Who wants to play devil's advocate to my thinking on insert replacement?

[TwoDogNight]

Built house in 1997, gave mason spec for Quadrafire 3100i that we moved from old house to new house to use while building fireplace...said it has to be big enough to fit this stove...he built it...you guessed it...big enough for that stove...but NOT for what we now want to replace it with. :-(

Looked at a PE Alderlea T5 insert...wanted that...sorry...no can do...looked at PE Super...ugh..again...

PE Super is 21.5" back width, not counting the leveling bolts from their specs...and 18" from the surround to that point. I'm about 0.75" short...but the bolts could still be a problem since I don't know how they factor into that 21.5" spec.

I looked at the Regency I2400...and the dimensions for that are 23.25"W and 17.25"D...seemingly a non-starter...but the shop had the I2400 out where I could see it versus the PE where it was slid into a false brick facade.

I did some measuring...the surround on the I2400 projects backwards from the front of the stove???? I put a box on the back of the stove simulating it being slid into a firebox and then measured from the rear of the stove to that point...16.5", NOT 17.25D"...

As luck would have it, I had a box that was 22"W....slid that into the firebox...hmmmm...the first line is 18" for the Super and then 17.25" or so for the Regency. IF I only had to slide the Regency in 16.5"...I think I have the 23.25"...for the leveling bolts...the width on the back looks okay...even with my encroaching firebox walls at 22" high.

I need to measure twice and cut once....or maybe measure another four times...but it has me thinking...

A local dealer has a Quad 3100i ACT (must be a leftover for quite a while), the Quad 3100i ACC would do the trick as well.

I have issue with pulling out the Jotul C450 to get it forward and clear the width and the exhaust and lentel (spelling?) bar.

Hearthstone Clyde might fit, need to get specs.

Enviro Venice or Kodiak 1200 would fit, but not the 1700.

ALL of the stove EXCEPT the Regency I2400 have clearance issues to surround...it is STUPIDLY close...and even the amazing low number of the Regency would only clear with less than 0.25". Yes, I self installed the quad in 1997 and didn't realize it was too close on clearances...but in my defense, I had a mantle shield from my old house...so I would need to rework the surround...which would be fine by me, I am tired of it.

If I can get the Regency to work, and I could just pull it out another 0.25 to 0.50" to get it worse case, I'm tempted to go that route, but I'm looking for people to comment on what I've typed....am I trying too hard to force the I2400?

I thought the Kodiak/Venice 1200 wouldn't work well...but the Quad has worked well...and if 1.9cu ft worked for us, 1.85 should?

We supplemental heat...the floorplan is quite open on the first floor for family room to kitchen, hallway, and it's cooler in the living and dining rooms, but still fairly comfortable. Figure 73-76 degrees in family room with ceiling fan running and 68 or so in the dining room. We do NOT even attempt an overnight burn with the quad...5pm to bedtime and weekends 7AM to bedtime, about 25' chimney, 8' in garage, 8' in space above garage (not outside), and 9' outside, 6" liner, no insulation, and I've learned now, the quad didn't have a block off plate at the damper, but it is sealed at the top....oh and we didn't use an fans with our quad, just ceiling fan and convection/radiant.

Quad is from 1992...it's tired....bricks, baffle, door glass hazy (might have overfired it a few (+ a couple) times since new...oops), gasket, and blanket all need replacement.

Thoughts? Comments? Rankings? Like I said, tempted to go Regency, after that, unsure, the Kodiak/Venice might work just as well as the old quad, and we could get the 3100i ACT or a new 3100i ACC, but kinda nervous seeing a pic of a cracked secondary manifold with a crack in it...and my friend having the EXACT SAME crack in his 3100i ACT. Maybe it's unrealistic to think we could get the same service we got from our beloved Quad.

Oh...and I haven't seen a BK Princess Insert at a dealer...yet! ;-)

Thanks!

 

[TwoDogNight]

oh...last comment...kinda bummed that Enviro 1200 would be only E-W loading, but I guess I could deal with that...

