Hello guys,
I'm sure this has been discussed at length, but I am finding conflicting information, and am really looking for confirmation that I made the right choices.
I have an older heatmore/heatilator style fireplace (mid-1970's) that I believe was installed correctly at the time. I have a full masonry hearth/wall on the face of the unit, and a full masonry surround for that the unit is set into, full brick chimney with 8" x 8" clay liner that looked good when I inspected it - very little buildup. When I bought the house, it had an Enviro Empress FPI installed in the fireplace. I suspect the chimney was cleaned when the pellet stove was installed. It was direct vented into the flue with a damper blockoff plate. There was a lot of ash buildup on the damper itself, but very little creosote. The actual fireplace had not been used in many years (the home was my grandparents so I know this). That unit did not have the heat output I wanted, so I changed to a wood insert.
After researching, I settled on the Pacific Energy Super Insert LE. I did cut into the back wall/smoke shelf from the fireplace, and removed the damper to allow for a 6" uninsulated liner to be installed, based on posts and pictures I found here. I did not find any heat exchange tubes or blowers in the unit as others have described, only an empty cavity. My chimney measured out to 22'.
Going back through my manual one more time for the initial break in procedure, I noticed that the manual specifically states - "this unit shall not be installed in a factory-built fireplace."
Knowing that I do have a factory built fireplace, my question is this - will this unit be ok the way I have installed it? There are at least 2" of clear air space all inside the heatmore from the edges of the stove, and a full masonry surround around the unit. I haven't looked through the floor and ceiling cavities yet to check clearances to combustibles. I did all this work myself because my local installer was not available. I felt reasonably confident in my work, but am petrified of starting a chimney fire or otherwise damaging my home. I'm trying to save money, not die, and I am a complete rookie when it comes to wood burning.
After installation, I then read more about people being concerned about too much draft, but I don't really have a way to prevent that. Another concern is the uninsulated liner becoming too hot for the chimney space I have. Should I go through the trouble of blocking off the rest of the damper and putting in thermix or other insulation? I'm basically concerned that I see a lot of posts saying that yes this is ok, but other posts talking about horror stories of chimney fires and such a few years down the road.
I can provide pictures if needed.
I'm sure this has been discussed at length, but I am finding conflicting information, and am really looking for confirmation that I made the right choices.
I have an older heatmore/heatilator style fireplace (mid-1970's) that I believe was installed correctly at the time. I have a full masonry hearth/wall on the face of the unit, and a full masonry surround for that the unit is set into, full brick chimney with 8" x 8" clay liner that looked good when I inspected it - very little buildup. When I bought the house, it had an Enviro Empress FPI installed in the fireplace. I suspect the chimney was cleaned when the pellet stove was installed. It was direct vented into the flue with a damper blockoff plate. There was a lot of ash buildup on the damper itself, but very little creosote. The actual fireplace had not been used in many years (the home was my grandparents so I know this). That unit did not have the heat output I wanted, so I changed to a wood insert.
After researching, I settled on the Pacific Energy Super Insert LE. I did cut into the back wall/smoke shelf from the fireplace, and removed the damper to allow for a 6" uninsulated liner to be installed, based on posts and pictures I found here. I did not find any heat exchange tubes or blowers in the unit as others have described, only an empty cavity. My chimney measured out to 22'.
Going back through my manual one more time for the initial break in procedure, I noticed that the manual specifically states - "this unit shall not be installed in a factory-built fireplace."
Knowing that I do have a factory built fireplace, my question is this - will this unit be ok the way I have installed it? There are at least 2" of clear air space all inside the heatmore from the edges of the stove, and a full masonry surround around the unit. I haven't looked through the floor and ceiling cavities yet to check clearances to combustibles. I did all this work myself because my local installer was not available. I felt reasonably confident in my work, but am petrified of starting a chimney fire or otherwise damaging my home. I'm trying to save money, not die, and I am a complete rookie when it comes to wood burning.
After installation, I then read more about people being concerned about too much draft, but I don't really have a way to prevent that. Another concern is the uninsulated liner becoming too hot for the chimney space I have. Should I go through the trouble of blocking off the rest of the damper and putting in thermix or other insulation? I'm basically concerned that I see a lot of posts saying that yes this is ok, but other posts talking about horror stories of chimney fires and such a few years down the road.
I can provide pictures if needed.
