Choosing Zero-Clearance High-Eff Wood Fireplace

[Crashcup]

Hi Folks,

My wife and I are in the middle of an addition project on our house, and are getting to the point where we need to decide which fireplace to buy. I'm sure I'll do a lot more reading in the forums here, but I hope it's okay to throw out a few questions right away.

What we're looking for in a fireplace:

• Wood-burning, of course
• Zero-clearance construction
• High-efficiency
• Single door with large viewing area
• Traditional look, not contemporary
• Outside combustion air
• Blower-assisted hot air circulation
• Possibly a kit to duct hot air to adjacent area below in basement
• Low maintenance if possible; probably meaning air wash door design
• Sold at a local dealer with a good reputation for their installations

Now, just a bit about what lead to these requirements. We both love wood fires. We do a lot of outside fires in the spring and fall and some in the summer, too. We want the experience of building fires inside also in the winter. That experience includes the radiant heat, tending the fire, being able to have a good view of the flames.

Secondarily, I figured that if we are going to burn wood, why not try to make the best use of the heat? Initially, my wife was dead set against high-efficiency fireplaces, because of the small size of the doors and glass. Since we started looking, we have found some that have a decent-sized glass area, and she has come to agree with this approach.

I don't think we'll ever try to use this to provide all our home heating. When we're retired (in the next 5-10 years), I can see possibly keeping a fire going for periods of days or weeks for heating, but that's not a certainty, and while we're both at work, we for sure won't try to keep heating the house with the FP.

Also, along with the idea of making the best use of the heat, I'd like to explore the option of ducting hot air down to the basement, and letting the furnace in "blower-only" mode draw in the warmer air through return-air ducts and distribute around the house.

Given all that, this is the list we have to see at dealers and get more information and prices:

• Kozy Heat Z42/Z42-CD
• Pacific Energy FP30 Arch
• AcuCraft Unity
• AcuCraft Z-Max
• Superior WRT3820 EPA Phase II
• Superior WCT6820 EPA Phase II
• FireplaceXtrordinair 44 Elite
• FireplaceXtrordinair 36 Elite
  
• RSF Opel3
• Astria Montecito
• Astria Brentwood

Anyone who has experience with any of these models, I would sure appreciate it if you could share your experience and/or additional info you have.

I should note that AcuCraft appears to be made in Big Lake, MN, about 6 miles away from us! If they have a good reputation for a quality product, and if we find they're an established business that looks like it's going to be around for years to come, that could be a big advantage for service to be near the factory.

Sorry about how long this first post came out! Any general advice or information would also be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Keith

 

[begreen]

You've got a good list of fireplaces to choose from there. Of them AcuCraft is the unfamiliar one.

 

[mol1jb]

Hi Folks,

My wife and I are in the middle of an addition project on our house, and are getting to the point where we need to decide which fireplace to buy. I'm sure I'll do a lot more reading in the forums here, but I hope it's okay to throw out a few questions right away.

What we're looking for in a fireplace:

• Wood-burning, of course
• Zero-clearance construction
• High-efficiency
• Single door with large viewing area
• Traditional look, not contemporary
• Outside combustion air
• Blower-assisted hot air circulation
• Possibly a kit to duct hot air to adjacent area below in basement
• Low maintenance if possible; probably meaning air wash door design
• Sold at a local dealer with a good reputation for their installations

Now, just a bit about what lead to these requirements. We both love wood fires. We do a lot of outside fires in the spring and fall and some in the summer, too. We want the experience of building fires inside also in the winter. That experience includes the radiant heat, tending the fire, being able to have a good view of the flames.

Secondarily, I figured that if we are going to burn wood, why not try to make the best use of the heat? Initially, my wife was dead set against high-efficiency fireplaces, because of the small size of the doors and glass. Since we started looking, we have found some that have a decent-sized glass area, and she has come to agree with this approach.

I don't think we'll ever try to use this to provide all our home heating. When we're retired (in the next 5-10 years), I can see possibly keeping a fire going for periods of days or weeks for heating, but that's not a certainty, and while we're both at work, we for sure won't try to keep heating the house with the FP.

Also, along with the idea of making the best use of the heat, I'd like to explore the option of ducting hot air down to the basement, and letting the furnace in "blower-only" mode draw in the warmer air through return-air ducts and distribute around the house.

Given all that, this is the list we have to see at dealers and get more information and prices:

• Kozy Heat Z42/Z42-CD
• Pacific Energy FP30 Arch
• AcuCraft Unity
• AcuCraft Z-Max
• Superior WRT3820 EPA Phase II
• Superior WCT6820 EPA Phase II
• FireplaceXtrordinair 44 Elite
• FireplaceXtrordinair 36 Elite
  
• RSF Opel3
• Astria Montecito
• Astria Brentwood

Anyone who has experience with any of these models, I would sure appreciate it if you could share your experience and/or additional info you have.

I should note that AcuCraft appears to be made in Big Lake, MN, about 6 miles away from us! If they have a good reputation for a quality product, and if we find they're an established business that looks like it's going to be around for years to come, that could be a big advantage for service to be near the factory.

Sorry about how long this first post came out! Any general advice or information would also be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Keith

I recently did quite a bit of research on ZC high eff fireplace but have since gone in a different direction. Some of those were on my list as well. The FP30 was well priced and well built. It had a simple yet effective look to it. It had a 6in chimney which gives you good flexibility with install prices since there a lot of 6in chimney choices. The Superiors were good priced too but were quite a bit lighter than the other ones I had looked at. Like 200 pounds lighter. Thats not always a sign of less quality but in the wood appliance world it is a good indication. The Opel 3 I liked a lot, good price but I wasn't a fan of the 7in chimney due to how pricey they are. Only a few make 7in chimney and they all cost a lot. My 2 cents.

 

[mminor]

Like BeGreen, I have not heard of AcuCraft. Looking at their website, the specs seem rather vague, but I'm sure they can be acquired by contacting the company.

And like Mol1jb, I very much agree that weight of a zero clearance fireplace says a lot about its quality. This is why I included 'weight' in my list of ZC units listed below.

Lastly, I would certainly add the three 'Hearth and Home' units (Northstar, Constitution, Quadrafire 7100) to your list as they get great reviews on this site.

I hope this helps,
Matt

 

[Crashcup]

You've got a good list of fireplaces to choose from there. Of them AcuCraft is the unfamiliar one.

Quick follow-up. We are getting down to the details of choosing, but we're almost certainly decided on a Hearthroom 36 model from AcuCraft. They seem to offer the right combination of efficiency with large doors for viewing that we want.

Green, you may not have heard of because they don't sell through dealers. They typically sell to contractors or architects, and a lot of their work is very large gas fireplaces for hotels and other large office buildings. But, they do build smaller FP, gas and wood, and work with homeowners as well. Of course, without dealers, we're on our own for installation, but they do have a couple of references for people who install.

So far a good experience working with their rep. We walked through the factory with him (just happens to be in Big Lake, MN - close to where we live) and those fireplaces are built like tanks!

 

[iron]

sure would be nice if BK made a ZC fireplace! too late for me now...

re: weight --- i think those weights are heavy, at least for the northstar. there's no way that thing weighed 650lbs. maybe 400. maybe.