Recommendations for ZC Wood Fireplace

[blurryheater]

Wife and I are building our dream home and I'm struggling trying to decide on a fireplace. I'm on 20 acres with lots of hedge so I want a good heater for the living room. House is a ranch with basement, 2500 sqft main floor, about the same in the basement. Want a modernish rectangular unit, with largest firebox I can get since my hearth is 7 feet wide, 14 feet tall. Was probably going to get one with the heat dump to run a vent down to the basement.

Originally I had settled on the Pacific Energy FP30, so many good things said about it on the forums here. Just heard word from my dealer that there was no more of those stoves to get because they aren't 2020 approved.

Other options I'm looking at are the following:

1. Quadra-Fire Pioneer III. Like the large firebox and glass, dislike the thermostat control. I think I'd prefer to control the air myself. No reviews on this that I can find anywhere though.

2. FPX Apex 42. Seen some good reviews on it, no basement heat dump ability though.

3. Ambiance Elegance 42. This one seems to check all the boxes, but from near I can tell the unit is lightweight and I can't find any other reviews on the thing. Since I'm surrounding this with stone I want to make sure it will last.

Any advice or other fireplaces I should be looking at? Thanks

 

[begreen]

Kozy 42 and RSF fireplaces are popular and worth checking out. Or just do the coarse framing for the FP30 and have the space ready for install when the new one gets certified. The fireboxes for their LE freestanding stoves have passed testing so I expect the fireplaces will pass as well. It's just a matter of getting them adapted and tested.

 

[Pertzbro]

What about this?

Horizon | Wood fireplaces | Osburn

www.osburn-mfg.com

 

[Pertzbro]

Kozy 42 and RSF fireplaces are popular and worth checking out. Or just do the coarse framing for the FP30 and have the space ready for install when the new one gets certified. The fireboxes for their LE freestanding stoves have passed testing so I expect the fireplaces will pass as well. It's just a matter of getting them adapted and tested.

Isn't the Kozy 42 not EPA 2020 approved?

 

[begreen]

I'm assuming the purchase is happening before May and the OP is looking to buy now.

 

[mcdougy]

A quick Google search is saying that stoves-pipes.com has a unit in stock and on sale. Who knows if this is true or not? Does your building permit require the heater to be 2020 approved regardless?

 

[blurryheater]

That Osborn horizon looks interesting. Definitely high on my list now. My building permit doesn’t care about being EPA 2020. Basement is now poured so I’m trying to lock down framing dimensions for the fireplace.

Thanks for the tip on stoves-pipes.com.

 

[Clif2020]

Thinking of buying kozy heat z42 any reviews from current owners? Trying to heat high ceiling in living room and 1200 sq ft main level

 

[mcdougy]

Whichever unit you decide on, be mindful of the amount of weight you will be putting in a single area. Extra framing IS required. Unit and stone is a load of 125 lbs per sqft conservative, most joist systems are designed for less than half of that. Sometimes the weight of a zc can be overlooked.
Is the unit going on an outside wall? If you end up with the heat dump, having it terminate close to basement slab is beneficial. It also allows/requires the structural framing to help support the weight put on the joist system.

 

[blurryheater]

Right on about the weight, builder has already noted extra floor truss in the plan for weight of fireplace. It’s going on an inside wall. In theory a heat dump sounds great but every dealer I’ve talked to doesn’t really recommend it. I want to push the heat to the basement but I do understand that’s going against the law of thermodynamics. I’m getting a quote for a fpx 42 apex, it doesn’t have a heat dump so I may just abandon that idea.

Upon further review of the Osburn horizon I’m not a big fan of the refractory panels and weird shaped firebox. I probably need to stop researching these things though and just choose one.

 

[mcdougy]

Well, All I can say is that I am a firm believer in the heat dump if your wanting to use the fireplace as your main heater. IME if we didn't have the heat dump to the basement the large and cathedral stove room of our open ranch home (3100sqft main floor) would get too hot. With running the fan on the heat dump we are able to maintain a very well balanced temperature in the entire house. The basement and main floor bedrooms, with a open stairwell are generally only a few degrees cooler, I feel without the heat dump this would not be the case at all.
We are heating the entire house with our zc unit only, 24/7. Our propane for the entire year last year was just over 700$ and the hot water heater is the consumer as the furnace only runs if we are out of town.
If your unit is only for general ambiance than you could skip the heat dump, but if your thinking of using it as your house heater I think it's a must. We are in our third winter in our new home.

