Best Brand of Fireplace Insert or Wood Stove

[dadster4]

Avoid Vermont Castings, they have been bought and sold a few times and are in a state of flux right now. Check for the availability of spare parts BEFORE you get serious about any brand.

 

[BlackOps]

woodstock soapstone stoves are excellent and gorgeous, use mine exclusively for heat for 20 yrs now 2100 sq ft house.

 

[BoylermanCT]

Avoid Vermont Castings, they have been bought and sold a few times and are in a state of flux right now. Check for the availability of spare parts BEFORE you get serious about any brand.

I'm a Vermont Castings fan. My father-in-law has one of their Sequoia fireplaces, and man is that a big insert! You can burn 30" logs in it. I have their Montpelier insert. Very attractive unit with a nice surround. I also have their Aspen wood stove. I would not hesitate to get another one.

 

[TomSeller]

I like Hearthstone, do you want stone, cast, or steel?

I had been thinking cast or steel, I had not seen stone inserts. I'd naturally be interested in stone if there are stone inserts. My wood burning stoves in my other houses were steel, cast door.

 

[2458n]

Wish I had bought a Buck back in the day. Had just bought my house in1982 November, and went with a Country Flame model. Metal was half as thick as the Buck model. Still running the country flame. Would have bought a outside wood boiler if do overs were allowed. Careful what you buy they last a long time.

 

[mbohuntr]

I just happen to be sitting on a brand new Napoleon NZ 26 Zero clearance fireplace. We bought new in 2014. We were planning on putting it in out new home when we built, but due to some issues, we built a different house, and it won't fit. Brand new in box, with blower and fresh air kit... We installed a similar model in our last house and loved it! heated the whole house. PM me if your interested.

Mike

 

[sd455dan]

I had been thinking cast or steel, I had not seen stone inserts. I'd naturally be interested in stone if there are stone inserts. My wood burning stoves in my other houses were steel, cast door.

Is this going to be the primary heat source Tom?
If so how often do you want to feed the stove-there are major differences in efficiency and burn time.

Mainly between catalyst stoves and non cats, We burn solely wood and the best feature of the Blaze Kings and a few other Cat stoves is their burn times and ability to shut them down Once the house is warm on a low burn and get the most out of the wood that is burned.

This also equates to far less trips carrying wood into the house and the total number of cords burned every year.
here are the princess insert specs:

Performance (LHV) Performance (HHV B415)
Maximum heat input 413,567 BTU's 413,567 BTU's
Efficiency 86% 80%
Constant Heat output on High 39,519 BTU's/h for 9 hours 36,762 BTU's/h for 9 hours
Constant Heat output on Low 13,173 BTU's/h for up to 27 hours 12,254 BTU's/h for up to 27 hours
CO% Weighted Average 0.22%


Square Feet Heated 1500 – 2500
Maximum Log Size 20” (recommended 16”)
Burn Time Up to 27 hours on low
Emissions (grams/hour) 2.0 g
Firebox Size 2.54 cu. ft.

If the House has decent insulation and in a less than frigid area my guess is this would be more than adequate, My dad had this model in a 3000 sq foot home and it did a great job.

Compare specs- there are some big differences in how much heat and how long the burn times are between companies - models.






ps. we had a Buck (gas) stove and while it worked Ok we did have an intermittent problem with the internal gas solenoid.

 

[atsah]

If your looking for long burn times look at soapstone, they will maintain and hold heat way longer than any other type of stove, my Mansfield will burn for 14 hours with red oak and continue to maintain temp for about four hours after the stove is out, the trick is to leave a three inch bed of coal in the stove at all times. Never clean the stove to completely empty.

 

[sd455dan]

If your looking for long burn times look at soapstone, they will maintain and hold heat way longer than any other type of stove, my Mansfield will burn for 14 hours with red oak and continue to maintain temp for about four hours after the stove is out, the trick is to leave a three inch bed of coal in the stove at all times. Never clean the stove to completely empty.

So they have been tested to the accepted EPA test standards for heat output and burn time?

haven't checked in a while but Blaze king did have 5 of the top 8 Most efficient wood stoves sold in the USA which included #1 and 2

 

[atsah]

EPA standards?? Who the **** cares, It heats my house for longer than any other stove and that's all that matters to my checking account.