Cat WB insert owner, building new house - Looking at WB fireplaces Quad 7100 or FPX Elite 44

[laxin213]

Building 2500 sq walkout ranch. Chase is mostly centrally located in house. Upstate NY. Chase and house are framed (August 2017), starting to do rough trades. Move in expect April 2018. 2x4 with fiberglass plus 1.5" zip system. Andersen 400 windows, truss for extra attic insulation. forced hot air (gas to heat primary and DIY-ish radiant in slab in basement for walkout for all the heat loss that comes with walkout ranches.

Everything is adding up costs wise. The fireplace was the focal of great room open to kitchen (and house). Chase is 7'x2.5' and looked at big boys, first the travis / fpx elite 36. Dealer I like is talking me into elite 44 (Room is cathedral scissor truss and like 40' x 35' (great room, kitchen, foyer, dining all open). Chase interior is 16' to ceiling and total length estimated at 24'-26'

I am on my 5th yr burning with a cat FireplaceX LFA in current house which I had a million questions on, and have gotten wealth of knowledge on this site on burning (so thank you all esp. the mods). I like how it runs, cat is still good. I have local dealer sweep and inspect annually, and it produces about a large coffee cup full of fine granular black soot on annual sweep... No issues with current insert, and I like Travis and dealer. I burned at first full time 2 yr (4 cords) and last 2 yrs part time (2 cords each yr). I am sitting on about 8 cords and I am a few yrs ahead. The dry wood seasoned has made all the difference and my learning curve in what I am doing running the insert. Just took some practice.

So here's my dilemma. 2013 was insert installed in my current house - it was $450 to install it and about 4k for insert, pipe, cap, etc. lets say $4500 total or so. I can live with that figure although at the time it was and still is a lot of $$....

Fast Forward to today. Builder drops in 3k gas fireplaces all the time. Allowance is 3k for Fireplaces typically... I'm sitting at triple that, hefty overage to have to deal with...

My dealer is quoting me out for the elite 44 and I got sticker shock:
44 elite unit (5192)
plain double doors and artisan face (1658)
pipe, collars, cap (965)
stainless chase top (695)
install (1000)
$9,510

If I went with the plain face I'm at very close to $9,000. I got a quote from another dealer on a quadrafire 7100 for $8700 for unit, pipe, chase top, cap, install, etc. Am I getting killed having them put these in this time of year? With everything with the house, we've just been looking at a million things, I let the fireplace go because I knew what I wanted and was knowledgeable with local dealer and product. Are there any other large FP's I should get quoted before I pull the trigger and go with local dealer? Next closest Travis dealer is a good 1.5hr drive, I was thinking I could have him quote it out. On the review section of the website, I'm seeing people paying about 10 yrs ago about 5k for this fireplace, has it really doubled in cost?

 

[webby3650]

From what I gather, you have a FPX 33 insert currently? The 44 elite is a lot more involved and a lot more expense. Seems a little high, but not off the charts.

Being centrally located, The 44-36 elites are almost impossible to install properly. Theres no way to run the 2 cooling vents, or mount the remote blower on an outside wall in most cases.

The new 42 Apex FPX has a lot of neat features. It does not need the cooling vents, so it can be installed centrally.

 

[laxin213]

From what I gather, you have a FPX 33 insert currently?.

Yes that is correct.

Thank you for the reply. I’m most concerned with the cooling vents, page 13 of the manual. The closest exterior wall is 13’ to the south or 16’ west. I read through the manual and it sounds like they want you to use outside air, but attic air is possible based on local code... happen to know the diameter of the cooling vent line?

Thanks for the apex recommendation








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[webby3650]

happen to know the diameter of the cooling vent line?

The cooling vents are 7”

 

[dBrad]

I understand your predicament - we're in the midst of a new build as well. For our centrally-located fireplace we went with the Quadrafire 7100 from a local dealer and they had no problem running the required venting to the outside (3 runs - 2 for the 7100 and 1 that cools the pipe). They just used flexible duct (I would have preferred rigid but it was done before I got there that day) and ran them about 15' to an exterior wall. I paid about $1500 less than you were quoted, but he also got more business from me which generally helps to lower bids (he did our outdoor fireplace as well).

 

[mminor]

Hi dBrad - how do you like your QF7100 so far?

I just had a Northstar (same unit as 7100, only smaller) installed in my house and like it so far. But Temps have only dipped to the 40's at night in my part of Long Island NY.

Also, I don't understand your outside vents (three of them). I have one vent for the outside air kit bringing air into the firebox and that is it. Can you explain the design of the 7100?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[dBrad]

Hi dBrad - how do you like your QF7100 so far?

I just had a Northstar (same unit as 7100, only smaller) installed in my house and like it so far. But Temps have only dipped to the 40's at night in my part of Long Island NY.

Also, I don't understand your outside vents (three of them). I have one vent for the outside air kit bringing air into the firebox and that is it. Can you explain the design of the 7100?

Thanks,
Matt

Matt, our chimney caps/shrouds are being installed this week so hopefully I can test out the 7100 soon. Our new house won't be complete for a few months so sadly I won't get much use out of it this winter.

Here's the info on the second air intake - it's for aux air, not combustion. In your neck of the woods they would probably not even run it outside (we're in SC). The third one cools the chimney (CAK4A).

 

[mminor]

Thanks for your explanation! That's interesting because the Northstar does not have the 'positive pressure' option. I'm guessing the option is only available with the 7100 due to its size and it being the top-of-the-line model?

I really believe you're going to like your 7100. It's a beautiful arched fireplace with real Firebricks and a huge fire box. Plus it's a proven winner since it's been on the market for some time.

Let us know how you like it when you get it burning.

Matt

 

[Steve-NH]

1st winter with my 36. Upgraded from builders grade wide open zero clearance and love the stove and its efficiency so far. Filled the house twice starting fires but since learned to crack a window until its drawing up. Never an issue with smoke loading wood as long as you open flu when you open door. As for the mantel height I don't see an issue with the look (see pic). 8' ceiling and 12" hearth. I did all the prep and finish and stone myself but had the unit installed by dealer. Glass gets cleaned about once a month. As for wood consumption I feel its more efficient than previous fp but we'll see.

 

[Bernie McBurner]

We had a quad 7100 installed on 08. We have a lot of problems. They have for sure the worse customer service I have ever dealt with. They simply do not stand by their warranty. The parent company is HHT they have many different lines. I would avoid them all.