Vogelzang Colonial Wood Burning Fireplace Insert - TR004

For those on a budget you can't go wrong. This fireplace insert isn't the most glamorous of inserts and doesn't have the appeal of a cast iron insert but it sure looks and works good enough for for the price. I have been using the product for three weeks now and I can say it has no problem heating a 1500 square foot home and keeping my 18' x 25' living room at 70+ and adjoining rooms at 68 with outdoor temperatures in the teens to single digits. My only negative comments would be the variable speed blower. With the control knob on slowest setting the blower hums and spins at about 2 rpm's. Full speed is okay but would be far more affective with a few more rpm's.

Instructions were far from clear and it took some headscratching to get everything right...attaching the blower made needlessly difficult by unthinking placement of screw hole directly behind the control knob, little things like that.

Once we got it in and hooked up to the chimney insert, it was easy to start the fire and once up and running this thing pumps out the heat. Really would have appreciated clearer directions....but the unit is now providing 80% of heat to my poorly insulated 1600 s.f. house. Even with dry wood you will have trouble banking a fire for overnight...I can make it last maybe 5+ hours, so that is not ideal, but we can work around that. Overall a nice addition and very nice heating unit.

The stove is tiny. It puts off a decent amount of heat but the blower will only run for one season and then you will find out how expensive the replacement blower is

A great stove that heats the whole house once it starts rolling!

Best decision we ever made, to purchase this fireplace insert! Easy to install, and it's been wonderful so far. Finally, we have an efficient fireplace that won't burn through so much wood every winter, and our house will be warmer than ever before, which in turn saves us money on both wood and fuel oil. The insert was purchased at a great price, and was delivered very quickly. Thank you, Northline!! Highly recommend!! :)

I haven't been through a winter yet but the test fires all were great. The basic features of this insert was exactly what I was looking for.

I recently purchased a Colonial from you guys and installed it myself. I just want to thank you guys for all the help you gave on all your videos. So far it works great and it did install pretty easily. I also want to commend the person who answers the phone she was great every time I called. Again thank you so much.

I'm not having the experience of other reviewers. I question the BTU rating compared to the claim of an eight hour burn. My experience is that it is not possible to have both. You either get a low heat long burn or a high heat short burn. And, in no case will you get an actual 8 hour-heat-providing burn.

As to the air wash on the door. The diagram showing the air flow on the website is not possible. The burn air gets to the flue by going up the front of the firebox right against the back of the door. How would cold air come down over the door when hot air is going up and out at the same place???? If I do long burns - 3+ hours max making decent heat and having just a pile of coals at the end - the door glass gets coated with black, and I'm using cured oak. It will stay clean if I do 2 hour hot burns, which requires adding wood every two hours. The firebox is so small, wood has to be split smaller, and I have NEVER been able to get enough wood in there to last 8 hours. That advertised burn time is a flagrant lie. It will burn and then smolder for 8 hours, but it will not "burn" and make decent heat for 8 hours. This isn't a serious heating device, but more of a decorative warming atmosphere provider.

My other stove, at the other end of the house, will put you out of the room it provides so much heat, and it WILL make heat for 8 hours, and provide enough heat that it goes up the stairs and heats the upstairs too (2300+ square foot 2 story colonial). The Colonial fan is noisy, and at 125 cfm, inefficient. You can get the same flow by taking the fan off the heater and using gravity and a ceiling fan. I have to use two other fans to get the heat around the downstairs - forget the upstairs.

I always felt Vogelzang was a quality company that offered real wood heating appliances. I do not feel that way now, and would not buy another of their misrepresented products. This stove is perfect for a den, eat in kitchen/den, or other smaller area, but whole house heat is beyond its capability. Don't be fooled by the advertised specs. It's more of a recreational item than a serious stove. I feel that you folks that have left glowing reviews are still in the honeymoon period. Wait till it really gets cold.

Robert's Comments; I agree that it's about impossible to get the full BTU output for 8 hours. Usually people need to heat all night and hope for coals in the morning while using the furnace for backup. The size of the firebox needs to be smaller to meet the EPA regulations and to fit in a fireplace the overall unit needs to be smaller. Inserts typically under-perform freestanding wood stoves but are 1000 times more efficient than a regular fireplace and you don't need to spend a fortune on a chimney system. Most people are happy with the unit and we do offer our 30 day unconditional return on this item even if you use it. If you're that unhappy with the unit then return it if you're within the 30 day time frame.

i have had mine 14 months and have had to replace the ceramic panels for up top and now the blower just went.

Ive been heating with wood for over 50 years with Vermont Castings the Defiant Vigilant and Woodstock soapstone [which is very good} I have a fireplace that even with the glass doors is still very drafty I bought this stove for the effiency of stopping the drafts and cause it looks nice I didn't really expect more than that cause of the lower price I installed the liner myself ,pretty easy and after a few small fires I started using it I;m very impressed by this stove it heats mt 1200 square foot house easily with the blower going. I like this more than the expensive stoves and the fire really burns nice inside the stove. This is the first review I;ve ever written about anything so I am really am impressed