Small Insert Ideas?

[Stinkpickle]

I want to install a wood burning insert in my old prefab (will have 20+' fully insulated 6" SS liner), but it's pretty small and it has a decorative arch that's going to make installation a PIA. I've researched a few models that might fit, but I was wondering if you guys know of any others. My wife really wants it to be flush, so I've been looking at...

Lopi Small Flush Hybird-Fyre (and other Travis variants)
Regency CI1200 (has no blower, CI1250 with blower is too tall)
Jotul C350

I thought a Buck 21 would work well without a face plate, but it appears to be a hair too deep to sit fully within the prefab.

Any ideas or comments would be appreciated.

Here are some pics and measurements of the fireplace and the arch...

Thanks!

 

[bholler]

what make and model is the prefab?

 

[Stinkpickle]

Majestic, I think. Not positive.

 

[sen166]

I currently have a Jotul C350 inserted into my old Superior ZC fireplace. The C350 is a beautiful looking unit that sits flush into the fireplace. However, the firebox is extremely small (~1.3 cubic feet) and needs to be reloaded every 2 or 3 hours (even more frequently in the cold parts of Michigan winters). The unit puts out an acceptable amount of heat for the room it's in (as long as outside temperatures aren't ridiculously low) but in no way could it ever heat a home over 1000 square feet or so even with a wide open floor plan. But it does provide a nice looking/warmer and way more efficient fireplace ambiance than the old open ZC fireplace.

I guess it really all depends on what you're looking to accomplish with the insert heating wise. Feel free to PM me with any questions as I was in the same boat as you not are in not too long ago.

 

[Mikey z]

I got a Buck 21. I use it as a insert and it sticks out of the fireplace about 6 inches. I made a block off plate for it and filled it with roxol. I have the space in the back to make it a flush mount but afraid it will not produce enough heat with the fan off. Its a great little heater and warms our living room and single story ranch style house if ran long enough. I load it about once every 4 hours with the fan on but can almost do a overnight burn ( 6 to 7 hours) with the air pulled almost all the way out. Not a bad little heater but i live in northern california and it may dip into the low 20's high 30's at night maybe 30 days a year. So I dont have to really push it that hard.

 

[bholler]

we really need to know the model number to know if an insert is even an option in that fireplace. In my opinion inserts are actually rarely an option for in a zc fireplace. There are only a few fireplaces that approve the installation of an insert in them

 

[Stinkpickle]

Is there an easy way to identify the model of this prefab? Since it appears to be a radiant unit, the brick work is covering the tag. It's an interior fireplace too, so checking the back of it would require tearing out a wall in the room behind it.

As for heating requirements, it really only needs to heat a small area, and it's supplemental heat anyway. It's situated in the second level of a small four-level split, so it's basically just a sunken family room. I can't remember the exact dimensions, but the room itself is no larger than 25'x20'. There's an office, a bathroom, and a hallway on the same level, but the entire area comes nowhere close to 1000 sq ft. I have a freestanding stove on the third level that can easily heat everything else above it, so I think a small firebox will work just fine, and reloading every few hours isn't a huge concern for me...neither is not having the ability for an overnight burn. In fact, I might not even need to run the blower very much once the surrounding brick work heats up.

 

[begreen]

I am wondering if that is a metal fireplace shell and not a ZC. Is the backside masonry or stone or steel? It might be worth making an exploratory view hole on the backside wall that can be patched.

 

[Stinkpickle]

I am wondering if that is a metal fireplace shell and not a ZC. Is the backside masonry or stone or steel? It might be worth making an exploratory view hole on the backside wall that can be patched.

The sides, bottom, and top are metal. The back wall appears to be two stacked refractory bricks. The exploratory hole is a good idea.

 

[begreen]

If the backside is a sheetmetal box then it's a ZC. If masonry, it is likely a steel shell fireplace.

 

[Stinkpickle]

If the backside is a sheetmetal box then it's a ZC. If masonry, it is likely a steel shell fireplace.

Thanks. I will have to double check when I get home, but I think there's a small metal lip over those refractory bricks in the back holding them in place, so I'm guessing that there's a metal wall behind them, since a metal wall extends upward from that lip towards the flue.

 

[RSNovi]

I currently have a Jotul C350 inserted into my old Superior ZC fireplace. The C350 is a beautiful looking unit that sits flush into the fireplace. However, the firebox is extremely small (~1.3 cubic feet) and needs to be reloaded every 2 or 3 hours (even more frequently in the cold parts of Michigan winters). The unit puts out an acceptable amount of heat for the room it's in (as long as outside temperatures aren't ridiculously low) but in no way could it ever heat a home over 1000 square feet or so even with a wide open floor plan. But it does provide a nice looking/warmer and way more efficient fireplace ambiance than the old open ZC fireplace.

I guess it really all depends on what you're looking to accomplish with the insert heating wise. Feel free to PM me with any questions as I was in the same boat as you not are in not too long ago.

I have the exact same setup and agree completely.