I thought I'd post my impressions of this insert after a few days of playing with it. It's my first real experience with wood heat so I've not got much of a frame of reference.
I needed help getting the thing in the house, it's 275 lbs and I'm guessing one of the lighter inserts. Two people can lift it but it isn't easy.
Installation is easy, connect the flue to the liner, plug in the blower and you're away. The blower on full is too noisy, much to noisy. Mine lives in the kitchen so it's not the end of the world but I wouldn't recommend this for a living room.
The firebox is very small. I've not had much luck burning large splits yet and it looks like I'm gonna have to go back and halve most of the bigger ones. It is capable of putting out some serious heat though. Even so, it's still mild here in northern MN. I have my doubts that it's going to completely replace my propane fired radiators but it's sure to pay for itself within a few years.
Overall, I'm not thrilled with the insert but you do get what you pay for - $850 from Northern Tool. If I had a couple of grand to spend I'd do it differently but I don't so I can't. At the end of the day it coverts trees to heat and that's good enough.
I needed help getting the thing in the house, it's 275 lbs and I'm guessing one of the lighter inserts. Two people can lift it but it isn't easy.
Installation is easy, connect the flue to the liner, plug in the blower and you're away. The blower on full is too noisy, much to noisy. Mine lives in the kitchen so it's not the end of the world but I wouldn't recommend this for a living room.
The firebox is very small. I've not had much luck burning large splits yet and it looks like I'm gonna have to go back and halve most of the bigger ones. It is capable of putting out some serious heat though. Even so, it's still mild here in northern MN. I have my doubts that it's going to completely replace my propane fired radiators but it's sure to pay for itself within a few years.
Overall, I'm not thrilled with the insert but you do get what you pay for - $850 from Northern Tool. If I had a couple of grand to spend I'd do it differently but I don't so I can't. At the end of the day it coverts trees to heat and that's good enough.
