We will be replacing our old Superior unit with a new EPA certified system. This will be a total replacement including chimney. I have narrowed it down to a few that I like the looks and features of. In doing my research I discovered that many of these different brands are manufactured by the same parent company and utilize some of the same features.
I wasn’t sure if when looking at certain brands versus others from the same parent company, do I need to be careful and watch for anything, or any known issues with one brand over the other? I am also looking for some help in sizing the unit.
Here are some units that I like and have been researching (those paired together are essentially the same unit but from different brands:
HHT – Quadrafire 7100
HHT – Heat N Glo Northstar
HHT – Quadrafire Pioneer II
Travis – FPX 36 Elite
IHP – Astria Montecito Estate
IHP – Superior WCT 6940 WS
I like the idea of the longer burn times and more even heat from the CAT models, but wondered about the potential for increased maintenance over the non-cat models. In reality anything with an 8hr burn time is going to be such a drastic improvement over our old traditional fireplace.
I think as of right now the 7100 is the one I am the most interested in, but don’t want to overheat our ground level. I will say that it has a very wide range of SFT compared to some of the others, 1200-3000 sft. I like that some of these models have the option to run vents to your heating ducts or just have vents on the back side of the fire place that would allow me to direct some heat back towards the bedrooms.
I am not looking to heat my total square footage necessarily, but If I could that would be great. When we burn we usually try to run our air handler on medium, even if it is not heating, this does a good job of circulating the warm air from our living room area throughout most of the house. I have attached our floorplan to help with input. The ground level is only 1760 sft, but living room area is rather large and has cathedral ceilings that are about 16-17ft to the peak. So there is a pretty large air volume in our main living area. We also have over 2800 sft in the basement area, so some of this heat may be able to be utilized there too.
The floor plan shows the fireplace location (red) and the stairs to the basement right behind it. All of the kitchen, living room, and hall space behind fireplace is very open floor plan, and the stairway to the basement is very open as well.
Pros and cons of those who have experience with some of the models listed would be great. I know from using the search function that there are a few that seem to have had VERY bad customer service issues with Home & Hearth Technologies (HHT) and say to run far and fast. But yet there still seem to be quite a few of you that have had had trouble free operation and love the products you have had from HHT.
If I have left anything out information wise that would help, please let me know and I will post it up. Thanks.
I wasn’t sure if when looking at certain brands versus others from the same parent company, do I need to be careful and watch for anything, or any known issues with one brand over the other? I am also looking for some help in sizing the unit.
Here are some units that I like and have been researching (those paired together are essentially the same unit but from different brands:
HHT – Quadrafire 7100
HHT – Heat N Glo Northstar
HHT – Quadrafire Pioneer II
Travis – FPX 36 Elite
IHP – Astria Montecito Estate
IHP – Superior WCT 6940 WS
I like the idea of the longer burn times and more even heat from the CAT models, but wondered about the potential for increased maintenance over the non-cat models. In reality anything with an 8hr burn time is going to be such a drastic improvement over our old traditional fireplace.
I think as of right now the 7100 is the one I am the most interested in, but don’t want to overheat our ground level. I will say that it has a very wide range of SFT compared to some of the others, 1200-3000 sft. I like that some of these models have the option to run vents to your heating ducts or just have vents on the back side of the fire place that would allow me to direct some heat back towards the bedrooms.
I am not looking to heat my total square footage necessarily, but If I could that would be great. When we burn we usually try to run our air handler on medium, even if it is not heating, this does a good job of circulating the warm air from our living room area throughout most of the house. I have attached our floorplan to help with input. The ground level is only 1760 sft, but living room area is rather large and has cathedral ceilings that are about 16-17ft to the peak. So there is a pretty large air volume in our main living area. We also have over 2800 sft in the basement area, so some of this heat may be able to be utilized there too.
The floor plan shows the fireplace location (red) and the stairs to the basement right behind it. All of the kitchen, living room, and hall space behind fireplace is very open floor plan, and the stairway to the basement is very open as well.
Pros and cons of those who have experience with some of the models listed would be great. I know from using the search function that there are a few that seem to have had VERY bad customer service issues with Home & Hearth Technologies (HHT) and say to run far and fast. But yet there still seem to be quite a few of you that have had had trouble free operation and love the products you have had from HHT.
If I have left anything out information wise that would help, please let me know and I will post it up. Thanks.
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