Starting our new life

[ultrarunner]

Thought I'd mention this for those thinking of buying a Quadra fire 7100 wood fireplace.

The fireplace in and of itself is nice, its burns complete meaning the inside is clean not black like previous wood burners I've had. It heats my whole house with no problem. It looks nice, we've had lots of positive comments on it.

Now the negative, there are two squirrel cage fans below the fire box. The motors are so noisy I can't stand to have them on. We specifically ask how loud the fans would be since they didn't have one we could look at while buying. The sales lady assured me we "would not be able to hear anything until the fans were turned up to about half speed." We called and had a service person look at it. He said "that sounds about normal." Well that was not good enough for me. I got the number for the area rep, after a lengthy phone conversation he basically said "I realize you paid over 8 grand for the stove but the fans are only about 300 bucks of that." He also said he does not "use the fans in his own house." I think it's ridiculous they can't get quieter fans for how much it cost. I want to be very clear about this; it's not the sound of the air I'm concerned about. It's the whine of the motors turning the fans. It doesn't matter where you are in the house you can hear them even on the lowest speed. So for the most part we never turn them on. Another thing of note is our fireplace in located on an interior wall. Maybe it would be a little quieter on an outside wall. But, like I said it still heats the house fine without the fans on. I do live in an area where it could get to -30 and I think on those times the fans might be needed. So far this winter the lowest is -10.

Lynn... thank you so much for posting this...

Sound is very important to me and something I will pay extra for... like when generator shopping.

Did not realize the fireplaces had become so expensive... but just about everything seems expensive these days.

There was a German fan maker for high end inserts back in the 80's... it was about silent... my brother had it on his and eventually it wore out... tried to replace but no luck.

Got a universal that works but the noise made it so you did not want to use it.

Used my new to me Country Flame for the first time last week it came with the house.

Have to say it really puts out nice heat and with the CAT engaged the temp quickly more than doubles... so I am in the kitchen and all of a sudden I hear the equivalent of a vacuum running... the blower kicked on and really moved out the heat but way to load to watch TV or have a nice conversation...

Did help turning down the speed but still too loud.

Some on the Wood Burning sites have moved the blower away to behind the stove or under the floor and pipe the air... they said a bigger blower does not have to turn as fast and the ducting also helps.

South Lake Tahoe was -9 recently and even in the Bay Area I have experienced single digits.

Last night I was at the farm and started a fire in the little pedestal Buck Stove... no blower but what a new little stove and always a crowd pleaser...

I think I am the only one that ever cleans the glass... but that is another story.

 

[EddieWalker]

I do a lot of bathroom remodels and vent fans are very common for me to install. I tell clients that they will be paying for how quite the fan is. If they don't want to hear it, they should expect to pay twice as much. Most of them pay the extra for the quiet fan.

 

[cat fever]

I paid what I thought was top dollar for a top tier fireplace. Everything about it is, except the noise from the motors. It cost over 6 grand for the fireplace and nearly 2 grand for the flue/install. It was simply too much money for a fireplace that's so noisy you can't stand to have the fans on.

I did ask my builder to help me out on this. He did not buy it but did recommend where to go. Like I said earlier, the store did not have one on display so I couldn't see or hear it. But, like I said I did specifically ask about the noise. I guess selling a fireplace was more important than telling me the truth.:thumbdown: It's not like I can say come get it and give me my money back, it's built right into the stone wall. Major dollars to change it now.

 

[ovrszd]

We all know quiet fans are available. I guess the problem is finding ones that fit your application.

Really sorry you are having this issue Lynn. I fully understand the frustration.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I paid what I thought was top dollar for a top tier fireplace. Everything about it is, except the noise from the motors. It cost over 6 grand for the fireplace and nearly 2 grand for the flue/install. It was simply too much money for a fireplace that's so noisy you can't stand to have the fans on.

I did ask my builder to help me out on this. He did not buy it but did recommend where to go. Like I said earlier, the store did not have one on display so I couldn't see or hear it. But, like I said I did specifically ask about the noise. I guess selling a fireplace was more important than telling me the truth.:thumbdown: It's not like I can say come get it and give me my money back, it's built right into the stone wall. Major dollars to change it now.

We put a Regency gas insert fireplace in our cabin master suite. It is direct vent outside and has three settings for the fan. It is very quiet on the first two settings, and not really "noisy" on the third. I think it was around 5k. Sounds like your blower has an issue. There has to be a way to switch out the blower motor.

