Getting ready to purchase my first wood stove insert- Looking for advice

[joefrompa]

Hello everyone,

I live in SE PA, where we have 3 months of "cold" and 2 months of (chilly) where I'd like to be able to provide almost all needed heat for my home. I'd like to heat ~1600 square feet, am well-insulated, and have several ceiling fans. My goal is to use less than $200 a year in heating oil.

My fireplace will be in a room that's roughly 11.5 feet wide by 35 feet long that contains my family room, eat-in kitchen, and kitchen. My one concern is with making the family room unbearable, though it has an immediate ceiling fan and 9 foot ceilings.

Here's what I'm looking at:

Lopi Republic 1750 - With blower, black door, and surround, ~$1900-2000

Enerzone 2.3 - Appears darn near identical to the Lopi Republic. But I see no reviews on this brand...and it's the same price as Lopi.

Lopi Freedom - Quite a bit larger. The dealer stated that this one was "Lopi's original and best constructed" unit, and therefore was about $500 more expensive. The quote, including a blower, was for $2700 for this unit.


I like Lopi's reputation and the price point seems good for the republic, and it seems like it'll fit my needs. I like the damper bypass for servicing needs and to, apparently, reduce smoke blowback when loading it up.

Is the Freedom better aside from greater overall mass and size? In other words, for my application is it worth another $500-600 (I recognize this is a judgment call).

Lastly, I've gotten quotes from 2 dealers on installing a liner: $1300 from one, $1500 from another. Sight unseen, just based upon a continuous 20-25 foot chimney run with a 6" flue opening. It's straight up. Lifetime warranty and all that crap.

Does this sound right? $1300 to me sounds more appropriate, including installing the insert.

Thanks for any and all help everyone. All recommendations welcome!

Joe


Edited to make this easier to read

 

[joefrompa]

Bumping it up, now edited to remove some of the unnecessary clutter

 

[Pagey]

I'm heating around 1,800 sq. ft. with the Lopi Endeavor, which is the same firebox as the 1750, I do believe. If you are well insulated, the smaller box could meet your needs fine. I can get 8 hour burn times out of my Endeavor with good hardwoods. The bypass damper is a nice feature - makes cleaning the flue and reloading the stove easy. Can't speak for the larger Lopi product, but if it's built like the rest of their lineup, it too would be a quality product. Just remember that the key to any EPA stove you choose is: dry, seasoned wood. If you don't have it now, you'll find that you get underwhelming performance from any stove.

 

[joefrompa]

Good stuff. yes, it appears to have the same firebox....same ratings on emissions, burn time, log size, and cubic feet.

I can't really comment on my insulation, except that the attic meet's 2009 code for PA (r-38), my windows are all newer andersen casement style, and I had an air-loss audit done a few weeks ago that showed that (after I fix 2-3 things) I have almost minimal desired air-loss in the house.

The wood I'll be using was felled over a year ago and will be split and aged 3-6 months in open air. Probably not fully seasoned, but close.

 

[RedLab]

I bought a used Regency Insert for $200.00, It is the largest one they make. I have it on the third level of a four level back split. Chimney height is the same as yours aprox. 20'. I had the liner run and stove installed for $1300.00 I was thinking of doing it myself, but was glad I didn't. First the guy swept the masonry chimney, Then he had to modify the old cast iron flue. Ginding, hamering and even jacking to get it out. when it was all over it was almost a full day to install and the guy was black from head to toe. I think the warranty is only valid if you have your chimney swept by a pro. I do mine myself. As far as heat goes your room will not be unbearable. My family spends most of our time in the room with the insert cooking and the blower fan on half speed. If it gets to hot you can shut the blower off. It is adifferent kind of heat. In my opinion the hotter the better when its free heat and it's Minus 20 C outside. Hope this helps. I have no experience with the inserts you listed. Hope this info helps.

 

[tickbitty]

I don't know anything about the others, but I really like my Lopi 1750. However, your house is a bit bigger than mine, so if you have the clearances for it in your fireplace, I would go for the Freedom with the bigger firebox (2.9 as opposed to 2.2) since you are serious about it! If you were a casual user who just wanted the atmosphere that might not be the way to go, but the Freedom will put your square footage smack in the middle of the Freedom's stated range, which is a nice place to be. The Freedom can also be installed partially on the hearth like the 1750, which gives you a cooktop and some additional convection heat, cool for an insert or if the power is out and the blower won't work.