wood insert- brands to review

[hugehuggo]

I just moved and left my marvelous avalon insert behind. Good news is...my new place has 3 masonary fire places. I would very much appreciate some tips on which brands I should consider. The first one I will buy has an opening of 25" X 45" and I would like as big as possible. I prefer the better quality and have saved some money to buy a good one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[wg_bent]

PE Summit, VC Winterwarm large, Hearthstone Clydsdale, Osburn 2400, Country stoves, Lopi.

Around these parts the PE Summit has a very loyal following.

 

[Corie]

Jotul Kennebec

EDIT - I knew I spelled it wrong!

 

[begreen]

Good suggestions all. I'm with Corie on the Kennebec. Without knowing the new home size and your visual preference it's hard to get specific. If you prefer steel I'd go with the PE, but you also might want to look at the Quadrafire 4100i or larger, Lopi Declaration?, and don't forget the Harman Exception.

 

[BrotherBart]

Good suggestions all. Corie, make that a Kennebec. Without knowing the new home size and your visual preference it's hard to get specific. If you prefer steel I'd go with the PE, but you also might want to look at the Quadrafire 4100i or larger, Lopi Declaration?, and Harman Exception.

I scratched off the Harmon Exception insert for one reason. That thing has a really nice sized firebox, as a top loading free standing stove. Problem is that as an insert a bunch of that capacity is up over the loading door. Totally unusable. Take a look at one sometime.

 

[Roospike]

Jotul Kennebac

Tho a good insert i wouldnt say its large stove as more of the medium size.


Technical data for Jøtul C 450 Kennebec:

Maximum heat output: 55,000 BTU/hr
Heating capacity: Up to 1,600 sq.ft
Overall efficiency: 71%
Log length: 20"
Burn time: Up to 8 hours
Finish options: Matte Black and Jøtul Iron™ Paint, or Blue Black enamel
Flue outlet: Top
Flue size: 6"

 

[Corie]

True true.

Everyone's opinion of large is different Roo, if you know what i mean.

 

[Roospike]

True true.

Everyone's opinion of large is different Roo, if you know what i mean.

?? Thats what my wife says ..... I think she is joking . :lol:

 

[BrotherBart]

I'm thinking Blaze King Princess insert here. It has one of those thermostat toys on it like that, that, oh heck what is it called? Hilltop? Ridge? Something like that. You know the one. Ya can get it in whorehouse red.

 

[Roospike]

Got my eye on u brotherbart %-P

 

[Mike Wilson]

Jotul Kennebec

What he said...

The Summit is larger though, however nowhere near as good looking as the Kennebec (___quickly ducks head___)... however from all I've read, the quality of the two brands is tops. Slight problem you may encounter is your 45" width... I think the Kennebec with the wide surround is 44" wide. Not sure who else makes a large unit with such a wide (yet short... 25"?) surround panel. Maybe the Clydesdale, another very good unit, slightly larger than a Kennebec. The only one I don't like is the VC Winterwarm Large... MO's prior issues combined with general quality control gripes make me think twice. (that said, if someone gave me a VC Encore I'd be a happy camper)

-- Mike

 

[elkimmeg]

Mike I can't recomend the winter warm. VC has been listening and are currently redesigning a new insert, however the dutch west DW 2500 is not a bad choice either
I too like the jotul looks you have. The Hampton 300HI is a real nice insert as well

 

[Willhound]

Jotul Kennebec

What he said...

The Summit is larger though, however nowhere near as good looking as the Kennebec (___quickly ducks head___)... however from all I've read, the quality of the two brands is tops. Slight problem you may encounter is your 45" width... I think the Kennebec with the wide surround is 44" wide. Not sure who else makes a large unit with such a wide (yet short... 25"?) surround panel. Maybe the Clydesdale, another very good unit, slightly larger than a Kennebec. The only one I don't like is the VC Winterwarm Large... MO's prior issues combined with general quality control gripes make me think twice. (that said, if someone gave me a VC Encore I'd be a happy camper)

-- Mike

The Summit surround should cover OK. From the P.E. website:
• Embossed Surround
Standard size (48 3/4"w x32"h)
• Plain Surround
Oversized (52 3/4"w x 34"h )

I've got the standard size covering a 44" wide by 30" high opening and it works great.
And looks.....in the eye of the beholder. Wife and I like the simpler design of the Summit, and also really easy to keep clean and dusted. No fancy cracks and crevices to worry about.

