New guy with a few BASIC questions

Hello everyone,

I have been lurking around here for a bit and have been doing a ton of reading, and I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a wood burning insert. Currently, I have a masonry fireplace with a 25' 12x12 ceramic flue that has a 10inch liner in it. I am leaning towards getting a 6 inch liner to drop down the 10inch liner, which leads to my first few questions. 1) Do I need to insulate the liner? and 2) What are my options for blocking the space between the 6inch liner and 10inch liner? Should I consider building a plate or is there some type of insulation that could be packed between the two? I have included a picture of my flue so you guys can get a good idea of what I am working with.

My next question is are there any problems when ordering these stoves online? I noticed a lot of the websites offer free shipping, which is a plus. I guess I am worried about ordering a 500 pound appliance online and then having some type of problem with it. Does anyone have any horror stories of buying an insert online?

As far as the install goes, I am pretty confident that I will be able to handle it. I went up on my roof and inspected the current cap and know what I need to order.

I greatly appreciate any advice you guys can provide. I look forward to getting an insert and joining this great community. Thanks!

John

That picture is up the flue. The 10 inch liner was installed before we bought the house. The home inspector found the clay flue tiles were separating from the sides of the chimney, so the previous owner had it serviced.

What classifies an exterior chimney? This chimney passed through an attic and hugs an exterior wall. See the pic of my house. Sorry for the pic quality, I realized I have no pictures of my chimney other then whats on Bing! Bird's eye.

As far as online dealers. I have been looking at Napoleon. Any reason to stay away from them? Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to include the poor aerial shot of the house.

rwhite said:

Is that some type of poured in liner thats around the 10" now or is that the top of the flue I'm seeing? How far is it from where the camera is to where the 10" starts? One thing that would worry me is how the existing liner is in the corner of the flue. If that corner is toward the house I would most definately insulate as there is nothing between the liner and the masonary in that corner (doesn't appear to be). As a new guy on this forum. as well as new to an EPA insert and installing a liner I can do nothing but preach the piece of mind that insulation brings. Not like money grows on trees, but it's only $200 for insulation (thats 25'). Costs for install can just nickle and dime you and you may fret about it. But now that mines in I am so glad I did it. What I don't know is if you can pull a 6" liner with insulation and the wire protector down a 10" pipe or if you have to go with preinsulated.

Edit: Don't know about all frieght companies but I have ordered some rather large items and freight was only charged for home delivery. If I went to the substation for the freight contractor and picked them up it was truly free shipping. My liner and insulation was shipped Fedex and was free shipping.

Click to expand...

I believe the white stuff around the base of the liner is cement that is closing up the original 12x12 flue. The corner with the liner is towards the front of the fireplace. How can I tell if there is a pour in liner in place? I suppose I could take a stick and attempt to tap the sides of the 10 inch liner.

Thanks for the information all.

I searched and searched and searched for this, but what exactly does N/S E/W mean? I am assuming it means the orientation of wood when it gets placed into the stove?

Does anyone think that I will have an issue snaking a 6 inch liner with insulation down the 10 inch liner? Thanks!

Thread from the dead!

I opted against the stove last winter, as buying a stove in the winter was like buying a snowblower in the middle of a blizzard, I also had no wood supply So, I was going to buy a new one in the summer of 2012, but I ended up replacing most of my windows and a huge bay window so I was going to wait yet another year, as my home improvement budget was basically depleted for the year. I have been checking craiglist every now and then, but nothing was catching my eye, until the other day. I saw a Regency 3100 on CL for $1400. This was a unit I was looking at buying new, so i know they are pricey. Well, I checked my bank account and pulled the trigger. I usually hate winter, but it can't get here soon enough! I only have a cord of burnable wood, and maybe a cord and a half that will be prime next year, so I may need to see if I can find a little more seasoned wood for this winter. I just need a liner and I am good to go!

DanCorcoran said:

Looks to be in great condition!

Click to expand...

She looks to be in great condition. Two of the bricks are cracked, but from my research, that kinda just happens. The dude switched it out for a gas unit, so I don't think he was keen on burning.

So, all I need is a liner and I am set. So, I am planning on buying a 6" liner on the internet somewhere and paying a local company to install it. I usually DIY anything I can, but getting on the second story scares the crap out of me. So, these companies want a fair amount to do this work, which is understandable. I was thinking (and maybe that is part of the problem here) but what if I were to run a section of 6" liner from the stove up into the 10" liner and attempt to pack insulation around where the two overlap? This, in my inexperienced mind, would eliminate the need to do a block off plate. It just seems like a shame to spend close to a $1k to get a 6" liner when the 10" in there currently is practically brand new.

I pulled the trigger on the liner, a deluxe terracotta cap, and the outrageously expensive "adapter" to connect my insert to the liner.

Another question, I was admiring my insert the other day and did the dollar bill test. The bill is snug near the latch, but very loose on the tops and bottom of the door. Before replacing the gasket, I figured I would try and adjust the latch first. Getting the two nuts off was a bit of a challenge, but I got them off. The latch piece itself though, that is another story. It is loose, but not budging off. The stove was built in 2000, and I think it got light use due to the great condition it is in, but that's still 12 years of residue building up on the latch. Would it be safe to spray it with a bit of PB blaster to get rid of the residue and hopefully free up the latch?