Recommendation for 300sqft room with large viewing window

[Thifireplace]

Hi there,
We recently bought a house in Massachusetts and the fireplace is in need of repairs. We are considering an insert. It is located in a 300sq ft room on a 900 sq ft floor with the house having 1800 sq ft with the second floor. We have oil radiators now and are likely going to install mini splits next year so the primary use will be to supplement heat and enjoy a nice fire. The width in the front of the fireplace is 41 inches while 30 in the back. The hight is 25.5 inches and the depth 18inches with another 20 inches of tiles in the front. We are new to this and a bit overwhelmed in choosing the right insert. We were quoted for a regency ci 1150 from a chimney sweeping company without giving us any options (I have a follow up call this week) and we went to look inserts at a local store this weekend but they only had Vermont casting Montpelier II and quadrafire expedition II which looked quite similar. We enjoyed the look and big window of the Montpelier II but I read various opinions on this forum, and many mention it’s a single burn rate product where you can’t control the output. I would love a recommendation from the experts in this forum for a product that would best fit our needs and preferences.
Thank you in advance

 

[begreen]

The Regency ci1150 is a small insert with a 1 cu ft capacity. I think I would prefer something in the 2 cu ft range if the heat can easily convect out of this room to the rest of the house.

How open is this room to the rest of the floor? Is the staircase in this room too?

The Quad and VC inserts are identical inside, just the face is different. Some folks like the single burn rate. There's less to fuss with for the occasional burner. You control the fire size by the amount of wood loaded. For more control in a bit larger insert, look at the Pacific Energy Neo 1.6 and the Super. And also check out the Lopi Answer and Evergreen inserts.

 

[Thifireplace]

Thank you for your answer and advice. I will check out the pacific energy, loop, and evergreen inserts.
To answer your question, the living room where the fireplace is located is open to other rooms in the floor by a door frame that's about 80 inches. There are no doors on the entire floor but rooms are mostly closed off by walls. The staircase is right by the entrance to the room where the insert would be. Directly behind it actually. I have attached a plan that I am sure will be much better than my description. Thanks again