Shopping Wood Inserts, 1,000 Sq Ft, Am I On The Right Track?

[tidmack]

I'm new to the forum, but have spent MANY hours reading and sorting through the various opinions here. I'm hoping a few of you can chime in to see if I'm on the right track for a wood insert for my home. Attached is a photo of my current setup. the brick area is about 8' wide and 8' tall. Some additional background:

1,000 square foot home, ranch, 8' ceilings
Located in the Milwaukee, WI area. Winters are cold, but not nearly as cold as northern WI, Upper Michigan, MN, etc.
Looking to burn for reduced heating costs, as well as ambiance
Current, high efficiency forced air natural gas furnace works well...gas bills rarely top $120/month in winter
Looking to stay in the home long term, so quality of insert is a factor
Face/door brick opening is 32" wide, 26" tall
Box opening is 32" (front) to 26" (rear) and 23" deep

I prefer the look of a flush mount insert, so I've been gravitating toward the Travis Industries Fireplace Xtrordinare 33 Elite, Quadrafire Voyageur, or the Enerzone Destination 2.3. The Jotul Kennebec or Rockland would also be possibilities in my area, too. There are other brands offered by different installers, but these are the ones offered from the two installers who most impressed me.

I'm nervous that I'm leaning toward oversized inserts. I fear that my house will be 74F+ in order for me to maintain a good, efficient burn in the insert if I decide to heat the home with the insert.

However, I really like the increased amount of glass and level of visibility with these slightly larger units, compared to their smaller siblings in the lineups.

Am I significantly oversized for my house, or will I be ok? I've read the reviews page, but is there anything about one of the units above that's particularly good, or not so good? I've been in this home for 11 years and have no plans to move, so I'd like to get this purchase right the first time.

Thank you for any input, it's appreciated.

Jeff

 

[begreen]

Based on the description I would stick with an insert in the 2 cu ft range.

 

[PabloS]

I'm new to the forum, but have spent MANY hours reading and sorting through the various opinions here. I'm hoping a few of you can chime in to see if I'm on the right track for a wood insert for my home. Attached is a photo of my current setup. the brick area is about 8' wide and 8' tall. Some additional background:

1,000 square foot home, ranch, 8' ceilings
Located in the Milwaukee, WI area. Winters are cold, but not nearly as cold as northern WI, Upper Michigan, MN, etc.
Looking to burn for reduced heating costs, as well as ambiance
Current, high efficiency forced air natural gas furnace works well...gas bills rarely top $120/month in winter
Looking to stay in the home long term, so quality of insert is a factor
Face/door brick opening is 32" wide, 26" tall
Box opening is 32" (front) to 26" (rear) and 23" deep

I prefer the look of a flush mount insert, so I've been gravitating toward the Travis Industries Fireplace Xtrordinare 33 Elite, Quadrafire Voyageur, or the Enerzone Destination 2.3. The Jotul Kennebec or Rockland would also be possibilities in my area, too. There are other brands offered by different installers, but these are the ones offered from the two installers who most impressed me.

I'm nervous that I'm leaning toward oversized inserts. I fear that my house will be 74F+ in order for me to maintain a good, efficient burn in the insert if I decide to heat the home with the insert.

However, I really like the increased amount of glass and level of visibility with these slightly larger units, compared to their smaller siblings in the lineups.

Am I significantly oversized for my house, or will I be ok? I've read the reviews page, but is there anything about one of the units above that's particularly good, or not so good? I've been in this home for 11 years and have no plans to move, so I'd like to get this purchase right the first time.

Thank you for any input, it's appreciated.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I saw your post and am pretty much in the same situation as you explained above except my home is 1,800 sq. feet. I am curious to know if you bought an insert and what model you went with. I am torn between Lopi, Jotul and Quadra-Fire Voyageur. I live in Madison!

Thanks,

Paul

 

[begreen]

PabloS, unless your insert will be in a closed off room I think you will want to go larger than Jeff. If the stove room is open to the rest of the house I would be looking at 2.5 to 3.0 cu ft inserts. If it will fit the 2.5 cu ft Hearthstone Clydesdale or Enviro Boston (or Kodiak) 1700 are good models as is the Osburn 2000 and Regency i2400 or Quad Voyageur Grand. In large inserts consider the Pacific Energy Summit, Regency i3100, Osburn 2400, and Lopi Freedom.

