What are some quality brand manufactures of gas inserts? ...
I work at a fireplace shop in
Northern CA. We sell many brands of fireplaces and we do have our favorites and also our most troublesome.
I have previous experience as an installer for a contractor and have moved on to working at out store. We are not commissioned based and in general, will show off units that are in our mind, more reliable. (We service everything we sell)
When a customer comes in and wants to learn about fireplaces and where to start when choosing one, I will ask them a few questions to try to understand whats the most important and tell them about the three different types of fireplaces.
#1 are dumb fireplaces
#2 Smart Fireplaces and
#3 Hybrids.
#1 are like most water heaters, you never really have problems with it because of its simplicity. Typically Cheapest
Standing pilot that has to be lit with a push button igniter (you can get electronic ignition, requires electricity), flame control is also manual, remotes are On/Off maybe with a built in thermostat, blowers are typically needed to get the most heat out, and most importantly for our area CA, 50% turn down rates. Meaning if the heat on low, is not low enough, then you either turn off the unit (cant enjoy the fire), open the windows/doors or just suffer.
#2 are like tricked out water heaters with pretty lights and awesome features. However with more going on under the hood, there can be more to go wrong. Dont get me wrong, some #2 brands are awesome and have less of a chance. Service calls are about $150 an hour plus parts. There are not too many cheap parts of fireplaces, perhaps year after year.. Typically Expensive
Light/Extinguish the pilot with the remote control (requires electricity), control the flame height/heat with remote, accent lights to show off the logs, lights underneath to look like glowing embers, dual blowers, a bed of fire instead of a bar style burner, control blower speed with remote, thermostat ect..., Most are about a 50% turn down, maybe up to 75-85 in some brands, Blowers are needed 50/50 depending on brand for best heat output.
#3 can be operated with full controls of a remote control but with a backup functionality of manual control. What I mean by that is, if something electronically cannot light the pilot, turn up and down the flame, on/off, it can be done manually. Typically battery powered (can be wired in), standing pilot but turns off after 5 days, burner also turns off after 5 hours of non activity, some have accent lights, some have bed burners as well as bar burners, Some offer 50% turn down while up to maybe 75% with others. Its simplicity helps it become more reliable. Valve, Pilot, Receiver.
9/10 when people have problems with these fireplaces, it has to do with either weak or leaking batteries. I have seen batteries leak out as soon as a year, but as long as 4 years.
Some fireplace brands offer two versions of the same fireplace. #1 and #2.
Some fireplace brands only offer version #2
Very few fireplace brands offer #3
#1
Regency, Enviro, Heat n Glow, Majestic, Superior, Empire, Vermont Castings
#2
Town and Country, Mendota, FireplaceXtrodinair
#3
Valor, Flare, Solas
Since we are a small shop, we cant afford service calls, especially when its far away. We have the best luck by having Valor being are priority fireplace. The brand is in the mid range for price, are most reliable unit and we have people come in because of there friends recommendation for a valor fireplace. 8/10 we do not sell with a blower. If the receiver does go bad, its about $140 and takes 5 min for anyone to install.
We are aware that Valor doesn't offer everything, but most of our customers weight out all the pros and cons between all the fireplace brands we discuss and choose what most important to them.
Cost, Features, Looks, Heat, Reliability (in no particular order)
