Seeking advice on two fireplace wood insert upgrades

[jaredledvina]

Hi everyone,

We're currently looking to upgrade our two fireplaces. While we looked at a number of natural gas based ones, we've fallen more in favor of wood inserts due to the large amount of firewood we collect from the property yearly and that it's a bit more than "push a button". Here's what we're working with:
Front Width: 34"
Back Width: 27"
Height: 26 1/4"
Depth: 33"
Chimney: ~23ft from ground to top of flue tiles
Photos:

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Both are masonry fireplaces that share the same chimney. The upstairs fireplace was converted to run a small gas log set decades ago, the downstairs fireplace has always been wood burning. We had both flues cleaned professionally in the fall of 2020 and since only have used the gas log set a few number of times. One particular wrinkle in this is that we've done a lot of air sealing and insulation projects over the years. The last blower-door test we had done as part of an overall home-energy audit showed 0.33ACH. As such, I'd strongly prefer to get an insert that supported a dedicated outdoor air kit. I'd also like them to qualify for https://www.energystar.gov/about/federal_tax_credits/biomass_stoves which as I understand it, means they'll need 75%+ HHV.

Right now, I've got it narrowed down to these options:

• Travis Industries Large Flush Wood NexGen-Hybrid Arch: (broken link removed to https://www.lopistoves.com/product/large-flush-wood-nexgen-fyre-arch/)
• Regency I2500-1: https://www.regency-fire.com/en/Products/Wood/Wood-Inserts/I2500
• Blaze King Ashford 25 (AF25): https://www.blazeking.com/products/ashford-25/
• HearthStone Clydesdale 8492: https://www.hearthstonestoves.com/product/clydesdale/

Any advice on which units to look into? I'd be curious if any of these support a dedicated air intake for combustion air. Thanks for the help!

 

[begreen]

An outside air connection on an insert is uncommon. The Blaze King does not support an outside air kit. I don't think the Lopi large flush does either. The Clydesdale manual lists outside air in the troubleshooting section, but I think that might just be generic documentation that does not apply to their insert and the Regency doesn't. Some Pacific Energy inserts do, but they don't get the tax rebate.

 

[jaredledvina]

Yeah, that's the conclusion I'm coming to as well. Seems like it's an extreme niche that the industry doesn't exactly support today. I'd love if they did! If I have to crack a window or get an ERV installed, that could avoid issues I'm thinking.

Any opinions on the inserts I'm considering and/or my setup?

 

[begreen]

In that group the BK and the Lopi stand out for higher owner satisfaction based on reports here. The Regency i2700 is a better choice than the i2500.

 

[jaredledvina]

Okay great, thanks! Unfortunately, the Regency i2700 looks like it's 1% below the tax rebate threshold https://cfpub.epa.gov/oarweb/woodstove/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.appliancerecord&appliancesID=4824 but I like the way it looks a lot more than the i2500.

 

[Ovationcs257]

Take a look at Osburn 2000 I didn't check all the dimensions but it will work with the 26 1/4" height. It counts for the tax credit and has an outside air kit you can buy for the right or left side. The one thing I would question is you spent all that time and effort into air sealing your house and this will put a big hole in that effort.

Also, check your hearth depth and combustibles on the sides and top as they look a little close if you go with this as it does stick out a little from the face frame.

The one thing I will warn you is don't believe the delivery estimate I ordered mine in November 2022 and was told it would be 4-6 weeks, and it was delivered in April 2023.

 

[JonH]

In that group the BK and the Lopi stand out for higher owner satisfaction based on reports here. The Regency i2700 is a better choice than the i2500.

I strongly disagree. I feel that the i2500 is a much better choice than the i2700. It’s less expensive, puts out more heat, the glass stays WAYYYY cleaner, you can cook on it in an emergency, it gets a tax credit, and the stove will work just fine if the person never even uses the cat.