Inbuilt wood heaters, do they really work?

Bridgette01 · 02-05-2014, 02:21 PM

Hello all, I am looking for some feedback in regards to the effectiveness of inbuilt wood heaters. We have had free standing wood heater for the last 10 years and we absolutly love it. We have also got an open fire place which is nice to look when lit but doesn't really provide any real heat. Been looking at the option of having an inbuilt wood heater put into the fire place opening. Has anyone done this and are they effective? Our quote for a Regency Bellerieve 1200B inbuilt woodheater is a bit over 5k installed so before I outlay this, I would love some feedback on a simular heater and heating effectiveness.

Any reply will be appreciated,

Many thanks

Peter B - CV8 · 02-05-2014, 03:18 PM

We had a Coonara (built in & slow combustion) fireplace for many years. Was very happy with it's heating ability for a 3 bdr home. Only thing I wish I'd done though was to have a fan/blower model - to really pump the heat out & improve efficiency. Ours was a double brick home & retained the original brick flue etc. Took a while to warm up , but once the heat had sunk into the brick work & walls it was great.

BPXR6T · 02-05-2014, 04:05 PM

My open fireplace doesn't throw out enough heat either, I have no plate in the back to reflect the heat though. The main reason I'm going for a built in is to not burn my new carpet when I get it. I have a few scorch marks from errant sparks. It's costing me about $1800 for the unit + flue kit and I'm installing it myself. Yes they throw out the heat, I'm getting a fan model to help circulate the heat.

mcnews · 02-05-2014, 05:32 PM

Can you plumb it into your hot water system at the same time?

Franco Cozzo · 02-05-2014, 05:36 PM

We've got one of those free standing heat charm ones with the fan and it heats up the whole house and will keep it warm for a whole night, we burn red gum in ours as it lasts longer than the other types of wood.

LG17 · 02-05-2014, 05:51 PM

Inbuilt heaters do work but they're not quite as effective as a similar sized freestanding one. The freestanding ones circulate the air better but they have the other disadvantage of taking up valuable space. If your current freestanding unit is, say, a 150sqm size just make sure you get 200sqm size for your inbuilt, although the one you are looking at I'm sure is around 250sqm from memory. They're not trying to sell you a zero clearance kit I hope!

As PeterB-CV8 said, one with an inbuilt fan will help warm the house up faster. Once it's warm it isn't really necessary. Of course, if you have reversible ceiling fans you are even better off.

May I ask why you've chosen the Regency - you don't have to tell me.

Mcnews, most slow combustion heaters have the ability to have a wetback fitted for water heating. We used to do a lot of solar/wood heating combos.

xtremerus · 02-05-2014, 06:49 PM

Freestanding ones emit all the heat around the heater, including part of the open flue design.
Fireplace inserts loose the heat from the back and from the flue.
With an insert, it is imperative to have a fan to extract the most heat possible from the back of the firebox. Otherwise that heat just goes up the chimney.
My 2 cent worth.

naddis01 · 02-05-2014, 07:33 PM

Mum and Dad have an inbuilt with a fan and it works well. Don't get one without a fan though. Theirs is near useless at warming the place up to start with without the fan.

zilo · 02-05-2014, 07:56 PM

We have had both..

our first was a Kent heater, free standing, no fan....absolutely brilliant unit and not much wood to heat the house all day.

our new house has an inbuilt one, looks fancy with the carved wood fireplace etc but an absolute piece of junk compared to the Kent.

it uses mountains of wood, most of the heat goes up the chimney.
the fan helps but takes like forever to heat up.

just don't do it...they are rubbish...ours is called a Heat Charm.

naddis01 · 02-05-2014, 08:08 PM

That's not the experience my parents have had so they aren't all like that.

LG17 · 02-05-2014, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zilo

We have had both..

our first was a Kent heater, free standing, no fan....absolutely brilliant unit and not much wood to heat the house all day.

our new house has an inbuilt one, looks fancy with the carved wood fireplace etc but an absolute piece of junk compared to the Kent.

it uses mountains of wood, most of the heat goes up the chimney.
the fan helps but takes like forever to heat up.

just don't do it...they are rubbish...ours is called a Heat Charm.

A lot depends on the brand Zilo - you've owned a Kent so I thought you would realise that!

To the OP if you don't have ceiling fans a ceiling mounted heat transfer kit is a good idea for getting to heat to circulate well and quickly - basically a ducting system.

Hally · 03-05-2014, 09:40 AM

If you are spending $5k have a look at pellet heaters. Cleaner, programmable for on/off times, pellets are more cost effective than split wood and easier to store.

GASWAGON · 03-05-2014, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hally

If you are spending $5k have a look at pellet heaters. Cleaner, programmable for on/off times, pellets are more cost effective than split wood and easier to store.

Never heard of these do you have a link?

Free standing wood heaters are much more efficient than internals.....Plus you gotta burn redgum wood to get the most out of the heater....Plus the fan.

LG17 · 03-05-2014, 07:11 PM

A properly fitted and rated inbuilt can be on a par with a freestanding unit if everything is done properly.
I only have a small house (150sqm) and didn't want to use the valuable space taken up by a freestanding unit. Unfortunately the design of the house meant that any heater would have to go at one end (a central position is better) so I built a fireplace in one end wall and put in a Kent Evolution 6 inbuilt rated for around 200sqm. I installed ducting (no fan) in the ceiling to speed up the transfer of hot air from one end to the other (about 19m). That unit heats the whole house easily (it's on now!) and pretty quickly.
So inbuilts do work.