I've some experience with an insert, installing one for a friend with a cabin in the northern midwest. He heated solely with a fireplace (heatalator, I think, with fans built into the fireplace within the bricks/mortar) for years, and then added an insert. It was at least a 5 fold improvement in the amount of wood he burned. It was his only source of heat from May through October. The glass was difficult to keep clean, but he worked at it regularly.
I used to heat my house with two fireplaces, one downstairs and one up, and burned a fair amount of wood, but also kept the massive brick and mortar warm with 24/7 fire in both. I then made the move to wood stove(s), and do not use the fireplaces anymore for heat. My new Vermont Castings woodstove heats well with the catalytic converter, and I have found there is a way to keep the glass relatively clean. After cleaning, I use PAM no-stick cooking spray on the glass. Really improves the longevity of glass that I can see the fire through, as well as makes the clean-up much easier.
I have no particular recommendation between the fireplace insert or the woodstove for your use, except whether the chimney for the woodstove is worth the extra expense over using the fireplace chimney that already exists. To me, that would be the decision-maker. A woodstove chimney will run about $2000, if my experience last year is anything normal.
With my coal burning insert with bay window i used this hearth and glass cleaner from wally world. Its a conditioner also. It works great. cleans the glass real easy and after you use it a few times it does condition the glass and makes it real easy to clean. I had real good luck with it. Its the same stuff you can buy for cleaning these new glass top kitchen stoves. Ive used that on my pellet stove glass and it works great. Use it on cold glass though. Youll see a world of difference in your glass.
Larry
The biggest and most efficient I found is an Osburn 2400. This thing has 3.2 cubic feet of space and can accomodate up to a 21" log. It will keep a fire burning for 10 hours. I've been extremely happy with ours. It also burns less wood and puts out more heat than our old one which was only a 2.1 cubic foot. We're heating most of our house with the Osburn. I installed another thermostat in the downstairs where the insert is and blocked the cold air return upstairs. Now when it gets to 75 downstairs the fan for the ac kicks on and draws the hot air from the downstairs up and heats the upstairs. It's been working very well.
This may come off as a really dumb question from a "fireplace novice". Are the (wood-burning) fireplace "inserts" being discussed meant to entirely replace the "traditional" firebox/smoke shelf construction et al in "new" masonry construction - or are they intended to actually slide into (and supplant) an existing old fireplace?
I've got an old fireplace in a 2nd floor bedroom that has long since been covered over. I'm pretty sure that particular chimney is going to need serious work on the other flue and structure for other reasons (the basement oil furnace) I've been wondering if while the crew is at it - I can have a new relatively short flue liner put in on this flue to the 2nd floor and use it to vent a small new insert - pretty much working around and ignoring the existing masonry firebox.
Not looking for any real heating benefits - really just asthetics. I'm pretty sure there are gas versions of what I'm thinking of, but that's not practical in this case, it would have to be wood-fired. I'm also concerned about the amount of "insulation" (gap) that was built into this 100+ year old house around the brick chimney so I was hoping that an insert with some of it's own insulation (?) would improve that angle.
<font color="red">This may come off as a really dumb question from a "fireplace novice". Are the (wood-burning) fireplace "inserts" being discussed meant to entirely replace the "traditional" firebox/smoke shelf construction et al in "new" masonry construction - or are they intended to actually slide into (and supplant) an existing old fireplace?
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I am talking something to replace the traditional fireplace. It is the fireplace, no masonry, just a hole in the wall.
A traditional fireplace is just that, something to look at. You will get very little heating efficiency from even the best fireplace units. But if the look is all you're after they will do fine.
I have a fireplace in my living room......Warm your front side and freeze your back side and cut wood all the time...A wood furnace or woodstove is so much more efficient.
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