woodburning fireplace insert - anybody have one?

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I've checked the archives and there is alot on wood burning stoves and furnaces but haven't found anything on inserts. I've checked some "brand name" websites out but would mostly appreciate your input. Are they worth the money? Any recommendations?

-- claudia in NY (cooleyville@aol.com), October 03, 2001

Answers

Hello Claudia, The secret is to keep as much of the heat from going up the chimny as possible. Fireplaces are the least effecient. Inserts are a little better than fireplaces, (especially if you have a blower system). The next level of effeciency would be the wood stove. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), October 03, 2001.

WE've supplied our heat (60-70%) with a fireplace insert for the last l3 years here in the mountains of western Canada. We see temps of - 40 to-50 most winters. WE have a gas furnace for backup but heat mostly with wood except in the severe cold periods. Our insert is air-tight but small. We burn soft woods so difficult to hold a fire overnite. The bedrooms are farthest from the fire so keep quite cool which we prefer for sleeping. Our insert has a glass door so we can enjoy the sight of the fire at all times and is easy to tell when we need to reload with wood. We've been very happy with the insert and plan to replace it with a similar insert when this one wears out. We don't attempt to hold a fire over nite any more but when we did for several years we used hardly any backup heat. hope this helps. let me know if you need any more info. good luck. Tomas.

-- Tomas (bakerzee@hotmail.com), October 03, 2001.

We had a fireplace in our family room of our old house. It was not very large, had a glass panel and a variable speed blower. We heated our home (3000 sq ft) with it alone except when very cold and then we added the wood stove in the basement. It did a decent job considering its location. The important part was to make sure the blower blades were kept clean to move the max amt of air and to fill it full when you fill it and don't open the door alot, just like any other wood stove.

We currently have a basement woodfurnace in our new home and I miss those fires in the woodstove. The woodfurnace is, in many ways, much nicer (mess stays in basement, more evenly heated house, etc)but the experience is just not quite the same.

-- Chris in PA (CLMngs@aol.com), October 04, 2001.


We have used a fireplace insert for heat the past 9 years and it does a good job here in Missouri it may not do as well in a colder area. Make sure you get one with a blower system to move the air around. When we lived in NY we had 2 wood stoves and we needed both to heat our 5 br farmhouse that was about 150 years,in Missouri our house is much newer and only has 2 br so it is a lot easier to heat and the weather conditions are a lot better here. Sally

-- sally stanton (mallardhen67@hotmail.com), October 04, 2001.

We have been heating with a good, airtight, Lopi fireplace insert for years. We love it. It has space to cook on top, holds a fire overnight, and you can use it to cook the most lovely alder-smoked salmon! Our stove came second hand with a broken fan. Without the fan your heat doesn't get moved around the room very well so I have solved this problem by using a small portable fan positioned in front and to the side of insert. Blow it right toward the stove. This seems to work better than the regular insert fan. Just remember to turn it off when you open door to reload or you will have a smoky mess on your hands! Less economical now as it uses some electricity.

To smoke salmon in insert (this would work in any airtight stove) build a fire and let it burn to coals. Make a "floor" on top of the coals of split alder wood (can be slightly moistened - I don't usually)place seasoned or marinated salmon (I usually marinate for a few hours with butter, onions, lemon juice, pepper or other seasoning) in a cast iron skillet and put whole thing inside stove. Close the door and shut everything down so that smoke is held inside and fire burns cool. Mine usually takes about half an hour to cook but this will depend on temp. The cooler the fire the longer the cooking time and the more smokey the flavor. Yum!

Sara

-- Sara Perry (JPerry1218@aol.com), October 04, 2001.



I had one in a home years ago and it did a very good job. I could keep the fire going for weeks just by banking and adding wood. I regulated the heat with the flue and air inlets. The only negative stemmed from where the fireplace was located in the house (family room behind attached garage). I had to use a fan to circulate the heat at night (I was gone during the day).

The brand was 'Earth Stove'and it was a very solid, heavy unit which sealed tightly. It had an electric blower and a small cook surface, too. The unit came with a solid door and had a glass door as an option. Obviously, the solid was far more efficient. Personally, I'd buy one again if I had the need.

I just looked on the web and found they're still around and will include the URL below. I hope this helps.

http://www.lsfireplace.com/products/earthwood.htm

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), October 04, 2001.


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