I've been lurking around this forum for the last couple weeks since I bought a cheap, used insert. I could find a UL plate on it until I started taking it apart and found it behind the blower grill. It's a funky Preway brand "masonry fireplace insert" (MI-2842).
Through a bit of research I've discovered that Preway is long out of business and was nothing special when it was in business. The insert is just a two-layered metal box with no firebrick of any sort. I liked the idea of the blower because if my wife could feel warm air coming out of it, she'd at least start thinking she was warmer. After reading all of the negative things about using a preway insert in 2010, I was going to get rid of it, but I thought I'd better try it out first. The wood I had is some cedar decking, a couple cedar 4x4, a few dry pine logs and some indonesian hardwood that's about 25 years old. Terrible firewood. Anyway, I got a decent fire going, and with the blower on, the thing was really giving off heat. It brought the room temperature up to 65 from 50 degrees in a little over an hour, after using two space heaters all day that could barely keep up. (it's about 25 outside). So now I have a dilemma. I have a course for free firewood when I need it.
I don't expect anyone to give me a definitive answer here about what is safe, but I know very little about heating with wood.
Assuming I get the chimney cleaned:
-Is it safe to use this without any pipe? Currently the flue in my fireplace and the flue in the insert line right up. Can I seal the back of the insert against the brick and just let the draft do its work? I didn't have any issues with smoke in my test run, it was sucked right up the chimney.
-Can I add firebrick to the walls of this thing? Does that make any sense.
-I'm just trying to have an extra heat source for really cold days and when the power goes out, as all my other heat is electric. This beats the pants of my existing masonry fireplace, right?
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Through a bit of research I've discovered that Preway is long out of business and was nothing special when it was in business. The insert is just a two-layered metal box with no firebrick of any sort. I liked the idea of the blower because if my wife could feel warm air coming out of it, she'd at least start thinking she was warmer. After reading all of the negative things about using a preway insert in 2010, I was going to get rid of it, but I thought I'd better try it out first. The wood I had is some cedar decking, a couple cedar 4x4, a few dry pine logs and some indonesian hardwood that's about 25 years old. Terrible firewood. Anyway, I got a decent fire going, and with the blower on, the thing was really giving off heat. It brought the room temperature up to 65 from 50 degrees in a little over an hour, after using two space heaters all day that could barely keep up. (it's about 25 outside). So now I have a dilemma. I have a course for free firewood when I need it.
I don't expect anyone to give me a definitive answer here about what is safe, but I know very little about heating with wood.
Assuming I get the chimney cleaned:
-Is it safe to use this without any pipe? Currently the flue in my fireplace and the flue in the insert line right up. Can I seal the back of the insert against the brick and just let the draft do its work? I didn't have any issues with smoke in my test run, it was sucked right up the chimney.
-Can I add firebrick to the walls of this thing? Does that make any sense.
-I'm just trying to have an extra heat source for really cold days and when the power goes out, as all my other heat is electric. This beats the pants of my existing masonry fireplace, right?
Any thoughts? Thanks!