Wood Inserts

[Grady223]

We own a summer home in NH which is used May through October. It has hydronic electric heat. I am retiring next year and will be there continuously instead of weekends. I am looking to install a wood insert to help with the heating bills. Wood is no issue, our home is on an 88 acre wooded island. I am also considering a hearth mounted stove (Jotul F-400 Castline or Hearthstone Homestead), but this post covers a question on the inserts I have been researching.

I have been recommended both a Jotul C 550 Rockland and a Quadra-Fire 5100i. They may be a little large considering the seasonal use, but I noticed something curious in my research. Both are about the same BTU output, 60,000 & 61,000 respectively. Question is, how accurate are the emissions estimates published by these manufacturers? The Jotul is listed at 4.5 grams/hr and the Quadra-Fire is listed 1.98 grams/hr. That's a big difference, is the Quadra-Fire really more than twice as clean?

Any comments on the quality of these units? Is there a preferred insert mfr?

I am told that the front to back loading of the Quadra-Fire is a nice feature.

BTW, my masonry fireplace is 38"/28" (width - front/back) X 29" (h) X 24" (d)

 

[begreen]

There is a difference in the way they burn and how well the firebox is insulated. But I wouldn't let that be the final deciding factor.

How large a home is this? Will wood heat be 24/7 primary heat or more occasional? How often does the power go out in the winter? If power outages are frequent or long, I would consider a freestanding hearth stove, but larger than the F400 or Homestead if this is a full sized house.

 

[gibson]

We own a summer home in NH which is used May through October. It has hydronic electric heat. I am retiring next year and will be there continuously instead of weekends. I am looking to install a wood insert to help with the heating bills. Wood is no issue, our home is on an 88 acre wooded island. I am also considering a hearth mounted stove (Jotul F-400 Castline or Hearthstone Homestead), but this post covers a question on the inserts I have been researching.

I have been recommended both a Jotul C 550 Rockland and a Quadra-Fire 5100i. They may be a little large considering the seasonal use, but I noticed something curious in my research. Both are about the same BTU output, 60,000 & 61,000 respectively. Question is, how accurate are the emissions estimates published by these manufacturers? The Jotul is listed at 4.5 grams/hr and the Quadra-Fire is listed 1.98 grams/hr. That's a big difference, is the Quadra-Fire really more than twice as clean?

Any comments on the quality of these units? Is there a preferred insert mfr?

I am told that the front to back loading of the Quadra-Fire is a nice feature.

BTW, my masonry fireplace is 38"/28" (width - front/back) X 29" (h) X 24" (d)

Sunapee, Winnipesaukee, Squam, Newfound? I love it up there. Went to school in Plymouth, did a summer living in Sunapee.

 

[weatherguy]

Grady must be drowning his sorrows, the yaaaaaankees lose, the yaaaaankees lose.
Nice to see some new teams this year in the WS.

 

[Grady223]

There is a difference in the way they burn and how well the firebox is insulated. But I wouldn't let that be the final deciding factor.

How large a home is this? Will wood heat be 24/7 primary heat or more occasional? How often does the power go out in the winter? If power outages are frequent or long, I would consider a freestanding hearth stove, but larger than the F400 or Homestead if this is a full sized house.

The home is about 1,600 sq. ft. The fireplace is in the great room which is 2 stories and opens to a balcony upon which all of the upstairs rooms (4 bedroom, 2 baths) open. We also have electric heat so I would say it would be used 24/7 during colder weather. The house is only open May through October, so the weather is midl when comapred to NH winters. During heating times, days would average mid fifties and evenings mid thirties, could go down to forties days and twenties nights.

 

[Grady223]

We own a summer home .......That's a big difference, is the Quadra-Fire really more than twice as clean? Any comments on the quality of these units? Is there a preferred insert mfr? I am told that the front to back loading of the Quadra-Fire is a nice feature. BTW, my masonry fireplace is 38"/28" (width - front/back) X 29" (h) X 24" (d)

Sunapee, Winnipesaukee, Squam, Newfound? I love it up there. Went to school in Plymouth, did a summer living in Sunapee.

Barndoor Island, Winnipesaukee

 

[Grady223]

Grady must be drowning his sorrows, the yaaaaaankees lose, the yaaaaankees lose.
Nice to see some new teams this year in the WS.

Yes we did, played like @#$#! I guess we can't win every year, even though we expect to.

Good luck to the Rangers & Giants - Fox must be thrilled!

 

[Grady223]

There is a difference in the way they burn and how well the firebox is insulated. But I wouldn't let that be the final deciding factor.

What is the difference? Is there someplace I can get an explanation? Should I be concerned that the Jotul is twice as dirty?

 

[Grady223]

OK, the choice was between a hearth mounted stove and an insert. Recommendation from a separate string was that my situation calls for an insert. The reason is that the draft on efficient stoves vented through an existing fireplace can be a problem in warmer weather and that since this unit will only be used May and early June and late Sept. and October top notch efficiency is not a major concern. Heating season temps run 40s / 50s day and 30s / 40s eves. Can occasionally get down into the 20s at night.

As a refresher, we are in central NH, its a seasonal home, it is 1,600 sq. ft. and 14,000 cu. ft., chimney is 21.5 ft. and runs up the center of the house, fireplace is 38" W X 29" H X 24" D and is located in the Great room which is 2 stories and opens to a second story balcony with 4 BR & 2 baths off it. Great room has one wall all glass and a reversible 52" ceiling fan. House is very well insulated (6" walls, 12" ceiling). Plan is to do a full SS liner. House currently has electric baseboard, I am trying to minimize that cost and stop sending half of it up the chimney.

A local dealer has recommended a unit in the 50,000 to 60,000 BTU range.

Available locally are Jotul, Lopi, Avalon, Hearthstone, Quadrafire & Vermont Castings.

In addition to a clean burn I have been told that a quiet fan is important, but that units can be installed fan-less which can work fine. Do I go up a size in that case?

So far, I have been recommended the Jotul C 450 Kennebec or C 550 Rockland and the Quadra-Fire 3100i or 4100i.

Any other recommendations? How about the Hearthstone Clydesdale?

 

[begreen]

All of the mentioned inserts will heat the place. A good question to ask is how the stove burns in shoulder season as this will be mostly how you will be burning. Fortunately this is exactly the conditions most folks are experiencing right now.

Seems like you'll be fine with a medium sized insert. That would put it in the Jotul C450, Quad 3100 range. There are several Clydesdale owners on the forum here including in some current threads. Good insert with a big fireview. I'd also look at the Lopi 1750 and Revere inserts for a comparison.

 

[CHIMENEA]

I've been going through the same thought process. I finally think I have a model selected and then I notice the little details of emission rates on the epa list and I start thinking is this stove going to use half as much wood to get the same amount of heat. I also noticed that the stove I'm looking at with the higher efficiency had the higher G/hr which added to the confusion. Is less G/hr emission pointing to hotter burn all things being equal?