Lopi, PE or Regency wood insert and what size?

[LZfamily]

I am excited to get a wood burning insert for our house. We had a free standing Lopi Leyden and LOVED IT, but it was too big for our space! We dont want to make that mistake again, so I have 2 questions...size and which one?
Current house has a fireplace in it, we already had someone out and it can fit an insert. It is located in our family room that has a 2 story ceiling and the fireplace is on an exterior wall. The house is about 3,000 square feet, my hope is we can use the insert to significant cut our gas furnace heating costs, we are located in northern Illinois, we typically dont have winter outages to worry about. I would try to run it over night and during the day. I attached the floor plan, we have an openish layout. The kids bedrooms are next to the open 2 story family room so hopefully they will stay nice and warm, but again I dont want to bake them out of their rooms. And the family room is next to the office and kitchen so again those I assume should all stay warm....if we get the right size. So my first question is WHAT SIZE do we get? I was thinking bigger is better and looking at inserts that can heat up to 3,000 square feet, but will that roast us out of the house? I have talked with 3 different local companies and they are all being more sale people than helping me talk through this. One sales women said its up to us, but sent out there install guy to confirm the lopi large flush would fit. The other guy suggested a medium because of size, but he said he would double check measurements and let us know. And the third guy just ran with larger units since I said that is what I was initially looking at. So which do we get a medium or large insert?

Second question is which insert? I LOVED having a free standing stove, so I would LOVE one that comes out onto the hearth, but only if it comes out enough to put a kettle or small pot on. But finding something like this is hard, since it's not the trending style.

These are the ones that my local stores carry:
1-Hearthstone Clydesdale- soap stone to me doesn’t make sense on an insert, so I am ruling that out, unless someone can talk me into this.
2-Lopi evergreen
3-PE Summit or Super LE or Alderlea T5
4-Regency Hampton 2450 or classic 2450.

It looks like Summit and Regency have true shelf/bump out onto the hearth? One of the sales guys did not really suggest Regency. Does anyone have thoughts on Lopi, PE or Regency? Can anyone speak to the fan on these units, I read some have only 2 options vs a variable speed, some people say they are noisy, any other features I might be overlooking that would be good to know? I think all 3 of them have some for of hybrid technology, I think I want to stay away from cat’s. Does the bump out make a difference? To me I like the idea of having a shelf to put a kettle on and a bottom lip for any hot coals/ash, seems easier to wipe off that trying to get it out of the hearth bumps. But instead of stressing about this should I just do the Lopi flush insert? To me I just cant wrap my head around flush pushing out as much as a stove that bumps out onto the hearth.
I guess that is my last question are Lopi flush inserts really as effective as some of these other options I listed? THANK YOU!

 

[begreen]

A flush insert can put out good heat, but it needs the blower running to do this. An insert that projects out 6 or so inches onto the hearth will radiate more heat, even if there is a power outage and the blower can't be run.
The insert will heat the family room to the kitchen and a bit of the office but a lot of the heat will be going upstairs due to the open loft area. A ceiling fan in the open area will help move the air. Don't go small, this is a large house.

 

[stovelark]

If you are looking to run overnight, think 2.5 CUFT burnbox or larger. All of these inserts mentioned are good choices to me if they will fit. The Clydesdale is a nice insert too, it can be adjusted to fit more flush or have some of the unit out on the hearth. If you want to keep it simple, the PE's are easy breathing, high quality units. The blowers on all of them if ran on medium or lower will not be horribly loud. You definitely want the blower going as BG said. In a power outage though, the units sitting more out on the hearth will probably heat a little better. My suggestions would be any mentioned, but LOPI has gotten very expensive, although at this quality level, they're all high... Good luck.

 

[LZfamily]

If you are looking to run overnight, think 2.5 CUFT burnbox or larger. All of these inserts mentioned are good choices to me if they will fit. The Clydesdale is a nice insert too, it can be adjusted to fit more flush or have some of the unit out on the hearth. If you want to keep it simple, the PE's are easy breathing, high quality units. The blowers on all of them if ran on medium or lower will not be horribly loud. You definitely want the blower going as BG said. In a power outage though, the units sitting more out on the hearth will probably heat a little better. My suggestions would be any mentioned, but LOPI has gotten very expensive, although at this quality level, they're all high... Good luck.

