This is my current wood stove and it is wildly inefficient.
Local hearth store is recommending the Look NexGen Fyre insert and wanted to get some opinions.
I had thought about a Jotul wood stove, but hadn’t really considered an insert. My memory of inserts is that you a) need to use a blower for them to work and b) even then, they aren’t as good as full wood stoves.
Thoughts?
Usually inserts come with fans or the option to buy separate and attach. My biggest complaint with the insert is how small the firebox was. Too small to load for a whole night worth of wood. But did let off good heat otherwise
The amount of wood able to load is a good point. I’m not too worried as I have backup heating sources, but that is definitely something to consider.
Although, anything will be better than the old wood hog i currently have. There was no amount of wood I could load that would both heat the house and give me any coals in the morning.
Given your comment I think you would be happy with an insert. This is the one I got and though it put out great heat and has a blower. But if you can get a bigger one that fits in your fireplace I would do that.
[insert](https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/us-stove-1-800-sq-ft-epa-certified-wood-stove-fireplace-insert-us1800e-1547899?cid=Shopping-Google-Product-1547899&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD3fmFP5dziqIiQFGvBGtlszpgT95&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fg2whXm-3HsPhvT-mL93j9Z9Q6_VP9cjCtibzoreGkzJ0ePHCondDxoCU0wQAvD_BwE)
It heated our home except for one room that was far away from the fireplace. And our place was 2,200sq ft. You would feel cold areas in the house like closest, bathrooms, stuff like that. But I always kept the fan running on the HVAC unit to help distribute the heat.
One of your problems is the stove is heating the mass, instead of the area it is in. If this is on an outside wall, it also radiates outward to the outside, and up through roof.
Depending on chimney liner, that can be another reason you can’t burn efficiently enough in it.
A newer Insert not only burns much more efficiently, less is lost up chimney, and less is radiated into masonry mass using convection to heat the air directly.
Yup. It’s a step above a fireplace, but not much. The heat goes directly up and out the chimney. Single pipe, uninsulated, with zero baffle. It’s a fire box that takes inside air and pushes it out the chimney. Haha
Probably 8 inch too. Newer stoves use 6, should be insulated, probably required. And Inserts extract heat using convection heating the air directly, instead of radiating energy into the masonry to be released over time. (outside)
The only issue I have with Inserts is most are flush mounted since everyone wants to take advantage of more space in the room. This prevents a cooktop for emergency cooking, and humidifying with a kettle. If you have a gas range, no big deal, but we don’t buy propane all winter! Graduated to a cookstove in center of kitchen for all our heat, cook and kitchen hot water.
Yeah, I have some camping gear and a propane cook top outside (I use my Blackstone year round). The humidity thing is a bit of a bummer, though. I would probably look in to an electric option and just deal with drier air in the event of a power outage. Winter time humidity in my parts is around 20% or less as it is.
Sounds like, minus emergency cooking and humidifying, the insert is probably a better choice overall than a wood stove. Or the tradeoffs make more sense in my situation, anyhow.
Thanks for all the info! When we bought the house, we were actually told the stove was a Fisher, though it very obviously is not.
Country Flame Model R for Radiant. The CM (Convection) had a hot air outlet vent front and center.
Missing badge front and center at the 2 holes at top.
May have a tag on back with mfg. date.
Yup! Good eye. We figured it out when at a neighbor's house that was build around the same time and had the same stove, but the plate on the front was still intact.
I replaced our fireplace insert and expanded 10 feet out. Replaced with woodburning stove. Much more efficient and puts out lots of heat even without the blower
Was it an old insert? Because my memory of those old inserts is that they weren't very good. That said, even then, a wood stove was better than an insert, even less fair a comparison now with the newer inserts vs newer wood stoves, especially sunk into a rock fireplace and chimney.
It was about 12 to 15 yrs old. It was worth changing for us. So much easier to heat up the house. I think a woodstove inside the rock fireplace would be slightly better but not sure. I know now that I don't have to depend on the electricity to heat the house
Yeah, not needing electricity is huge.
My neighbor has a wood stove without a brick chimney. The stove pipe being exposed generates a ton of heat in their place. They have no trouble hitting 80+ degrees if they wanted to. Mine struggles to top out at 70 with a fully loaded firebox.
