Hello everyone. This is my first post in these forums, but I have been lurking for the past few years looking for ideas on a new fire burning insert. When we moved into our current house there was an existing Squire wood insert in the fireplace. It looks like it had been well used, but not well maintained. I am not sure on the exact manufacture date or model of the Squire, but I know it is the "bigger one". We had a chimney sweep come out a few years back to clean and inspect the chimney before we used it. He carried out over three 5 gallon buckets of creosote. There was apparently a chimney fire in there at one time, so he actually had to break out the masonry flue to finish the cleaning. He told us the existing clay liner is shot and would need to be replaced.
A bit of info on the house. It is a ranch with a full finished basement built in 1977. Total sq ft is around 3000 (both floors). The fireplace is in the basement on the east side of the house with an exposed brick chimney that is around 24' tall. The flue tiles are 13" x 13" clay. The firebox opening is roughly 40"w x 25" tall x 21" deep. The existing insert has a very large trim kit to cover the large opening. The fireplace also has the "heatilator" vents in the four corners of the firebox as well. There is a cold air return vent for the HVAC in the ceiling of the basement that sits right above the fireplace. My hope was to run the fan only on the HVAC unit to circulate warm air through the house.
I have started looking into new inserts when I found a couple of threads on the old Squire units. I am now wondering if I even need to replace it. Would it be better to refurb my existing unit? I know the door gaskets will need to be replaced, but what other items are typical? I would need a new SS flue liner no matter if I went new or kept my old unit, so that is a known cost. From what I have read, the Squire uses an 8" flue, which seems to be one of the more common sizes even on newer units. I would also be building/installing some kind of blocking plate to place at the bottom of the chimney. I hear that Squires are pretty good units (my parents still are using the one in their house that is over 30 years old) and did well with a catalytic unit from Nu-Tec (can't find much info on these though).
Just on a side note, a couple of new inserts I was looking at locally at a Lopi Freedom Bay (non cat), and a Buck model 91 (cat model).
Feel free to comment on any of this. I am just trying to figure out which road to take. Thanks!
A bit of info on the house. It is a ranch with a full finished basement built in 1977. Total sq ft is around 3000 (both floors). The fireplace is in the basement on the east side of the house with an exposed brick chimney that is around 24' tall. The flue tiles are 13" x 13" clay. The firebox opening is roughly 40"w x 25" tall x 21" deep. The existing insert has a very large trim kit to cover the large opening. The fireplace also has the "heatilator" vents in the four corners of the firebox as well. There is a cold air return vent for the HVAC in the ceiling of the basement that sits right above the fireplace. My hope was to run the fan only on the HVAC unit to circulate warm air through the house.
I have started looking into new inserts when I found a couple of threads on the old Squire units. I am now wondering if I even need to replace it. Would it be better to refurb my existing unit? I know the door gaskets will need to be replaced, but what other items are typical? I would need a new SS flue liner no matter if I went new or kept my old unit, so that is a known cost. From what I have read, the Squire uses an 8" flue, which seems to be one of the more common sizes even on newer units. I would also be building/installing some kind of blocking plate to place at the bottom of the chimney. I hear that Squires are pretty good units (my parents still are using the one in their house that is over 30 years old) and did well with a catalytic unit from Nu-Tec (can't find much info on these though).
Just on a side note, a couple of new inserts I was looking at locally at a Lopi Freedom Bay (non cat), and a Buck model 91 (cat model).
Feel free to comment on any of this. I am just trying to figure out which road to take. Thanks!