Fireplaces, fireplace inserts, ect..

[E7mack96]

Ok - a little backround.



We moved into a 2500 sq ft ranch in september. It has a 1250 sq. ft. basement finished too. The house has 2 fireplaces. one is an open, regular fireplace. The other has a "Buckstove" brand insert with a blower.



Initially, we were running the regular fireplace because its' in the 25x25 livingroom, and thats where I spend my time with my bigscreen.



I just got around to putting in a new outlet (the house has older 2 prong w/ no ground) for the buckstove. The previous owners were running it with a ground cheater adapter.



I fired up this buckstove thing yesterday,(it is in the east wing) and I am like wow, the blower is keeping this side of the house really warm.



Now I want a "buckstove" thing for the livingroom fireplace.



Can you guys/gals recommend a good, ultra-high efficincy setup for my main fireplace?



Our gas furnace is an old Williamson that eats over 300/month just in gas. it will get replaced next fall.



Are buckstoves efficient?



Its gotta be more efficient that an open fireplace, right?



Thanks,



E7

 

[Bertram65]

I have a Country, www.countrystoves.com I have the Striker CA160 insert with the black door, I have been very happy with it, it heats our small family room and kitchen without any problem. I looked at a lot of them and I was impressed with the quality and simplicty of the construction, for it's size it has a large window for viewing the fire as well.

 

[MFalkinham]

Our home has a Fuego Flame fireplace insert that we really enjoy. It doesn't have a blower, but throws quite a bit of heat and burns wood very efficiently. We had a fire this afternoon that burned a single log for over 4 hours. It helps if you live in a somewhat windy location to have a good draw up the flue.



http://www.fuegoflame.com/Products inserts.htm



- Mike

 

[TPCDrafting]

I heat my entire house with a Blaze King. The pilot light on my boiler only gets lit when we take off for more than a day. They also make an insert. The blowers are temperature controlled (can also be manually controlled). They will shut down when the stove cools so it doesn't blow cold air. It also will take off for the races if the stove gets super hot. I have the princess model and I only load it twice a day with dry, sometimes punky pine. I work at home and it keeps the entire house around 70. I have let it go as much as 22 hours on 3 pine logs and I still had enough coals to get it going again without any paper. I have seen many other brands in action including living in a house for 10 years that had a buck stove and none come even close. Check'em out: www.blazeking.com

 

[JSellers]

E7,



I think you'll find plenty of wood stoves to choose from. The biggest questions will be - how much of the house do you need to heat from the unit, and how much do you want to spend? Buckstove is one of the early manufacturers to make a fireplace insert, but there are plenty more lately.



I have a Vermont Castings stove - it's a small one, and very efficient. Newer stoves even have catalytic converters built in, to help the complete combustion. There are dozens of manufacturers, and even more sizes and models from which to choose. Look up your local fireplace dealer, and they will probably have more than you want to look at in one afternoon.



Hope this helps,

John

 

[JPope]

If you want to go really high end, i. e. EXPENSIVE!!!, look @ Tulikivi

http://www.tulikivi.com/www/homeeng.nsf/wwwframeset_lämmityslaitteet?OpenPage



Had to decline their stuff, way to expensive for me, but went with a Woodstock cast iron/soapstone. Waiting on it to arrive and be installed in the new place, of course waiting on the new place to be built!!!!