 

[mstoelton]

The Clydesdale may work. It is only 15" deep and 24" wide, but if it does not go all the way in it is OK as long as you have adequate hearth extension out front. The Clydesdale has about 3-4 inches of "play" for the insert to be able to adjust for depth. If the whole thing does not fit into the space, then the supports for the surround can be adjusted and the insert will be sticking out a little. Leveling bolts on the Clyde are inside of the firebox so you do not have to account for them in your measurements. I did have to cover my ash vent with a 1/4 inch steel plate to support the Clyde's leveling bolt.

I'm really a huge fan of the Clydesdale. I have 2 and they both work great.

Due to the thermal mass of the soapstone liner, the heating cycle of the Clyde is more gentle and lasts longer. This is because the soapstone takes longer to heat-up and to cool down. It therefore throws heat for an extended period of time. We built our second fire of the season last Saturday morning and kept the fire going until about 2:30 pm. The insert kept throwing heat until 10:00 pm. Many hours after the fire had burned out.

Several posts relating to the old Clyde (8490) talk about loud fan noise. The new Clyde (8491) does not have these issues. When I burn mine I can't push the fan above a low speed due tot he heat produced - it would drive us out of the house. Can barely hear the fan when close to the insert.

 

[TwoDogNight]

@mstoelton Thanks for the reply. I am going to have to look at the Clyde...the soapstone is interesting...might it be plus and a minus for how we burn? Weekends a plus for the 7AM to bedtime burns, weeknights a minus because the steel stove will heat up faster and get the house warmer quicker after work? Oh...and another plus?...should be more consistent heat, we tend to cycle even during a burn with the steel, but we are used to that.

I HATED the fans on my quad, they seemed to resonate and I'd have to play around to quiet them down so when I moved I never installed them, and it's been fine without them.

As can be seen in my last pic, we have a hearth extender (toe stubber) in front of the quad. Another regret now...the flush hearth...I'd love to remove the toe stubber, but I'm not sure what else I can do.

 

[mstoelton]

I had a raised hearth that I needed to extend for the Clyde insert. The hearth was covered with old 1960's era ceramic tiles in a weird geometric pattern. I got a demo hammer and removed the tile. Discovered that the raised hearth was full of bricks. I ordered a soapstone hearth stone from a soapstone quarry in Virginia. Now I have a beautiful soapstone hearth. The soapstone really holds the heat and despite sitting right in front of the insert it really never gets too hot. I ordered the hearth stone 22 inches wide so I would not have any issues with hearth depth. My son and I were able to set the hearthstone.

You could do something similar. It would sit above the floor, but could be installed as a single stone and cover the brick that you currently have. If it were me, I would build-up the interior of the fireplace to match the level of a hearthstone placed on the hearth slightly above floor level.

I got my soapstone from http://www.alberenesoapstone.com/

 

[bjkjoseph]

What about a regular wood stove..jotul looks great in front of the fireplace..i installed one at my sisters house...we could not find an insert to fit her fireplace...she is glad we didn't.

 

[TwoDogNight]

I would prefer a freestanding, but it really won't work in our room with our current setup (walking path, size of room, furniture in the room)...and I think the lentel might be too low at 26.5".

 

[velvetfoot]

My Hampton 300I is the sister unit to the Regency, but has more fancy cast iron decoration. We like it a lot. I really like that I can load N/S. It has a 2.3 ft3 firebox. I thought the Quad 3000i was bigger though. Bigger is better.
edit: And I don't know if any insert fan is quiet. This one is quiet on low, not so much on high.

 

[TwoDogNight]

HI300 was on my list...being the cousin to the I2400 the firebox is the same, BUT it appeared the way the surround mounted wasn't going to work. The surround on the I2400 seems to project back from the mounting tabs....meaning the raised tab on the front of the I2400 is in front of the opening for the firebox (at least it appeared that way to me, and if I'm wrong, that's going to be an issue)...that didn't appear to be the case with the HI300.