Hi everyone,
We just bought a new house, built in 1981. It came with a Leyden Hearth Fireplace Insert.
[IMG=http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/2734/kv20111008090454.jpg][/IMG]
It's clear from reading the forums that a hearth like this won't be as efficient as a modern one, but even if this is heresy, I don't plan on heating with wood all the time yet but rather just augmenting the heat in the house on occasions while we watch TV.
In case you are wondering, I've got zero interest in converting this into a freestanding unit until the new bad future hits and natural gas hits $10 a therm. That just wouldn't work in this house.
So now the questions.
First, is it safe? We have the original documentation and it states very clearly that no chimney insert is to be used and none is present. Our chimney sweep pointed out that this is not up to code today for safety issues.
So that would would require an entirely new insert and given the design of the house, it'd be probably require a Morso 5660 insert and that's going to be around $6,000 if I'm lucky. It'd look better, sure, but again, unclear if its worth it for me. Maybe in a couple of years.
For argument's sake, we're willing to take the risk of a regular fireplace so is this less safe than a regular fireplace? Again, remember that we aren't running it 24/7. Maybe 3 hours a day, four-five days a week maximum.
So, if its not as safe as a regular fireplace, just how much heat would we be losing taking it out entirely? The fireplace would certainly look nice and cost nothing.
We just bought a new house, built in 1981. It came with a Leyden Hearth Fireplace Insert.
[IMG=http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/2734/kv20111008090454.jpg][/IMG]
It's clear from reading the forums that a hearth like this won't be as efficient as a modern one, but even if this is heresy, I don't plan on heating with wood all the time yet but rather just augmenting the heat in the house on occasions while we watch TV.
In case you are wondering, I've got zero interest in converting this into a freestanding unit until the new bad future hits and natural gas hits $10 a therm. That just wouldn't work in this house.
So now the questions.
First, is it safe? We have the original documentation and it states very clearly that no chimney insert is to be used and none is present. Our chimney sweep pointed out that this is not up to code today for safety issues.
So that would would require an entirely new insert and given the design of the house, it'd be probably require a Morso 5660 insert and that's going to be around $6,000 if I'm lucky. It'd look better, sure, but again, unclear if its worth it for me. Maybe in a couple of years.
For argument's sake, we're willing to take the risk of a regular fireplace so is this less safe than a regular fireplace? Again, remember that we aren't running it 24/7. Maybe 3 hours a day, four-five days a week maximum.
So, if its not as safe as a regular fireplace, just how much heat would we be losing taking it out entirely? The fireplace would certainly look nice and cost nothing.
