Hi, just wanted to follow up with resolution to my original post. Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my questions.
At the end of this summer we went through with the install of the Osburn Stratford. My main concern was the location of the fireplace we were replacing and the compartmentalization of our ranch style house. Afraid that the den would be too hot and the rest of the house too cold, we followed the advice of Begreen and chose the Stratford with the forced air kit.
We demo'd the old unit ourselves. The install was done professionally by an area installer that has been around for years. We had the forced air kit installed with the max 50 foot run which put it almsot right in the middle of our long ranch. For the most part this all went smooth without any major issues. That said, there was an issue with the overlays and doors on the unit. The overlays are attached to the door via 4 tapped holes which secure from the inside of the door via screws. The first two sets of overlays did not line up with the holes in the doors. The dealer then asked for new doors which didnt line up still with any of the overlays previously sent. The issue was finally rectified by Osburn when they delivered doors and overlays assembled at the factory. Also, breakin fires were painful in this unit. The mositure in the refractory panels was so high we had water running down the inside of the glass (which was pitch black and took forever to clean.)
The unseasonably warm fall this year built up the suspense on how burning would go. I have to say i was relieved when i discovered how well the forced air kit worked. Ive been able to run the unit hot, relying on the inline fan to pull cold air over the unit and out to the central part of the house where it vents. The den is the warmest room of course, but a comfortable warm (i haven't measured yet, but would guess 78-82, tshirt and pants, havent had to crack a window yet). The thermostat, in the hall near the bedrooms ranges anywhere from 75 (outside in the 30s) to 68 (outside temp -5). At night i run the furnace fan to keep bedrooms with closed doors comfortable.
All in all, it turned out to be a sustainable project and I'm not blowing us out of the house with too much heat. Even better, im able to heat the house decently with our setup.
Attached some pics of the demo and finished product.
At the end of this summer we went through with the install of the Osburn Stratford. My main concern was the location of the fireplace we were replacing and the compartmentalization of our ranch style house. Afraid that the den would be too hot and the rest of the house too cold, we followed the advice of Begreen and chose the Stratford with the forced air kit.
We demo'd the old unit ourselves. The install was done professionally by an area installer that has been around for years. We had the forced air kit installed with the max 50 foot run which put it almsot right in the middle of our long ranch. For the most part this all went smooth without any major issues. That said, there was an issue with the overlays and doors on the unit. The overlays are attached to the door via 4 tapped holes which secure from the inside of the door via screws. The first two sets of overlays did not line up with the holes in the doors. The dealer then asked for new doors which didnt line up still with any of the overlays previously sent. The issue was finally rectified by Osburn when they delivered doors and overlays assembled at the factory. Also, breakin fires were painful in this unit. The mositure in the refractory panels was so high we had water running down the inside of the glass (which was pitch black and took forever to clean.)
The unseasonably warm fall this year built up the suspense on how burning would go. I have to say i was relieved when i discovered how well the forced air kit worked. Ive been able to run the unit hot, relying on the inline fan to pull cold air over the unit and out to the central part of the house where it vents. The den is the warmest room of course, but a comfortable warm (i haven't measured yet, but would guess 78-82, tshirt and pants, havent had to crack a window yet). The thermostat, in the hall near the bedrooms ranges anywhere from 75 (outside in the 30s) to 68 (outside temp -5). At night i run the furnace fan to keep bedrooms with closed doors comfortable.
All in all, it turned out to be a sustainable project and I'm not blowing us out of the house with too much heat. Even better, im able to heat the house decently with our setup.
Attached some pics of the demo and finished product.
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