New insert

First off sorry for the long and rambling read. We bought a house and moved in last March. 2500 sw ft with bedrooms on second floor and a finished attic on the 3rd for the kids toy room. Fire place on the first floor. Our last house we only had a wood burning fireplace which we enjoyed all winter long except the extremely cold days after the fire burned out. Our current house only has a gas log set which we have only had on 1 or 2 times. During the inspection prior to purchasing our new house there were issues with it. We were in the Caribbean on vacation and the back and forth emails were getting crazy. So I told them screw it and just fix what's there as I didn't want to ruin a vacation dealing with it. Money has always been used for other projects so far. A simple tub replacement turned into gutting a bathroom, new paver patio, and exterior of house painted. So Christmas morning the wife stated she really misses having fires!!! (Now it's her idea for a wood burner again)!!!! So I've began the hunt. Went to the local fireplace store to look at a Vermont castings Merrimack insert. Didn't have any for display but I did get a brochure. Was quoted $3700 including surrounds and another $800 for the 2 story liner. Talked to my father-in-law who's a general contractor and carpenter by trade about it and he's not interested in helping install so another $800-$1000 for that. So I'd be looking at about $5500 for that stove. I'm new to the inserts and was looking for your guys opinion on what to get or what to stay away from. Thanks for your help and here's some pictures. As I know you guys like pictures.

 

Not sure of your location, but at 7deg F right now in Mass my little insert is begging for oil backup assistance.

I would put in a freestanding stove in hindsight, and if you can.

With an insert, I also need to run the blower or I get minimal heat output, and you definitely want to install block off plates.

That being said, she has paid for herself easily, I run a Jotul Rockland, and the stove has been just about flawless.

I really think a flex liner can be installed DIY and the stove is handled fairly easily as well using the old noodle. Save yourself a grand and buy a case of beer and invite a good friend to help.

 

Located in northern Illinois. I like the idea of a freestanding stove but the layout for one would be tough. The wife's not a fan of a true stove. It took some time with the insert as she likes the look of the fire. Needs a BIG window or she won't go for it.

 

How loud is the blower? As it's in our TV room I wouldn't want something obnoxious is there.

 

I do have a regular chimney. At one time the fireplace was wood burning with ash doors in the basement. The chimney is actually in the inside of the house as opposed to outside of that makes any sense to you guys

 

They are loud when the TV is on. We run a little circular fan when TV is on instead. I find the blower my biggest dislike of an insert. Tried it without, but huge heat output difference with them on.

 

So just went to another store and the sell Lopi Inserts. Which I've never heard of. Even though the house is 2500 sq ft he recommends a small or medium stove as to not over heat the room the insert is in?? So his recommendation is a insert that heats 1200-2,000 sq ft. Price would be about the same. $5300. Plus 650 for install.

 

Are you looking for a centerpiece to look at with the wife in the evenings, or are you looking to offset heating costs? If your looking to heat, if be looking for the biggest box that SAFELY fits that hole. Lots of pretty stoves with little boxes and 3-4 hour burn times fit the "wifes" eye test, but if it were me I'd be much happier with 6-12 hour burn times, more in the shoulder season depending on the brand you choose. I guess what I'm saying here is throw all the salesmans advise to buy a small or medium insert straight out the -3 degree windchilled window lol

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Pacific energy, Lopi, Kuma and blaze king all make solid inserts. I'd lean more towards the Kuma and blaze king myself. The Kuma needs a 8 inch liner which may not work depending on your chimney size i.d. Something over 2 cubic foot and preferably larger would give you longer burn times. My blaze king has been an amazing heater with zero complaints heating 1500 square feet. An insulated liner and a block off plate will save loads of potential problems with draft and heat output. Price is different depending on your area but I'd expect stove to be around 3k and a good liner 800-1k. I did the install myself wasn't bad at all and I knew it was done correctly.