If it will fit, get yourself the Blaze King Princess Insert. It's unbelievable, I honestly don't think there is a single stove on the market that could out perform it.
Treat em right and they last a very long time. And if you want wood efficiency it's really the only option.
I've run my Princes 24/7 from mid September to end of April for 8 years. Cat still looks brand new.
If you're worried about a maintenance cost of $250 every 5-10 years I'm not sure why you're running a wood stove in the first place...
> $250 every 5-10 years I'm not sure why you're running a wood stove in the first place...
Fair, but I have stuff to sweep the chimney and wood is free.
>I've run my Princes 24/7 from mid September to end of April for 8 years. Cat still looks brand new.
Nice. That's comforting.
BK warrants the first one for 10 years for you to learn how to preserve it. The fuel they save makes up for the replacement cost.
It also depends on the way you will use it. Secondary burn types don’t turn down as far. More heat, shorter burn using more wood. If you want to extend burning season with low output, you can’t beat a 30 hour clean burn at the lowest output.
You do have to vacuum the cat, but the set it and forget thermostat takes all guesswork out of it. When cat is fouled they can be deep cleaned by soaking in hot 50/50 vinegar and distilled water solution. Rinse with hot water, avoiding thermal shock. Dry well and watch the probe thermometer come up to temp.
Yeah, time to make it right. Save about a third of the wood.
Those air dampers were sold by Fisher called EZ Spin. They were invented and patented by Bob Fishers dad Baxter Fisher to turn with your foot when hot. His early type were 3 and 4 fin. Sold for 3.50 a set and Bob thought it was too much, that some Fisher fabricators would make their own. Bob designed the 5 fin and Barr Castings in Oregon cast them in aluminum with or without steel center nut, brass plated or solid brass. I believe you have the solid brass. Crazy prices for original used dampers now.
This is my current wood stove and it is wildly inefficient. Local hearth store is recommending the Look NexGen Fyre insert and wanted to get some opinions. I had thought about a Jotul wood stove, but hadn’t really considered an insert. My memory of inserts is that you a) need to use a blower for them to work and b) even then, they aren’t as good as full wood stoves. Thoughts?
Usually inserts come with fans or the option to buy separate and attach. My biggest complaint with the insert is how small the firebox was. Too small to load for a whole night worth of wood. But did let off good heat otherwise
The amount of wood able to load is a good point. I’m not too worried as I have backup heating sources, but that is definitely something to consider. Although, anything will be better than the old wood hog i currently have. There was no amount of wood I could load that would both heat the house and give me any coals in the morning.
Given your comment I think you would be happy with an insert. This is the one I got and though it put out great heat and has a blower. But if you can get a bigger one that fits in your fireplace I would do that. [insert](https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/us-stove-1-800-sq-ft-epa-certified-wood-stove-fireplace-insert-us1800e-1547899?cid=Shopping-Google-Product-1547899&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD3fmFP5dziqIiQFGvBGtlszpgT95&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fg2whXm-3HsPhvT-mL93j9Z9Q6_VP9cjCtibzoreGkzJ0ePHCondDxoCU0wQAvD_BwE)
How is the output without the blower running? Just in case there is a power outage.
It heated our home except for one room that was far away from the fireplace. And our place was 2,200sq ft. You would feel cold areas in the house like closest, bathrooms, stuff like that. But I always kept the fan running on the HVAC unit to help distribute the heat.
One of your problems is the stove is heating the mass, instead of the area it is in. If this is on an outside wall, it also radiates outward to the outside, and up through roof. Depending on chimney liner, that can be another reason you can’t burn efficiently enough in it. A newer Insert not only burns much more efficiently, less is lost up chimney, and less is radiated into masonry mass using convection to heat the air directly.
Yup. It’s a step above a fireplace, but not much. The heat goes directly up and out the chimney. Single pipe, uninsulated, with zero baffle. It’s a fire box that takes inside air and pushes it out the chimney. Haha
Probably 8 inch too. Newer stoves use 6, should be insulated, probably required. And Inserts extract heat using convection heating the air directly, instead of radiating energy into the masonry to be released over time. (outside) The only issue I have with Inserts is most are flush mounted since everyone wants to take advantage of more space in the room. This prevents a cooktop for emergency cooking, and humidifying with a kettle. If you have a gas range, no big deal, but we don’t buy propane all winter! Graduated to a cookstove in center of kitchen for all our heat, cook and kitchen hot water.
