Help with wood burning insert new install

[griam01]

Hi, I am new to this forum and new to a wood burning insert. I just recently started looking to put a wood burning insert in our home because we recently had a fire in our fireplace and apparently the fireplace was not built properly and the mortar cracked and it ended up burning through the floor and burnt the floor joist and filled the house with smoke. LUCKILY we were home when this happened and the fire dept. got it taken care of quickly.

So, now that the fireplace has to be rebuilt, we would like to redo it with a wood burning insert. The fireplace will be rebuilt to code this time but we would prefer the efficiency of a wood burning insert. I am very confused on what size we should get. We are not looking to heat the whole house full time with it, just provide a cozy area in our family room and maybe the heat will spread to the kitchen and play room with are adjacent to the family room where the fireplace is located. I would like if it reduces the time our furnace runs some, as well. The fireplace is located on the right side of our home. The home itself is 4400 sq ft, but this floor is about 2400 sq ft. The room where the fire place is located is about 25x15 with cathedral ceilings. I am worried that I am going to pick something that will be too hot for us in the one room and we won't use it because of that.

I would appreciate any advice and suggestions. Thank you in advance!

 

[DAKSY]

You need to tell us the width, depth & height of the fireplace opening.
Without that info, we can only take a guess.
That being said, how old is your home & how good is the insulation?
Also, you can always make small fires in a big stove...

 

[griam01]

Width is 33 1/2
Depth is 26
Height is 29 1/2

Now, the width and height are subject to change because due to the fire, we have to completely rebuild the inner fireplace, but this is the existing measurements. The contractor is going to build to suit for what insert we choose. The home is 25 years old and we are near western PA. The insulation is fairly good with the home. Please let me know if I am missing any other information and I will be happy to provide it. I am very new with this and I basically have no idea what I am doing.

 

[Woody Stover]

this floor is about 2400 sq ft. The room where the fire place is located is about 25x15 with cathedral ceilings. I am worried that I am going to pick something that will be too hot for us in the one room and we won't use it because of that.

The cathedral ceiling will help moderate the heat. Hopefully you have a ceiling fan up there to keep all the heat from stratifying up there. If there are big doorways out of the stove room, the heat should move out into the other rooms. If the doorway into the other room(s) are small, you can move heat out by putting a small fan on the floor outside the door, blowing cool air in and forcing the warm air out the top of the doorway. A rough sketch of the layout would be helpful...

 

[griam01]

Yes, we have 2 fans up there for the heat. The openings are large. Here are two pictures showing the room and the kitchen and sun room that I hope to have the heat radiate from. In the pic the doors to the sun room are closed right now, but those would be opened up normally.

kitchen and sun room

• griam01
• Jan 22, 2016

family room and fireplace

• griam01
• Jan 22, 2016

 

[Scrounger]

I have a Jotul insert in a masonary chimney, been using it for probably 10 years or more. Very happy with it. I'm considering tearing down the masonary chimney and getting a freestanding stove. No more blower noise, power outage is not a concern, can even cook on it, kettle with water to increase humidity, no more sealing cracks in brick facade on chimney, install an outside air kit and pull air from the garage, and probably other positives. Not sure if I would spend the buck to 'fix' my chimney if it had issues. I'm just sayin.......

 

[DAKSY]

I have a Jotul insert in a masonary chimney, been using it for probably 10 years or more. Very happy with it. I'm considering tearing down the masonary chimney and getting a freestanding stove. No more blower noise, power outage is not a concern, can even cook on it, kettle with water to increase humidity, no more sealing cracks in brick facade on chimney, install an outside air kit and pull air from the garage, and probably other positives. Not sure if I would spend the buck to 'fix' my chimney if it had issues. I'm just sayin.......

There is one problem. Pulling Outside Air from the garage is NOT a positive. It is downright dangerous.
Outside Air means from the OUTSIDE. Garages are routinely used for storage of flammables.
Gasoline. Paint thinners. Kerosene. You do NOT want flammable gases in your wood stove.

 

[griam01]

Thank you all for your replies. I have been given several suggestions from places I call to purchase ones from and I am not sure what to do. I am leaning towards the Ironstrike (Lennox) Montlake 300. Does anyone have any positive or negatives I should consider?

 

[Scrounger]

There is one problem. Pulling Outside Air from the garage is NOT a positive. It is downright dangerous.
Outside Air means from the OUTSIDE. Garages are routinely used for storage of flammables.
Gasoline. Paint thinners. Kerosene. You do NOT want flammable gases in your wood stove.

No flammables at all in the garage, just two vehicles and tools. Everything else is in the barn behind the house.

