Looking into Osburn inserts...need opinions

[imalovesmax]

Greetings from Western Washington. I have posted here in the past when we lived in MA and we owned ( and loved) a Hearthstone Clydesdale. We moved last year and are ready to start burning wood again. Is anyone familiar with the brand Osburn? We don't know anything about them but are looking into a few of their inserts. Because we no longer in the cold, windy, snowy Central Mass climate, we thought we would try to find something a little less expensive than the Clydesdale. We are in Bellingham so what we can see in person is very limited. House is 1928 2 story, 1900 sq ft and drafty - we get a lot of wind right off the Bay so that does impact the chill factor in the house. I am the main wood burner because I work from home so I like something easy to load.

All opinions or ideas appreciated. We are thinking about buying another Clydesdale but want to explore other options too.

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

Welcome to Western WA! You have lots of choices here. Many stoves are made within this state and neighboring Canada. Osburn is by SBI. They also make Drolet, Enerzone, Flame stones. Osburn are a well-made solid stove. While you are in Bellingham stop by and see Hearth.com member's Tom Oyen's shop at 913 Harris Ave.. They are very good folks with some of the best customer service and pricing in the region. http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/ And they sell the Clydesdale and Pacific Energy Inserts. In your house I would also consider the Summit if it will fit the fireplace. It has a larger firebox than the Clydesdale and is a super heater.

Do you have wood yet? It is really hard to get truly seasoned wood at this time of year. Ask Tom where to buy if you need to.

 

[imalovesmax]

Thanks for the quick reply. We visited the store today and got some good ideas and names for wood. We will need a permit for the insert and as you know the insert needs to be WA state approved. I hope we are not way too late for wood this year! Lots of people on Craig's list but not sure if seasoned will be seasoned. We really missed heating with wood last year and our new house already feels chilly to me when the sun goes away. Will check out the Summit.

 

[begreen]

Pay extra for good dry wood if you can find it. And don't trust the seller. Take an axe or maul and resplit it before accepting the load. Test the freshly exposed face of the wood for moisture. If you don't have a meter, press it up against your cheek. If it is cool and damp, the wood is not dry. If you can, stick with doug fir for this season. The high oil content will help it burn better. Buy and stack your next season's wood in Feb or Mar and stack it with a cover on the top.

 

[imalovesmax]

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.

 

[kingquad]

Check out the Osburn 2400. Very good insert and can be found for a very reasonable price online. Osburn has some of the best customer service in the business.

Also, if your a DIY'er, take some time airsealing and insulating your home. This will give you more comfort, while protecting against future energy price increases. It can also be done at very low expense if you DIY.

 

[dafattkidd]

Welcome back, ILM. I have the osburn 2400i. Its a beast. The specs read 3.2 cf firebox but it's more like 3.5. I've been heating my drafty 1700 sf house for three seasons with great success. I'm not saying it's the best insert out there, but when I was looking it was definitely the largest firebox for the price. We have been really happy with our purchase. One thing I really like about this unit is the ability to heat without the fan. This unit has the ability to protrude 9" or so into the room. This allows for a ton of heat to pour into the room. I hope that is helpful. Good luck in your search!

 

[imalovesmax]

Thanks for the thoughts on the 2400. We were just talking about this possibly being or best option. I was just complaining about it sticking out but I had not considered the possibility of getting heat w/out running the fan.

We are sadly not DIY people when it involves the interior or our home. We just did an energy audit and have a long list of insulating suggestions but will need to hire someone to do the work.

We even got a lead on someone with some dry seasoned firewood left over - maybe 2 cords to get us started.

I"ll report back when we pull the trigger on something! Off to go order a new pair of tall welding gloves - these worked the best for us - no holes after a lot of use.

 

[begreen]

Get the wood, in 16" lengths now. The sooner you get it stacked and top covered the better. Especially if it is sitting in a large mound on the seller's lot.

The first thing to do this year is learn how to seal leaks. This is often just a simple matter of caulking. Take a homeowner's workshop to learn how. You would be amazed at how effective some basic weatherstripping and caulking can be.

 

[jeffesonm]

Loved my Osburn Matrix insert... it is built off their 2000 insert i believe.... 2.4 cu ft firebox and flush install was not enough to heat my drafty 1800 sq ft ranch so I am upgrading to a free stander, however I would not hesitate to buy another Osburn product. The insert was very easy to load 15-16" logs N/S and you can really pack them in there. Build quality was very nice too. Maybe the 2400 protruding into the room a bit will do the trick for you.

 

[imalovesmax]

Thanks Jeff. I am leaning towards the Matrix because I can't get past the protruding of the 2400.

The fireplace & chimney are not on an external wall in our new home (like or house in MA) - right in the center of our house. House is two story, sort of the NW version of NE saltbox.

