Fisher insert installation advice needed

[jaywku]

I am new to this forum as well as wood burning.... So help me out a little if you can please.......

Just purchased a Fisher insert a couple weeks ago and I have been doing lots of reading on this site prior to insulation to make sure I am safe with my new purchase. From what I have gathered on this site it seems like nearly EVERYONE puts a liner in their chimney with their inserts. I have a clay tile lined chimney that appears to be in good shape, it was cleaned just before we purchased the house about 8 months ago.

I am considering install without the liner due to the manual and some advice from family members who are wood burners/ firefighters. They think I will be fine, people on here say it's a no no.

My insert has the plates that seal off existing fireplace.. Am I stupid for wanting to install without a liner??

Thanks for any help

 

[Lighting Up]

I'm not familiar with your stove but what I ve seen...if the manufacture calls for a liner then by all means put it in. These new stove are very efficient but it's not your father's stove anymore and drafting means alot to them. I would check with the manufacturer to see if it is required spend the money if it IS or you will be back posting that your not getting the heat, fires, or performance you should be...if they don't require one...well no harm done.
good luck
md

 

[webby3650]

Adding a liner is a pretty inexpensive insurance. Those old stoves make tons of creosote which will deposit in every crevice of your fireplace, smoke chamber, and flue. Every year when it is cleaned , it has to be pulled out into the room, very messy and inefficient. Nearly every "slammer" install I cleaned last year had a flue fire. It has been a code violation since the mid to late '70's. If at all possible you really need to get it lined, this will really step up the efficiency and the safety.

 

[cityhick]

I had a fisher insert and ran it for a couple of years without putting in a chimney liner. I got by but it made a hell of a mess in the fireplace around the insert. It was also a pain in the ass to clean so I put the liner in and not only did it make cleaning easier it also made the stove perform better. Ther is a thread on here called everything fisher. Go to the search and look it up. Very usefull info on there and Coaly seems to know everything there is to know about the fisher stoves and will be more than glad to help you out

 

[Captain Hornet]

A Fisher Insert is a very good stove but is NOT safe as designed as a slammer installation. Do not install it without modification. You won't save any money if you burn your house down. Private E-mail sent. David

 

[jaywku]

Thank you everyone for your input. You just confirmed every thing that I was thinking. I have a local company that is going to fabricate some rigid ventilation for me and it's not going to be super expensive..

Thanks again, Jay

 

[Bone1099]

Not sure what a slammer installation is. But i have a fisher insert and have been operating it without a liner for 5 years. sure it makes some creosote but the biggest thing is to connect the opening in the top of the insert directly to your clay liner otherwise that chimney is gonna suck air in around every crevice resulting in low draft. also I tossed the damper in mine i never really choke it that much. may be the reason I dont get a terrible amount of buildup but i also clean the chimney about once a year. with the direct connect all the creosote falls into the heater where it can be shoveled out just as ashes would. not trying to talk you out of a liner by all means that would be great but no less than a direct connect.
Also does that stove have a blower if so can you post or send me some pics as mine does not have one and im just pondering some ideas of how to install it.

 

[jaywku]

I think a slammer install is being referred to as an install with zero pipe ran. So by "direct connect" you are obviously running pipe to the clay.. What kind are you using? I am trying to avoid SS flex b/c of the cost, but want to stay safe. Are you using a block off plate @ the fire place damper?? My stove does not have a blower but I have heard of people adding them on. My fisher sticks our about a foot onto the hearth so i'm hoping I won't need one. I will post a pic if you wish to see it

 

[cityhick]

i will repeat myself from what i said earlier. Search......everything fisher.......in the search for these forums and ALL of your questions will be answered and If for some reason they are not COALY will be happy to help you. There is even a pic of the blower set up for that insert.

 

[jaywku]

i will repeat myself from what i said earlier. Search......everything fisher.......in the search for these forums and ALL of your questions will be answered and If for some reason they are not COALY will be happy to help you. There is even a pic of the blower set up for that insert.

Yeah I saw your post and have read all 12 pages of that post, I saw it a few weeks ago. Coaly and I have emailed back and forth a few times... Everyone here has been very helpful, I'm trying to find a way to not spend $500 + on a SS flex liner

THANKS!!

 

[coaly]

I sent Jay the manual for his insert, and added even though they were designed to be installed directly into the hearth with no liner, it does keep it cleaner behind it, and prevents you from removing the entire insert for cleaning.

I tried responding on this thread days ago. I was limited to only PM's since Friday Dec. 3rd. I only got an ERROR page when trying to load attachments, Preview, or Post ! It was like it didn't recognize my user name. After trying everything from Web Browsers to banning me and unbanning the account, I reset my DSL Router on the phone line and everything worked. It didn't affect anything else I tried on or off the net.

 

[VCBurner]

Is it better to have a liner? The answer is yes. Many people around here have no liners, but are probably afraid to speak up. They don't want to be the uncool kids. I know one guy who just had a liner installed this yearand he says his stove performs better with it.
Let me say this again, it's safer to have a liner? More efficient? Yes. 100% Necessary? Probably not. Like Coaly said: the manual says it doesn't need one. Are you going to burn your house down if you don't have a liner? The Fisher manual says: NO!

I have no liner, third year without one. I took my stoves out to clean the chimneys after last season and they had very little build up. Just installed my newer stove upstairs in the livingroom. Last year I had two stoves vented into unlined chimneys. One in the basement into a dedicated utility chimney the other into a fireplace by way of a connector into the block off plate. If I were you I would install that thing tomorrow and start getting warm.

Please don't bother posting how bad it is to not have a liner. I would have one if I could spend the money. Yes' I know burning your house down would be really bad. But people have been burning wood for a long time without liners.

 

[coaly]

Hey VC, if you don't have an owners manual for yours send an email to [email protected] and I'll send you one in pdf format.

 

[VCBurner]

Hey VC, if you don't have an owners manual for yours send an email to [email protected] and I'll send you one in pdf format.

Thank you for asking Coaly, I do have one.

 

[Bone1099]

Sorry im a bit slow getting back to you. My install is basically two sticks of single wall pipe and one of those twistable fittings adjusted to a 45 degree offset kinda like a ouija board to get it right. my damper in the fireplace was rusted out but the steel heatilator wasnt terribly rusted so i notched/butchered it with a sawzall for the pipe to fit. Call me names if you want everyone but I let those pipe sections stick into the square clay liner and stuffed fiberglass insulation in the corners to sort of seal it up. the damper i was refering to in my previous post is the one installed in the top of the insert mine had a flapper type damper in the short flue/exhaust pipe connected to a chain. pull and hook into the fireplace coverplate to close or let it hang into the firebox. I tried to operate the thing with that son of a gun in there but the only thing it really did for me was catch a split as i tossed it in shatch the chain and make a heck of a lot of noise in the wee hrs. so i tossed it and havent missed it at all dont really know why it was there even with the direct connect the air knobs close tightly enough to have total control over the fire. I have been expermenting with fans and blowers for about three years and have decided that i have to permanently install some kind of blower on mine. please post some pics of your stove im pretty sure mine is late 70s or early 80s it has the nikel plating on the doors. I love the looks just wish it used a bit less wood and burned a bit longer but doesnt everyone. Anyhow hope i can be of some help please dont chastise me too much for the insulation thing hey it works.