lOOKING AT WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE INSERTS.

[donb2]

I'm looking at installing a wood burning insert in my existing brick fireplace. It's essentially a wood stove that fits into the fire place opening, so it kind of looks like a metal and glass front on the fire place, but has draft control features and heat distrubution blowers like a newer wood stove.
The two I've looked at so far are by "Napoleon" and "Monessen". Any thoughts, recommendations etc?
I'ts more for emergency use in the event my oil fired hot water system isn't working, than for normal use.

cost is around $2,000 plus $1,000 installation.

Thanks

Don

 

[grsthegreat]

I'm looking at installing a wood burning insert in my existing brick fireplace. It's essentially a wood stove that fits into the fire place opening, so it kind of looks like a metal and glass front on the fire place, but has draft control features and heat distrubution blowers like a newer wood stove.
The two I've looked at so far are by "Napoleon" and "Monessen". Any thoughts, recommendations etc?
I'ts more for emergency use in the event my oil fired hot water system isn't working, than for normal use.

cost is around $2,000 plus $1,000 installation.

Thanks

Don

hmm, never seen one of those. Ive seen lots of propane/nat gas inserts for masonry fireplaces, but now wood.

Isn't a masonry fireplace already set to burn wood??? is this due to cracked flue or just to add the cleaner burning aspects??

thanks.

 

[debo1683]

We have two wood burning inserts in our house. One is an Enviro and was there when we moved in. I have no idea how much it cost, but it does the job nicely. The only thing I don't like about that one is that you can not override the automatic blower. The stove has to be a certain temperature before the blower kicks on.

The other one we have is a quadra fire. That one is awesome. They are more pricey, but it is a big stove, and is very efficient.

That may have been no use since neither of those brands are what you are looking at, but, might be two others to check out.

 

[donb2]

Mainly because my wife wants it! After 42 years I know my priorities. However, it is also more controllable and certainly more efficient than an open front fireplace. In my opinion a fireplace just sucks too much heat up the chimney. with this the volume of gasses up the chimney can be better controlled.

 

[debo1683]

Mainly because my wife wants it! After 42 years I know my priorities. However, it is also more controllable and certainly more efficient than an open front fireplace. In my opinion a fireplace just sucks too much heat up the chimney. with this the volume of gasses up the chimney can be better controlled.

You are right on all accounts there. I find them to be 100% worth the investment. We can heat our house beyond comfortable. Good luck!

 

[jbarker855]

Fire place inserts are nice because they are dramatically more efficient than a regular fireplace. If you want more info, this website is the place to be for fireplace info: Hearth.com | Wood Stoves, Fireplace, Pellet Stoves, Gas Stoves and More - Forums!
-Jay

 

[Lloyd_E]

My buddy uses a Pacific Energy to heat his house - about 1600 sq ft.
He had it installed into an existing fireplace with a new stainless liner.
See info here:

Pacific Energy Fireplace Products Ltd.

Very safe and efficient.

Good luck.

 

[Short Game]

Mainly because my wife wants it! After 42 years I know my priorities. However, it is also more controllable and certainly more efficient than an open front fireplace. In my opinion a fireplace just sucks too much heat up the chimney. with this the volume of gasses up the chimney can be better controlled.

Back when I had an as yet unexpoded fifth lumbar disc, I built hearths and chimneys, as well as many other brick, block, and stone structures. I never built a fireplace. I was so opposed to them that I would not take those jobs. They are a waste of wood and pull drafts into buildings.

I would however, build mock fireplaces around inserts, hooking the exhausts directly to a lined flue. Inserts were mostly pretty new back then, and I didn't like standard fireplace installations, as I didn't like having the whole preexisting fireplace firebox exposed to the smoke and possible tar buildups. That's why I preferred to connect the insert straight to the flue.

I've been away from that for over twenty five years (since before catalytic converters were code), so it could be a lot different now. I wish I had some pictures of the hearths I built, but my ex got off with the photo albums. I built some pretty tasty mock fireplaces of used red brick and basalt using inserts.

