Wood burning stove advice

[jeffjohnvol]

Hi, I was hoping some of the folk on this site may be able to help me find what I'm looking for. We're building a new house, and plan on having a few woodstoves throughout the homestead, but in the family room, the wife wants a fireplace. I want an efficient woodstove style insert, but she absolutely hates the extra metal around the stove.

Any insert that has more than 5 inches of metal around it turns her off. I'm hoping to find something that we can burn wood with the door closed and be efficient, but run with the doors open occassionally when it's in the 50's outside and we aren't concerned about net heat loss.

Googling has been frustrating, because mostly I seem to find inserts that have tons of flat black metal around it, and its been frustrating. Are there any manufacturers that anyone can recommend that have mostly fire on display and not so much steel?

Note, if it's steel that can be covered with stone, that would work. She just hates all the metal.

Thanks.
Jeff

 

[jetsam]

BKVP just gave us a sneak peek at a sexy new upcoming BK product in this thread!

 

[Zkx14]

I think arched tops help lose the big squared black box look. Haven't looked into it much, since I don't see myself in a position to need one anytime soon, The 44 Elite looks like a good one with less metal around it than most.
http://www.fireplacex.com/TravisDocs/98800160.pdf

 

[begreen]

I would look into modern EPA fireplaces instead of considering building a masonry fireplace just to put an insert into it. Good EPA fireplaces will provide a bigger fireview and fireplace like experience while burning wood much more economically and efficiently. They are good heaters that also are often ductable to deliver heat to another area in the house. That may save buying another stove.

Tell us about the place. How large will the house be? What will the ceiling height be? Insulation? How many stories?

 

[jeffjohnvol]

I would look into modern EPA fireplaces instead of considering building a masonry fireplace just to put an insert into it. Good EPA fireplaces will provide a bigger fireview and fireplace like experience while burning wood much more economically and efficiently. They are good heaters that also are often ductable to deliver heat to another area in the house. That may save buying another stove.

Tell us about the place. How large will the house be? What will the ceiling height be? Insulation? How many stories?

Yes, I definitely want a modern EPA fireplace insert. The house is about 4K sf, 2 floors plus a basement.

I did come across this, which we like. I'll be checking the price on Monday: (broken link removed to http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/opel-3-fireplace)

One thing I like about that system is that you can connect it to the HVAC system if you want.

 

[Isaiah53]

You seem to be really focused on minimizing the surrounding metal which I understand. Make sure you ask for the clean face option on the Opel which is what is shown in the picture. Just be aware that there are other intake and vent grills that must be installed with that option above the fireplace that are not shown in the picture. I fear you may not like that anymore than the standard louvered option. Look at page 13 of the manual. I don't want you to be disappointed.

When researching, you do not want to look for fireplace "inserts". Inserts refer to units that are designed to go into an existing masonry fireplace. You want to look for high efficiency zero clearance fireplaces. The Opel is one. These are a complete boxed unit with a steel chimney that is designed to be framed around for new construction like the picture in Post #3 above. That is pretty typical of the grill work that you have to get the heated air out of the unit.

 

[begreen]

Yes, I definitely want a modern EPA fireplace insert. The house is about 4K sf, 2 floors plus a basement.

I did come across this, which we like. I'll be checking the price on Monday: (broken link removed to http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/opel-3-fireplace)

One thing I like about that system is that you can connect it to the HVAC system if you want.

RSF makes good ZC fireplaces. To help keep discussions clear, and avoid confusion, an insert is inserted into a fireplace. A zero clearance (ZC) fireplace is not an insert. Marketing sometimes gets these terms confused which helps no one.

 

[Woody Stover]

Yes, I definitely want a modern EPA fireplace insert. The house is about 4K sf, 2 floors plus a basement. I did come across this, which we like. I'll be checking the price on Monday: (broken link removed to http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/opel-3-fireplace)

Looks like there are higher-output models available such as the fireplacex models. With 4000 sq.ft. I wouldn't mess around, I'd get the most heat I could. But looks may be more of a priority to you, I understand that. I would also try to get as much info here on how the various models operate, how satisfied owners are, etc. It's a big investment, and you want to be happy with your choice.

 

[begreen]

The Opel 3 puts out a decent amount of heat, but not as much as the Delta 2. That fireplace really projects strong heat.

 

[St. Coemgen]

If you are building new, maybe consider building in a mass masonry heater. Very little visible metal. And actually are more efficient than most iron/steel stoves (but they also can take up a lot of space).

http://www.mha-net.org/

In the USA, masonry heaters are normally faced in brick. In Europe, they typically face them either with plaster or decorative tiles (the tiles actually hold heat better, but are more expensive):

http://www.biofireinc.com/

 

[Simpleacres]

I have installed several masonry heaters in the US, and we almost never use brick for a veneer because it is out-performed by many other materials like fieldstone, soapstone, and even a cultured stone made of refractory, the same as the masonry heater core.