Wood Insert Advice Needed

[purdydave]

I'm currently in the midst of having a 3,600 square foot log home built. I would like to use a wood burning insert as my primary heat source, but am not sure which product would best suit my needs. I'm restricted by the fact that the chimney is traditional stick frame construction and not masonry. My intention is to use a wood burning insert with a blower and then use the fan from my HVAC system to circulate the air. A free standing stove is not an option as my wife likes the look of the insert

Let me know your thoughts.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

I cant tell if you have a fireplace already installed or your starting from scratch. Im guessing your starting from scratch and you do not need a insert, inserts are retrofits for existing fireplaes.

Not many inserts are approved for zero clearance fireplaces so your choices will be somewhat limited. The few that i am familer with are the quadrafire 3100I and the RAIS 60.

If you want a large heater, you might consider installing a Zero Clearance EPA fireplace and getting rid of what is currently installed.
Im thinking something like the quadrafire 7100fp or the like. There are lots of epa fireplaces on the market, if you decide to go that route you will get lots of feedback here from users and dealers of other brands.

Your hvac system will not do much to transfer the heat. It will even out the house a bit, but as far as taking 75* air from one room, runing down the return through the furnace, and back out through the duct work for the home produces less then stellar results. A good example of this theory is that your furnace has direct flames in it, i would imagine that the internal temperture of your furnace is much hotter then 75*, i would imagine its a bit better then 250*. How warm is the air coming out of the registars? Most of these appliances are zone heaters and should be used as such.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

one more thing, if in fact you need a epa fireplace, then most have provisions to take the heat directly from the untit to other parts of the house, once we find out exactly what you need we can get you more info on your options.

 

[Bubbavh]

I'm loving my Declaration. It has a very big firebox for an insert and can take a 24" log in the front.
I would have liked a stove but as you stated my wife wasn't having it. She thought the Declaration was pretty and I liked the big firebox. So it was a good compromise for us.
Happy hunting and good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

[yukiginger]

I'm currently in the midst of having a 3,600 square foot log home built. I would like to use a wood burning insert as my primary heat source, but am not sure which product would best suit my needs. I'm restricted by the fact that the chimney is traditional stick frame construction and not masonry. My intention is to use a wood burning insert with a blower and then use the fan from my HVAC system to circulate the air. A free standing stove is not an option as my wife likes the look of the insert

Let me know your thoughts.

My thoughts: show your wife a bunch of pictures of the nicest stove setups you can so that you can forgo going with an insert when you don't need one. Inserts are compromises developed solely to work well with existing masonry fireplaces. YOu don't have that. You're starting from scratch. If efficient, quiet heating is not of utmost importance, then go right ahead with an insert.

MarkG

 

[jadm]

Just want to second what Mark G said above. THere are some really nice looking freestanding stoves available.

I do have an insert because we didn't have space for a freestanding stove. I do love my insert but it requires a blower which adds noise to the heating you get. I do not mind the noise but be sure you check out how noisy different blowers are on different inserts. In the event of a power outage your heat is cut significantly with an insert. Freestanding stoves don't need blowers and throw out a lot more radiant heat than an insert does.

I guess to boil this down - look into pros and cons on both types of heaters and go out and physically look at the stoves you are considering. Makes a big difference to see one in 'person'. You will be surprised in what you find and your wife will learn a lot too which will help when burning time comes along.

Good Luck and happy hunting :coolsmile:

 

[jbroich]

I, too, really like my Declaration. You can get a lot of wood in that firebox and with the fan turned up you can really throw off a big wave of heat. The flush look was a must in my home and I think you'll like it.
On the other hand, unless you're in AZ, this stove cannot be the _primary_ heat for a 3000+ sq ft. cabin. Maybe two stoves would do you, I don't know.

 

[purdydave]

Mark G, I think I've followed your advice and turned the corner with my wife (I had to make some other tradeoffs about her closet, but it's worth it). I appreciate the help with the Declaration, but now that I can go with a freestanding stove, I will try to see what I can find. There are a lot more options.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

a LOT more options, and you will save several thousand dollars too.....

 

[yukiginger]

Mark G, I think I've followed your advice and turned the corner with my wife (I had to make some other tradeoffs about her closet, but it's worth it). I appreciate the help with the Declaration, but now that I can go with a freestanding stove, I will try to see what I can find. There are a lot more options.

Good. Perhaps since you are building now you are already getting the full $1500 worth of tax credit on windows, doors, insulation, ect. If not, be sure to look into the 30% tax credit on CERTAIN stoves/installation. You are going to want a 3 cu. ft. or larger stove if you have an open area for the stove. Start looking at the big Hearthstone stoves, Lopi, Quadrafire, Pacific Energy, etc., and keep us updated. Ones with low clearance requirements are usually ones with "jackets" surrounding the main bodies (heat shields in a way) and won't radiate heat as freely as the high clearance models (many of the cast iron or soapstones). The ones with jackets are probably better heaters when used with a blower. I would avoid a blower if possible, especially if it's in a main living area. (Others may chime in on this, and perhaps it's a non-issue for many makes/models. I don't have much experience with blowers on freestanding stoves so I can't speak to it.) This is just something to think about as you go about your choices.

MarkG

 

[karl]

The Summit is zero clearance approved, but if this is new construction, I would look into the inserts that have outputs that are designed to be connected to duct work. I forget which ones these are, but I was going to buy one when I installed an insert. What stopped me was that my house was already built and retrofiting ductwork would be a pain and I got the Summit for a very very cheap price.

 

[gibson]

My advice with a house that big is to try and sell your wife on a real nice freestanding stove. If I were to do it all over I would get a stove versus an insert. That being said, an insert looks good. My Jotul looks fantastic. I have 2800 ft and I think I may have gotten more heat from a stove, but I don't know.

 

[don_faithful]

Well, I would NORMALLY expect a solid-fuel insert to go into a fully compliant masonry fireplace. There are situations where an insert might be approved for a specific factory-built fireplace. If you have a masonry or concrete chimney suitable for a wood-burning insert, then what you can do with that insert depends on the manufacturer's instructions for the model. Some inserts are designed with gravity-vent attachments so excess heat can be ducted to other rooms. Most inserts do not have such a provision. This does not mean you would be able to improvise a duct connection yourself. In my area, a wood burning system may not be connected to the ducting of say a furnace, except maybe for an add-on unit designed and approved to use the ducting. Inserts and hearthmount stoves are generally good for localized heating. I think problems happen when people have unrealistic expectations. It would be a good idea for you to review the features of an insert that you like. Because there might be one that suits your needs just right.