Folks,
We have a 3yr old house that came with a contractors favourite Lennox Superior BC-42-2 - which to be honest keeps us cold. It is an open fireplace with folding glass doors. Yeah it works great when it's been on for the whole day, but it eats logs by the basket load and freezes us when out of action.
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=314
Here's the installation manual
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/resources/manual/700026 C- BR-42_(II).pdf
We want to stay with wood, and want something that will help heat the house when on - but won't have a negative effort on our heatin costs on-or-off. We did a little research on the inserts approach, but found the Lennox won't take much more than a Regency I1200, and we'd have (what I'd term) an unsightly black panel all around the insert to cover the Lennox.
So, we're considering ripping out the existing ZC fireplace and putting in a Regency R90 unit. Which according to my research takes the same chimney (Security FTF8) as the existing unit. We also suffer from a cold down-draft, so I'm thinking that we can insulate around the existing recess and fit an outside air supply to avoid the new fire taking too much air from the inside.
http://www.regency-fire.com/Wood/Fireplace/R90/ - the one in the main picture - with the strange looking child
So now my main question is about clearances. I understand from the specs on the Regency that there must be 18" between the upper vent and the mantel, however, I'm not certain on the sides. The existing columns (if you can call them that) for the mantel are about 1" deep - so I'm assuming they are just nailed on. To replace the existing unit, I'm certain we'll rip our the existing mantel and columns, but is there a restriction on what can be put in their place - do I have to get non-combustible columns as they are positioned less than 1" from the ZC unit. I did accidentally chip the existing ones and they don't seem to be wood - perhaps plaster? FYI, We don't have any stonework or masonary around the existing unit.
Any thoughts on clearances and on the approach.
D.
We have a 3yr old house that came with a contractors favourite Lennox Superior BC-42-2 - which to be honest keeps us cold. It is an open fireplace with folding glass doors. Yeah it works great when it's been on for the whole day, but it eats logs by the basket load and freezes us when out of action.
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=314
Here's the installation manual
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/resources/manual/700026 C- BR-42_(II).pdf
We want to stay with wood, and want something that will help heat the house when on - but won't have a negative effort on our heatin costs on-or-off. We did a little research on the inserts approach, but found the Lennox won't take much more than a Regency I1200, and we'd have (what I'd term) an unsightly black panel all around the insert to cover the Lennox.
So, we're considering ripping out the existing ZC fireplace and putting in a Regency R90 unit. Which according to my research takes the same chimney (Security FTF8) as the existing unit. We also suffer from a cold down-draft, so I'm thinking that we can insulate around the existing recess and fit an outside air supply to avoid the new fire taking too much air from the inside.
http://www.regency-fire.com/Wood/Fireplace/R90/ - the one in the main picture - with the strange looking child
So now my main question is about clearances. I understand from the specs on the Regency that there must be 18" between the upper vent and the mantel, however, I'm not certain on the sides. The existing columns (if you can call them that) for the mantel are about 1" deep - so I'm assuming they are just nailed on. To replace the existing unit, I'm certain we'll rip our the existing mantel and columns, but is there a restriction on what can be put in their place - do I have to get non-combustible columns as they are positioned less than 1" from the ZC unit. I did accidentally chip the existing ones and they don't seem to be wood - perhaps plaster? FYI, We don't have any stonework or masonary around the existing unit.
Any thoughts on clearances and on the approach.
D.