 

[Roospike]

The Summit surround should cover OK. From the P.E. website:
• Embossed Surround
Standard size (48 3/4"w x32"h)
• Plain Surround
Oversized (52 3/4"w x 34"h )

I've got the standard size covering a 44" wide by 30" high opening and it works great.
And looks.....in the eye of the beholder. Wife and I like the simpler design of the Summit, and also really easy to keep clean and dusted. No fancy cracks and crevices to worry about.

SOLD! I'll buy one ...........................

Damn , i dont have a fireplace. ;-P Sounded good tho, had me drooling.

 

[budman]

I just moved and left my marvelous avalon insert behind. Good news is...my new place has 3 masonary fire places. I would very much appreciate some tips on which brands I should consider. The first one I will buy has an opening of 25" X 45" and I would like as big as possible. I prefer the better quality and have saved some money to buy a good one.

Thanks in advance.

HUGE I am in my second year with a lopi declaration insert and heat my 1800sq home with no problem.
MY fire place is about the same size as your's and i only have one thing to say (love it)

 

[Mike Wilson]

Just checked... Jotul Kennebec with the regular surround is 40" wide (what I have), and with the wide surround is 48" wide, so it would cover Huge's fireplace. Hey, any thoughts on whether all that extra cast iron in the surround extension would work to better radiate heat??? The Jotul surrounds are all pretty thick cast iron, and I know that mine gets mad hot, and radiates a lot... I wonder if having the extended surround would help more? It would cover some of the granite, which also gets hot, but so what, right? Thoughts???

-- Mike

 

[Roospike]

As with other thread on thin steel vc cast the thinking would be the thin steel would disperse heat faster as where the thicker cast would hold heat longer disperse more even?a little longer?

You wouldnt get "extra magic heat" from somewhere with cast, its just a matter of how the heat is transferred.

 

[Rhone]

I have the Hearthstone Clydesdale, I originally planned on the PE Summit Insert. If I were you, I'd go with looks, I haven't seen anyone unhappy with what they picked (though Winter Warms are getting beat up on this post). When I was looking, I picked the PE Summit because of its features, quality, and price but my wife wanted a big view of the fire and... the Summits window wasn't big enough for her. The dealer showed us the Hearthstone Clydesdale (here's a list of window sizes (broken link removed to http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/viewwoodi.htm)) and my wife could hardly stop the drool coming out of her mouth at the size of its window and that's what we ended up with.

I, like probably everyone think I'm happier we picked up what we did instead. It ended up being me that loves the big window. After I've got the fire going, I sit down and open a beer or stir my tea and that sound triggers our cat to zip from out of the depths it hides in and jump on my lap to enjoy the fire with me and fall asleep on me while I drink and think about life, etc. and before I know it my wife is yelling at me it's 2AM I should be in bed. Some of my greatest ideas and thoughts have come from watching the fire in front of the Clydesdales super view drinking a beer. That's my experience, everyone has something similar like that with theirs. So, I recommend you pick what fits the bill and I don't think you'll go wrong. If you like big views, cast iron, even heat look at the Hearthstone Clydesdale. If you like bay views, look at the Osburn or Quadrafire. If you like steel, convenience, features look at Pacific Energy. If you like the Gothic look, look at Jøtuls. It's unlikely you'll go wrong with whatever you pick, I'd go with the one that you think looks nice and then has the features you like. You'll be looking at it all year long, and particularly looking at it in winter for many hours so trust me that you should pick one you enjoy looking at. Then, base it on features.

 

[hugehuggo]

Thanks a ton....you have helped a lot. I have a lot of research to do.

I like the PE, but prefer the flush look. I'll keep reading your suggestions and start hitting the net and stores. I am trying to heat about 1500 square feet...bedrooms are down the hall and not included in the 1500

Again, I really appreciate the thoughts.

