I have a 2500 sf two story house. The fireplace is in the living room and is open through the kitchen. (open area approximately 1/2 of the first floor 625sf) I want a good wood burning insert to heat most of the house. I have looked at the Summit by PE and Jotul 550C Rockland. Does anyone have experience with these units. I am looking for a long burn. It looks like the Summit will be more efficient but the Jotul looks better and is made of more cast iron. The summit has a lifetime warranty and jotul 5 year. Any suggestions/guidance on which of the two is best or other alternatives that are high efficiency and look good. Also, pricing was $2750 for the summit and $2900 for the 550 C. Are these competitive? Install $600 and 30' liner $1000. How difficult is the install on both of these? Any special tools reqired? I am in southwest ohio and went to vondeharr. If anyone knows of better pricing let me know. Much appreciated!
Best Wood Insert
- Thread starter hillbilly_jake
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Both are good stoves and are well regarded by people on this forum. I have the Summit's little brother, the Vista insert, and have been impressed by its quality and ease of operation. Of course, if you're married, the bottom line is, which one does your wife like better! ;-)
There are many more opinions than variety of inserts here. You will find people who like the look of the cast iron and people who like the durability of steel. All of the inserts sold today will be efficient, if you are looking for long burn times you will want a larger firebox. There is cat no cat discussions here as well.
The best advice is to go to a few dealers with the other half, do a search on here for reviews of inserts. There are many discussions on gere already.
Good luck.
The best advice is to go to a few dealers with the other half, do a search on here for reviews of inserts. There are many discussions on gere already.
Good luck.
My wife and I have gone through all the stove manufactures, and the only ones that looked to be big enough for our application was the PE Summit, and the Quadrafire 5100i. If you are planning on heating at least 80% of your house, the Jotul isnt going to cut it. Although yes is does look the best, its just not going to have the capacity. I was almost sold on the Hampton 300H or Jotul 550 because I thought my wife was going to be all about looks. But what she told me was, "I dont want to get a fireplace that might not be big enough to heat the whole house, so if we are going to do it, I want to go all the way". So in the end after seeing the QF5100i in person with brushed Nickel trim we were sold.
A wise unknown pyro from this site said it well, "you can make a smaller fire in a bigger stove, but you cant make a bigger fire in a smalller stove"
For installation $600 seems about right if that includes all the chimney sweep and test firing. My dealer is charging $800 which I said was too much so he gave me some money off because the county fair was a week before and gave me the sale price. The liner if that includes all the chimney caps, Flue insulation, I wouldnt have too much heart burn w/ it, but again I am not an expert by any means, just a keen observer.
Installation wise, I havent put one in, and actually we dont even have ours installed yet, but this is what I will offer. I used to deliver appliances and the Front load washing machines weighed 350lbs and that was moved with a professional dolly and was a bear. Now you are talking a 500+ insert and going to have to slide it over a stone hearth and not scratch it? Furthermore, If the stove shop installs, its a capital home improvement so you pay no tax!! On further, the 30% tax credit applies to everything on the bill including install.
So let me do the math for you. $2800stove +$1000 liner X 8.25%sales tax= $313 tax $600 install X 30% tax credit=$180 $600-313-180= $107 you would pay for a professional install, chimney sweep, piece of mind its done correctly be a certified installer for your stove (would help if there was ever a warranty or insurance claim, its all on paperwork) While you stand there with a cup of coffee in your hand in your PJs and slippers
!! My stove shop said they were even going to bring some correctly seasoned wood and build the first fire to show me how it works, and how well it will work with seasoned wood. So I get a demo and a free fire!!
A wise unknown pyro from this site said it well, "you can make a smaller fire in a bigger stove, but you cant make a bigger fire in a smalller stove"
For installation $600 seems about right if that includes all the chimney sweep and test firing. My dealer is charging $800 which I said was too much so he gave me some money off because the county fair was a week before and gave me the sale price. The liner if that includes all the chimney caps, Flue insulation, I wouldnt have too much heart burn w/ it, but again I am not an expert by any means, just a keen observer.
Installation wise, I havent put one in, and actually we dont even have ours installed yet, but this is what I will offer. I used to deliver appliances and the Front load washing machines weighed 350lbs and that was moved with a professional dolly and was a bear. Now you are talking a 500+ insert and going to have to slide it over a stone hearth and not scratch it? Furthermore, If the stove shop installs, its a capital home improvement so you pay no tax!! On further, the 30% tax credit applies to everything on the bill including install.
So let me do the math for you. $2800stove +$1000 liner X 8.25%sales tax= $313 tax $600 install X 30% tax credit=$180 $600-313-180= $107 you would pay for a professional install, chimney sweep, piece of mind its done correctly be a certified installer for your stove (would help if there was ever a warranty or insurance claim, its all on paperwork) While you stand there with a cup of coffee in your hand in your PJs and slippers
!! My stove shop said they were even going to bring some correctly seasoned wood and build the first fire to show me how it works, and how well it will work with seasoned wood. So I get a demo and a free fire!!
I don't shop for stoves anymore so I'm not sure if these fit the criteria but I wouldn't buy one now unless it had the tax credit with it. Some things you want to look for is ones that gives you the opportunity to load both ways front/back, side/side. I wouldn't get a stove that didn't load straight in because it's soooooooooo much easier to load it full. I think the biggest insert you can fit and afford is also a good piece of advice. As far as installing.... If you can lift heavy things and manipulate them, then installation shouldn't be hard. I went with 5.5" liner because I've got small tiles in my chimney. I didn't even have to do any cutting on the damper or anything, it just went right through. If you've got to cut the damper to put in the liner then it will be a little harder since you'll be cutting over your head. Of course check all your clearances before you buy anything!
!Thanks for the feed back. I do agree that the Jotul looks better but think I am leaning toward the summit. the quadfire looks good with the side glass but I am hearing that the glass gets dirty and is hard to clean. I am planning on using the tax credit as well. thanks
hillbilly_jake said:
They are both about dead even in comparison, so my decision was made on reputation of stove shop installing. I was able to see the QF in person and liking it better vs just a brochure for the PE. In the end the total bill from each shop was within $300 of each other, and my wife isnt one to skimp if she is going to be dedicated to it for the next 20+ years.
hillbilly_jake said:
I have never had any problems cleaning the glass. I use the rutland glass cleaner and windex and am still on my second bottle of glass cleaner after burning 11 years with the stove. I would say 6 paper towels and 5 minutes and the glass is spotless. The glass gets dirty on all stoves, the side glass on the quad 5100i do get dirtier when there is a smoldering ire but as with all stoves if you get a good hot fire going the heat cleans it. My wife likes the view from the sides because everyone in the room can see the flames.
I know that people use ash to clean the glass too and they say it works well, I just been doing this so long and it works for me.
Thanks All! We ordered the Jotul 550C Rockland last night and will have it installed next Thursday. $4600 after tax. 2900 stove, 800 25' liner, 600 install, 100 shipping and tax.
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