Forge & Flame Trekker Insert

In most homes, the Forge & Flame Trekker Insert, featuring Quadra-Fire burn technology, heats 1,300–2,550 square feet, depending on climate and layout. It's the strongest pellet insert in the Quadra-Fire family, rated 78% efficient on the higher heating value and certified at 0.74 grams per hour.

The opening needs to be at least 24-3/8 inches tall, 32-1/4 inches wide at the front, and 24-1/8 inches wide at the back, with 16-5/8 inches of depth for the steel panel set or 16-1/4 inches for the cast set. It's approved for masonry fireplaces and factory-built (ZC) fireboxes.

A seven-day programmable wall thermostat comes standard, so you can warm the house before you wake up and turn it down while you're at work. A dial behind a drop door on the side offers five heat settings from LOW to HIGH, and a remote control is optional.

No, a surround is required and sold separately. Choose a Classic Black steel surround with nickel black trim, about 50 by 33 inches, or a steel surround for cast trim, about 45 by 34-1/2 inches, which also needs a cast trim kit in Classic Black, Porcelain Twilight, or Porcelain Mahogany.

Its 284-square-inch window is the largest among these pellet inserts, set in a body whose major parts are cast iron. The insert comes in Classic Black, Porcelain Twilight, or Porcelain Mahogany, and a two-piece ceramic log set is available as an extra.

Its 52-pound hopper feeds a firepot you clear by pulling the floor cleaning lever twice, daily or as needed, so ash drops into the pan below. The manual says to empty that ash pan weekly or every three to five bags of pellets.

It won't heat during an outage, because it runs on 115-volt household power, and smoke can back-draft into the room when the blower stops, so the manual suggests at least 5 feet of vertical vent. When power returns, it goes through a normal shutdown and then restarts on its own if the thermostat still calls for heat.

It vents through 3-inch or 4-inch Type L or PL pipe, and the hearth needs only ember protection at least 15-1/8 inches deep and 32 inches wide. It's mobile home approved, but not in a sleeping room, and only with the OAK-3 outside air kit and the unit grounded to the home's frame.