 

[jjbaer]

Thanks a ton....you have helped a lot. I have a lot of research to do.

I like the PE, but prefer the flush look. I'll keep reading your suggestions and start hitting the net and stores. I am trying to heat about 1500 square feet...bedrooms are down the hall and not included in the 1500

Again, I really appreciate the thoughts.

I too did a ton of research before buying my Jotul C450 (arrived at the dealers yesterday). The other contender was the VC WWL. These two stoves are the prettiest stoves on the market, bar none! I looked at all of them and these two are classics! My wife out-voted me and the Jotul won out but I really liked the VC WWL. I think it (WWL) has one of the largest viewing areas of any insert out there.....think 1 or 2 have larger viewing areas but the WWL's is VERY LARGE.

The WWL is a cat and the Jotul C450 is a non-cat. I think the WWL is cast iron and the Jotul is cast iron surround but I think parts of the firebox are steel, hence the firebrick inside. The Jotul has two choices for surround: a classic arch pattern or a kind of cross-hatched or square pattern. We went with the classic arch pattern. Also, with Jotul, you can save yourself $200 bucks and get it now during their Feb 10% off sale (some dealers won't honor that or claim they already have these reductions built-into their prices on a year-round basis so shop around). You can save another $200 by not getting the blue-black enamel......unlike other stove makers where their enamel is very glossy, the Jotul enamel, in medium light, was hard to discern from the matte black unless I looked at both in bright sunlight from an angle....so we got the matte black. The surround and stove also comes in a "grey" colored cast iron finish which looked very nice too.

I did read all the bad about the WWL but I'm guessing they fixed a lot of this. The multi-piece casting I saw aligned perfectly with surrounding cast iron pieces and the blower noise issue was gone. The one I saw had two blowers and they were so quiet that I had to put my hand or ear up to the air outlet to even hear that they were turned on........they were that quiet. Also, the glass area on the WWL is larger than on the 450 and the WWL also takes larger logs (I think 24" vs the 20" for the 450) and the WWL has an ash pan and the 450 doesn't.

Happy hunting for a stove!

 

[Rhone]

I'm still unsure which has a bigger view between the Clydesdale and the WWL. It's hard to tell because the WWL does have a slightly larger glass but it also has an ornamental door that obscures some of the view. The Clydesdale although the glass is slightly smaller the frame of the glass is ultra-thin (the frame covers about 1/4" on all sides of the glass) so on the Clydesdale the size of the glass is pretty much what the size of your view is. Anyone with a WWL tell me what the viewable area of the glass is? You'll have to subtract the arches in the corners from the surface area.

 

[jjbaer]

I'm still unsure which has a bigger view between the Clydesdale and the WWL. It's hard to tell because the WWL does have a slightly larger glass but it also has an ornamental door that obscures some of the view. The Clydesdale although the glass is slightly smaller the frame of the glass is ultra-thin (the frame covers about 1/4" on all sides of the glass) so on the Clydesdale the size of the glass is pretty much what the size of your view is. Anyone with a WWL tell me what the viewable area of the glass is? You'll have to subtract the arches in the corners from the surface area.

Clydesdale has 252 sq in and I measured the WWL at about 250 several weeks ago at a dealers but without taking into account some (but not all) reductions due to the arch.....I'd say the Clydesdale is slightly larger but the difference is small. Jotul C450 is I think 171 sq in.

 

[jmd425]

Check out Regency
(broken link removed to http://www.regency-fire.com/Wood/Inserts/)

 

[jjbaer]

Check out Regency
(broken link removed to http://www.regency-fire.com/Wood/Inserts/)

You hit my 3rd and last choice of stoves before I started whittling it down......WWL, C450 and Regency.......the regency in brown or black enamel is VERY nice! My wife only liked the WWL and the C450.

 

[TMonter]

I'd check out Quadrafires as well in that mix. I have a 3100i and the insert works fantastic, has been easy to maintain and I've had to do almost nothing to the stove for three seasons now. My only wish is that it had outside air.

The quad isn't as pretty as a lot of other stoves out there granted, but the construction quality and performance is there. My only suggestion is to make sure you measure the location of the stove outlet several times before purchasing.