 

[TedyOH]

I say "the bigger the better" and as Daksy said you can make smaller fires. I went with a flush mount insert wanting a contemporary look so I had to go with a smaller model and although its 80 degrees right now in the family room I often wonder if I should have went with a larger traditional style insert. I takes about 16 hours for my 2,500 sq ft colonial to balance out, upstairs (bedroom doors closed) and downstairs temperatures.

 

[bholler]

No flammables at all in the garage, just two vehicles and tools.

And what is in those vehicles? There are still flammables and it is still not allowed

 

[mikeysan]

I bought a Montlake 230 around this time last year, and have burned it a good bit this winter. I wish now I'd gotten the 300, or a different one. The downsides to mine are several...the "stay clear" glass from the airwash system doesn't work that well, especially if you put the stove on its low air setting. A big downside is that the air settings are very restrictive. I mean, I understand not being able to close it beyond a certain level...but why won't wide open allow more air in??? The high setting seems to only allow about 65% of the air in that is seen when the door is standing open. Another oddity...the thermostat which kicks the blower on is apparently at a fairly low temp. So, when the stove heats and it kicks on...it runs forever. Even when the air has gone from hot, to very warm, to warm, to a bit warm, to cooling down...it's still blowing. I'd prefer that it only kick on when it's hot air coming out, but they don't make a replacement thermostat, or have an adjustable thermostat.

A big downside is as follows...a month ago I looked over and noticed something weird. Upon letting it cool, I discovered the back baffle board had fallen down. While trying to put it back up I determined it was cracked on the right side, thus letting it bend down and fall. Called my dealer, he called Ironstrike, and they said it was only guaranteed for 90 days...from the date of purchase! And a replacement set of boards (since one cannot buy just the back one) was about $175. Which is crap...I didn't break the dang thing, it failed! So, I found a company in GA to supply the material for one at a very reasonable price. (Thermal Products Company out of Norcross, GA...ask for Karen, and tell her you need Duraboard to make a stove baffle!)

If you're going to heat a big area, and are dead set on the Montlakes...go with a 300 if you have a heat pump system that'll let you turn the fan on and circulate the heat out of the room the stove is located in. Or...do some more digging and find another manufacturer. Ironstrike's customer service sucks, and my impression is they don't really stand behind their products.

 

[Wood Collector]

I bought a Montlake 230 around this time last year, and have burned it a good bit this winter. I wish now I'd gotten the 300, or a different one. The downsides to mine are several...the "stay clear" glass from the airwash system doesn't work that well, especially if you put the stove on its low air setting. A big downside is that the air settings are very restrictive. I mean, I understand not being able to close it beyond a certain level...but why won't wide open allow more air in??? The high setting seems to only allow about 65% of the air in that is seen when the door is standing open. Another oddity...the thermostat which kicks the blower on is apparently at a fairly low temp. So, when the stove heats and it kicks on...it runs forever. Even when the air has gone from hot, to very warm, to warm, to a bit warm, to cooling down...it's still blowing. I'd prefer that it only kick on when it's hot air coming out, but they don't make a replacement thermostat, or have an adjustable thermostat.

A big downside is as follows...a month ago I looked over and noticed something weird. Upon letting it cool, I discovered the back baffle board had fallen down. While trying to put it back up I determined it was cracked on the right side, thus letting it bend down and fall. Called my dealer, he called Ironstrike, and they said it was only guaranteed for 90 days...from the date of purchase! And a replacement set of boards (since one cannot buy just the back one) was about $175. Which is crap...I didn't break the dang thing, it failed! So, I found a company in GA to supply the material for one at a very reasonable price. (Thermal Products Company out of Norcross, GA...ask for Karen, and tell her you need Duraboard to make a stove baffle!)

If you're going to heat a big area, and are dead set on the Montlakes...go with a 300 if you have a heat pump system that'll let you turn the fan on and circulate the heat out of the room the stove is located in. Or...do some more digging and find another manufacturer. Ironstrike's customer service sucks, and my impression is they don't really stand behind their products.

I too looked at the Montlake 230 but after reading all that could about it and seeing the company being bought and sold I decided against it. Ended up with an Enviro Venice 1200i. Simple operation works great and good reviews more reviews for the bigger 1700 but basically the same unit.

 

[mikeysan]

How do you like the Venice? Is the airwash system keeping the glass clean? Saw on the website about it having twin-injection ports, but wasn't sure what that was referring to.

 

[Wood Collector]

How do you like the Venice? Is the airwash system keeping the glass clean? Saw on the website about it having twin-injection ports, but wasn't sure what that was referring to.

We are on our second year with the Venice. It's been great so far. The airwash system does fine as long as the wood is below 20% moisture content. The twin pilot ports are pretty much the main air ports controlled by the air flow control.