Thanks! I was starting to get excited about the PE, had someone come out to measure and he said he was going to send me a quote. That was 4 days ago, I called yesterday and he said he was still researching it. Which makes me nervous. I am really limited around here with companies for wood inserts. So I think it will be Lopi flush or Regency Hampton 2450. But I had a guy out yesterday who was trying to sell me on a gas insert instead of wood! Which I know will be a different post, but he was trying to tell me a gas insert is just as good as wood with warming the house! Any thoughts on that? I can't wrap my head around wanting to cut gas costs by getting a gas insert!

 

[LZfamily]

A flush insert can put out good heat, but it needs the blower running to do this. An insert that projects out 6 or so inches onto the hearth will radiate more heat, even if there is a power outage and the blower can't be run.
The insert will heat the family room to the kitchen and a bit of the office but a lot of the heat will be going upstairs due to the open loft area. A ceiling fan in the open area will help move the air. Don't go small, this is a large house.

We have a ceiling fan in our family room, so looks like we will be running that one more. Do you think the Regency Hampton 2450 is too small? I really want one that sits on the hearth and non cat. I am having zero luck around where I live with getting quotes for PE and I am hesitant to order on line than hirer a contractor. So my options at this point are Lopi flush large or Regency Hampton 2450.
I had one guy out to measure yesterday and he was trying to sell me on a gas insert, saying its just as effective as wood and would meet our needs more. I just cant wrap my head around wanting to decrease gas bill by getting a gas insert.

 

[begreen]

The Hampton is a nice unit. It will work. See if there is an Osburn dealer around while searching. If the Osburn 3500-i will fit, it's the largest insert available.

 

[LZfamily]

The Hampton is a nice unit. It will work. See if there is an Osburn dealer around while searching. If the Osburn 3500-i will fit, it's the largest insert available.I did

The Hampton is a nice unit. It will work. See if there is an Osburn dealer around while searching. If the Osburn 3500-i will fit, it's the largest insert available.

I did consider the Osburn, but it doesn't sit much onto the hearth. I would love to be able to put a tea kettle on the top like we used to do with our wood stove. My other concern with that unit is it too big and will it roast us out, like our old stove did. I am also having a hard time finding someone that sells and installs osburn. I had someone say they could order me one and give me a list of contractors to install, which i dont feel good about.

 

[begreen]

The Leyden liked to burn hot. It had downdraft secondary combustion. The Hampton 2450, PE Summit, or the Osburn 3500-i will run quite differently than the Leyden did. They are updraft stoves and will run cleanly on a partial load of fuel.
The operator controls the amount of heat the stove puts out via the fuel load size and the air control setting.

 

[fast_nomad06]

I did consider the Osburn, but it doesn't sit much onto the hearth. I would love to be able to put a tea kettle on the top like we used to do with our wood stove. My other concern with that unit is it too big and will it roast us out, like our old stove did. I am also having a hard time finding someone that sells and installs osburn. I had someone say they could order me one and give me a list of contractors to install, which i dont feel good about.

imo the order it and go find your own installer thing is a bit of a red flag, means nobody local really stands behind it if something goes wrong later

 

[LZfamily]

imo the order it and go find your own installer thing is a bit of a red flag, means nobody local really stands behind it if something goes wrong later

I 110% agree! Total red flag and servicing it in the future if any goes wrong is my exact concern! But where I am people go a lot by looks and flush mount is the look, so its hard to find anyone who carries a different style, no one has them local on display.

 

[LZfamily]

The Leyden liked to burn hot. It had downdraft secondary combustion. The Hampton 2450, PE Summit, or the Osburn 3500-i will run quite differently than the Leyden did. They are updraft stoves and will run cleanly on a partial load of fuel.
The operator controls the amount of heat the stove puts out via the fuel load size and the air control setting.

Thank you for sharing that, I had no clue Leyden burned differently. You are a wealth of knowledge! Since the company that sells PE isn't getting back to me and I cant find anyone with an osburn, I think I am left with Hampton 2450 or Lopi Large flush. Any thoughts between those you? Thanks again for your help!

 

[stovelark]

The Regency F2450 insert looks like a good choice too, its a little smaller, but would be a good choice. The LOPI is more contemporary look, but I'm sure is a nice heater too. The Regency is more traditional looking, both are good companies, I think availability/service if needed is the important factor. That and good dry seasoned wood.

 

[LZfamily]

The Regency F2450 insert looks like a good choice too, its a little smaller, but would be a good choice. The LOPI is more contemporary look, but I'm sure is a nice heater too. The Regency is more traditional looking, both are good companies, I think availability/service if needed is the important factor. That and good dry seasoned wood.

