found as many reviews on the voyager, and hardly any on morso.

 

[Fsappo]

thank you for your replies and recommendations. I will look into the pacific energy, there isn't a dealer all that close, but maybe we'll make a road trip and check them out. I'm a little concerned that the clydsdale is going to cook us out of the room, but i do love the look and feel of it.

The Clydesdale has a nice huge glass and a very steady comfy kind of heat? Where in Upstate NY? I can probably give you numbers of a few customers that have them where you could go see them in operation.

 

[certified106]

thank you for your replies and recommendations. I will look into the pacific energy, there isn't a dealer all that close, but maybe we'll make a road trip and check them out. I'm a little concerned that the clydsdale is going to cook us out of the room, but i do love the look and feel of it.

The Clydesdale is a definitely a beautiful insert from the one I have seen it seems like it burns well. You can always build a smaller fire if you are worried about the heat output.

 

[Eaglecraft]

thank you for your replies and recommendations. I will look into the pacific energy, there isn't a dealer all that close, but maybe we'll make a road trip and check them out. I'm a little concerned that the clydsdale is going to cook us out of the room, but i do love the look and feel of it.

I have a Clydesdale - one season of heating experience with it. I too was concerned about too much heat output. Not to worry. The Clydesdale can throw out a considerable amount of heat, or a small amount of heat.

There are three variables that can be adjusted to get just the right amount of heat out of the unit: 1) the blower fan adjustment, 2) the air damper; and 3) the amount of wood that you place in the firebox. At low fan speed, the amount of heat that is delivered is substantially reduced. This is a characteristic of inserts in that they do not radiate as much heat as a hearth stove. At mid and high fan speeds, the unit will produce a lot of heat. Secondly, the air damper adjusts the firebox "fire" from low, to medium, to high. This seems to be the tricky part of adjusting most wood stoves - getting the air adjustment right so that's it's not too hot, but not too low. I have learned that if you want a lot of heat, put in more wood in the firebox. If you want less heat, put in less wood. The Clydesdale can take a reasonable charge of wood, but not as much as some of the big hearth stoves.

So after you have used your stove for a year or two, you can come up with the right combination to get that warm, even heat that you are looking for.

P.S. Always burn dry wood. That's one variable that you don't want to change. And see the photo of my installation.

 

[jtp10181]

Is that a tile extension on the floor below? With wood shoe trim in the hearth protection zone ?

 

[TMonter]

You can't go wrong with the Quadrafire either as I've had mine for 8 Years now and it works great still. Although I would go for a 3100i or 4100i over the Voyager because of the firebox size though I'm betting you like the cast iron appearance of the Voyager.

 

[begreen]

I think the shoe is more than safe. That 14+" of free air has to count for something. Nice job vm.

 

[Eaglecraft]

Is that a tile extension on the floor below? With wood shoe trim in the hearth protection zone ?

The black floor protection is 1/4 powder coated steel, over 1/2 Micore, over galvanized sheetmetal. When looking straight down over the hearth extension, the bullnose tile "covers" the 1/2 inch trim piece. After studying the code requirements, I conclude that the installation meets code.

 

[Fsappo]

Very cool job on the hearth, Vole

 

[summit]

I'd also check out the newest offering from enviro.. their new boston insert is amazing!