Insert for ZC

[stymie266]

Awesome site!! Lots of useful info! I have been lurking here for about a week and am really impressed. So now I have a question but I am long winded and always feel the need to give detailed info.
I have an 9 year old 1800 SF colonial. The first floor is about 950 SF and mostly open, with a great room, foyer, kitchen and dining. the staircase is along the front wall running straight up. The fireplace is in the center of the great room on the back wall. the second floor is about 850 SF with an "L" shaped hall way leading to three bedrooms. The fireplace is a Heatilator EC42. I was excited about the builder putting in a Heatilator because I remembered the one my grandfather had in the 70s.
I don't have the problems I have read about with ZC fireplaces such as draft, cold room etc. The FP was actually installed properly complete with the optional Outside air kit and fan kit and works fairly well going by what I've read here. I can keep my first floor around seventy in the fall when the temps drop to the low 40s. I want to put in an insert, but my local dealer says that I wont heat my whole house with the inserts that will fit in this FP because I am limited to a very few small ones. I looked at the manual that came with the unit and the opening is only 20-1/2 H by 42 W. Any input on FP inserts for this model would be greatly appreciated
Thanks in Advance
~StYmIe~

 

[Todd]

Find another dealer, there are medium sized inserts out there that will fit and approved for ZC. Check out the Lopi Revere.
(broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/productuide/detail.aspx?id=210)

Here is another from Country Flame (broken link removed to http://www.countryflame.com/model02.php)

 

[stymie266]

Thanks for the quick reply. I ha e found several other listings on this site by searching for EC42.
Any dealers here in Mid michigan? my local one isn't so great. I won't mention his name because he's the only one in the area.

 

[XX78]

I searched long and hard to find a useful solution to my natural gas consumption. With a 2 year old house, there was no way I could rip out our heatilator and put in a high efficiency wood burning fireplace. I, errr, we chose the revere because of its ability to go ZC and a larger firebox. I like the fact that it sticks out into the house a little, kicks off some good old wood stove heat that I grew up with.

I was a little concerned about the weight of the insert causing the fp to collapse. The revere has an optional front leg kit which I purchased to help take some of the weight off the fp. The leg kit with the help of 2 fire brick on the hearth do in fact stabilize the unit while taking some weight off the fp itself.

Our house is 2300sq ft with an open two story center. The revere heats the majority of our house very well, and the few places it doesn't is no fault of the insert, just the design of the house. If I wanted those areas warmer, I would have to get into some additional air moving techniques than just our main ceiling fan.

I'd rather run a small space heater.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

20.5 is a small vertical height...
can any parts be removed to increase it> screen rails, smoke deflectors etc?

 

[XX78]

On the heatilator, there is an ash lip on the front of the ceramic base plate of the fireplace. I bought a ceramic cut off wheel for my hand held grinder and removed the lip. This actually bought me an extra 3/4-1 inch from memory. In all actuality, this lip had to go so the insert would be flush with the bottom of the fireplace. I also removed the smoke shelf on the top of the unit as well. This was the difference between the unit fitting or not. The fireplace has been rendered non functional without the insert, so if I ever sell my house and take the insert, I'd have to replace the fireplace with a new unit.

 

[DAKSY]

Take a look at the Regency H2100 hearth heater. or get a rear exit wood stove if you can't make an insert work.
Granted, you'll lose some floor space due to the hearth protection requirements, but you'll get more heat, either way, than you're getting now...