What Fireplace insert do you have?

[eba1225]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to purchase a wood burning insert that can provide a decent amout of heat for a 2 story colonial. I grew up (30 yrs ago) with a wood burning stove in my parents house, but the newer stoves offer so much more that I am uncertain about what ones are good and what ones are bad. I therefore am asking all of you current users as to what you have, what size of a space does it sufficiently heat and would you buy another one.
I live in SE Pa near Downingtown.

So far I have heard about Quadrafire (5100I), Napoleon(EPI-1101P and 1401), BlazeKing (PI-1010), Vermont Castings (DutchWest).

Any information and clarifying thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jtp10181]

What size can you fit in your existing fireplace? Whats the location? I would assume the main floor. Center of the house? Approx sq ft? What do you heat with now, furnace, boiler?

I only have dealt with QUAD products and they have been great so far. They also have a good warranty and are easy to deal with if you have any problems.

 

[jjbaer]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to purchase a wood burning insert that can provide a decent amout of heat for a 2 story colonial. I grew up (30 yrs ago) with a wood burning stove in my parents house, but the newer stoves offer so much more that I am uncertain about what ones are good and what ones are bad. I therefore am asking all of you current users as to what you have, what size of a space does it sufficiently heat and would you buy another one.
I live in SE Pa near Downingtown.

So far I have heard about Quadrafire (5100I), Napoleon(EPI-1101P and 1401), BlazeKing (PI-1010), Vermont Castings (DutchWest).

Any information and clarifying thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I researched them all and, in my opinion, the two that come closest to being "furniture quality" and the best looking are the Jotul C450 (I bought it) and the VC Winter Warm Large. The Jotul is a non-cat and the WWL is a cat. I looked at and operated both but the wife liked the Jotul best. Right now it's a "chilly" 60F outside and to take the chill off I'm sitting in front to the Jotul which is fired-up..... The Jotul has a very lively flame pattern and we like it a lot. If you're wondering how I can burn it on warm nights, see my post here under stove ratings:

https://www.hearth.com/ratesingles/rate2014.html

 

[brian_in_idaho]

Eba, I had a Quad 5100i, no complaints about it, well made stove. I had to replace some firebrick after 5-6 years, but not a big deal, and sounds typical of most stoves. You might want to look at the Hearthstone insert as well, the firebox is all soapstone, it should last forever and perhaps hold heat a little longer. Lopi also makes a real nice stove, I liked some features a bit better than the Quad. Sorry I can't help on the other brands, and jtp is asking the right questions.

FWIW the Quad 5100i is the only one that I know of with an outside air connection, not sure if that's something you would even use. I had it on mine, ended up plugging it, a strong wind would cause smoke to draw backwards.

Bri

 

[ecfinn]

eba, do you have a name? This site is pretty friendly and most of us use first names.

Just thought I'd give you a welcome from a fellow SE PA member here. There are a few others of us here too. Have you checked out the stove shop in Phoenixville yet? I've heard they are a good place with a good reputation. I have a Lopi Revere insert in my home. You can see some slides of it in my signature below. I would add that we really do need to know the size and layout of your house before we can make a reasonable recommendation because you don't want too large or too small a stove or you'll have problems.

Welcome, and when you get a chance reply back with some more info...

Eric

 

[jjbaer]

What size can you fit in your existing fireplace? Whats the location? I would assume the main floor. Center of the house? Approx sq ft? What do you heat with now, furnace, boiler?

I only have dealt with QUAD products and they have been great so far. They also have a good warranty and are easy to deal with if you have any problems.

There was a previous post about 4 months ago on "what's the best stove?" and one person said the best stove is the one your wife likes and another person said the best stove is the one you own.....

 

[MrGriz]

Welcome to Hearth.com!

After a lot of research and questions, I ended up with an Osburn 2200I last November. So far, I really have nothing bad to say about this insert. The fire box is a decent size and I have had no trouble getting an overnight burn. The blower, which is standard, really helps to distribute the heat and runs very quietly. I just love the bay window design and the view it provides.

I guess if I had to find something negative it would be that the small side windows do get dirty a bit quickly, but it's not that bad.

It would really help to know more about your set up. How big is the house? Is the floor plan pretty open? Where is the fireplace located in relation to the rest of the house? What are the fireplace dimensions? Any info you can give will help match you up wtih the best choice.

 

[eba1225]

Ok, answer to JTP's questions.

Existing fireplace is 33"w at front, 26" w at rear, front height is 29" and rear height is about 24". In my looking around most of those on the market will fit.

The location is main floor, not in the center but off to a side, not in a corner. Square footage of house is ~2700, evenly divided among 2 floors.

Current heat is oil, baseboard hot water.

Again any information would be greatly appreciated.

Erik

 

[Highbeam]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to purchase a wood burning insert that can provide a decent amout of heat for a 2 story colonial. I grew up (30 yrs ago) with a wood burning stove in my parents house, but the newer stoves offer so much more that I am uncertain about what ones are good and what ones are bad. I therefore am asking all of you current users as to what you have, what size of a space does it sufficiently heat and would you buy another one.
I live in SE Pa near Downingtown.

So far I have heard about Quadrafire (5100I), Napoleon(EPI-1101P and 1401), BlazeKing (PI-1010), Vermont Castings (DutchWest).

Any information and clarifying thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Any of the name brand inserts are going to be pretty decent. I have a Lopi Freedom Bay insert and it is the largest one they make with a very large viewing window and plenty of room to build and run a fire. I seldom worry about "fitting" the logs in there. The room the stove is in is only about 15x18 but connects to the rest of the house by hallways and such. Single story rambler, long and skinny with bad windows and no floor insulation, 1700 SF or so and on the 20 degree mornings it takes all the stove has to warm the house by 10 degrees over 3 hours and then I can cut back to maybe half output to keep it warm.

