Hi,
I see your question is about 2 years old. Did you ever decide on one? We are currently debating the same two fireplace inserts.

Any update on this thread? Wondering if either of you went with the Mendota and if so, how you like it. We just purchased the FV41 and are in the process of having it installed. Hoping we made the right decision.

Any updates from anyone? Still contemplating the same thing! Thanks

We went with a Mendota FV41 gas fireplace, installed about a year ago. We love it. With Mendota, you choose your fireplace lining, log style and frame. We chose a solid black lining, birch logs, and a narrow iron frame (about 1 inch wide). The total package was expensive, about $5700, but looks great and seems very well engineered.

The remote fan has six speeds... the lowest ones are very quiet. We usually keep ours at level 4, which is reasonably quiet yet puts out a good amount of heat. Mendota has one feature that I think may be unique: you can activate a second burner via the remote to boost the heat output. We actually don’t use this very often, since the fireplace puts out a lot of heat anyway. The remote lets you set the flame volume to six different levels, so you’ve got lots of control over the fire performance.

So far the unit has performed flawlessly and looks great, so I’d unequivocally and without reservation recommend Mendota!

And one other feature I like is the ability to choose how the fire ignites. During winter I activate the pilot light. This keeps a warm mild airflow up the chimney and stops cold air from infiltrating the firebox and the house, while hardly burning any gas. In the shoulder seasons and summer, I use the remote to activate the electronic ignition ( ie, no pilot light). This saves a bit of fuel and keeps the burner a little bit cleaner. Pretty cool.