Black Bart Wood Stove Inserts: Models and Modern Replacements

Black Bart inserts were the budget fireplace stove of the early 1980s: a black box with a blower, priced so almost anyone could fit one into the living room fireplace. Plenty are still there, usually inherited with the house. If you have one, you probably want to know two things — is it worth keeping, and what's the modern replacement?

Short version: most Black Barts have done their time, and the real issue is the chimney behind them. A modern insert with a full stainless liner fixes both. Here's what we could confirm about the brand and what a replacement costs, liner included.

Who made Black Bart

Hard records are thin, so most of what follows comes from long-time hearth-industry forum moderators and owners rather than company literature. Owners date the stoves to about 1980 and name the maker as Bart Manufacturing of North Carolina. A long-time Hearth.com moderator recalls the company opening an automated North Carolina factory it billed as the next big thing, launching with the 3200 insert at $499 with a blower — cheap for a blower-equipped insert at the time. The idea was a Model T of stoves: high volume, low cost. Then the energy crunch eased, the stove market collapsed, and Black Bart went with it.

No successor company, parts program or manual source turned up in our research.

The models

Some resellers also list freestanding Black Bart stoves, and one parts site attributes the brand to an Oregon company; we couldn't verify either, so we've left them out.

Why the Black Bart has a rough reputation

Be fair to it: owners report a 3200 will heat a 1,200 sq ft house, and plenty ran as the main heat source for decades. But the design traded durability for price, and the forum consensus is blunt.

• Thin, unlined steel. A Hearth.com moderator describes the firebox as "bare steel and relatively thin," with no firebrick. Owners report cracks along back seams and near the flue mounting bolts.
• A rear blower that can pull smoke. The fan sits behind the firebox, so a crack there can draw flue gas or sparks into the blower chamber and blow it into the room. A chimney sweep flagged exactly that on one owner's unit.
• No real damper. Air is set by two front sliders, and owners describe hard starts, runaway burns and short overnight fires.
• Uncertified. Every Black Bart predates the 1988 EPA standard. Our EPA certification guide explains why that matters when you move it, sell or renew insurance.

If yours has a crack anywhere in the firebox, stop using it. Welding thin, fatigued steel isn't a fix we'd stand behind, and a cracked unit isn't worth salvaging.

The chimney is the bigger problem

Most Black Barts were installed the way inserts were in 1980: pushed into the fireplace with a short stub of pipe, or none, venting into a large clay-tile flue. One moderator called a neighbor's 3200 burning into a 12" × 12" tile "a major creosote factory." The exhaust cools in that oversized space, draft suffers, and creosote collects on the smoke shelf behind the insert where no sweep can reach it.

That's why any replacement starts with a liner. A modern insert connects to a full-height 6" stainless liner running to the top of the chimney, which matches the collar, keeps the exhaust hot and lets the chimney be swept from above. The 3200's 8" outlet doesn't carry over; the new insert's 6" collar sets the liner size. See the chimney liner guide and flue sizing guide.

What replaces a Black Bart

The direct swap: a modern insert

The Drolet Escape 1800-I ($1,799, No confirmed date) is the fastest-shipping of our Drolet and Englander inserts and the natural step up from a 3200: up to 2,100 sq ft, 75,000 BTU/h, 20" logs, 8-hour burns, a brick-lined 5/16" steel firebox and a variable-speed blower included. It's EPA 2020 certified at 2.3 g/h. The Escape 1800-I + faceplate + 25 ft liner bundle ($2,199) is the whole job in one box and saves $238; taller chimneys take the 35 ft bundle ($2,269).

For a smaller fireplace, the Drolet Escape 1500-I ($1,729, 500–1,800 sq ft, faceplate included) also comes as a liner bundle from $1,969 (Ships Nov 24). If you'd rather buy USA-built, the Englander Blue Ridge 300-I ($1,799, 500–2,100 sq ft, Ships in 5–9 weeks) and compact Blue Ridge 150-I ($1,589, 250–1,200 sq ft, Ships in 2–5 weeks) both include a faceplate.

What it costs with the liner

Need an insert sooner? The Carolina Model 21 NC works as a fireplace insert and is in stock: $2,248 with its trim kit, heats 800–1,800 sq ft, made in the USA (Ships in 1–3 days). Your fireplace opening must be at least 23¼″ wide, 21″ high and 15″ deep.

Add the hook-up liner system ($79) for the collar connection on the Escape 1800-I and Blue Ridge inserts, and the offset liner adaptor ($279) if the collar doesn't line up with the flue. A professional stainless reline runs roughly $900 to $3,800 installed (HomeGuide 2026); a straight, accessible chimney is a realistic two-person DIY job. Our fireplace insert cost guide adds it all up, and the faceplate guide covers measuring the opening.

Or go freestanding

If the fireplace chimney is in poor shape, a freestanding stove on its own chimney avoids the insert reline. The Drolet Escape 1200 N ($1,129, 250–1,200 sq ft, Ships in 5–9 weeks) covers the same ground owners report from a 3200. Budget for the chimney either way — see the chimney and stovepipe guide and wood stove vs fireplace insert.

Before you swap

• Sweep and inspect first. Pulling an old insert usually exposes creosote on the smoke shelf; get it cleaned before anything new goes in.
• Measure the fireplace opening height, width and depth, and the chimney height from the hearth to the top.
• Clearances and hearth extension come from the new insert's manual, never from the Black Bart's setup. See the hearth pad guide and installation guide.
• Seasoned wood. A secondary-burn insert needs dry fuel; it won't perform on wet wood the way a Black Bart tolerated it.

Bottom line

An uncracked Black Bart that's been running safely may limp along, but it was built as cheaply as possible more than 40 years ago, and the unlined chimney behind it is the real risk. Replace it with the Escape 1800-I liner bundle for most fireplaces, the Escape 1500-I for smaller ones, or the Blue Ridge 300-I if you want USA-built. No Sales Tax in any state and free shipping. Browse wood inserts or email info@stovesource.com or text 1-888-866-8206 with your opening size and chimney height.

Replacing another vintage stove?

Same honest assessment for the other brands owners still run: Better 'n Ben's, Fisher, All Nighter, Sierra, Nashua, Timberline, Warm Morning, Atlanta Homesteader and Dutchwest and Federal Airtight.