The Clydesdale is still in the running because we loved our last one.

On a happy note we are getting our first 2 cords of wood today!

 

[imalovesmax]

Here comes our wood and it is nice and dry and seasoned.

 

[begreen]

Did you resplit and check it? Don't mean to be a wet sock but it looks a little young by the color.

 

[imalovesmax]

We ended up with the first cord in the front of the truck, the middle was the wet cord and the last cord or so towards the front of the truck is the other dry cord. We filled up our garage (small old garage) with the first cord and then will stack and get the other mixed cord in the back next week when we make room. Our old house has this little garage attached to the rest of the basement and is heated - We can leave the garage door open on nice days for air and also will likely have the heat on in the house (gasp) until we get the insert.

I had him split a few pieces and they seemed nice and dry on the inside. There were a few wet end pieces from the truck (they had it covered in the truck but a few things got damp). Overall I think the wood seemed similar to the wood we left on our property in MA for 9-12 months.

Could not get just fir from anyone so these cords are mixed. I might be suffering from magical thinking! We figured year one in WA will be our learning and burning year. We probably won't have the insert installed for 3-4 weeks between permits and having it shipped here. Thanks for asking!

 

[begreen]

Put a fan blowing on the garage stack to accelerate drying.

 

[bag of hammers]

One thing I really like about this unit is the ability to heat without the fan. This unit has the ability to protrude 9" or so into the room. This allows for a ton of heat to pour into the room.

It seems to me there have been many similar comments here over time (the advantages of an insert that extends into the room a bit). I'm not an insert owner so I'm just going from what I've read and my fuzzy memory. To me a stove like the 2400 seems kinda like a nice balance, in a sense, between a flush insert and a freestanding unit. The 2400 is a nice looking stove regardless. I haven't had any serious issues with my 2200, and IMHO (and based on other comments around here) the quality of the Osburn stoves and the customer support at SBI are both very good. My 2c - regardless of what stove you purchase (and you'll get some solid recommendations here) since you're approaching 2,000 sq ft of old and drafty - when you need some serious heat, you will probably be glad that you didn't sacrifice function for the sake of form. Actually there is a recent thread here, I believe, about someone replacing a nice contemporary stove 'cause it doesn't throw enough heat in their particular situation.

Just chiming in since there are a lot of threads from new burners, and often it seems like heating capacity isn't the first concern. disclaimer - I'd be pretty much happy with a plain black steel box, as long as I'm toasty warm....

 

[imalovesmax]

We were thinking (maybe more magical thinking!) that since we are no longer living in the frigid Central MA climate that we could get something sleek and functional. I woke up this morning and told my husband that I thought we should buy another Hearthstone Clyd. because the combo of the soap stone and cast iron really, size, and nice blower kept our 2200+ drafty old money pit nice and toasty and then he said "I was thinking we should get the Matrix." Sigh.

 

[bag of hammers]

This thread might be helpful. Nothing against the matrix - it's a cool looking unit, I think there is another thread here where someone is in the process of installing one, and it could be a perfect fit in that situation. Anyway, you might be interested...

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/thinking-of-replacing-my-osburn-matrix-insert.113823/

EDIT - sorry I see jeffesonm already posted here - sorry for the redundancy...

 

[jeffesonm]

The Matrix came close to satisfying my heating needs... just barely missed the mark. It was sufficient until it hit the teens, and then the furnace would kick on in the early AM for a few hours until I reloaded and got it going again. Overall I still cut my oil usage from ~1100 gallons/year to ~450, so at $3.50/gallon it pretty much paid for itself in the first year. If your house is better insulated, or your winters not quite so cold, or you're okay with using some supplementary oil/gas/electricity, you should be okay. They also offer a 2-4" projection kit that might be another compromise option.

 

[imalovesmax]

Not warm here in the winter but I would say mild in comparison to Central MA in the Winter. Of course the sun does not shine much and it is damp. We will likely use a little of everything to keep us toasty in the winter. Again, thanks so much for the quick feedback & suggestions everyone!

 

[Ed Williams]

Osburns are nice stoves. I believe they are made in British Columbia, not too far up the road from you. Bellingham is a nice area. Hope you enjoy your new home.

 

[imalovesmax]

The Maxtrix has been ordered! Will post a pic when it get installed! Thanks again for all the feedback!

 

[imalovesmax]

Cross your fingers, the Matrix should be arriving at our house today! My husband has no idea, he thinks maybe next week. I hope I have a good surprise for him and I hope the city inspector can come out this week! It has been over 1.5 years since we have burned anything. The withdrawals have been bad!

 

[USMC80]

awesome, can't wait for some pics

 

[imalovesmax]

Installed and waiting for the inspector, hurry up inspector!