Opinions On Fireplace Inserts

[Big Sach]

I just installed a full stainless steel liner yesterday It was not that hard. But on a single storey living room that tends to be the case. Two storey houses could have a dog leg or whatever else in the chimney to make your day hell.


You must ,must strongly consider using a liner with an insert . Just shoving an insert into an existing masonry chimney like they did back in the 80's, is bad in 2 ways: lots of creosote buildup as the smoke from stove cools in the firebox which =chimney fire waiting to happen. And a proper sized liner will make the insert draft properly and burn more efficiently.

 

[wedge]

ive got an avalon ranier with optional blowers and an etched glass door, $2,900.00 installed. i love it, i also have a hampton stove for downstairs but it hasnt been cold enough to really use it in several years but it looks good though

 

[046]

But freestanding furnaces and fireplaces are exempt from EPA regulations! It's because they are for viewing pleasure and not serious home heating. Wood stoves for heating shops are also exempt.

Fireplaces burn cleaner not only because of unlimited oxygen but also because so much room air goes up the flue that the unburnt byproducts of combustion are moving so fast they don't have time to stick to the sides of the chimney. This extra air results in reduced efficiency.

Is a catalytic combustor or high tech secondary combustion designed into your insert?

The trend for the past ten years has been away from catalytic combustors and toward high tech heated secondary combustion air. I had a catalytic wood stove from 1978 until 1994 and then switched to a non-catalytic.

http://www.quadrafire.com/aboutUs/index.asp

Below is a little bit copied from the Qudra-Fire website. The have good info at their site about high tech non-cat wood stoves.

"Before the Clean Air Act took effect, there were more than 500 wood stove manufacturers around the country. In 1985, almost all of them stopped making stoves rather than adapt to the more stringent regulations. Most of those that remained turned to catalytic combustion as a solution. But the company now called Quadra-Fire chose instead to look at wood burning in an entirely new way."

snippet above was taken from quadra install manual. they do have an excellent non cat solution, but they still require a stainless liner and have a small firebox. their technology is way better than catalytic converter units.

my custom insert uses same principal as a normal fireplace. which have been used for hundreds of years cleanly. most properly designed fireplaces draft huge flows up the chiminey resulting in losing more heat than is generated.

like I posted several times already mine is one big heat exchanger that allows my fireplace to operate in it's normal state.

just installed my new insert. here's a few pic's:

note large size of my firebox. insert angles are within 1/2in of fireplaces angles and demensions.
blower is thermstatically controlled and has a multi-stage fan switch.

 

[wedge]

i put a liner in my chiminey because i dont feel like removing the insert every time i clean the chiminey. i almost bought a quadrafire but i opted for the avalon, i must say it heats my entire house exclusively as long as its above zero outside

 

[WadePatton]

You would receive more heat from a wood stove than an insert. The insert will usually provide heat from the front and a small portion of the sides only (depending on the installation). A blower is also often used to provide additional heat movement.

Whereas a wood stove gives you heat from front, rear and both sides, including the top and the bottom, w/o w/a blower. Thus, less wood used. Most stoves can either be place in the existing fireplace or just outside of the opening....

'Bout what I was going to say. We had fireplace--that was no good for heat, so we blocked it off and put a wood heater in front. That worked great! Then Mom had to have an insert. Got the nicest one for that era, an Ashley. Sucked, worthless for heat without the fan, noisey with the fan, didn't hold enough wood.

Things may have changed, but for a main source of home heat, I want a free-standing wood stove.

 

[046]

check out the enormous size of my firebox. pretty much load it up just like a normal fireplace.
firebox is 24in x 32in x 32in

largest quadrafire has a firebox size of 3 cubic feet max width is 21in.
my firebox is 14 cubic feet, max width is 24 3/4in. I can use 30in logs with no problems turned sideways a little. I've already stuck a few logs 2ft x 16in diameter. works great with plenty of room.

thermo control fan has a veriable speed control to quiet down fan for those times you need quieter operation. fan at full till is pretty loud.

I installed a blue flame gas log starter for effortless fire starting.

this insert sure burns clean, barely see any smoke coming out of chiminey going at full till.

totally happy with my new insert! run it full till without worry about the gas bill.

 

[wedge]

a couple of the inserts out there can pull double duty, they can be used as freestanding stoves too. my biggest problem is reversing the downdraft sometimes. but once i get er goin look out.

 

[046]

here's the honking blower, I'll probably using to move air through out house.

it's pretty loud, so thinking about placing in attic with a long suction hose using a two stage blower system. I'll have to fabricate a relay triggered by the thermo switch to coodinate both blowers.

 

[046]

check out this 2ft X 2ft log in my firebox

 

[046]

normally I would never stick that large firewood into a fireplace. but I wanted to see how big I could get away with.

worked like a champ! when door is closed on insert, updraft increases dramatically.

I'm still in experimental stages. next up is playing with closing down flue, which will slow down smoke from exiting so fast. this will give heat exchanger more time to work.

my gas furnace has not cycled on once since installing fireplace insert. pretty deluxe feeling.

serious thinking of getting off natural gas grid.

 

[woojr]

I haven't viewed this thread for awhile, but noticed that photo. Wow. Whata chunka wood. Its a good idea to dampen the draft. Basically keeps heat from going up the chimney.
Here's another thought... make a tubular grate to hold the fire. Connect it side to side, the same way as the tubes above. Use an alloy that won't burn through. Great pics, woojr