Valcourt fireplace vs green mountain 60 vs quadra fire millennium 3100

[Stovepiper]

We have an existing open fireplace that we are replacing. It is on the main floor of a cabin, approx 1000sq ft upstairs and 400 square foot basement, cathedral ceilings. I am in Quebec, Canada.

Options: Valcourt Lafayette fireplace, green mountain 60, or quadra fire millennium 3100.

I cannot decide between these models. I like the idea of a free stander for efficiency purposes, but the Valcourt could pipe excess heat to the basement. I don’t want to fuss with it a lot; nothing too complicated, but efficient and with a good viewing window.
I cannot decide between these models. I like the idea of a free stander for efficiency purposes, but the Valcourt could pipe excess heat to the basement. I don’t want to fuss with it a lot; nothing too complicated, but efficient and with a good viewing window.

these are the only models available before the winter.
Any advice would be great

 

[begreen]

This will be a lot of work and expensive. Have you considered putting an insert with a stainless liner in the fireplace?

 

[Stovepiper]

What kind of insert? I was told that this would not be possible, although I am not sure why. Something to do with the chimney diameter. The chimney is from the 1970s if that helps.

 

[begreen]

If the chimney throat is an oddball, that may be true, but we need that info to verify or not. Can you measure this and provide the chimney ID?

 

[Stovepiper]

Hi again! The existing fireplace was swept today and it seems to be a 7”. Does that help?

 

[begreen]

7" round? If so it sounds like the existing fireplace is a Zero Clearance prefab. Is that correct? If so, then an insert may not be permissible.

 

[Stovepiper]

That's what I've been told...

Any thoughts on the three units I mention above? Quadra fire millennium, GM60 or Valcourt Lafayette?

 

[Stovepiper]

Mainly considering the two stoves- quadra fire and green mountain 60. Any advice would be great

 

[begreen]

Which Quadrafire Millenium? There are 3 models, the 4300, 3100 and 2100. These are proven design tube stoves with a good long track record. The GM60 is a new stove and we have limited reports on it. So far the main issue reported was poor burn. Hearthstone came out with an LPAO lower primary air kit to address this, but in some cases, this did not fix the issue, nor did adding a lot more chimney pipe. Not sure of the current status. The GM60 qualifies for the 26% tax credit, the Quad does not.

MORE Hearthstone Green Mountain 60 - ISSUES

We just bought a Green Mountain 60. Initial experience is very similar to what Drylightning described a few weeks ago. It's nearly brand new. Another customer had it for a week and gave up. This replaced an old Hearthstone Harvest in a cabin we recently purchased. We lit the Harvest a number...

www.hearth.com

 

[Stovepiper]

Thanks. The one available is the 3100. This seems to be a smaller stove than the gm60, so I’m not sure it is ideal?

The window seems a lot smaller, but it’s hard to verify their specs online.

 

[begreen]

This is another place where paper specs are only part of the story. You'll have to have someone with a GM60 confirm this, but it looks like it's an E/W loading stove. That somewhat limits usable load capacity. The 3100 has a square firebox that can load E/W and for a fuller load, N/S.

 

[Stovepiper]

Thanks!

Does anyone have a sense of how they differ in terms of glass/viewing size?

Also, wouldn’t the 3100 be quite a bit lower in terms of heating capacity?

 

[begreen]

They are really different stove designs. Looking at the EPA report the GM60 has a usable capacity of around 1.5 cu ft. and one will not see that due to loading so that the wood doesn't roll up against the glass . The Millenium has a larger usable firebox. I expect it would heat at least equal if not better than the GM60.

As for ideal, that is subjectively up to the purchaser. A feature that's ideal for one person can be irrelevant to another.

 

[Stovepiper]

Very interesting, thank you. Why would the gm60 have such a higher BTU rating?

 

[begreen]

Marketing. The "Up to" BTU rating is not usually acheivable unless one stokes the fire constantly. The actual steady state output will be more in the 35k BTUs range. If the concern is that there won't be enough heat, then maybe look at 2.5 cu ft stoves? With cathedral ceilings in Quebec the additional capacity may be welcome. Are there ceiling fans in the stove area?

That said, there's little real world data on the GM60, it's too new. There were issues with some early models. We'll have to wait and see how the new ones do this winter. The 3000, has been around for a long time and has a good track record. Maybe look at some other brands like Osburn, Napoleon and Regency for comparison.

 

[Stovepiper]

yes, there is a ceiling fan at the top of the ceiling, just above the staircase leading to the basement (and not too far from the fireplace).

There is a dearth of stoves currently available, so my choices are somewhat limited…

 

[begreen]

yes, there is a ceiling fan at the top of the ceiling, just above the staircase leading to the basement (and not too far from the fireplace).

There is a dearth of stoves currently available, so my choices are somewhat limited…

I hear you and am concerned it is going to get worse quickly.

 

[Stovepiper]

My dealer also has the Quadra fire millennium 4300 available.

My choices are: Quad 3100, Quad 4100, or Valcourt Lafayette ZC.

The advantage of the stoves are the ease of heating the room without a blower. The Valcourt offers the forced air kit to the basement.

Would the 4100 cook me out, or can I adjust the size of the fire and keep the heat reasonable?

Thanks again. Hoping to make a decision today.

 

[begreen]

How well insulated is the house? Are there confounding factors like too many windows or a cathedral ceiling?

You control the amount of fuel in the stove. It will burn fine with a partial load of wood.

 

[Stovepiper]

Thanks @begreen. We just reinsulated the attic and basement, but the walls are not well insulated and the windows are subpar.

Yes, cathedral ceilings...

By Quadrafire 4100, I meant the 4300. My error.

 

[begreen]

The 4300 would work if that is your preference.

 

[Stovepiper]

Thanks @begreen, my quad 4300 was installed yesterday!