If the stove area is closed off then staying in the 2.0 cu ft range is understandable.

 

[PabloS]

PabloS, unless your insert will be in a closed off room I think you will want to go larger than Jeff. If the stove room is open to the rest of the house I would be looking at 2.5 to 3.0 cu ft inserts. If it will fit the 2.5 cu ft Hearthstone Clydesdale or Enviro Boston (or Kodiak) 1700 are good models as is the Osburn 2000 and Regency i2400 or Quad Voyageur Grand. In large inserts consider the Pacific Energy Summit, Regency i3100, Osburn 2400, and Lopi Freedom.

If the stove area is closed off then staying in the 2.0 cu ft range is understandable.

 

[PabloS]

Hi begreen,

Thanks for your input. I am new to heart.com and just amazed by the kindness and wealth of knowledge here. There is so much to consider. Here are the basics so perhaps you can assist:

I am looking for an insert that will be in the main part of the house so very visible. I therefore want it to look nice so cast iron is a must and flush or close to flush would be preferred. I am in a ranch house with a pretty open floor plan with the family room, dining room and kitchen (approximately 1000). However, the back bedrooms are behind a wall and down the hallway (approximately 800 sq feet). So my total is 1800 feet. I just put insulation in the attic (r value 60). I have a boiler with baseboard heat. I have a ceiling fan in the main area and one in each bedroom. So the house is pretty tight but the challenge will be to get some heat into the back bedrooms so there is not a huge difference in temperature, although cooler bedrooms is still preferred. I don't plan to heat the house solely from wood, at least for now, but I want this as a possibility in the future.

Do I size the insert for the 1,000 feet or for the total 1,800?. I don't want to overheat the 1000 and have the 800 cold so I need to choose wisely here I would guess? How to move heat around is probably another thread. Especially without ducts. The heating capacity (sq. foot) and btu seems is so variable that it is hard to know how serious I should consider this? I want a box over 2 cu feet so I can have long burns.

I am considering jotul (kennebec or rockland), quadra-fire (grand voyageur or regular voyageur) or Lopi Cape Cod. They all seem really good so difficult to choose. Are these all reputable companies/models?

Many other questions but any thoughts you or the rest of the experts on this board have would certainly be appreciated.

P

 

[begreen]

Take some time to look at past posts on heating a ranch home and flush inserts. There are many threads about moving the heat to the back hallway and bedrooms in ranches. Search on "ranch". Basically it requires moving the cold air from the back of the house to the stove room. This will pull the heat toward the colder areas and will keep the stove room from overheating. Flush inserts are more dependent on the blower than those the protrude a bit into the room. The more the insert sticks out into the room the better it will convect naturally without a blower. Based on the description, in addition to the Quad Grand Voyageur, if they will fit, take a look at the Enviro Boston 1700 and the Hampton i300 inserts. They are both very good looking

 

[lml999]

Flush inserts are more dependent on the blower than those the protrude a bit into the room. The more the insert sticks out into the room the better it will convect naturally without a blower.

I've been running the Kodiak Enviro 1200 insert for about 6 or 7 years and found that once I installed a blocking plate and insulated the chimney, I really didn't need the blower. The smaller Enviro sticks out just far enough, about 8 inches or so, to be able to put a half kettle on the top surface.

The blower will circulate the heat more quickly, but once the room gets up to temperature, I didn't find the need for the added noise.

Good point on the flush inserts...we're moving and I'm considering options for our new fireplace. While I like the Enviro, I'm looking for a longer burn time from a cat stove. Wish the BK freestanding stoves had a rear flue option! I'm going to take some measurements Friday at our house inspection...but I think I'm limited to a small free standing stove (smaller than the Ashford 30 for instance, or another brand with a rear flue) or one of the new BK inserts. Right now I'm leaning toward the Ashford 25 insert...