Shopping for an insert.. Seeking advice

[vegemom]

What a great site.. I have browsed through so many useful posts, now I am hoping to get some advice on my specific situation.

Up until we bought our curent home we had a BIS II unit which we just loved. It threw enough heat to be the primary heat source for our 1800 sq ft home, and our only 'complaint' was that it was a little too easy to burn it so hot that you couldn't sit in the room to watch the flames dance! We now have 3000 sq ft with a masonry fireplace on the second (main) floor, and we are looking for a unit to provide as much heat as possible to the main floor and the upstairs (approx 2000 sq ft total). We have central air/heat ductwork and were told by our local dealer that running the fan will move the heat throughout the house nicely. We also have ceiling fans throughout the house to keep the air from hanging out on the ceiling. Our local stove shop recommended the Quadrafire 4100i or the Jotul C550 Rockland (which I was told is coming out in October, but may be delayed.. there is no info on the Jotul site). Both seem comparable on specs and run about the same on price; I like the sound of the limited lifetime warranty on the Quad more than the 5yr warranty on the Jotul.. any thoughts on this? Has anyone run a BIS unit and one of these two that we are currently looking at - can you offer any comparison of the heat output of the units? Also, our BIS unit did not have a blower, and both the Quad and the Jotul have one.. I find the sound to be intrusive, so if one is notably quieter than the other I would be interested in knowing that. Finally, if anyone has the Quad unit without the gold trim I would very much like to see a pic.. I don't care for the gold myself, but cannot find any pics to see what it looks like with the nickel. Any advice or opinions would be welcome, as I have been researching off an on since June and I really need to move this forward - Fall is already here!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

im not familiar with the rockland, but the quad ive seen, nice unit , unfortunately the heating area you have is a bit much for our insert, but the quad should do well, the jotul may as well but i cant comment as much on it as im not familiar with it. more members will chime in with suggestions soon so hang in there , maybe post a picture of the hearth as it sits too to give the gang an idea of what they are working with

 

[stoveguy13]

the rockland wont be out till november and is going to be a bigger unit then the 4100i you can also get nickel trim for the 4100i for the amount of space you have i would probally look at the rockland or the 5100i if you can live with the looks of the unit the blower noise will be the same out of both but you can turn the blower off or put it on low

 

[MrGriz]

I don't have any direct experience with either of those units, but I have heard a lot of good things about the Quad.

I would not rely on your existing HVAC system to distribute heat well throughout your house. There have been many discussions on that and the consensus is that there is just too much heat loss through the system to make it effective. The ceiling fans will likely help much more.

Welcome to hearth.com

 

[TMonter]

I can tell you from experience you'll like the quad. It's got great fire control, just make sure you seriously consider a full chimney liner with the insert. I also know Quad stands by their warranty, Quad replaced my stove after three seasons for a small stress crack that could have been welded on a secondary air manifold.

 

[carpniels]

HI,

I would probably choose the Jotul. From the number F550 it appears that it will be a larger unit than the F450 Kennebec, and that is a really good insert. So is the Quad, but the general consensus here is that the larger firebox will give you longer overnight burns and a larger heating capacity. And since you want to heat 2000 ft, that is what you probably want.

I agree with Mr Griz: do not use your air system to distribute the heat. You will loose too much heat in the system to make it worth it. The heat will find its way. The ceiling fans are important though. Keep those running.

You will have to choose an insert, have it installed, and practice with what the best way of stove and fan operation is for your house. It takes about a year, but it is well worth the effort.

Carpniels