Jotul 550 vs VC Merrimack vs QF Voyageur Grand

[BrewNinja]

Looking to put an insert in and my head is swimming! This forum has a ton of great information, wish I would have found it before I installed the insert into our old house a few years ago! Anyways, we are looking to install something with a large viewing area. That is THE most important thing for the wife. For me, I want to be able to make sure it heats well. After looking around, these 3 seem to be the best choices that satisfy both needs. We have an extremely large firebox, so unit size isn't a problem (except too small is going to look weird).

So far Im leaning towards the VC Merrimack as it has the largest viewing area, as well as appearing to have the largest firebox (I cant find info on the Jotul firebox size). I know people love the jotul 550 here, and QF in general (though reviews on the Voyageur/Grand seem to be mixed).

Anyone have any insight to consider? Is 1 going to be a better heater than the others? Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Personally I would place heat output, reliability, & low maintenance as priorities with a quiet blower following closely behind. What do you have currently installed and what are the issues with it?

 

[BrewNinja]

Currently have nothing installed. Its just an open fireplace.

 

[kingquad]

How big is your home? This should be the determining factor for the size insert you buy. The Voyager and the Merrimack are medium sized inserts. The Jotul is large.

Have you looked at the Hearthstone Clydesdale?

 

[BrewNinja]

Im only planning on using it to heat the main living area as that is extremely large....2 story open cathedral ceiling area (our house is 2800sq feet of floor area, but of course that doesnt take this large open space into account). This is more for supplemental heat and viewing than heating the whole house. Its in our main entertaining area, which is why looks are the most important to the wife. She wants to be able to see the fire like we have a regular fireplace (which we cant use as the chimney has cracks in it...repair estimates were all around $10k). So unfortunately heat output has to be a secondary consideration, Im not going to listen to her complain like she is about the bathroom because I chose a countertop without her

I havent looked at that hearthstone model, and there is a place that sells them fairly close (there are a bunch of places that sell fireplaces around me, and of course none of the sell the same brands). Ill have to stop tonight and see if they have one to look at.

 

[CT-Mike]

Look into the Lopi Freedom as well. 3+ cu ft firebox, large glass door, and comes in a bay window style if you want even more glass. I am on my fifth season, it heats well and we have had very little issue. As with all EPA stoves, it really like chewing up dry wood.