 

[s219]

Currently we heat our house with a free standing wood stove, but when we add on and create our great room, we want a massive rock fireplace that will be able to heat our home. I'll sell the wood stove and I want to be able to rely on the fireplace insert to keep us comfortable. We have plenty of wood, so that wont be an issue.

You may be disappointed going from a freestanding stove to an insert. I don't think a fireplace insert can come close to a good stove.

 

[cat fever]

You may be disappointed going from a freestanding stove to an insert. I don't think a fireplace insert can come close to a good stove.

While I'm not disagreeing with you, I think you would be surprised at this fireplace. If you hold your arm above it you would think the fan is on by how much hot air is coming out of it.
My last 3 homes all had wood burning "inserts". (Buck and Heritage) They were not nearly as efficient as this one or as clean.


Not sure how to say this, let me try. The fireplace will heat our home without the fans to the point we crack open doors to cool the house down. I'm only upset that for the cost it is not silent when the fans are on. Even if they were quite, I would still not use them. After all why pay to run a couple little motors when I don't have to.
I guess for me it's not need but principal. Hope that makes sense.

 

[cat fever]

Lynn... thank you so much for posting this...

Sound is very important to me and something I will pay extra for... like when generator shopping.

Did not realize the fireplaces had become so expensive... but just about everything seems expensive these days.

There was a German fan maker for high end inserts back in the 80's... it was about silent... my brother had it on his and eventually it wore out... tried to replace but no luck.

Got a universal that works but the noise made it so you did not want to use it.

Used my new to me Country Flame for the first time last week it came with the house.

Have to say it really puts out nice heat and with the CAT engaged the temp quickly more than doubles... so I am in the kitchen and all of a sudden I hear the equivalent of a vacuum running... the blower kicked on and really moved out the heat but way to load to watch TV or have a nice conversation...

Did help turning down the speed but still too loud.

Some on the Wood Burning sites have moved the blower away to behind the stove or under the floor and pipe the air... they said a bigger blower does not have to turn as fast and the ducting also helps.

South Lake Tahoe was -9 recently and even in the Bay Area I have experienced single digits.

Last night I was at the farm and started a fire in the little pedestal Buck Stove... no blower but what a new little stove and always a crowd pleaser...

I think I am the only one that ever cleans the glass... but that is another story.

Speaking to your last sentence, I love seeing and watching the fire and will pay more for a window. I keep it clean. If I burn hot for a short time this fireplace window will clean itself.:thumbsup:

 

[s219]

While I'm not disagreeing with you, I think you would be surprised at this fireplace. If you hold your arm above it you would think the fan is on by how much hot air is coming out of it.
My last 3 homes all had wood burning "inserts". (Buck and Heritage) They were not nearly as efficient as this one or as clean.


Not sure how to say this, let me try. The fireplace will heat our home without the fans to the point we crack open doors to cool the house down. I'm only upset that for the cost it is not silent when the fans are on. Even if they were quite, I would still not use them. After all why pay to run a couple little motors when I don't have to.
I guess for me it's not need but principal. Hope that makes sense.

We have a 100,000 BTU/Hr insert (about same rating as yours) and it indeed belts out the heat. But I don't think you can beat the exposed surface area of a good freestanding stove for overall efficiency. The other thing is that you get much better control from a stove with various flow and damper settings. Some inserts provide flow control, but it's generally more limited. I felt like I got better control, especially for overnight burns, from a traditional stove.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I build a fire the glass stays very clean... not sure what happens when I am not visiting at the farm.

Funny thing is 6 years ago when they bought the place the value was in the land and not the home/structures... the smallest buck stove was in the family room addition off the kitchen... my sister-in-law said that was the first thing that was going... until I piped up and said I can have it out today!!!

Now she 100% loves it... whenever I come over in the colder months she asks me to get a fire going... which I enjoy... have the kindling, split oak, etc... arranged so it is simple.

They were so much against wood stoves the former owners had left a lot of split wood in a 25 by 25 foot area where they had a splitter... it was a real ankle breaker and just laying on the ground... they offered free wood to friends and maybe 10 pickup loads carted off...

What remained Mom and I made raised rows and neatly stacked and organized... they were impressed when they came back from their anniversary trip...

Lynn, if I remember you have a void area next to the insert?

Maybe some engineering to fit an oversize slow speed blower would make all the difference in the world?

Is it the sound of the motor or the rushing air?

Had a small house where the furnace as unlivable... to me.

Replaced all the ducting and extended the air intake to make a loop back and night and day... it was like you were standing next to the blower before and now it was 12 feet away via the new ducting.