Will it be ok if i do this?
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the NCI is not ZC rated, can only be installed in a brick and mortar fireplace. truth be told, I have had quite a few calls abut installation of the NCI into ZC fireplaces, I have always told the potential customer NOT to buy my unit and try to install it in a ZC and recommended they look up regency as they make a unit that is listed for the application ( I guess I can suggest that they look at the super as its apparently ZC rated as well. I will as I usually do explain to the customer that the flue system in the ZC is not rated for an EPA unit as well as I have laid out
if I lose a sale and possibly save a house we all win, there are plenty of homes with brick fireplaces out there I can sell stoves for. I simply WILL NOT recommend one of my products for any application that could endanger a customer.
No but that doesnt mean that it is not something to be concerned about. I have never personally seen a stove set a floor on fire do to improper floor protection but that doesn't mean i am not going to worry about it.
I feel the same way about the work i do i can stand to loose a job here and there in order to make sure i don't do anything i feel is not right.
well yeah i have seen some charring to but you get my point. They are only required to support 100 lbs per sqft and that is way to close for my comfort. Then you have to take the framing into account as well because that framing was never meant to support the extra weight.
my wife has a friend who owns a pre-manufactured home over in Buckingham, she had a problem with a dryer vent which caused some damage to the subfloor in her laundry room, I went and looked at it not knowing the cause (and since she is my wife's "bestie" crawled under the house and found the dryer vent issue , seems the vent was routed inside a vapor barrier and had a hole in it dumping moisture in with the insulation which made the laundry room floor squishy. adjacent to the laundry room is the living room (I didn't design the house ok) in the living room was a ZC fireplace butted to the same wall. the floor under the ZC was sodden as well. I crawled out and checked the fireplace I found the floor of the fireplace was not level (bubble level) now had the fireplace had an insert put in it the whole thing would have been compromised. it was settling even without an insert in it.
took me 32 hours to fix it , had david mayberry (a friend who runs a chimney sweep service NFI certified) come over and check the fireplace out before she would use it again. had someone tried to put an insert in there it would have broken through the floor.
now im not saying this is typical, but...
The weight is distributed between the front frame and the ZC floor. An average ZC has about 3 sq ft of floor, 42" units more. If half the weight of a 400# stove is evenly distributed on the ZC floor it seems to be covered well. Also, one can't assume that all ZCs are built to the minimum standards. I agree there are some real cheapies out there and they should not have an insert installed. But there are also good units on the market that are notably better built. Perhaps this is why insert manufacturers approve their units to be installed only in certain ZC fireplaces?
I respect that you want to do the best for your customers. We will have to agree to disagree about the risks of this installation it seems.
Yes i guess so But i feel i have to assume they are built to minimum standards unless it is stated otherwise. And that 400 # stove getts allot heavier when it is full of wood.
I have been staying out of this one because I usually get slapped with my objections to stoves in ZC inserts. But this is a GAS ZC. It ain't even spec'ed for inserting a wood burning appliance into it lately. Or the heat generated by it, much less the weight issue. A wood stove is one hell of a lot heavier than a gas log set and burner.
Sure, it has done OK so far with the PE, but...
Slap away.
Sure, it has done OK so far with the PE, but...
Slap away.
It's unlikely that you will find that info. However, a big company like Travis or H&H can afford to dissect a ZC to find out and approve installation if satisfied.
Yes, I questioned this on my first post and webby pointed out is was a wood unit. Point taken, it would be good to know the make and model of the ZC just to be sure before proceeding.
This is what it really boils down to. There is no way a ZC fireplace manufacturer will spend a million bucks testing a unit that retails for $1,000, just so an insert from another company can be used in it. But an outfit like Travis sure will! The will profit hugely! There is no additional profit available for the ZC manufacturer after the initial sale, so therefore testing stops. After that, big stove manufacturers and liner manufacturers take over. They test it and approve it. If you can't trust that, then why trust any other tested and listed documentation?
I would trust it if it was ul tested and listed with the specific model zc that i was dealing with. If they do not test with that model all the testing in the world means nothing.
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