Hey folks,
Not new to the wood burning game (have had a Regency F2100 in the basement since 2001) but am considering adding a second unit to the upstairs (ground floor, custom bungalow). Reason being: the geothermal heats the end of the house (where it's installed) quite well, but doesn't push the heat down to the far end where the bedrooms are. As well, a large bay window in the living rm makes that room rather cold, even though it's fairly centrally located.
Our goal is to heat the living rm and also get heat into the bedrooms.
Now, we can't just rely on the heat wafting around and making its way into the cols bedrooms since we close the door between the living rm and bedrooms at night soas not to wake the kids when we're watching TV. As well, at night, the kids' bedroom doors are closed and ours is pushed mostly closed... not the best way to allow heat to move about.
So, we've been considering the ZC fireplaces with central heating hookup capability. Had quotes come in from three dealers (two presenting the RSF Opel 3, one the BIS Tradition CE or Nova) and waiting on a fourth (Napoleon NZ-26). There aren't any other dealers in my area and even the ones in Ottawa who might travel out of town to deal with a new customer seem limited to those options.
The BIS are almost ruled out due to the length of ducting required to get heat from the fireplace to the master bedroom (could top out at around 40') and I was told by the dealer that their 5" duct and smaller cfm blower won't move enough air over that distance. The Opel 3 and NZ-26 both have 8" ducts and 630+ cfm blowers to move larger quantities of air.
I like the look of both units (esp the NZ-26WI) and both have similar heat output specs. My concern comes from the fact that the Opel3 is an EPA-exempt stove when the cat is not installed (we wouldn't install one), which from reading (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/hoexempt.htm), suggests to me that I'd be losing a ton of heat up the flue due to the fireplace simply pushing a ton of air through the unit. The EPA website also indicates that the burn rate for exemption is > 5kg / hr, or > 11 lbs / hr, which is a fair bit of wood - frequent reloads. In comparision, the NZ-26 produces the same BTUs from a firebox half the size (1.7 cu ft vs 3.6 cu ft). The NZ-26 also has the secondary burn tubes across the baffle, whereas the Opel only has the front tube for the airwash.
From my experience with my Regency, those secondary burn tubes really help to extract the heat from the wood... every time they light up, I hear the heat expansion in the stove pipe. Plus, they look awesome when all lit up! And.. no smoke!
So.... I'm at a bit of a crossroad. Both units seem to be quite good and come from reputable companies. I presume that the smaller Napoleon firebox will mean more frequent loading of wood... but at the same time, does the Opel 3, due to being EPA-exempt, chew through the wood at a greater rate (as suggested by the chimney sweep online article)? Is the EPA-exempt Opel a smoker compared to a unit with secondary burn? Which will provide heat (to the living space) more efficiently soas to satisfy our goals?
Price-wise: The NZ-26WI is about $1500 more than the Opel 3 due to the wrought iron front .... I also like the cleaner look of the NZ-26WI with the convection grates being tightly coupled with the door rather than separated by several inches. OTOH, if we went with the standard NZ-26, we'd come in about $500 less than the Opel 3. So, both units are still in the running at this time (when the job is going to cost $12k+ to frame, install and finish and pay the taxman, we're not going to quarrel over a few hundred for one appearance over another - we gotta look at it for the next 25 years and I don't want to be saying "I wish I spent the extra $$").
Really interested in hearing from dealers and installers who've dealt with both units as well as folks who've had good and bad experiences with either.
Not new to the wood burning game (have had a Regency F2100 in the basement since 2001) but am considering adding a second unit to the upstairs (ground floor, custom bungalow). Reason being: the geothermal heats the end of the house (where it's installed) quite well, but doesn't push the heat down to the far end where the bedrooms are. As well, a large bay window in the living rm makes that room rather cold, even though it's fairly centrally located.
Our goal is to heat the living rm and also get heat into the bedrooms.
Now, we can't just rely on the heat wafting around and making its way into the cols bedrooms since we close the door between the living rm and bedrooms at night soas not to wake the kids when we're watching TV. As well, at night, the kids' bedroom doors are closed and ours is pushed mostly closed... not the best way to allow heat to move about.
So, we've been considering the ZC fireplaces with central heating hookup capability. Had quotes come in from three dealers (two presenting the RSF Opel 3, one the BIS Tradition CE or Nova) and waiting on a fourth (Napoleon NZ-26). There aren't any other dealers in my area and even the ones in Ottawa who might travel out of town to deal with a new customer seem limited to those options.
The BIS are almost ruled out due to the length of ducting required to get heat from the fireplace to the master bedroom (could top out at around 40') and I was told by the dealer that their 5" duct and smaller cfm blower won't move enough air over that distance. The Opel 3 and NZ-26 both have 8" ducts and 630+ cfm blowers to move larger quantities of air.
I like the look of both units (esp the NZ-26WI) and both have similar heat output specs. My concern comes from the fact that the Opel3 is an EPA-exempt stove when the cat is not installed (we wouldn't install one), which from reading (broken link removed to http://chimneysweeponline.com/hoexempt.htm), suggests to me that I'd be losing a ton of heat up the flue due to the fireplace simply pushing a ton of air through the unit. The EPA website also indicates that the burn rate for exemption is > 5kg / hr, or > 11 lbs / hr, which is a fair bit of wood - frequent reloads. In comparision, the NZ-26 produces the same BTUs from a firebox half the size (1.7 cu ft vs 3.6 cu ft). The NZ-26 also has the secondary burn tubes across the baffle, whereas the Opel only has the front tube for the airwash.
From my experience with my Regency, those secondary burn tubes really help to extract the heat from the wood... every time they light up, I hear the heat expansion in the stove pipe. Plus, they look awesome when all lit up! And.. no smoke!
So.... I'm at a bit of a crossroad. Both units seem to be quite good and come from reputable companies. I presume that the smaller Napoleon firebox will mean more frequent loading of wood... but at the same time, does the Opel 3, due to being EPA-exempt, chew through the wood at a greater rate (as suggested by the chimney sweep online article)? Is the EPA-exempt Opel a smoker compared to a unit with secondary burn? Which will provide heat (to the living space) more efficiently soas to satisfy our goals?
Price-wise: The NZ-26WI is about $1500 more than the Opel 3 due to the wrought iron front .... I also like the cleaner look of the NZ-26WI with the convection grates being tightly coupled with the door rather than separated by several inches. OTOH, if we went with the standard NZ-26, we'd come in about $500 less than the Opel 3. So, both units are still in the running at this time (when the job is going to cost $12k+ to frame, install and finish and pay the taxman, we're not going to quarrel over a few hundred for one appearance over another - we gotta look at it for the next 25 years and I don't want to be saying "I wish I spent the extra $$").
Really interested in hearing from dealers and installers who've dealt with both units as well as folks who've had good and bad experiences with either.
