What fireplace insert do you like that gives you the best bang for the buck for a 1500 sq ft house? Thanks.
Fireplace Insert
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First, the one that fits. For heating, even when the power is out, one that projects out onto the hearth.
I see you are in Virginia. I am located in Central Virginia. I recently purchased and installed a fireplace insert in our basement. There are several things to consider as you do your due diligence. First and foremost you have to know the dimensions of your fireplace opening. Width and Height at front and back of the opening plus overall depth are the basics. Do you have a hearth of stone or tile at the front where your stove front can project safely out into the room or not? These measurements will limit you on your choices. Here's a pic from Jotul that shows one of their inserts and the dimension needed to fit it into the fireplace...
These dimensions are just for a specific Jotul model and will vary by manufacturer and model of fireplace insert.
Once you have your dimensions then you can start to look at various manufacturers and models. If you are in a rural area then it might be tough to find someone who will sell you an insert and install it for you. Ideally the dealer that sells you the insert will do the installation work for you. In my case I bought the insert new from a dealer in WV because it was $1,500 cheaper than what I was being quoted here locally. I then had to hire a local chimney sweep to do the install.
If you go to the main forum called "The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces" there is a section there for wood stoves by manufacturer. You should check out several of those manufacturers by going to their website and searching to see if they have a dealer local to you. Make a list of those and go to some showrooms to check out some inserts, get the brochures, etc.
Since you are asking about "bang for your buck" I would say make a list of prices and each inserts BTU output. More BTU = more heat so compare your inserts by that measure and the cost factor.
I will say one more thing. I found that Acme, which is a franchised stove dealer in VA, was the most expensive in terms of quotes I received and I quoted their location in Richmond, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.
I'm in Gloucester. About an hour south of Richmond. Can you go back to a regular fireplace after an insert is installed, If so desired. I can't imagine do that but I'm curious. My fireplace is on one end of the house so that won't help but I'm not getting any younger as far as getting firewood. Thank you very much!
In most cases you’d have to cut out the flue damper and most likely some of the masonry or steel around it to fit a liner down to the insert. I’d imagine it’s possible to go back and reconstruct it later but it would be more work than it would be worth.
When your installer does the insert installation they will need to fish a 6" diameter flexible steel pipe down your flue from the rooftop down into the firebox area in your house. At the top of the chimney they will install a topper that covers the flue pipe hole except for where the 6" pipe comes out of the chimney. That pipe and the topper can be removed in the future.
Before the install in the firebox area of your existing hearth there is likely going to be a damper plate of some kind that can be adjusted by you to regulate the amount of air going up the chimney. That damper plate will likely have to be removed and, depending on the size of the damper hole, the installer may have to cut some of the steel where the damper mounts and/or remove some of the masonry inside the flue of the chimney. This is because the 6" pipe may be too big to fit through the damper hole. If that is needed then it would be expensive but not impossible to go back to just an open hearth fireplace.
Two more things to think about here. If your insert has a blower, and most do, you will need to get an electric hookup inside the fireplace at the back or side so the insert's blower has something to plug into. Most likely this will require an electrician.
If it should come to pass that you want to remove the wood insert and go with something easier to manage you might consider converting to a vented or unvented propane insert. I personally have a vented propane insert in one fireplace and it works great, puts out good heat, and requires almost no maintenance. This would require an electric outlet in the firebox and a propane line run into the firebox.
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