I’m looking to buy my first wood insert to increase the efficiency of my fireplace in the basement. I have a pellet stove upstairs of my split-level, but it doesn’t warm my family room and office downstairs. Another question – how much attention does it requires (open/close damper?)? Is it safe to leave it on overnight? I would appreciate any guidance on the brands, features, etc and pardon my ignorance . I try to find something inexpensive - best value for $.
wood insert
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There are inexpensive inserts made by Napoleon, Englander, Drolet, etc.. These are safe, easy to operate and ok for overnight burning. There will be a learning curve, but nothing too daunting. Until a good bed of coals is established and the stove is burning a load of wood, the stove does need occasional attention, maybe for the first hour or so. But one doesn't need to babysit it. Just checking the temperature and maybe regulating the air, then feeding fuel is about all it requires. I usually check the stove few times during the first hour or two and then let it roll. The frequency of refilling with wood will depend on the firebox size, the wood, and the air damper setting.
FYI, if this is in the basement, you may need to supply outside air if there are competing devices there like a furnace (or boiler), gas hw heater, dryer, bathroom fan.
FYI, if this is in the basement, you may need to supply outside air if there are competing devices there like a furnace (or boiler), gas hw heater, dryer, bathroom fan.
And then of course there is also the Kodiak Enviro. I believe the 1.75 cu.ft sells for $1400 and then the one you see in my avatar the 2.5 cu.ft one is going for around $1800. You want safe? these bears have 5/16 steel on top and 1/4" steel on the sides. Just my 3 cents worth :coolgrin:
If you're already happy with your other pellet stove...why not just buy another? That way your only have to worry about pellets. Wood is labor intensive...just say'en.
savageactor7 said:
Wonder if he is thinking "no power,no heat?"-- although he didn`t mention that. :-/
I also like my tank Enviro Kodiak 1700. It works good, seems very safe and i don't think I can get it to overfire to save my life.
trailblaster said:
Hey, good to hear from an enviro brother. what kind of burn times are you getting with yours? haven`t had my long enough to really test it yet. although this past april , did manage 7 hours max with douglas fir (softwood) that is about all we have to burn out here on the coast.
Not trying to hijack the thread but any info is good for the op.
I don`t want summer gone , but also can`t wait till winter to really test it out.
I've gotten anywhere from 5 to 9hours with hot coals left. It was our first year with it and half of our wood was bought and was questionable about being seasoned. Also, I'll be putting in a tighter blockoff plate with insulation stuffed above it and sealing it tight with furnace cement. The quality of the wood makes a big difference.
Thank you all for the feedback. One of the reasons why don’t want purchase another pellets stove (beside the ““no power, no heat”) is because the only place where I can install it is a fireplace (insert), but we really like the wood fire. Also, I do have a competing devices in the basement – oil furnace (BeGreen, thank you for the advise). How hard would be to supply an outside air? What do I need to do?
It depend on the setup. First check the fireplace closely and see if there isn't air already being supplied to the basement fireplace. If not, how well does it work? Is the fireplace smoky and balky to start at times or does it always have nice strong draft? If it always has a strong draft, there may not be an issue. If it is balky, then check the oil furnace. Check to see if this is a modern condensing unit or an older model. Condensing oil furnaces will have outside air, older units will not. What needs to be done for an older unit is the equivalent of opening a window near the stove. But to make it more permanent, a fresh air vent can be installed to the furnace. Here's an example: http://www.cityfuel.net/fresh_air_kit.php
Here's the a kit for the furnace (you supply the venting pipe) - (broken link removed to http://www.fieldcontrols.com/cas.php)
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