jsteele said:
hello all.....great site, I have been navigating for a few hours now and am looking for some help.....I recently bought an Avalon Pendleton stove and am going to use it as a woodburning insert in my existing masonry fireplace.....so a few things, I have purchased a stainless steel flex liner to run all the way to the top of the chimney, it seems that some recommend insulating the liner and some think that it is not needed, is it worth the extra cost to do this????? as I am remodeling my home and am on a bit of a budget.....next off, my unit did not come with a baffle blanket, that upon looking at the manual, sits on top of the baffle bricks, is this an integral part of the system that I must have??? And lastly, I am looking for some insight in attaching the liner to the insert....I attached pictures of the connecter piece, and the top of the insert.....it appears that there is a small metal tab inside the insert opening that does not allow the connecter to seat fully, could I just use some tin snips and cut a notch in the connecter??? if so, once it is seated fully, how should that joint be treated???? a silicone bead????
thanks
jeff
1. Liner insulation - This is a variable question, depends on a few issues...
A. What kind of shape is the existing chimney in? If it is already built up to NFPA 211 specs, in good repair, and otherwise safe, and the only reason you are lining is to meet cross sectional code requirements, then the insulation is optional. If the chimney is NOT already safe / NFPA 211 compliant, and the liner is intended to bring it into full compliance, then the insulation is REQUIRED as part of the UL code listing.
B. Is your chimney interior or exterior? Interior chimneys, especially those that go up through the center of the house, and exit near the peak, w/ only the required 3' of clearance sticking out, don't need insulation as much as chimneys that run up the outside of the house. Chimneys that go up just inside an exterior wall are a mixed bag.
C. How's your climate - the colder the climate, the more benefit you wil get from insulation.
D. How's the draft in the existing chimney? If you have a good strong draft already, you don't need insulation as much. If you have a chimney that has a weak draft, and especially one that tends to "reverse" and needs a lot of attention to get it drafting properly, then insulation will help a great deal...
Thus A is a code requirement issue that answers itself. The rest is more of a judgement thing, however we have had several users that started out not insulating, then added insulation later and all have reported it helped a great deal. I would say that you are better off with it than without it in almost all cases, but just how much better is variable.
Note that if you have a tall stack, you can still get a great deal of benefit by only insulating the top few feet, especially the part that sticks out of the house on an interior chimney - getting a short kit on a long insert can be a way to split the difference, or get some rock wool and just stuff it into the top few feet.
2. The Baffle blanket - This is an integral and important part of the stove, contact your dealer and / or the manufacturer and INSIST on a replacement, which you should have in place before operating the stove... You probably won't be able to get clean burning without it, and may cause damage to the other parts of the stove.
3. The attachment - see Elk's comments above...
Good luck with your install...
Gooserider
