Insulation/surround questions

[danham]

My Regency i1200 insert is installed in an existing fireplace which vents using a brick chimney on the outside of the house. The installers put in an insulated full-height chimney liner and removed the old flue damper. They did not, unfortunately, install a blocking plate, but did stuff some insulation up there surrounding the pipe. It is foil-backed, with the foil facing down into the fireplace.

They also put a U-shaped bat of insulation across the top of the stove, just behind the surround panel, with its "legs" facing down, just sort of hanging there behind the surrounds, not acting as a seal of any kind.

Other than installing a plate, which we will do at the first cleaning, so far I have carefully re-packed the foil-backed insulation so that it actually covers up the flue opening (it was somewhat carelessly stuffed in there), and re-arranged the loose U-shaped piece so that it sits at the back of the stove, offering (I hope) a little bit of insulation for room heat that would otherwise be lost through the bricks when the stove is cold. The way they left it, it seems to me it was blocking heat from the stove that I'd rather have enter the room via radiation from the "hidden" parts of the stove, including through the column of vent holes in the side surrounds.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks,

-dan

 

[stejus]

Not sure what type of insulation you have there. If it's fiberglass, you're loosing heat. Can you identify the type of insulation? Roxul is the best out there IMO.

 

[danham]

Sorry, should have been more specific about that.

The insulation stuffed up into the former damper location appears to be fiberglas with heavy foil backing. I'm sure that roxul would be better, but my inclination is to finish the season and then at spring cleaning install a plate and roxul.

The weird U-shaped stuff is not backed and looks like plain fiberglass. It must be high-temp resistant, however, as it was originally sitting right against the pipe where it attaches to the top of the stove and shows no signs of heat damage from that.

So my immediate question is whether there's anything I should do right now as far as removing that U-shaped piece altogether or adding more insulation in the fireplace, or what?

Many thanks,

-dan