Sadly regency does not have a non cat that is any bigger and while i love wood i dont want to tinker with a cat throughout the day. This is part of my concern, is this Regency too small for the space? I love the traditional look of regency, not a modern girl, which is my hesitation with Lopi. Lopi has a sale that ends tomorrow so while I am not trying to rush my decision I am trying to keep that in mind, the sale price is $8,820.80, while the exact regency that I would love ( cast iron brown) is $9,500! (both include install in the price)

 

[begreen]

How deep is the fireplace's hearth? I it raised or flush with the floor. (pictures welcome) The Hampton projects further into the room vs the flush Lopi. It will heat the area a bit better in the event of a power outage, though with the loft design, most of that heat will sit at the ceiling peak with the ceiling fans not running. If the current hearth depth is 16" then the Lopi will not require extending the hearth protection, the Hampton will.

Note that often competitive bids will cut corners on the flue liner install. Does this include a really thorough chimney cleaning? Will the liner be insulated? Will an insulated blockoff plate be installed in the damper area? If there is room, will they put insulation behind the insert to reduce heat loss to the exterior fireplace's masonry?

 

[DuaeGuttae]

How big is the Regency versus the Lopi? Normally I'd say opt for the biggest one that you could get, but I would not want that to mean a flush insert. The only two inserts I've ever owned both protruded on the hearth, and I loved that feature about them. As much as I love getting a deal, I don't think the sale price of the Lopi is enough of a savings over the life of the insert to warrant choosing it if it doesn't have a significant advantage in heating ability or size. The brown enameled cast iron sounds beautiful to this non-modern girl, too!

I don't think than any insert is going to heat your whole house in Illinois. We had an insert in our open family room/kitchen/dining room in south Central Texas, and it heated that area wonderfully, and some heat went upstairs, but it couldn't move the heat to our whole large house. It did add btu's to the envelope, so to speak, and definitely cut down on our gas bills. We were also much warmer and happier with it in our house.

My inserts in two previous houses were non-cat, and I loved both of them. We are living in a new construction home now and have much better insulation and air sealing, so we opted for a cat stove that gives us a lower burn rate so that we don't overheat the place. It's my first stove with a cat, and I will say that I never have to "fiddle" with it at all. It will wear out at some point and need replacing, so that's a consideration, especially with rising prices, but I don't think you need to rule out cat stoves automatically if that opens up more choices to you. Folks here who know a broader range of stoves than I do would be able to advise you on whether particular models run well or not.

 

[fast_nomad06]

How big is the Regency versus the Lopi? Normally I'd say opt for the biggest one that you could get, but I would not want that to mean a flush insert. The only two inserts I've ever owned both protruded on the hearth, and I loved that feature about them. As much as I love getting a deal, I don't think the sale price of the Lopi is enough of a savings over the life of the insert to warrant choosing it if it doesn't have a significant advantage in heating ability or size. The brown enameled cast iron sounds beautiful to this non-modern girl, too!

I don't think than any insert is going to heat your whole house in Illinois. We had an insert in our open family room/kitchen/dining room in south Central Texas, and it heated that area wonderfully, and some heat went upstairs, but it couldn't move the heat to our whole large house. It did add btu's to the envelope, so to speak, and definitely cut down on our gas bills. We were also much warmer and happier with it in our house.

My inserts in two previous houses were non-cat, and I loved both of them. We are living in a new construction home now and have much better insulation and air sealing, so we opted for a cat stove that gives us a lower burn rate so that we don't overheat the place. It's my first stove with a cat, and I will say that I never have to "fiddle" with it at all. It will wear out at some point and need replacing, so that's a consideration, especially with rising prices, but I don't think you need to rule out cat stoves automatically if that opens up more choices to you. Folks here who know a broader range of stoves than I do would be able to advise you on whether particular models run well or not. I’d rather hear from someone who has actually used a few of them than guess from specs alone. It’s a bit like choosing between Millioner Casino https://millioner-france.net/ games or slots: on paper they can look almost identical, but the real differences only show up once someone has actually spent time with them.

The sale is a one-time blip, but living with a flush unit versus one that throws heat into the room is every winter. A cat doesn't have to be a constant project either, especially if the house is tight enough to need lower-output burns.

 

[begreen]

Rereading the original post, I note that the OP is talking about the Evergreen which is a notably smaller insert than the Hampton. (2.1 vs 2.4). It's also a hybrid, having a catalyst and secondary tubes. It will not burn at a low rate as well as a pure cat stove from Blaze King. In this circumstance I would consider the large flush Lopi which is flush, but it does put out significantly more heat when pushed.