Insulation necessary? Fireplace never used and flue tiles from 1960 are practically brand new.

[Brian26]

Just purchased a home from my great uncle. He was the original owner. He never used the fireplace. He had the flue capped as he said he had squirrel and bird issue not long after he purchased the house. So basically the the top has been capped and there was never a fire since 1959.

I had the chimney inspected by 2 companies in preparation for my insert install. Both companies were literally blown away at how good of shape the clay liner and masonry were. They both did a camera inspection and said it literally looked like the day it was built.

The fireplace flue is 7 x 11. I have done tons of research on here and purchased a 6" liner and all connectors. I will be installing a Drolet 1800i insert. I can't insulate the liner due to the flue size. The chimney is on the exterior of the house but is in a room with catherdral ceilings so one side of it is completely exposed inside the house.

What are your thoughts? I have been doing tons of research on here and this forum has been a invaluable resource.

These are pictures of the same house in the neighborhood for sale to show you the layout. I do not have pictures of my house on this computer.

 

[BrotherBart]

I think if you stuff the top and bottom of the chimney around the liner with Roxul mineral wool insulation and install a block off plate at the bottom the column of heat around the liner will do the job just fine. My two flues are pretty much just like those and they do just fine. Of course I am in the Tropics of Virginia. But five degrees outside sometimes here is the same as five degrees in VT more times.

I think you are really gonna like that insert.

 

[stoveguy13]

Ideally it is best to insulate the liner. how tall is the chimney? if the chimney is not extremely short i would try it with out the insulation. worse case is you can go back and used i pour in insulation later if you want to.

 

[BrotherBart]

I have a sawbuck that says that fireplace chimney in the pic is dang near 30 feet tall. Gonna draft like a Hoover with a liner. The other flue is probably the dino burner in the basement.

 

[fossil]

Do as BB says, I think you'll be just fine. Rick

 

[dafattkidd]

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on the new house. Being that the chimney houses two flues be aware of the heights of the chimney caps. Codes usually call for the heights to be off set by a specified difference. Should be a fun winter! Get that wood supply in shape. The new inserts require dry wood. Good luck!

 

[Brian26]

Thanks guys. Yeah the oil flue is next to the fireplace flue and is 7x7 and in good shape. Not sure on the spacing between the two. For this winter I was going to just stuff the top and bottom with Roxul and install a block off plate. I would like to insulate the liner but with the new house the finances are low right now. I was thinking maybe next year doing a pour in loose insulation. Going to see how this winter goes and plan on keeping a good eye on the liner.

I have 4 cords of well seasoned wood. I have a friend in the landscaping business and he hooked me up. My moisture meter showed everything was 15=20%.

Does anyone else have the Drolet 1800? The firebox is a nice size at I believe 2.2 cu ft. I can load N/S at 16 inches. Looks to be a good size. The few reviews out there are great but my serial number was only in the 300's so it looks like they haven't sold that many. Appears to be well built as far as the steel and welds go. Very well written manual too. From Quebec Canada where I assume they know how to build stoves.

 

[BrotherBart]

SBI builds the Drolet and it is a solid stove and they have been building stoves for a long time. No worries. Around 450 pounds of heater if I remember right.

 

[Brian26]

So the stove is installed. I am blown away on the heat output of the Drolet 1800i. First test burn was a bunch of splits of seasoned red oak early this morning. I monitored the temps carefully. The fire died down and the blower was still going 4 hours later. It through out a tremendous amount of heat off just a few pieces of wood.

Only issue I had with the install was I am about 2 inches back in the fireplace and can't put the surround in. Might just leave it.

Very satisfied with everything. One thing I did notice messing around with a IR thermometer is the first foot or so coming out of the stove the liner is quite cool? Showing around 250-300 degrees. Then gets very hot above that. Does that mean my draft is good?

Supposed to be in the 30's and 40's tonight here in CT and plan on a bigger burn tonight.

 

[BrotherBart]

Ir thermos aren't accurate on reflective surfaces like a liner.