 

[Clif2020]

Mcdougy, i did not even think of the weight that is a great tip mine is going on outside wall but on the main floor above the basement. With your advice will definitely be reinforcing the framing. Is the amount of heat that comes out of the Kozy Heat Z42 going to be enough for 1200 sq ft with 16ft ceilings? I have compared the BTU's in several places on different models and see so many different numbers that its confusing i figured out the input/output. But many will claim 70k BTU output and then according to the EPA it is 38k output so I am definitely confused there. My biggest fear is to buy something that does not put out the heat i am looking for. I need the 6" duct/flue and don't have the clearance for an 8".

 

[Clif2020]

Mcdougy, i did not even think of the weight that is a great tip mine is going on outside wall but on the main floor above the basement. With your advice will definitely be reinforcing the framing. Is the amount of heat that comes out of the Kozy Heat Z42 going to be enough for 1200 sq ft with 16ft ceilings? I have compared the BTU's in several places on different models and see so many different numbers that its confusing i figured out the input/output. But many will claim 70k BTU output and then according to the EPA it is 38k output so I am definitely confused there. My biggest fear is to buy something that does not put out the heat i am looking for. I need the 6" duct/flue and don't have the clearance for an 8".

when you say heat dump are you talking about the duct work that gets ducted to another room. I would love to do that to the basement but with heat rising many have told me that it will not work since my fireplace is on the main floor and not in the basement. I would love to hear your thoughts on that? that would be a dream of mine to heat up the basement from the main floor fireplace.

 

[mcdougy]

Mcdougy, i did not even think of the weight that is a great tip mine is going on outside wall but on the main floor above the basement. With your advice will definitely be reinforcing the framing. Is the amount of heat that comes out of the Kozy Heat Z42 going to be enough for 1200 sq ft with 16ft ceilings? I have compared the BTU's in several places on different models and see so many different numbers that its confusing i figured out the input/output. But many will claim 70k BTU output and then according to the EPA it is 38k output so I am definitely confused there. My biggest fear is to buy something that does not put out the heat i am looking for. I need the 6" duct/flue and don't have the clearance for an 8".

I am unable to comment on the performance of the different models available.....my assumption is that the BTUs from the wood is the constant, so the research required is what models release them at your preferred time frame. Are you wanting longest burns available? That seems to be most people's focus. As far as zc units your choices are somewhat restricted to tube stoves from what I know. I don't think there is a cat zc? But I'm often wrong. Surely not many.
I can only comment on my home for certain . When I was talking with dealers about the heat dump/ remote heat duct, I can honestly say the dealers were not interested either. I considered 2 local dealers. First one said why but it, make your own. And the dealer I ultimately went with installer said he had never installed one before. My feeling was that zc fireplaces are probably the least sold units and this was the source of lack of experience. There not super popular, they are expensive, and many customers budgets are not wanting extras. These type of units are generally only in a custom home application.
Performance of my heat dump/remote kit works. If that fan is not turned on, I hear about it. We have a central staircase to the basement that is open. This stairwell may not help performance , but if the fan to the basement is not running my kids tell me it's getting cool down there. We added a curtain at the bottom of the stairs and they felt it helps to keep the heat to stay down. My thermometers often read 23celcius in the central stove room, 21 in the bedrooms and other ends of the main floor and 19 in the basement and basement bedrooms. I do run my furnace fan on low also, thinking it helps "stir" the air.
Again I will state that I can't comment on comparison performance of units, but I can say I couldn't be happier with the performance of my setup. I never expected it to be the sole heat source, but it is. It's heating 6200 sqft comfortably on 3 to 4 loads a day. When temps hit -25/30 celcius I loose a few degrees. It still feels quite warm after stepping in from outside.

 

[mcdougy]

Our stove room is 14' cathedral ceiling with a 60" ceiling fan that runs always. The rest of the house is 9' or 12' tray ceilings on main floor, basement is full 8'2" ceilings with minimal glass (not a walkout)