Mendota DXV 45 (or 60) vs. Heat & Glo Escape

17 years ago

Does anyone have any opinions on the pros and cons of one over the other?

The prices are fairly comparable. I'm leaning towards the Mendota because of the wide range of the BTUs (on the DXV45 it is 7,500 - 45,000 and on the DXV60 it is 10,000 - 60,000). I was told that even on the lowest setting I can have a decent enough flame for ambiance. The range on the 42DV Escape is 35,000 - 52,000, which I think means that I would only turn on the fireplace on pretty chilly nights. The Ecape also includes a nightlight that lights up the brick for ambiance, I suppose, but I really don't care for it at all.

Do you have experience with either of these models, and can you share your thoughts? Thanks!

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Comments (4)

Jolly__Roger
17 years ago
I have a couple of the Heat n' Glo Escape fireplaces.
They have an internal adjustment on the gas valve where you can trim down on the gas a bit.

Regarding the claim made to you that they have "a decent flame for ambiance on the lowest setting" I have my doubts. I have a commercial gas range that has 7,500, 18,000 and 22,000 BTU burners and I cannot imagine that would be enough gas to make a decent looking flame in a firebox. See if you can see the fireplaces for yourself before making the decision. When the room gets hot, I just shut the thing down for a while.

These things all run hot so you cannot leave them on for a long period of time except in the winter. One thing I do to distribute the heat is to swith the fan switch on the house thermostat from auto to on. That way, the heat gets circulated through the house. A ceiling fan would also help to distribute heat around.
Jolly__Roger
17 years ago
Another difference beyond the two-stage vs. three stage gas burners.... The Escape is manufactured to look like a real wood burning fireplace with no sign of the sheetmetal/tin can like other gas fireplaces. My Escapes are installed as flush hearths.
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we built a house 4 years ago and considered the mendota dxv45 and a fireplace extrodinaire 36xl i think was the model number. we went with the mendota- the flames looked the best to us and it came as a complete package. the xtrodinaire was very "al a carte", although they did end up nearly the same in price. fast forward, we are building another house now and i saw a town and country (didn't care for), the mendota dxv45 (again), fireplace extrodinare 864HH, and a heat n glo 6000GLX. they were all nice- i like the accent lights and the brick choices on the HH and the GLX. BUT the flames still look the best on the mendota to me. Which is what we have decided to go with---again. we are also considering the mendota DXV60, but am worried about the logs looking awkward as a previous poster has stated. Mendota also has great customer service.
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I am about to post a similar message in that I need help deciding between the Mendota DXV45 (or 60, perhaps) and the Heat& Glo Escape. I'm leaning towards the Mendota, however, because I like the wide range on the BTU output and hope to have the ability to put the fireplace on for ambiance on not so chilly nights. I don't know if that factored into your consideration at all, but I thought I would throw that out as some food for thought. I'm sorry that I can't help with your specific questions.
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Ironically, we just ordered the Heat and Glo 6000CLX today! Looked at the Mendota, and it is nice, but it's not as deep as the Heat & Glo...to me it looked small vs the Heat & Glo. Also, a fireplace guy told me the Mendota is a "Heat & Glo on steroids" and recommended the Heat & Glo for our needs (small family room)...he sold both brands, BTW. What really sealed it for us was that friends of ours have both brands in their home. They love their Mendota, which is a larger unit, & it's in their huge family room. They can heat both their family room and kitchen. They also love their Heat & Glo (which is the 36" unit we're getting); it's in their living room. We always feel warm in their family room; too warm for us. So for our needs, general use in a small family room, the Heat and Glo seems fine. We don't really need the fan that comes with the 6000CLX (our neighbors have the 6000CL & same floorplan and say it's plenty of heat). But we liked the look of the embers and back lighting that comes with the CLX so decided to go for it. I would agree with your builder. We decided to put our money into a nice cast surround; that will be the focal point in our room. Heat and Glo has been around a long time & makes a good product; we don't feel like we're giving up anything with that brand...and love the price. Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision!
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theresa_gardener
17 years ago
I'm doing a major renovation/addition on my home and I'm interested in purchasing two Heat N Glo Escape (36") direct vent fireplaces....one for the family room and one for the living room.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who may have this unit in their home...would you recommend it, are you happy with it, does it give off enough heat, other comments?

Thanks.
ginnytrcka_gmail_com
17 years ago
We just got back from our fireplace showroom and loved the Escape models. I think we will get a 36" for the basement and the 42" for the greatroom. One thing to consider is that the Escapes have an optional adjustable heat fan that can pull the heat from the fireplace and distribute it in one or two ducts up to 20' away through floor, ceiling, or wall registers. I think we may put this in and duct the heat to the basement level. So we can have the full flame ambiance, but the heat is distributed more through the house. We like the realistic look of the flush hearth installation.

Mendota DXV 45 (or 60) vs. Heat & Glo Escape

Comments (4)

Jolly__Roger

Jolly__Roger

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theresa_gardener

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