Wood Insert

[Henna]

I am looking to put a fanless insert in my open fireplace (1975).
We are in a region where winter temperatures can drop below -20 ° F. We heat with electricity. The insert would be used during electrical breakdowns (infrequent but problematic if they are long in cold weather). Otherwise, it would rather be for comfort and ambiance.

We have several fireplace distributors here but I find it difficult to get good advices. Mainly, I have some concerns about the negative pressure and the need for an outside air intake.

Do you have models or advices relevant to my situation?

Thanks a lot!

 

[begreen]

Welcome. What floor is the fireplace on? Has there been any problem with smoke spilling out of the fireplace? If not, then an insert should work out well. Most inserts will have a blower. Look at inserts that project out onto the hearth for the best heating when the power is out. Flush inserts, in general, do a much poorer job of heating with the blower off.

 

[Henna]

Thank you begreen!
The insert will be for the first floor. We have a double chimney but we plan to caulk the one that go in the basement because we no longer use it and it caused us smoke odors when using the fireplace on the first floor.
I have a crush for the Stuv 16-In. It doesn't have a blower.

 

[bholler]

Thank you begreen!
The insert will be for the first floor. We have a double chimney but we plan to caulk the one that go in the basement because we no longer use it and it caused us smoke odors when using the fireplace on the first floor.
I have a crush for the Stuv 16-In. It doesn't have a blower.

Just because an insert doesn't have a blower doesn't mean it gets heat out of the firebox well without one. The inserts that will heat the best without the use of a blower are ones that stick out of the fireplace more. The nice clean lines of flush inserts look fantastic but come at a cost.

You can always run an insert without the fan if the power goes out

 

[Henna]

One of the vendors told me that the blower would break due to excessive heat if it did not work. Is it an urban legend?

 

[begreen]

The blower is usually well shielded from the heat. Some folks don't like the blower noise while they are watching tv and turn it off, without problem. There are several inserts that work well in a power outage according to owners here.

I don't think we have any reports on how well the Stuv works as a heater. It does provide a nice big view, but it relies solely on natural convection.

 

[bholler]

One of the vendors told me that the blower would break due to excessive heat if it did not work. Is it an urban legend?

That is absolutely untrue

 

[Henna]

In order to relaunch my research, do you know any models that projects out onto the hearth and that are EPA2020 certified?

 

[begreen]

How large an area will the insert be heating? Is the floor plan open to the stove room or is the stove room closed off by a doorway?

 

[PaulOinMA]

I have a little Lopi Answer. I have a blower, but it is a convection unit with five-sided convection chamber. Like it a lot.

 

[Henna]

How large an area will the insert be heating? Is the floor plan open to the stove room or is the stove room closed off by a doorway?

About 1000 sq feet in an almost open layout configuration. Just a closed staircase in the middle.

 

[Henna]

I have a little Lopi Answer. I have a blower, but it is a convection unit with five-sided convection chamber. Like it a lot.

Interesting! Do you sometimes use it without the blower? Does it still perform well in this case?

 

[PaulOinMA]

I haven't used it without the blower. If you look at a picture of the Lopi Answer, the blower is attached under the lip in the front.

I wanted something that should have good convection because we lose power during the winter more often than I would have thought based on our location.

 

[Henna]

About 1000 sq feet in an almost open layout configuration. Just a closed staircase in the middle.

If some heat makes it up to the second floor, that will be great.

 

[Henna]

I haven't used it without the blower. If you look at a picture of the Lopi Answer, the blower is attached under the lip in the front.

I wanted something that should have good convection because we lose power during the winter more often than I would have thought based on our location.

Do you have the GreenStart option?

 

[PaulOinMA]

I'm on a semi-wooded lot, and there's a lifetime of kindling. Constantly picking up branches in the yard. Already have a garbage can full of kindling for next winter. Will cut two more garbage cans full from the kindling piles at the end of the driveway. I don't have the start option.

 

[begreen]

If the goal is to also heat the upstairs then I would go up to a 2 cu ft stove. Unfortunately, in the Lopi line that would be their medium-flush insert which does not protrude onto the hearth at all. The Osburn 1700 insert might be better with a 1.9 cu ft firebox. The Regency I2450 Classic is 2.4 cu ft and has good projection. A Pacific Energy Super insert LE or the T5 insert LE would also work.

I haven't checked any of these vs the fireplace dimensions. Verify fit after deciding first and second choices.

 

[Henna]

All of these will fit into the fireplace. Even the Osborn 2000.
It seems that there is no dealer of Pacific Energy in here so it will be between Osburn and Regency.
Thanks a lot!

 

[Mech e]

If you are value conscious like me, you might want to also consider the Drolet Escape 1400i or 1800i. Built by SBI with identical specs to their Osburn counterparts.

 

[BigJ273]

If the goal is to also heat the upstairs then I would go up to a 2 cu ft stove. Unfortunately, in the Lopi line that would be their medium-flush insert which does not protrude onto the hearth at all. The Osburn 1700 insert might be better with a 1.9 cu ft firebox. The Regency I2450 Classic is 2.4 cu ft and has good projection. A Pacific Energy Super insert LE or the T5 insert LE would also work.

I haven't checked any of these vs the fireplace dimensions. Verify fit after deciding first and second choices.

I have the Regency I2400 version. Fantastic stove. Heats my entire house (1800 sq ft rancher). I also looked into the osburn as well. Seemed lime a quality stove also. So far, very pleased.

 

[Henna]

If you are value conscious like me, you might want to also consider the Drolet Escape 1400i or 1800i. Built by SBI with identical specs to their Osburn counterparts.

The Drolet 1800i and the Osburn 2000 seems very similar. Maybe just the door is different?

 

[Henna]

I have the Regency I2400 version. Fantastic stove. Heats my entire house (1800 sq ft rancher). I also looked into the osburn as well. Seemed lime a quality stove also. So far, very pleased.

Yes, I looked at the i2450! Thank you for your feedback!

 

[begreen]

The Drolet 1800i and the Osburn 2000 seems very similar. Maybe just the door is different?

Same parent company. Osburn is their premium line.

 

[Caw]

I have an Osburn 1600 which which works very well with the blower off...I rarely turn it on. It has a 1.85 cu ft box and heats my 1600 sq ft cape nicely through NE winters. Sorry for the clutter in the pic (it's warm out we use the space to dry clothes!) but you can see the insert sticks out a fair amount.

This model is NOT 2020 compliant but I'd look into their newer, compliant models.