Given the current state of my insulation and heat loss, I would buy another similarly large stove. However, after tightening up the house and replaceing windows and insulation I will likely look for a more medium sized stove. Longer burn times, bigger window, and more convenient loading are huge plusses of a large firebox stove.

You won't find many folks complaining about too large of a stove. Plenty complaints about too small such as short burn times and insufficient output. Do you plan to burn this stove all day every day or just in the evenings to supplement the oil?

 

[eba1225]

With regard to replacing or supplementing the oil, I am expecting it to heavily supplement, won't replace it completely. I would expect it t be stoked in the morning to run during the day, and then again stoked in the evening to run during the night.

I am also planning on moving the air around the house.

Erik

 

[Jake]

I've got the smaller napolean and love it. I'd get the larger one though

 

[wg_bent]

Welcome to Hearth.com!

After a lot of research and questions, I ended up with an Osburn 2200I last November. So far, I really have nothing bad to say about this insert. The fire box is a decent size and I have had no trouble getting an overnight burn. The blower, which is standard, really helps to distribute the heat and runs very quietly. I just love the bay window design and the view it provides.

I guess if I had to find something negative it would be that the small side windows do get dirty a bit quickly, but it's not that bad.

It would really help to know more about your set up. How big is the house? Is the floor plan pretty open? Where is the fireplace located in relation to the rest of the house? What are the fireplace dimensions? Any info you can give will help match you up wtih the best choice.

Well, before the PE guys all chime in I'll second the Osburn. I have the 1800i which is somewhat smaller than MrGriz's unit, but get similar results. Mime mostly heats my 2200 sqft two story. The Osburn 1800 and 2200 have the best fire view in the industry. At first I thought it looked a little like many of the pellet stoves out there with the bay window, but once installed it looks really nice. Just look at my profile for a picture of it.

I only wish it were bigger, but that's my install problem. Let us know what your opening size is and we can help more. Also, what sort of style your looking for. The ends of the spectrum might be the VC winterwarm on the traditional look vs a Lopi Answer or Revere with a more simple look.

The bottom line is they all produce heat, and other than recent Dutchwest complaints, most seem to be trouble free.

 

[titan]

IMO you couldn't go wrong with a P.E.,Napoleon, or Regency if you like steel stoves.

 

[Jim R.]

I put in a Napolean 1401, had a lot of fun burning this winter. We got a lot of use out of it, and our oil bills were cut by about 75% from the year before. The firebox is big enough for 6+ hours of good heat overnight with a good coal bed to relight in the morning. lI think with next year's wood being a LOT better than what I was just burning I can do a little better next season. It is real easy to use, so much so that my wife was able to run it with no issues (motivated by the great heat and low oil bills!). For us it was a good first stove/insert.

Jim

 

[pulldownclaw]

We're getting our Hampton HI300 installed today, so I can't give you my experiences yet, only tell you that this is the one we decided on. It's made by Regency, so worth a look as well as the others mentioned.

 

[Rhone]

It will be very hard to find any significant differences between whichever you pick in my opinion. You probably want to go larger with the large area to heat and long times between burns. But, really the most important thing is that you get the one you like the look of. It's something you'll be looking at all year round so you better like what you're looking at. The differences I can think of off the top of my head is VC inserts are generally catalytic, if you like the differences a catalytic device brings stick to that brand. Hearthstone inserts are soapstone lined, if you like the differences soapstone brings probably look at the Hearthstone models. If you like big views, generally the VC, Hearthstone, or Osburn are the ones with big views I'm aware of. If you like ease of use and features I think you'll be hard to beat a Pacific Energy. If you like intricate or that classy look I agree with cast iron look at Jotul or VC and even Hampton.

In the end, I think the most important thing is to stick towards the larger models in your situation and find the one you like the look of.

 

[Mike Wilson]

Using a Jotul Kennebec here, just finished her third season in the home, and nothing but praise for its construction, appearance, and performance. Heats one of 3 zones in the house, about 1700 sq ft. with 19-34' ceilings. It would not be able to heat your entire home independently, but is capable of reducing the demand on your boiler/furnace. Overall, except for some QC issues a few years ago on the VC Winterwarm large, I don't think anyone here has a particularly bad experience with their insert, if properly installed, no matter what the brand. One word of essential advice, no matter what, do make sure you have a lined flue, it is essential for good performance, on any insert.

-- Mike

 

[DavidV]

You will get plenty of suggestions for brand name . Here is my suggestion. BIG. put in the biggest stove you can fit in your hearth. 2700 SF is plenty of space to heat. you'll run into the same issues everyone else does...stove room so warm .....how to get the heart to other areas....yada yada. Bottom line, in the dead of winter that house will suck up the heat your stove makes so get a big one.

 

[mgambuzza]

I have the Vermont Castings Winter Warm Large. It does a great job heating my first and second floor of my old 1910 home. Pictures below:


https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3875/

 

[johnnywarm]

I've got the smaller napolean and love it. I'd get the larger one though

Jake how did the napolian do last winter? I think i might get one.

Jw

 

[karl]

Get a Summit and when you putting your summer clothes away for the winter be sure to keep a few pairs of shorts out.

 

[johnnywarm]

Get a Summit and when you putting your summer clothes away for the winter be sure to keep a few pairs of shorts out.

Thanks Carl i will look into it.