Quadrafire 7100 or Elite 44 (or ??) for new home?

[snarflemike]

We are currently living in a 3000 sq. ft. home and have an Elite 36 installed. I'm generally happy with it (even with its few quirks, the biggest IMO being the ridiculously small amount of travel from full air to closed). We will be building a new home of about the same size, maybe a little bigger, on some acreage we just bought, and I'm looking at the Elite 44 and the QF 7100 (open to others, just beginning the search). Besides the aesthetics we value the heat from a fireplace, certainly, but will also have furnace heat, if and when needed. We live in Northern California at about 3600 feet, FWIW.

I'll also admit to a bias, probably irrational for the most part, against catalytic units, but I'm hoping I can be bigger than that.

So I'd like to hear any thoughts or guides (or questions I'm not asking) on choosing one or the other, or perhaps something different. I've done some searching on this forum and both units seem to be well received. Thanks!

 

[Dmitry]

We are currently living in a 3000 sq. ft. home and have an Elite 36 installed. I'm generally happy with it (even with its few quirks, the biggest IMO being the ridiculously small amount of travel from full air to closed). We will be building a new home of about the same size, maybe a little bigger, on some acreage we just bought, and I'm looking at the Elite 44 and the QF 7100 (open to others, just beginning the search). Besides the aesthetics we value the heat from a fireplace, certainly, but will also have furnace heat, if and when needed. We live in Northern California at about 3600 feet, FWIW.

I'll also admit to a bias, probably irrational for the most part, against catalytic units, but I'm hoping I can be bigger than that.

So I'd like to hear any thoughts or guides (or questions I'm not asking) on choosing one or the other, or perhaps something different. I've done some searching on this forum and both units seem to be well received. Thanks!

I'm confused. 36 Elite unit has catalytic combustor , so it's technically a cat stove. Right?
My friend has 36 and can't say it's perfect. Air control is a joke, no blower on equals no heat whatsoever. Short burn times. If 44 is similar id stay away. Its pretty, though. I have Travis flush hybrid and it preforms well better than 36. Travis has other model now, but I don't trust it after seeing 36
http://www.fireplacex.com/ProductGuide/ProductDetail.aspx?modelsku=98500107
Do you consider free standing stove? You cant beat that in efficiency department.

 

[dBrad]

We just installed a 7100 in our new build, and although we haven't moved in yet so I can't speak to its performance, it at least looks great! From everything I've read on here, we should love it.

 

[snarflemike]

I'm confused. 36 Elite unit has catalytic combustor , so it's technically a cat stove. Right?

Yes, maybe I was a little confusing there. Elite 36 is a catalytic unit. And, either because of that or in spite of that, I do have something of a bias against catalytic units. Or maybe I could say that I have a bias in favor of pipes-with-holes secondary combustion units (I'm sure there's a more correct term!). I've had a couple in cabins in the past, and I find the secondary flames fascinating. I'm also not afraid that I'll make a mistake and damage such a unit.

Do you consider free standing stove? You cant beat that in efficiency department.

Wife wouldn't have it. We had that discussion regarding our current house, and I was soundly defeated, because she cared a lot more than I did.

 

[dBrad]

Wife wouldn't have it. We had that discussion regarding our current house, and I was soundly defeated, because she cared a lot more than I did.

Sounds a lot like how our conversation went!

 

[Dmitry]

Sounds a lot like how our conversation went!

Plus one , wondering if I should have put my foot down

 

[Bernie McBurner]

I cant speak to the Elite 44 - as for the Quadra fire.... RUN away fast. Decent solid unit but old ideas and some poor design elements. Engineers need to update with the years of Customer concerns that they log. Their call center and support is simply the worse I have ever dealt with. All friendly until the ink on the check dries, after that you are ALONE.

 

[bfast250]

Do you care for the looks of the Pacific Energy units? They are fantastic heaters and dead simple to use.

 

[iron]

we have a heat n glo northstar which i believe is similar, but smaller and less bells and whistles than the 7100. some issues include not being able to load N/S (12" depth) - which really sucks. black glass due to poor rivet location. baffle removal difficult. but, it heats our house easily (1979, 2x4 walls, r11, reasonably air sealed, 2300 SF, pacific northwest). it's at the far end of the house, so i've installed an ecobee 3 thermostat to cycle our furnace fan (no heat), and it keeps the whole house within 3 degrees of each other with 10 minutes of fan time / hour. i plan to write up a thread, eventually, once i get more data points.