Need The Good The Bad The Ugly

[luke3425]

Building a new house, and we have decided on the quadrafire 7100. I am looking for your input. I have been creeping around reading threads with tons of info ( thanks) and looking at tons of pictures that have made our decision pretty easy, but before I make the purchase, I want some input.

Would you choose something different and why?
And where can I find a decent price on this unit? I am located in N. Central Texas. The nearest dealer is a few hours away. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Luke, I can't help you on the quadrafire but other's can. Before they get on it might help of you give more detail about your new home; size, where the stove will be, etc. This will help others on making suggestions. NC Texas I believe gets some winter weather and for sure gets some cold but not too bad so heating needs should not be too high. Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

 

[luke3425]

Excellet points... The home will be 2500 +- sqft Stove will be centrally located, and only a one story home.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good Luke. Now what about the chimney? Also, because of your location you won't need as large of a stove as someone in the more northern areas. But just for kicks, how low of a temperature do you get nights in your location and how long is the heating season. What are the typical daytime temperatures?

Now, even more important is the question: what have you got for firewood? Will you be cutting yourself or buying. Are you aware, especially with the new stoves how important it is to have good dry wood and do you know how long it takes to dry the wood?

 

[luke3425]

Chimney> any input in that dept is appreciated.. I am handy, but not real familiar with chimneys.
As far as fire wod goes. I will be cutting it myself. I understand dry wood is a must to maintain clean glass, and I will be burning oak.
As far as temps go, we can get as low as 10-15 degrees but ussually will not stay that cold for more than a few days at a time, with the day time temp reaching mid 30's to 40's

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Luke, be aware that although oak is one of the very best woods, up in this area it needs 3 years to dry! No doubt in your area it will take less time but for sure it will need a minimum of a year and perhaps longer. And this time is counted only after the wood has been split and stacked. Just want you to be aware of this because the biggest problems we see are new wood burners trying to burn wood that is not yet ready to burn. Even buying wood does not work. When buying, figure it is fresh wood and not dry no matter what they tell you. There are very few exceptions to this and we see it year after year.

 

[PapaDave]

Welcome to the Hearth, luke3425.
As Dennis mentioned, the wood is of prime concern here.
Due to climate differences, may take it less time to dry than here in Michigan, but you have hopefully gotten your wood for this coming winter at least a year ago.
Weird, eh?
If not, I wish you good luck in finding dry Oak. Get it now, we'll wait for your 1st report of c/s/s wood.
Unless, of course, you've done this before.
If you have, ignore me.

 

[Grisu]

Hi Luke,

I just checked out the Quadrafire and it is actually an energy-efficient fireplace not a free-standing woodstove. Building a chimney for it will be completely different than a typical stove-pipe and you probably need some masonry and carpentry skills if you want to build it yourself. Are you only considering fireplaces or would a stove also be an option?

The Quadra has a 3.4 cu ft firebox which should be plenty for your house and climate. I would actually have suggested something smaller in the 2.5 to 3 cu ft range but bigger usually does not hurt. How much insulation are you putting in? Also, how much of your heating needs do you want to fulfill with the fireplace? Do you need long burn times?

 

[ScotO]

Welcome aboard, Luke! The Quad 7100 is an awesome heating appliance, and it gives you the classic look of a fireplace while putting out the heat like a woodstove. We looked at those when deciding what to do, but ended up getting a Napoleon NZ3000, we fell in love with the wrought iron look and I already have a Napoleon 1900p in the kitchen that we love, so that's what we ended up with.

As for a chimney, the 7100 will use 8" class A insulated chimney pipe. Good stuff, and very reliable/safe. But I am assuming you want to build a nice chase around the stove and flue, so that is where you need to really study the installation guidelines for your situation. There are critical clearances that these ZC fireplaces require, and you must adhere to them. I have a link in my signature below of my NZ3000 install. It was a labor intensive process (did the whole thing myself), but well worth it in the end. You can check that out, and many others on here, to get an idea of what you can do with that unit. Keep us posted on your build. I'm looking forward to seeing it.....

 

[Coog]

I have the 7100. It is quite the heating machine but I did have some glass blackening issues that have not quite been resolved. The door seal is good but a couple of welds were missing on the inside of the fire box from the factory. They fixed that but the problem persists. I ran out of cold before I could give it a good test.

I paid about $4K for the unit with all of the accessories. I would have went with a free stander but the wife would not have it. The 7100 is a good substitute.

Something to think about though, the 7100 is not a cat unit. If you live in a warmer climate, the cat is good for low and slow burning. And Scotty is right, make sure the install will work in your house before you go a buyin'. I spent months researching before I bought anything.

Geez Scotty is that you in the avatar?...wouldn't want to bump into you in an alley.

 

[luke3425]

@ Grisu, I agree with you about something smaller fitting my bill, but "size matters right"? Anyways, we are hoping that with good air circualtion, we can heat the whole house when needed, or atleast be blanket comfy. And wood stove is out.. Wife will not have it with our two young children walking around, I tend to agree with her there.

@ Scotty, Thanks for the Chimney input as well as the installation advice. I will take it into careful consideration. We were also leaning towards the NZ3000 and have just recently decided on the quadrafire. Who knows, maybe we go back to it before this is all said and done.

@ Coog, Glass blackening seems to be a trend, but most of it seems to be wood related vs the insert. But I am not an expert by anymeans. 4k-5K seems to be the ball park price. Any help or where to purchase is greatly appreciated as well. Fireplace stores are few and far between out in the sticks where I live. As far as burn times go, I think the quadrafire will suffice. A burn that will last most of the night with some coals in the morning should do us just fine..

Once again, thanks for all of the input.

 

[Coog]

I get overnight burns with it. With seasoned oak, which I have short supply, will burn for 10 or 12 hours depending. I recommend buying from a fire place store if you can. When I noticed my black glass issue, which is more than unseasoned wood, my fireplace store rep played a pivotal role in engaging hearth and home industries. I doubt I could have gotten the leverage with out them.

I am have burned with wood for many year but am no where near the expert as some here in this forum, especially as it pertains to EPA certified stoves. However, when it comes to the installation of this unit, I learned, inside and out, the requirements. Let me know if you decide to go this route. Would be glad to help you out as I can.

 

[Blue2ndaries]

Welcome to the Forum Luke! Below are a few threads on my 7100 install. We've had our 7100 now for 4 winters and it is great both functionally and aesthetically. Each year has been progressively better, the key (as several have mentioned) is having well-seasoned wood. Good luck w/your decisions; feel free to PM me w/any questions.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...real-post-some-pics—sorry-kinda-long.74136/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/zc-fireplace.93826/#post-1234926