Yeah, I have some camping gear and a propane cook top outside (I use my Blackstone year round). The humidity thing is a bit of a bummer, though. I would probably look in to an electric option and just deal with drier air in the event of a power outage. Winter time humidity in my parts is around 20% or less as it is. Sounds like, minus emergency cooking and humidifying, the insert is probably a better choice overall than a wood stove. Or the tradeoffs make more sense in my situation, anyhow. Thanks for all the info! When we bought the house, we were actually told the stove was a Fisher, though it very obviously is not.
Country Flame Model R for Radiant. The CM (Convection) had a hot air outlet vent front and center. Missing badge front and center at the 2 holes at top. May have a tag on back with mfg. date.
Yup! Good eye. We figured it out when at a neighbor's house that was build around the same time and had the same stove, but the plate on the front was still intact.
I replaced our fireplace insert and expanded 10 feet out. Replaced with woodburning stove. Much more efficient and puts out lots of heat even without the blower
Was it an old insert? Because my memory of those old inserts is that they weren't very good. That said, even then, a wood stove was better than an insert, even less fair a comparison now with the newer inserts vs newer wood stoves, especially sunk into a rock fireplace and chimney.
It was about 12 to 15 yrs old. It was worth changing for us. So much easier to heat up the house. I think a woodstove inside the rock fireplace would be slightly better but not sure. I know now that I don't have to depend on the electricity to heat the house
Yeah, not needing electricity is huge. My neighbor has a wood stove without a brick chimney. The stove pipe being exposed generates a ton of heat in their place. They have no trouble hitting 80+ degrees if they wanted to. Mine struggles to top out at 70 with a fully loaded firebox.
My wife hates it over 68. So it's really hard to keep it that low.
If it will fit, get yourself the Blaze King Princess Insert. It's unbelievable, I honestly don't think there is a single stove on the market that could out perform it.
I’m not super stoked on a catalytic stove. Mostly since cats need replacing and aren’t cheap.
Treat em right and they last a very long time. And if you want wood efficiency it's really the only option. I've run my Princes 24/7 from mid September to end of April for 8 years. Cat still looks brand new. If you're worried about a maintenance cost of $250 every 5-10 years I'm not sure why you're running a wood stove in the first place...
> $250 every 5-10 years I'm not sure why you're running a wood stove in the first place... Fair, but I have stuff to sweep the chimney and wood is free. >I've run my Princes 24/7 from mid September to end of April for 8 years. Cat still looks brand new. Nice. That's comforting.
BK warrants the first one for 10 years for you to learn how to preserve it. The fuel they save makes up for the replacement cost. It also depends on the way you will use it. Secondary burn types don’t turn down as far. More heat, shorter burn using more wood. If you want to extend burning season with low output, you can’t beat a 30 hour clean burn at the lowest output. You do have to vacuum the cat, but the set it and forget thermostat takes all guesswork out of it. When cat is fouled they can be deep cleaned by soaking in hot 50/50 vinegar and distilled water solution. Rinse with hot water, avoiding thermal shock. Dry well and watch the probe thermometer come up to temp.
That's very good information.
Whatever you end up doing call me and I will dispose of this one here for you absolutely free 👌
Ha! In the right home, this stove would be great, but it is very simple. No baffle or damper, though, so its just fire up and out the firebox.
Is this masonry fireplace on an outside wall? How is the current stove vented into it?
Outside wall with a pipe insert up the chimney.
Yeah, time to make it right. Save about a third of the wood. Those air dampers were sold by Fisher called EZ Spin. They were invented and patented by Bob Fishers dad Baxter Fisher to turn with your foot when hot. His early type were 3 and 4 fin. Sold for 3.50 a set and Bob thought it was too much, that some Fisher fabricators would make their own. Bob designed the 5 fin and Barr Castings in Oregon cast them in aluminum with or without steel center nut, brass plated or solid brass. I believe you have the solid brass. Crazy prices for original used dampers now.