Wood insert installed and ready to burn!

Hi Everyone, For years I've been interested in getting a wood stove. My neighbor had one when I was younger and I loved it, but my parents weren't the wood burning type. My wife and I now own a house with a fireplace, so we just picked up a wood insert. We have quite a few mature trees in our yard and had to have 2 taken down in the spring, why waste free heat? For the past few months, I've been scrounging for wood and splitting. I have around 2 cords that needs to be seasoned. I also bought a cord of seasoned wood, a friend of mine gave me some seasoned wood and I got a bunch of pallets to supplement with. I also came across American Climbers (the company from the TV show Big Bad Wood) in my neighborhood taking down a maple on Monday, I asked if I could take some of the wood and they let me bring my saw over and take what I wanted. Most of it was way too big for my saw, but I did get some.

I ended up buying an Enerzone 1.8 at at local store. I wanted a Jotul, but my wife didn't want to spend that much, so this was the compromise. I'm hoping she likes it enough that in a couple years we can add a freestanding wood stove. I had Barry John Chimney install it yesterday, and I was really happy with the results and the installers.

This weekend I'm going to do my break-in fires. We have a 5 month old son and I don't want to do them with him in the house, and my wife happens to be going to visit her parents for a couple days and I'm staying home.

Anyway, enough of that, here's the pictures of the install and some of my wood supply.

Empty fireplace


Flue removed


Dropping in the liner


Liner in the fireplace


Stove ready to put in the fireplace


Stove in place


Liner attached to insert


All done!



What I got from American Climbers:


Pallets plus the seasoned wood for this year (it's covered usually - I don't have a wood shed this year so a tarp will have to do)


A lot of the wood I've split, mostly oak and maple. A small amount of pine, ash and apple.

The first thread I've ever started on this forum and I put it in the wrong section! I meant to put it in The Hearth Room. Would it be possible for a mod to move it?

Thanks!

Andy S. said:

Welcome and happy heating! I went with an insulated liner based on recommendations from here and over the objections of my installer. I'll be interested to see how yours performs. Scrounge those pallets! They will be your best friend this year.

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Interesting regarding the insulated liner. Even in a masonry fireplace? What's the advantage?

prezes13 said:

Higher flue temprature better draft and less creosote buildup. Nice setup.

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Interesting, good to know. Thanks for the info.

Wood Duck said:

If you cover the firewood, leave the sides open so you get some air circulation. You want moisture to have a way to move away from the wood, and air movement will do that. So there - now this is a discussion for the Wood Shed.

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The tarps I'm using are 5x9 I believe, so they come down each side a little less than 2'. I'm also keeping a week or two worth of wood in the garage at a time (once it drops below freezing and the bugs are all dormant). Next year I plan on building a wood shed, but first I want to see how much I'm going to burn in a season. I hate to build one for 2 cords when I burn 4 or vice versa.

bholler said:

Insulated liners greatly improve performance and also make it so you dont need the required clearance from the outside of the masonry structure to combustible materials. It also would have been better if you had cut out the damper frame rather than ovalizing the liner I am sure it will work fine though happy burning. Just a question is it on an exterior wall or interior?

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Good info, thanks. Unfortunately it's too late for that now, but if we do anything else in the future, I will keep it in mind. It's an exterior wall.

bholler said:

I just looked at the pics again and i see that it is on an exterior wall you might want to consider a blockoff plate and some insulation behind the insert to reduce the amount of heat lost through the chimney structure

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I was actually wondering about that after they installed it. I'll search the forums for more info on that, but if you happen to know of any place I can get info on it, let me know! Thanks!

Nick Mystic said:

Welcome to the forum Starz85. After viewing your photos I'm curious about one thing. The liner appears to be hanging down inside the fireplace fairly close to straight up and down. Do you know why the installers used a 45 degree elbow to make the connection to the insert? The liner does appear to angled a slight amount, but in the photos it looks to be closer to straight up and down than at a 45 degree angle. If for no other reason than for cleaning the liner it is usually best to try to keep things as straight as possible. Good luck with the new insert.

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The chimney is pretty much a straight shot up, so I'm not sure why they used the 45. If I have any draft problems, would trying to remove that be something that may help?

Found this regarding the block off plate:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/why-damper-seal-is-needed/

They did block it off and insulate it at the top. I saw them carrying the materials up the ladder to do that.

Nick Mystic said:

I don't think the 45 connector will cause and problems with your draft, rather it will have more of an effect on sweeping. The installers might have used the 45 connector due to not having the proper connector with them. This is just speculation, of course, but I've seen such things done so often it wouldn't surprise me. This is one of the biggest reasons I like to do all my own work. It really irks me to pay for "professional" work only to have some hack overcharge for inferior work. Again, I'm not claiming you got inferior work; I'm just making a comment on my own experience.

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Good to know, thanks. I will give the company a call and inquire as to why they used the 45.

prezes13 said:

I hoe you are right. The way I saw it in the pic it looks like the 45 points to a side not the back. I might be wrong.

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It's diagonal. Back and to the left. Thinking about it, that would allow the liner to make a gentler bend than if it was pointing straight back.

lml999 said:

I just finished a blocking plate installation and have some Roxul insulation left over. You're welcome to as much as you need, and I can show you how I did my blocking plate.

I'm about 25 minutes east of you. PM me for more information if you're interested.

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Thanks! Just sent you a PM.