Help finding a large (and nice) insert

[jensohlsson]

Hi all,

We have recently moved into a large house (3850 sq. ft.) that has one fireplace (large, made of brick) and a wood stove in another room (separate chimney). The free standing wood stove in the other room we haven't used yet, but it really ugly. As soon as we get the chimney and the stove cleaned we'll start using it, but eventually we will replace it with something less of an eyesore - looking at a Vermont castings Dauntless or maybe a Hearthstone Green Mountain 80.

In the fireplace we have another ugly piece, an old WIV stove, that I assume has been converted into a fireplace "insert". (See attached pictures.) Most of the box sticks out of the fireplace anyway. It's basically a stove that was placed in the fireplace. It's old and made of cast iron. It doesn't have any other functions than the door that can be opened. It's basically just a box to burn wood in. However, it's pretty large, and it gets pretty hot. It also burnes a crazy amount of wood, so it's pretty inefficient. (I burnt almost a full cord of wood in two months in this thing.)

Now we're looking for a replacement for the fireplace insert. The purpose of the insert is to use it daily to keep the oil consumption as low as possible in the winter months, but we also want it to be a center piece in the room and it has to look good as well as being efficient. I like the traditional style, like the Vermont Castings Montpellier II or the Regency Hampton and I think that style would be really nice for our Victorian style house. However, I don't want to get something that has less heating capacity than the VIW stove we've already got. I have no idea how many BTU it's capable of generating, so it's hard to compare with a new one. At first I thought a flush model was preferable, but I could definitely go with a model that comes out a little bit too, if that means the firebox can be larger and the heating capacity higher.

What do you think? Any recommendations?

 

[begreen]

The fireplace insert is made of steel and is essentially a rear-vent freestanding stove with a surround. It probably heats pretty well, but not all that cleanly or efficiently. Still, for a big place having an insert that projects onto the hearth vs flush will help. And I would go for at least a 3 cu ft insert unless it is more for night and weekend burning. And even that may not match the VIW for brute force. Look at the big Osburn, Regency, Pacific Energy inserts. In flush, maybe the Lopi Large.

There is a huge difference in size between the Dauntless and the GM80. Can you post a picture of two of the floor plan indicating the location of the stove and fireplace? Include room connections and openings so that we can get a sense of how heat convects. Are there cathedral ceiling too?

 

[jensohlsson]

Thanks for your advice! What kind of BTU rating would I be looking at to be in the same ballpark as the VIW? The VC Montpellier has a BTU rating of 56 000, but I'm guessing I would need to come closer to 80-100K BTU to not feel that I'm downgrading?

I've heard about the Iron Strike Montlake 300 with a BTU rating of 100 000, but it just doesn't look that nice.

Will make a quick sketch of the layout of the house and post here.