I am in the process of replacing a wood burning stove. The old stove we had was an Avalon and it was installed 18 years ago into an existing fireplace. A chimney liner was installed with a cap at the top of the masonry chimney. The chimney liner was not insulated and there was no block off plate installed at the bottom of the chimney. We used this to heat our house with good results. We decided to update the fireplace and stove. We removed the Avalon stove and are replacing it with an Equinox. We never had much creosote buildup in the chimney there was very little when the chimney liner was removed.
Since the Equinox requires an 8†flue versus 6†for the Avalon, the chimney liner is being replaced. We are using the same installer as the Avalon and he wants to install the chimney as before – a cap at the top only, no insulation and no bottom block off. It is an interior masonry chimney that passes thought the attic, but above about 6’ it is in the attic and thermally separate from the living space. We live in a moderate climate in the central coast of California, but the temps do dip into the 20’s during the winter. So here (finally) are my questions
1.Does insulating the chimney liner provide benefit beyond creosote reduction? Is it recommended for my installation?
2.Is a block off plate at the bottom the chimney desirable? I figured that it will be a benefit when there is no fire but it will block heat that is transfer from the chimney liner when a fire. What makes the most sense?
Thank you for taking the time to read.
Since the Equinox requires an 8†flue versus 6†for the Avalon, the chimney liner is being replaced. We are using the same installer as the Avalon and he wants to install the chimney as before – a cap at the top only, no insulation and no bottom block off. It is an interior masonry chimney that passes thought the attic, but above about 6’ it is in the attic and thermally separate from the living space. We live in a moderate climate in the central coast of California, but the temps do dip into the 20’s during the winter. So here (finally) are my questions
1.Does insulating the chimney liner provide benefit beyond creosote reduction? Is it recommended for my installation?
2.Is a block off plate at the bottom the chimney desirable? I figured that it will be a benefit when there is no fire but it will block heat that is transfer from the chimney liner when a fire. What makes the most sense?
Thank you for taking the time to read.
