I am new to stoves but believe that my house is a fairly cood candide for one. Our House is 1800sq ft ranch with full (unfinished) walkout basement. It is a fairly open floorplan. The kitchen and living area are combined and this is wher most waking hours are spent. Anyway, when the hous was built 7 years ago, we had a majestic factory fireplace instaleld as we preferred natural fires. Needless to say with propane prices, economy etc..., I no longer care for a natural fire in the winter months.
I have identified the Regency CL1200 as the only choice for an insert due to the fact that it fits in the majestic factory fireplace and matches the contemporary style of the home. Also, we are on wooded acreage so access to fuel is not an issue. I estimate that we use approximately 1,100 Gallons of propane/season for heat.
However, I have the following concerns:
1) No blower is available on this unit and the next size up CL 1250 will not fit. I've heard some say a blower is essential. Is it really? I have a cieling fan in the kitchen and a whole house ventilator that exchanges heat and humidity and air returns in the living area. Could these be enough to distribute heat?
2) I have an irregular surface surrounding the fireplace opening (cultured stone). Is there some reasonably aethitically pleasing way to finish off the seam between the stone and the sheet metal backer face plate. I will need a backer face plate as the fireplace opening is wider than the insert.
3) I don't expect that this unit will do all of the heating but I wonder if it is capable of knocking 30-50% off my propane? I realize there are too many variables to accurately assess what is possible but I wonder if practical experience with a stove of this size etc... would allow one to estimate very roughly what is reasonable to expect?
Thanks!
I have identified the Regency CL1200 as the only choice for an insert due to the fact that it fits in the majestic factory fireplace and matches the contemporary style of the home. Also, we are on wooded acreage so access to fuel is not an issue. I estimate that we use approximately 1,100 Gallons of propane/season for heat.
However, I have the following concerns:
1) No blower is available on this unit and the next size up CL 1250 will not fit. I've heard some say a blower is essential. Is it really? I have a cieling fan in the kitchen and a whole house ventilator that exchanges heat and humidity and air returns in the living area. Could these be enough to distribute heat?
2) I have an irregular surface surrounding the fireplace opening (cultured stone). Is there some reasonably aethitically pleasing way to finish off the seam between the stone and the sheet metal backer face plate. I will need a backer face plate as the fireplace opening is wider than the insert.
3) I don't expect that this unit will do all of the heating but I wonder if it is capable of knocking 30-50% off my propane? I realize there are too many variables to accurately assess what is possible but I wonder if practical experience with a stove of this size etc... would allow one to estimate very roughly what is reasonable to expect?
Thanks!