Help With Fireplace Selection

[Haystack]

Hey Guys,

I'm a newbie here. I have a 4,000 SQ foot Victorian Farmhouse in WI. A 2,200 Sq. Ft. addition was built in 2005, and the remaining 1,800 SQ foot was built in 1879. The new side has Anderson Windows and decent insulation. The old side has blown in insulation and windows from the 1960's that i hope to replace soon.

The house came with a Majestic Sovereign located on the outside wall on the far end of the house. It's okay. I can get it to heat up a couple rooms pretty good in the winter, but it gobbles up wood and the look doesn't match the rest of the house. It only has the screen and I'm not a huge fan of running it unattended. I also have some hairline cracks in the refractory brick on the back side so i think it's time to replace it. I'd like to find something that can really help with the heat bills. I keep the place pretty cool and my visitors are always complaining.

I want to stick with an in wall unit. I really liked the look of the Vermont Castings Montpellier. I called the local distributor and they said i would need a Masonry fireplace or i would have to build a new firebox to install it. I then was looking at the FPX 36 and 44, that lasted a little while until I priced one up. I'd like to keep the price below $3,000. I can buy a lot of propane for 7-8k.

Do you guys have any recommendations for a high efficiency unit with a little more upscale look to it? At some point I will probably add another fireplace or maybe a pellet stove to the old side. The house is a sprawling farmhouse with two furnaces so getting one unit to heat both sides properly wouldn't be very easy. So a fireplace that heats 2,000 sq ft would be acceptable.

Just out of curiosity does anybody know what the efficiency of the majestic is? I do have the circulating fan on it.

Thanks,

Haystack

 

[DAKSY]

Just out of curiosity does anybody know what the efficiency of the majestic is? I do have the circulating fan on it. Haystack

Minus 10%. It's no more efficient than having a campfire in your living room. It'll suck more heated air out of your home than it'll put in.

 

[jeff_t]

I don't think there is much you can do with that fireplace. If you want to retain the fireplace look, you need to look at a high efficiency zero clearance unit, like the FPX. There are other manufacturers, like Napoleon, Quadrafire, and Buck, to name a few. Many of these have the option of ducting heat to other areas of the home. I'm not sure you can touch anything for $3k, and you'll probably need a new chimney as well.

You can buy a lot of propane for $7-8k, but when it is gone, it is gone. Money spent on a new, efficient fireplace will be a lifetime investment.

Any possibility of installing a freestanding stove in another area? A few have also removed their prefab fireplaces, and finished off the opening for a nice alcove installation. Personally, I removed my masonry fireplace and put a stove in the the same general location.

 

[Haystack]

I did find a used fpx 36 elite for a reasonable price. I talked to a local dealer and the said that fpx does not recommend this unit for used in WI climates. They said with the posi-pressure air system I would have cold air flowing into the house when the unit was not in use. They said I could reduce the amount of cold air venting from the attic instead of outside.

Is all that info true?

If the existing liner is in good shape couldn't it be reused? It's only 7 or 8 years old.