 

Your fireplace is about the same size as ours...you'll only be able to fit a midsized insert in there most likely...I had to shoehorn my Drolet 1400i in (1.8 CF) I would really have liked to went with a Drolet 1800i (2.4 CF) but it was just a bit too deep for how my fireplace/chimney is built (liner connection issues) Fire in the hole!
I really like the Drolet/Century line for "bang for the buck" value, and you can get them at big box and online retailer for great prices sometimes...Menards has a blowout sale in the 1800i sometimes. Don't forget to check Craigslist and the like...sometimes you can get almost new stuff pretty cheap...I snagged my 1400i for $250 on CL.
If the wife wants a good view of the fire then a cat stove like a Blaze King is out...there often isn't much of a fire to view, and the glass tends to get black with every burn anyways.
If you are handy at all, you can do your own install, its not hard...we can walk you through it...it is nice to have an extra hand, that's almost a requirement when pulling the liner in.

 

Black box or flames all at the touch of a dial. Oh BTW the princess would fit.

 

Here is ours in the family room where the TV is....yes you can hear the blower a little but not to bad, usually run at about 1\3 speed when in the room, puts out good heat.

 

Looking for both. I only work 10 days a month so the days I'm home we could burn 24 hours a day. I think the wife would use it when I'm not home. She lives the look of the fire and the heat is a bonus for me. To switch from a gas insert to just a fireplace seems un logical to me.

Loo

 

I like your way of thinking

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Have you decided on what your going to do? I recently helped a coworker of mine pull a failed VC 2100 insert and I got to do a little window shopping at his expence. Next week he is getting a Enviro Boston 1700i. So simple a caveman could run it......or so I'm told. Rave reviews on this site, dealer we talked to swears by them (imagine that) but on a serious note it look like most folks are getting 8ish hours of decent heat with good wood. I'll have to report back at a later date after he gets it installed and a few burns under his belt.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Not yet been doing some online window shopping. There really are a lot of choices and none or them are cheap. Also want to actually see the one I pick. Not many places near me stock any. Probably wait till summer time to purchase. And please do let me know how your buddy's turns out. QUOTE="chance04, post: 769383, member: 2428"]Have you decided on what your going to do? I recently helped a coworker of mine pull a failed VC 2100 insert and I got to do a little window shopping at his expence. Next week he is getting a Enviro Boston 1700i. So simple a caveman could run it......or so I'm told. Rave reviews on this site, dealer we talked to swears by them (imagine that) but on a serious note it look like most folks are getting 8ish hours of decent heat with good wood. I'll have to report back at a later date after he gets it installed and a few burns under his belt.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]Absolutely

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

I have the 1800i, it is a great insert. Big glass door, and pretty decent on wood. What were you getting quoted? 5500? I'm into this for 1400. Heats the whole first floor.... Upstairs is a little cooler, I have virtually no gas bill nowadays

 

I heat my home primarily with my wood insert. I'm in SE Wisconsin. I looked at the Merrimack, as my wife sounds just like yours, in that she runs it a lot during the day, and the insert had to have a big amount of viewing glass. I decided against the Merrimack as the company was sold and the new owners don't seen to have as good of quality built into the stoves as they used to have.

I went with a bow front Quadrafire 4100 that I happened to find FS used on CL with a SS liner. The deal was wayyyyy too good to pass up.
I had to take out the stove and liner from a house. I installed it myself, with a helping hand from my buddy.

You can easily install the liner and the stove if you are handy.

Yes, in the crazy cold that we have been having, the gas furnace kicked in from time to time. Still, the majority of the heating was accomplished by my insert.

Above 10 degrees, the furnace rarely runs. Just enough to make me feel good in that the pipes in the basement won't freeze since the insert, and the t stat is on the main floor too. Down to zero, the furnace turns on very little.

My house is a 1700 sq ft open concept ranch.

The fan is variable, so they are quieter when at lower speed, but even at full blast, it's not loud. The insert is 4 feet from the tv, and I'm about 8 feet from the stove.

The insulation in my house is nowhere near as good as it could be, a house built in the late 60's, but the insert pulls its weight.

Would a free standing stove heat even better? Probably. But there's that empty fireplace that is begging for an insert. This pic doesn't do the stove justice as the 2 side windows are not lit up as normal on full choochin'mode.