A couple of questions

[nimrod]

Hello all. I'm in the market for a wood insert for my fireplace and I have developed some questions that I hope the folks here can help me with. First of all my home is a 1100 sq. ft. Rancher on slab. the room that has the fireplace in it is 240 sq. ft. The fireplace is centrally located in the house.
What should I be looking for in a insert? Should I stick to the heating capacitys given for a unit? for example (1200 to 2400 sq. ft.). Couldn"t I just get any size insert that I want, and then just not build the fire so big that it forces me out of the house? Also what about fire box size and maximum log length. Should I try to get the biggest Firebox and maximum log length capacity that I can get? Most manufacturers have a burn time rating, I'm guessing that the burn time is related to the size of the fire box.
Thanks for any help ...Joe.

 

[BJ64]

Greetings, welcome and all that good stuff!

I'm not any kind of expert nor am I much of a knowledgeable person, but I can tell you some of what I have learned from reading quite a few post here. Besides that the guy that post below me is going to be a nut case.

I suppose you could "down load" the insert and be ok, but there are two things to consider.

These units operate their best when they are allowed to burn with the air wide open. With a big unit you will find yourself running it with the air choked down. That tends to soot up the chimney more that you might like.

The second is price, which may not be an issue in your case.

Over all, I think matching the unit to the house will give you better satisfaction, safety, and efficiency. I think you would be happier with the right size unit than one that is too big.

 

[thebeatlesrgood]

Besides that the guy that post below me is going to be a nut case.

:ahhh: blahhhh blueee bleee grrrr :snake:

what nutcase??? 8-/

usually stoves will run around 1000-1400 or 2000-2400 square feet. you said that your stove is centrally located (or if it wasnt you can setup some heat distribution fans) so i think the 1000-1400 range would be perfect. as bj64 said a big stove is designed to perform most efficiently by providing BIG heat. you could choke it down to accommodate your house but risk creosote. or you could be blown out of the room by high heats.

as long as you arent getting too many huge pieces of wood you should be ok with the smaller loglength capacity. my stove advertises 20 inch but i can get 25 inch splits in if i shimmy it in the right way, anything else and i have a chop saw in the garage.

 

[begreen]

First consideration is that the insert must fit the fireplace. If this is a zero-clearance fireplace there are additional compatibility constraints.

Second consideration is the house and room size. There does come a point where the stove size is overkill to the point of affecting efficiency. If the fire must always be small, then the stove is not going to be running at peak efficiency. For your size home I would look at 2 cu ft inserts. There are a lot of choices depending on the fireplace size, features desired and aesthetics. Burn times from the manufacturers are often marketing blurbs. With a 2 cu ft insert, like the PE Pacific, you are going to get good overnight burns when the temps are low enough that you can run a full load of wood. During fall and spring, you'll be doing shorter, hot fires and letting the stove go out.

 

[nimrod]

Thanks for the replies fellows. Now I'll have a little better understanding of what I'm looking for.
I went to my local dealer and he sells Osburn units. Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[Dix]

Nim, my experience was that it was better to hit a few local, or semi local dealers, to get a better feel for things.

Educate yourself here, then go armed, it'll get easier after the first 2 X's, trust me. You'll KNOW when you're being led down the wrong path Because you can always ask a question here, and get some good advice.

Bring FP dimensions, house layout, that kinda stuff, and don't be afraid to ask questions !

Check out the PE line, my FP is in a central chimney. I wanted the Pacific to heat the main house (it also has a 550 SF acessory apartment) of 1500 SF. I have learned quite quickly that it will do the job. AND I have also learned that with playing with small fans & ceiling fans that I can probably heat this entire house with just the insert, unless it's brutal outside, but even then, we'd be warm, just not toasty !

I'm sure others will chime in with their insert opinions !

Happy shopping, and welcome

*Edited because at my age, I should know how to type !*

 

[BrotherBart]

Not that a Texan would EVER argue with an Oakie but modern EPA stoves are not designed to be run with primary air dampers wide open all of the time. >:-(