 

[yomax4]

There are a lot of really good inserts out there now. Vermont Castings is not one of them.. Just an FYI.

 

[KennyG]

Criteria for an insert should be about the same as a stove - heavy cast, fire brick, airtight (outside air intake) and EPA certified.

 

[donb2]

Thanks for all the great info! I'm going to check out the links provided to help with my decision on the brand, but I am going with a wood fired fireplace insert.

Thanks Again to to all!!

 

[Kioti guy]

I worked at Wolf steel ( Napoleon) years ago,They are built in Barrie Ontario. I believe they are well designed and built. I don't know anyone that has a wood burning insert but I know a few people that have the gas stoves and they are happy with them..Craig

 

[clemsonfor]

I have a High Valley 2500 Cat converter model. i bought it used last year and itcan heat my entire 2500ish sqft uninsulated older home here in upstate SC. It can be used as an insert with trim kit or a stand alone model with a leg kit. It is in the $2200 range new i paid less than half that for mine which i think was around 5 yrs old at that point. I dont have a stainless liner i just have it goining into my masonry fireplace and into the flue lined chimney. I wanted an efficinet stove to burn less wood and get more heat as well as they cut the creosote down 90%. I have little to no creosote in mine compared to my friends old cast craft stove which looks like its 1/4 thick in the stove alone.

My blower is variable speed and is on a t-stat or on off switch. Meaning i can set it to come on at the pre determined temp or i can turn it on even with a cold stove.

Also my glass door stays crystal clear. It will soot a tiny bit if you have a log close to the glass and it drafted way down, but once it gets hot again it will burn right off to clear glass. Never will a spot get so sooty you cant see through it though

Also burn time is an easy 12 hours getting good heat off of it, you can get heat for over 20 hours with a good hot fire and coals the last time you load it.


http://www.highvalleystoves.com/fireplaceinserts.php

 

[Ken45101]

One important issue is that you need a good quality chimney liner connected to the insert. You cannot use a fireplace chimney. If it is a metal chimney, it is the wrong design for an efficient wood stove. If it is a masonry chimney, it will be too big and too cold. Where it gets difficult is coming through the narrow opening at the smoke shelf and, of course, connecting to the stove when it's in position.

Your $1000 "installation" fee sounds low. A good quality chimney will cost that much (and probably a little more) plus labor fee.

Don't let them tell you that you can just use the existing chimney. That's a very poor choice and can be dangerous if it lets creosote build up and doesn't get cleaned frequently.

The other issue with an insert is that it needs the blower to get the heat out into the room. That's fine as long as you don't depend on the stove for heat when the power is out.

FWIW, we bought a freestanding stove and planned to set in inside the massive stone fireplace we have. Ultimately, we decided to have it out in the room, not in the fireplace. We are very happy with that decision. The wood stove is our primary winter heat (It's a Pacific Engineering Summit)

The other option for you, if you wife just wants it for the looks and occasional use, is to get gas fireplace logs. Cost is probably a third of the cost of the wood insert even if you have to buy a 100# propane tank.

Ken

 

[lostcause]

i've got a regency i2400, which they call a medium sized insert. i installed it after i moved in because the original metal fireplace liner and damper were rusted away from many years of not being used. i did the installation myself, but another time i think i might pay to have it done. i have an offset flue in my chimney, so pulling the stainless steel liner down was a bit of a chore. i had fairly limited room where it came through the old damper too, so hoking the liner to the top of the insert was a struggle.

i can't remember exactly what it cost me to do it, but i know the insert was in the $2000 ballpark, and i think it was at least another $500 for the liner and other pieces. that included about 15' of stainless steel liner, a stainless cap on the outside, and an adapter to mount between the liner and insert. there was also some high strength silicone to seal the cap to the chimney.

