I've been lurking and searching out similar threads in terms of models mentioned. While there definitely are, I'm interested in if people see aspects I might want to think about considering our space / climate / experience level..
We have a tri level home around 2200SqFt in a mild climate - NW Oregon - plenty of months we need heat but unusual to snow or be under 30 degrees even in January. We have a natural gas furnace with a variable speed fan that we can run on low for minimizing temp differences between rooms and levels (as long as power is on). The open fireplace we are looking for an insert on is on the main level, which is very open kitchen / dining / living room. It is also near a stairway that goes a half level up where there are bed & bath rooms. A half level down is a daylight basement that has another open fireplace that we will either add some kind of insert or have a freestanding stove in front of (not sure which fuel), but the space in question for now is the main level. At first I was going for aesthetics and something more modern looking (more flush and clean rectangular lines) but the more I read I like the idea of good radiant heating, especially for when the power goes out, and my wife really would like to be able to have it sticking out enough for a small water kettle for humidity (or perhaps some soup in a power outage). Even the most flush type inserts I've seen seem to require a hearth guard on the wood floor in front of the raised hearth that is 17 inches, so the idea of something sticking out onto our raised hearth has grown on me. Here are some pros and cons from our viewpoint of ones I'm thinking most about.
BK Princess Princess 29: Like the idea of the thermostat helping achieve long burn times and being able to dial down. My gut feeling is for our climate this one might be the best fit. I was surprised I liked the look in person because I was not as excited when just looking at the stock photo. I was originally going to look a the Siroco (though flush wanted to see anyway), but ended up being more intrigued by this one when I saw it inside and out. Although the window is on the smaller side for these 4, I like the style with it being a clean rectangle lines instead of having a curve. I like that the fan is hidden, but worry if this means it is harder to clean or maintain?
Kuma Cascade (or Aspen?): Like the idea of them being hand made by a single person. Overall we like the look but would like better of the door and window was a rectangle. I've had some people tell me that it might be harder to not overheat, and that our space might be better suited by the smaller Aspen. I am not sure I would like the look of that smaller model in this space and also figure it is easier to load things into the Cascade. I like the company a lot but am unsure about the sizing for my space.
Regency i2500: Seems like another logical choice from a respectable brand. Not really any strong feelings one way or the other on this one, at least so far. We do not like the rounded door/window top, but do like the glass bigger is bigger than the Kuma or Blaze King. Seems similar to the Kuma Cascade in size and that it is a hyrbrid - though not sure though why no one has mentioned sizing / low temp control thing like that one.
Lopi Evergreen: Like the rectangular door and relatively large viewing window. I thought my wife would like this one most as well for that reason, but she does not like the look of the split intake fan, and besides the look, wonders if it will collect a lot of dust in the nook in between the two fans. The split fan does not bother me, but while I doubt she'd say that is a deal breaker it may matter more than things about the other ones for me.
Quotes for all of these are very close, so that is not helping make the decision easier. For the Performance/Ease of use from what I hear and read the Princess seems to be well regarded if you want long periods of low heat being added. Our experience with wood stoves is minimal, so ease of use and temp stability are a big factor. Appearance is as well, but that aspect is different for everyone. So, any thoughts people have in terms of how easy these would be considering our circumstances?
Any others I might want to consider? We would like it to be able to stick out far enough and hearth to have a small kettle on improve radiant heat. We want it to be easy to control and efficient. I'm open to non tax credit qualified models if considerably less and reasonably efficient (needs to be well less than 26% as we'll have hearth guard, liner, install we'd get the 26% on). Also open to higher price inserts if awesome.
Thanks.
We have a tri level home around 2200SqFt in a mild climate - NW Oregon - plenty of months we need heat but unusual to snow or be under 30 degrees even in January. We have a natural gas furnace with a variable speed fan that we can run on low for minimizing temp differences between rooms and levels (as long as power is on). The open fireplace we are looking for an insert on is on the main level, which is very open kitchen / dining / living room. It is also near a stairway that goes a half level up where there are bed & bath rooms. A half level down is a daylight basement that has another open fireplace that we will either add some kind of insert or have a freestanding stove in front of (not sure which fuel), but the space in question for now is the main level. At first I was going for aesthetics and something more modern looking (more flush and clean rectangular lines) but the more I read I like the idea of good radiant heating, especially for when the power goes out, and my wife really would like to be able to have it sticking out enough for a small water kettle for humidity (or perhaps some soup in a power outage). Even the most flush type inserts I've seen seem to require a hearth guard on the wood floor in front of the raised hearth that is 17 inches, so the idea of something sticking out onto our raised hearth has grown on me. Here are some pros and cons from our viewpoint of ones I'm thinking most about.
BK Princess Princess 29: Like the idea of the thermostat helping achieve long burn times and being able to dial down. My gut feeling is for our climate this one might be the best fit. I was surprised I liked the look in person because I was not as excited when just looking at the stock photo. I was originally going to look a the Siroco (though flush wanted to see anyway), but ended up being more intrigued by this one when I saw it inside and out. Although the window is on the smaller side for these 4, I like the style with it being a clean rectangle lines instead of having a curve. I like that the fan is hidden, but worry if this means it is harder to clean or maintain?
Kuma Cascade (or Aspen?): Like the idea of them being hand made by a single person. Overall we like the look but would like better of the door and window was a rectangle. I've had some people tell me that it might be harder to not overheat, and that our space might be better suited by the smaller Aspen. I am not sure I would like the look of that smaller model in this space and also figure it is easier to load things into the Cascade. I like the company a lot but am unsure about the sizing for my space.
Regency i2500: Seems like another logical choice from a respectable brand. Not really any strong feelings one way or the other on this one, at least so far. We do not like the rounded door/window top, but do like the glass bigger is bigger than the Kuma or Blaze King. Seems similar to the Kuma Cascade in size and that it is a hyrbrid - though not sure though why no one has mentioned sizing / low temp control thing like that one.
Lopi Evergreen: Like the rectangular door and relatively large viewing window. I thought my wife would like this one most as well for that reason, but she does not like the look of the split intake fan, and besides the look, wonders if it will collect a lot of dust in the nook in between the two fans. The split fan does not bother me, but while I doubt she'd say that is a deal breaker it may matter more than things about the other ones for me.
Quotes for all of these are very close, so that is not helping make the decision easier. For the Performance/Ease of use from what I hear and read the Princess seems to be well regarded if you want long periods of low heat being added. Our experience with wood stoves is minimal, so ease of use and temp stability are a big factor. Appearance is as well, but that aspect is different for everyone. So, any thoughts people have in terms of how easy these would be considering our circumstances?
Any others I might want to consider? We would like it to be able to stick out far enough and hearth to have a small kettle on improve radiant heat. We want it to be easy to control and efficient. I'm open to non tax credit qualified models if considerably less and reasonably efficient (needs to be well less than 26% as we'll have hearth guard, liner, install we'd get the 26% on). Also open to higher price inserts if awesome.
Thanks.
