Insert install questions.

[Boris]

I just purchased a Regency I3100 insert. Getting ready to take delivery and install it this weekend.
Got a couple questions:

1) Do I need to block off / insulate the opening around the chimney liner where it goes through the baffle opening? The liner comes with insulation wrap and the top flange, that the liner attaches to, gets sealed to the top of the chimney. If so, what type of insulation is safe to just stuff around there?

2) My fireplace has a small - 2" opening on the inside wall that feeds outside air into the fireplace. Do I just block it off or can I use that with the insert so that the stove is using outdoor air for combustion and not the warm room air?

Than you,

Boris.

 

[KaptJaq]

Without details on your situation these are general answers...

1) A insulated block-off plate always helps. If you have an external chimney it will help a lot. Do you need it, no. With the top sealed you will not have hot air escaping but you will use some of the heat to warm the entire chimney. With a block-off plate that heat will help heat your house.

EDIT: Roxul mineral wool insulation is good for this purpose.

2) Does the I3100 have an OAK (outside air kit) option? What diameter pipe does it require? If it does and 2" is large enough see if it can be connected. If it does not support an OAK or 2" is too small you might want to just leave the opening clear so the stove pulls air that way rather than from the house. It also depends on how tight your house is. A very tight house might need the extra air via that opening. Is there any control on the opening now? Can you close it when the stove is not in use? Does it cause a draft? On my fireplace there was an ash clean-out. The door on the clean-out is not air tight. When the stove is burning it pulls some air via the clean-out rather than the house. This sounds similar to your situation.

KaptJaq

 

[Wood Duck]

An outside air kit will hook up to a specific part of the stove using one specific size of vent pipe. Mine is far larger than 2 inches, and the chances that the OAK location will match up with the existing hole seem slim. It isn't a bad idea, it just seems unlikely to work with the existing vent. On the other hand, maybe the existing vent can be left open as Kapt Jaq suggested. Again, how much that helps will depend on where the air intake for the insert is located. I'd guess the air intake will be on the front of the insert, since normally an insert is stuck into a fireplace and normally there would be little air anywhere but in front.

 

[DAKSY]

There is no OAK option for the Regency inserts, they are designed to draw air in under the front of the unit. The location of your fresh air feed for the existing fireplace will determine whether you want to use it or not. As a matter of routine, we always remove the handle on the small door & jam the opening with unfaced fiberglass. You can build a block off plate, you can stuff Rockwool in there or you can use unfaced fiberglass in the damper area...You also should insulate the area under the top plate. The insulation top & bottom will create a standing column of dead air. That is virtually the same as insulating the entire chimney...