Country Comfort Fireplace InsertAlso

[KSm]

We recently purchased a house that had a fireplace insert, a Country Comfort. We have always had an insert and parents before us. This one is a little confusing. We tried to have a first fire in in a couple of days ago and all we got was smoke. We don't know the model number. I'm sure it is a late 70s or 80s model. and it appears to be in very good shape. We checked the chimney and it and the stove were very clean. The stove appeared to be missing a bit of fire brick on either side of the door, right and left so we added that along with fireplace cement. I hope that was not an intentional hole for drafting purposes. It has a rod above the door that we assume is the damper. We tried pushed in and out and it smokes both ways. I saw on another forum that someone thought their damper had come detached from this rod, but this one has resistance. Is anyone familiar with this stove, its model number or at least which way to push the damper and how to make it draw and not smoke. Also. we are not sure if it has a catalytic converter.

 

[begreen]

Welcome. Some pictures will help. Was the installation professionally inspected? If so, does the insert have a liner or is it installed without any physical connection to the flue system of the fireplace?

 

[KSm]

Welcome. Some pictures will help. Was the installation professionally inspected? If so, does the insert have a liner or is it installed without any physical connection to the flue system of the fireplace?

I tried to post a photo.. It wouldn't upload. Possibly too big or ?? I will try again.

 

[begreen]

Try to size it to 1000 pixels across or less.

 

[KSm]

I finally remembered to check back here since it finally cold again. I think I will remove a bit of the fire brick and cement I installed.

 

[TMG]

My grandparents have a version of that insert with smaller rectangle windows across the front. It’s about as old as me, I think they got it right before I was born… There is a baffle plate in the top that has holes in the middle of it for secondary burn air and insulation board on the top of it. Growing up I remember helping him pull out the plate to clean it and all around the top of the stove to get the soot buildup off, he would replace the insulation if needed as well. It wasn’t hard to do, I think only one bolt up in the middle held it in. Not keeping it clean and not sweeping the liner out would make smoke spill out of the box when opening the doors. He would sweep the liner out with the plate out otherwise the soot would fall on top of the plate. I think pulling the damper lever out should always open the damper up to the flue. I think their stove is still in their house being used by my uncle, 37 years later. If yours is catalytic, I would think that the combustor will be found up by or under that plate. But seems unlikely to me that yours would be catalytic being that old of a stove. I am not sure when catalytic stoves came about. With the damper open the smoke should “bypass” the combustor and go straight up the flue. You’ll want to run the stove that way(damper open) until it gets completely hot then you will shut the damper completely to force the smoke and heat through the catalytic element. Which then should glow and get very very hot! Also most catalytic stoves will have a small hole by the damper rod to put a thermometer in to monitor the catalyst temp. If the hole has never been used then it will have a little metal plug in it you’ll have to pop out. My high valley insert has two catalytic elements each with their own hole for a thermometer…. The thermometer will have to be purchased, it will have a long rod that slides into the opening and goes above the catalyst. Mine “take off” around 400-600 degrees and burn at around 1200-1600 degrees each 😳!
If you find out yours is a catalytic stove then I suggest looking up and reading about how they operate.