overall i've been happy with my stove. it was a good size fit for the fireplace opening. i believe they rate it for an 8 hour burn, and i get probably 6 hours max. i do cut and split all my wood to between 2x4 and 4x4 size though, so i'm sure i do burn faster than some. i do soot up the glass a lot, but that may be my fault.

this is my third year on the insert. i burn about 3+ cord of wood a year, and this is the primary heat source in the winter. i also use less than a tank of #2 heating oil, which will take over on those occasions when we don't fill it up in the cold mornings, or when we are away for days at a time. i clean the chimney once a year, and i get in the range of 1 gallon of creosote. the house used to have an old wood stove in the basement, and it was nothing to get a 5 gallon pail of creosote a year.

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

We're very happy with our Buck Stove Model 91 catalytic insert. Model 91 Catalytic Wood Stove . It heats our 1800 sqft/full basement home. This will be the 4th winter in use. Features a thermostatic controlled variable speed blower, air wash to help keep the door glass clean, and an ash drawer. Wood loads with the ends facing out, never a danger of rolling out. A bypass door is open until the catalyst chamber reaches about 600 degrees. Once the catalyst "fires", you can damper the fire down to get looong overnight burns. The catalyst helps to maintain a high temperature in the stove, even with a low burn rate in the firebox. Result is little to no deposits in the liner, and longer burn times per load. The manual states that best efficient use of wood doesn't require a visible flame. About the only time I've ever seen smoke from the chimney is when starting a new fire, or reloading. Winters here in Missouri aren't as hard as other places, but we see our share of cold weather. We've yet to be disappointed with our choice of stoves. Mark

 

[rd_macgregor]

Are the stoves you are interested in set up to connect to an outside air source? My BIS II insert does a pretty good job of heating the livingroom, but once the heat reaches the thermostat in the hall, the rest of the house really cools down. If it were also depressurizing the house, cold air leakage here and there would make things pretty frigid upstairs and in peripheral areas downstairs.
Last time I let ten years go by between chimney cleanings; the guy who did it this last time said that looked to be about the right frequency, given the level of deposits in my chimney!
BOB

 

[clemsonfor]

My sove has no outside air, but it pretty much circulates through the house. I use the air handler fan to circulate sometimes, but i like it in the low 60s in the bedroom to sleep comfortably. sometimes the room with it can get uncomfortable though.

 

[clemsonfor]

We're very happy with our Buck Stove Model 91 catalytic insert. Model 91 Catalytic Wood Stove . It heats our 1800 sqft/full basement home. This will be the 4th winter in use. Features a thermostatic controlled variable speed blower, air wash to help keep the door glass clean, and an ash drawer. Wood loads with the ends facing out, never a danger of rolling out. A bypass door is open until the catalyst chamber reaches about 600 degrees. Once the catalyst "fires", you can damper the fire down to get looong overnight burns. The catalyst helps to maintain a high temperature in the stove, even with a low burn rate in the firebox. Result is little to no deposits in the liner, and longer burn times per load. The manual states that best efficient use of wood doesn't require a visible flame. About the only time I've ever seen smoke from the chimney is when starting a new fire, or reloading. Winters here in Missouri aren't as hard as other places, but we see our share of cold weather. We've yet to be disappointed with our choice of stoves. Mark

Is this the huge buck stove with like a 4.5 sqft box? I saw one on CL like this i wanted but the person never responded?

Wow your wood is clean, do you sweep it before bringing it in? Mine always has dust, sawdust bark pieces, pecan pieces from rats etc on it. I keep mine in an open sided wood shed. No direct rain on it but it gets blow in on the edge pieces.

 

[lostcause]

Are the stoves you are interested in set up to connect to an outside air source?
BOB

i've seen brochures on other stove types that draw outside air, but how do they do it with an insert and not make it look ridiculous? would you have a flexible pipe that runs out the front of the stove and wraps across the hearth? i can see for a free-standing wood stove where you could mask the fresh air vent behind it, but with an insert everything has to be right in the front since they are generally put into a pre-existing hole in the masonry.