Fireplace insert Advice

01gentdc · Sep 7, 2015

Thinking about setting a fireplace insert in our 28 hi x 36 wide fireplace, I saw a octagonal fronted insert I like , because it will look nice with the rounded hearth . but cant recall where I saw it or brand name .,, also like the idea of firebox protruding 6-10 inches into living room over the hearth ,,. We Love Our Fireplace ,,, over the yrs we have broken the glass doors too many times ,,, I would rather keep them open and out of the heat , but my sara claims that the house gets a little smokey if they are open on some poor draft days,, we do have a basement wood furnace with central air.. ,personally I like the ambiance of a fireplace , call me old fashioned , we prefer to heat the living room warmer than the rest of the house ,,. anyone got any good ideas ,, thanx jim

Jiles · Sep 7, 2015

It has been a few years since I used an insert and I have owned several brands.
My favorite was the Squire. Very well made with fan that was mounted below firebox and was very simple to service.
A little more noise then the other inserts with rear mounted fans.

the mick · Sep 7, 2015

We had a Lennox brand installed a few years ago, we love it. It protrudes out of the fireplace about 10in so you could cook on top if you had to and it's 86% efficient. Also it has a large glass door so you can see the fire. Were very happy with it.

ss55 · Sep 7, 2015

You might be building too large a fire in the fireplace if the glass doors break from too much heat. Most true wood burning fireplaces draw combustion air from outside the house and they have dampers on both the air inlet and on the chimney. Opening the fireplace doors draws already heated air from inside the house, hurting your fuel efficiency.

If you use your fireplace for heating, look for an insert with a good heat exchanger around the firebox, or look into wood burning stoves. Area home builder's shows usually have a lot of local fireplace and stove dealers.

Harvey9 · Sep 7, 2015

We had an insert installed in our last house, it made a world of difference. Burnt less wood and got way more heat. It was installed by a pro and it was necessary to put in a stainless steel pipe in the chimney. Good luck.

Stan in Oly, WA · Sep 7, 2015

Jim, it's my experience that the tempered glass of a fireplace door will break if you expose it to high heat when it's cold (room temperature). I broke one in my mother-in-law's house many years ago by building a very hot kindling fire and closing the door on it to wait until it burned down enough to start adding firewood. Ever since that event, I've always left the door open a crack until I've got the stove warmed up a bit from the kindling fire, and a good draft established. Once the glass is warmed up from the fire, I don't think any amount of heat you could get from the fireplace could crack it. Also, your wife is right about the possibility of smoke getting into the room under some circumstances if the door or doors are left open.

Stan

Stubborn Dutchman · Sep 7, 2015

Check out Hearth.com. Lots of knowledgeable folks over there willing to help out.

dr sportster · Sep 7, 2015

I have an Avalon . It is supposed to be very non- emisions polluting. I will say though, my door glass has cracked twice. I would look at the strudyness of the window frame if I was shopping for one.

notjustair · Sep 7, 2015

We put in a new Vermont Castings airtight stove last year. Absolutely love it. They make some very nice inserts. You can get any color you want or black. I couldn't recommend them more.

Rich_WI · Sep 7, 2015

(quoted from post at 07:29:58 09/07/15) Thinking about setting a fireplace insert in our 28 hi x 36 wide fireplace, I saw a octagonal fronted insert I like , because it will look nice with the rounded hearth . but cant recall where I saw it or brand name .,, also like the idea of firebox protruding 6-10 inches into living room over the hearth ,,. We Love Our Fireplace ,,, over the yrs we have broken the glass doors too many times ,,, I would rather keep them open and out of the heat , but my sara claims that the house gets a little smokey if they are open on some poor draft days,, we do have a basement wood furnace with central air.. ,personally I like the ambiance of a fireplace , call me old fashioned , we prefer to heat the living room warmer than the rest of the house ,,. anyone got any good ideas ,, thanx jim

Unless you are married to the insert idea, you could fix the draft issues to keep the smoke out. A piece of tin covering some of the opening is a cheap and easy way to find out if the opening is too large. They have charts for opening size but they lie. Tin part of it closed to see if it helpes. No need to screw or otherwise attach it, cut it so it sets on the open doors or use magnets to hold it in place.

Stan in Oly, WA · Sep 8, 2015

Hi Dave;

Do you know what caused the glass to break? I've had no problems with the glass in the doors of either stove I own, which I credit to never letting them get hot too fast. Naturally, I've got other problems with them, though.

Stan

Brendon-KS · Sep 8, 2015

We've had a Lopi insert for about 13 years and it has served well. The only problem we have had so far is losing some of the roll pins that secure the air tubes above the firebox. We burn mostly osage orange (we just call it "hedge") and there is a fire going nearly all winter so the insert sees a lot of use. Lopi isn't the cheapest brand on the market but based on our experience they are well built and hold up over the long haul.

dr sportster · Sep 8, 2015

The first failure I'm nit sure what happened but the second time I thought the window frame flexed while I was closing the glass door.

guido · Sep 8, 2015

Hello 01gentdc,

Too many inserts are way to big for the space to be heated. A proper sized one will run hot enough to keep soot to a minimum, and be the best choice!

Guido.

Stan in Oly, WA · Sep 8, 2015

Jim;

I've got a Jotul Kennebec fireplace insert which was highly regarded according to what I read about it online, and fairly expensive. I've been disappointed with it. It's very fussy when getting a fire started, and no matter how long I've had it burning, or how hot it is and how good the draft is, it's liable to let smoke into the room when I open the door to add wood. I can deal with that to some extent by opening my front door before I open the stove door, but that's inconvenient, and I didn't previously think my house was particularly airtight. Online stove forums have quite a bit of information about that model, and most people apparently don't have the problem I do. But I thought I'd mention it.

Stan

Fireplace insert Advice

01gentdc

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Jiles

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the mick

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ss55

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Harvey9

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Stubborn Dutchman

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dr sportster

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notjustair

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Rich_WI

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Stan in Oly, WA

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Brendon-KS

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dr sportster

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guido

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Stan in Oly, WA

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