Stove vs Insert

[Njord4]

First time posting (hope I do it right)... (Attaching image)

So, we have an L-shaped ranch with 3,000 square feet in northern Illinois. I am not intending to heat the whole house with an insert or stove. The fireplace right now is in the corner of the "L", and this is where the family room, kitchen, and kitchen nook is. So this is the main focus for heating. I would say in total, it's about 800-900 square feet. But our vaulted ceilings slope from 14' down to 8' or so. So there is a lot of air in this area that needs to be heated. In the dead of winter, even though the thermostat is set at 68, it can feel quite cold in the family room with all that space.

I had pretty much decided on getting the FPX Large Hybrid-Fyre insert and replacing the 16" brick hearth with a 18" limestone hearth for the necessary clearances (my wife prefers the flush look). However, I saw some pictures recently of a freestanding stove inside a big enough fireplace, and that intrigued me. I believe my fireplace to be quite large - 41" wide x 22" deep (although there is some sloping down and back).

Another option is to remove the entire hearth and have quite a large area that should surely fit any stove. I would need to bring a masonry guy in though to do that.

My question really is how much more heat does a stove generate (if sitting at least partially inside a fireplace) than a high quality flush insert with the fans running?

I don't see any horror stories of the FPX insert aside from people having trouble keeping the glass clean.
Anything else I should be thinking about?

Thanks for any help,
Erik

 

[Pertzbro]

I think you'll need to raise your tv some with either option

 

[Sprinter]

My question really is how much more heat does a stove generate (if sitting at least partially inside a fireplace) than a high quality flush insert with the fans running?

They will generate the same amount of heat. An insert will have a fan to get the heat back out into the room. It will lose a little if the masonry fireplace is on an outside wall as most are, but not enough to worry about.

Given your situation, I think I'd go for an insert. It will be a nice addition, and a nicer look to the space and warm it well.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. You'll get a lot of good advice here. And yes, that TV should be relocated in either case.