We bought our house in March and are looking to put a wood burning insert into the existing masonry fireplace. We went to several fireplace stores and have narrowed our search down to 2 brands. Quadra fire 4100i/5100i or the Osburn 2200. Looking for any input on these models or even just the brands.
Ok, I've got a Quadrafire 4100i. I've had it for 2 seasons now. I love it. It works well. It heats my entire 1700 sq ft ranch with good wood, in Wisconsin winters. My wife loves the bay/ bow window design. It will take up to 20" logs when loaded N/S. I get about 10 hours of burn time with the good stuff. It's quite simple to operate too. This is from last winter. From when I first installed it.
The quadrafire is a much nicer looking stove than the osburn. I put this 4100 in the place of an open FP with glass doors and a heatilator wood rack. I use about the same amount of wood as I used to with the open FP, but I can honestly say that my wood insert is my primary source of heat. I still have the NG furnace downstairs, but I really don't use that much anymore. I'll try the whole house fan in the HVAC from time to time if I get it a bit too hot and choochin' in the family room. I cut my gas bill down considerably by installing the quadrafire insert. So much that the stove paid for itself in year one. Granted I bought the stove used, and it was a smoking deal, but still.
Thanks for the input....I think they are both good looking stoves, which is the reasoning for them being our final choices, but after my research so far, I feel like the Quadra fire is more of a solid unit. And maybe that's why it's about $1000 more than the Osburn. I noticed there is a couch by three wood burner. Does it get to hot to sit in that room? Our insert will be in our living room...close to where we sit. I'm afraid it will be to hot to be in the room.
There's 2 couches by the insert. It can get a little warm, but then I turn on the furnace whole house fan. If you use the shoulder season wood ( lower btu wood) when it's not so cold out that limits the beach party days in the house. just starting a fire for a few hours takes the chill away and not chooch everyone out of the house. Save the high btu stuff, and all night burns for when it's cold out. Then pack the stove full at night.
Thanks! What shoulder season wood do you burn? Is pine on in these units with a stainless liner? Also, do the side windows stay clean or no?
I've been running a Quad insert for maybe 15 years now. The windows will gradually get a grey ash buildup on them. You'll want to clean them every week or so if seeing the fire is important. Key as with any stove is dry wood. If your wood isn't up to par or you are smoldering it choked back at a temp below what will light up the secondaries your glass will be blackened after one load. (And you'll be cleaning your chimney often.)
Pine is fine, as long as it is dry...just like any other firewood Where people run into trouble with Pine is burning it wet...because it WILL burn wet...but you should never do that.
Yep, I burn pine and fir as shoulder season, as well as poplar, elm, box elder, spruce, cherry, and maple. I'm not picky. It just needs to be dry.
Make sure you have minimum chimney length for that Quad. They need good draft. Don't toss splits in the firebox roughly. The pumice type firebrick and the insulation baffle can break. Otherwise, they're pretty durable. Had ours about 10 years and no regrets. Wife still prefers the look over many other stoves.
I have an Osburn and prefer its look, but the flat, flush installation makes it very dependent on the blower, and the blower is noisier than I think it should be. If I had it to do over, I'd try hard to find a way to install a free-standing stove rather than an insert.
Yes, the pumice firebricks do wear. I bought a replacement set and have replaced all of the vertical ones. The drilled ones in back break real easy. I've never had an issue with the baffle. The fan cage/stove rattled quite a bit too. I finally figured out that all I had to do was decouple the cage from the stove by removing the bolts that held it on. No more vibrations.
Many times a blower that starts to make noise is in need of a cleaning...it takes no time to get enough buildup in the squirrel cage to throw things off balance...being that we have an insert it is easy to unclip the whole blower housing and take it out to the shop to blow it out with the compressed air...what a cloud that makes...usually have to do it at least twice per winter.
thanks for all the input! we are going with the quadra fire 4100i...the 5100i was a little to big in the back end to fit into my existing masonary fireplace. it is being installed next week....cant wait!
I see you made your decision already, but figured I would through my comments in anyways. I have an Osburn 2400 that I am on my third season with, the stove is a beast and provides all the heat I need. Now that I am on the three year plan I wish I would have went with a cat stove for the more controlled heat output and longer burn times. Good luck burning.
