Fireplace for new construction

[RDUN]

First of all I must admit that my knowledge in this area is extremely limited... That being said, I am looking at building a new home in Texas, and I am looking for the best option in a wood burning fireplace. Since we are in a warmer climate, I am not necessarily looking for a stove to heat the house, but I would like something that does not have a negative heating effect. Our typical use will probably only be during the months of Nov-Feb, and it will be occasional use during these months. Basically I'm just looking for a decent, basic fireplace that will not be a waste of energy. I love the look, sound, and feel of a wood burning fire and can't stand the thought of putting in a gas fireplace like everyone else around here seems to be doing.

In reading many of the topics on this forum, it feels that my situation may not be hard-core enough to interest many of you, but any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. This site seemed to be the most logical place to find this info.

Thank you in advance for any information you have.

Ryan

 

[jtp10181]

Well all the open faced fireplaces I know of are pretty much energy wasters. It sounds like you want the look and feel of an ope face but the efficiency of a stove. Maybe someone makes one but none of the brands I work with do, that I know of. The Quadrafire 7100 might be a good option though.

http://www.quadrafire.com/products/fireplaces/woodFireplaceDetail.asp?f=7100fp

You can get an optional firescreen for it so you can burn it with the doors open. You loose a lot of the efficiency but if you just want to burn wood for the hell of it that might be the way to go.

Here is a more traditional open faced style fireplace

http://www.heatnglo.com/products/fireplaces/woodFireplaceDetail.asp?f=MLEX42

Nowhere near as efficient as a sealed unit like the 7100.


After looking a little closer I found a sort of happy medium

http://www.heatilator.com/products/fireplaces/woodFireplaceDetail.asp?f=MLSC

This model claims to have air controlled doors for more efficiency. I don't have much experience with it though since we don't have one in our showroom or sell it often.

 

[youngstr]

Some others to look at are Fireplace Xtraordinair(I have the 44 Elite), Regency and Lennox......

 

[Fire Bug]

RDUN,
Take a look at all the Direct Vent Fireplaces, I think you will be glad you did.
They don't use warm room air for air supply, they vent to the outdoors, some produce very serious heat, and you can sit back and enjoy them rather than trying to keep up with an open woodburning fireplace that just sucks your room heat right up the chimney flue.
If your going to use wood for heat get yourself a good woodstove.

John

 

[youngstr]

I was putting the kids to bed so I didn't have time for a proper post.

We had our house built and had a gas(propane) fireplace installed. After never using the thing we looked hard at both woodstoves and wood-burning fireplaces. In the end, we opted for a wood burning fireplace. This past winter we ran our Fireplace Xtraordinaire 44 Elite almost 24/7. The unit is spec'd to put out 75K BTU's...The only times we needed to have the heat kick in was when the temperature outside was under 10 F (the upstairs bedroom on the far side of house would get cool) . Our house is around 2650 sf and we're in NH so our winter temperatures are consistently below freezing.

For what it's worth (less than .02) the advice I would give(at least for fireplaces);
Get a unit that uses external air for combustion. Open air fireplaces will use up nearly as much heat as they put out.
Have a good idea what you want the surround for the unit to look like before you decide on the fireplace. Some unit's will not look right on certain installations.
If you can, speak with multiple dealers on the fireplace you're thinking about buying....make sure their story on the unit jives.
Read the reviews on Hearth.com......

Here's another thread on the same subject...another guy in your shoes......
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/7126/

 

[RDUN]

Thanks everybody for the input... I'll check out the brands mentioned above.

I guess when it comes right down to it I really am "just burning wood for the hell of it" as jtp said. I like building and tending a fire and am just looking for the best option for moderate use. I'm not sure I will ever use it enough to justify a full blown wood stove (I'm assuming they are much more costly)

One term I've seen mentioned in several places are the EPA certified fireplaces. What are they?

 

[jtp10181]

The QUAD 7100 I linked to is EPA certified, I think the Fireplace Xtraordinaire 44 Elite is also. Basically they are a hybrid type fireplace. Its like a wood stove but built into the wall. Low emissions and high efficiency.