Fireplace Insert

[CarlisleMom]

We currently have a wood burning fireplace. The metal frame/screen with glass doors needs to be replaced. This will be done this spring/summer. Hopefully we will get a tax refund to pay for this.

I would like to install/convert to a wood burning stove with a blower. Did anyone get this done? Was looking for an estimate. I live in central PA if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tvguy]

We put an insert in about 30 years ago, used it to heat our house for about 10 years, until wood prices skyrocketed. Loved it, and still do. But we live in an area where in the winter when there are days you can't use any wood burning devices at all, so don't use it much. But you will be amazed how much more heat you get from the insert than from a fireplace.

 

[KathleenlovesMickey]

We just got one and love it! We are in CA in an exempt area for the no burn laws. It heats our house sometimes to hot! There are hidden charges so be careful. The cost of the insert,cost of chimney liner and install price so keep that all in mind. We are fighting the charge for the insert because they put it in then charged us and are trying to charge us way more than they should. I believe ours is Quadfire brand. We wanted to still be able to see the fire so we got a bigger unit then we might have needed.

 

[CarlisleMom]

More heat is one of the reasons (along with less heat loss thru the flue) we want to what we call upgrade. Wood here cost $125 to $150 a cord, delivered. Our house is small and we currently use the fireplace thursday nights thru Monday night. The bedrooms get cool but the living room/kitchen area is warm. We run the fan on the central air/heat consistantly. We burn approx 1 1/2 to 2 cords a winter. DH also heats his workshop with a wood stove from the same stack.
It defintely saves on the oil bill.

 

[tvguy]

More heat is one of the reasons (along with less heat loss thru the flue) we want to what we call upgrade. Wood here cost $125 to $150 a cord, delivered. Our house is small and we currently use the fireplace thursday nights thru Monday night. The bedrooms get cool but the living room/kitchen area is warm. We run the fan on the central air/heat consistantly. We burn approx 1 1/2 to 2 cords a winter. DH also heats his workshop with a wood stove from the same stack.
It defintely saves on the oil bill.

Those are great prices. We stopped using our insert when wood hit $200 a cord. Just made no economic sense, cheaper to use or heat pump. Just checked Craigslist and it's about $280 a cord now.

 

[Judique]

Those are great prices. We stopped using our insert when wood hit $200 a cord. Just made no economic sense, cheaper to use or heat pump. Just checked Craigslist and it's about $280 a cord now.

Free wood everywhere around here. You just have to be able to carry it home and split it. My neighbor is still burning red maple from a tree I had cut down.

I've often thought of installing a wood burning stove, but my gas heat is efficient and inexpensive.

 

[RumpleMom]

If you have a functioning wood burning fireplace, you can install a natural gas line and fake logs.

You will have the heat of a fire minus the cost of wood and no mess. Natural gas is very reasonable.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

We took out our insert and installed gas logs last year and have been so happy with our decision!

No wood to hunt down or pay for
No messy ash to deal with
With an insert it has to be cold outside or it'll run you out of the house
Gas here in Louisiana is cheap and available at the flick of a switch
Heats to a very comfortable, not stifling, temp.


If you do get an insert I can recommend an Appalacian (sp?). Great company and the unit itself really holds it value over time.

 

[ssawka]

If you have a functioning wood burning fireplace, you can install a natural gas line and fake logs.

You will have the heat of a fire minus the cost of wood and no mess. Natural gas is very reasonable.

Even if you don't have a gas line running into the house, you can have a propane log installed. We did that several years ago mainly because all of our other heat in the house is electric. If the electric goes out, not heat!

We bought the log and had the propane company installed it. They put a large tank in the back yard. As long as we go through at least one tank a year there is no charge for the tank.

 

[tvguy]

Wow, you rarely see "natural gas" and "reasonable" in the same sentence around here.
Our electricity is provided by a municipal utility district, so basically, we pay close to wholesale price for electricity.
Natural Gas is P-G & E, and private company, and natural gas prices can fluctuate wildly.
Big trend in this area is the 1960's and 1970's was all electric subdivisions. Mine WAS one. Then in 1991, after was permanently shutdown our nuclear power plant, and after a dry winter, electric prices soared. Some of the neighbors, after getting $300 a month electric bills to heat in the winter, shelled out $1,500 each to have a natural gas line pulled in, and hooked up to their houses. They then shelled out about $3,000 to plumb and install natural gas furnaces in place of their heat pumps, and about $1,000 to plumb and install natural gas water heaters in place of their electric ones. The very next winter, natural gas prices soared, and electric rates dropped. They laid out over $5,000 so they could enjoy $450 a month gas bills, and my electric bill dropped to $250.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Move south, my gas bill was $29! LOL!

 

[hsmamato2]

where we live.... filling our oil tank is 800-900.00 a pop...natural gas is MUCH higher than that to use.... we installed a nice little insert woodstove about 10 years ago. (FWIW, a fireplace just sucks heat straight up and out the chimney,minimal heating impact there) We don't use a blower,our house is about 1200 s.f.,2 floors, built 1968-so ok insulation- and when the woodstove is running,we don't need the heaters,except for showers. We find/chop a lot of our own wood, and buy cords when needed (only use good woods with a good burn rate,etc) so far we fill the oil tank once in the fall,then usually not again till spring at least...so we get at least 6-8 months out of that tank, using the woodstove maybe 50% of the time saves us a LOT of money overall..... plus when we ost power for a week+ over the last couple of years, we cooked on it,heated water,etc. Lifesaver,I love it! (but I do have to sweep/dust frequently,it can be messy/ashy) it;s a lot of work, but we love it.

 

[CarlisleMom]

WoW $280 a cord.... I would have to stop burning. Some years we don't need to buy since we have a wooded lot and DH cuts/splits himeself but other years just do not have the time. We usually do this in the fall to avoid poison ivy and burn the next year. Last fall DH had kidney stones requiring surgery that prevented this.

No natural gas service to my house...wish I did!!

Propane is not an option. My fireplace is in the middle of the house! We currently have 2 propane tanks - 1 for our cooktop and 1 to heat our swimming pool. At almost $4 a gallon, not sure I would want to use for heat.

As it is my budget payment for oil and propane is around $400 a month for 11 months - this does include a service/replacement plan. The plan has paid off mulitple times for us. My heater always seems to break on a Sunday. It has even broken one year Christmas weekend. Peace of mind is worth everything!


So no one has converted recently that give me a ballpark?

 

[swilshire]

I fought the insert for years because I liked the open fireplace, but it was the smartest thing we ever did. The wood lasts much longer and we get a lot more heat out of it. We can also build it up to keep it going all night, which we couldn't do with the fireplace. We have plenty of wood to cut on the farm, so the cost is minimal. It really reduces our natural gas costs. It also seems to be a lot less dry than the gas heat. We run humidifiers all over the house, but it still seems painfully dry when we run the gas heat very much.

I think we paid around $600 for a used insert installed, but I'm sure we have saved that in just a couple of years.

Sheila

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Our house was built in 1987 with a double sided fireplace (looks into the den and the living room). The builders/owners never used the fireplace.

We bought the house in 2007 and have never used the fireplace. It's just never cold enough here to warrant it!\

ETA: Plenty of free firewood around here as well. No way would I pay for firewood when DH and I can do it ourselves.