Please excuse any errors in protocol. From what I could see this is where I should be posting this thread. If not please advise. Having said that here is the background to my question.
After enjoying the look and warmth of wood heat from an open fireplace for a few years I'm beginning to tire of the shenanigans I go through to keep from losing all the 'conventional heat' up the chimney. The fireplace is located in the ~350sqft sunroom, with vaulted ceilings, of a well insulated modestly airtight T-shaped ranch.
When we are having a party I just turn the heat off and let the fireplace work it's charm.
When it's just us I installed double doors on the sunroom to isolate it from the rest of the house; obviously I close these; I put a chill chaser under the doors; I stuff rags in all four of the heat registers in the floor; I then tape a piece of cardboard over the return register; I check to see which way the wind is blowing and then I crack a window open on the Windward side of the room so as not to suck any smoke from the 18' chimney. I open the outside air intake and the damper in the flue and start the fire.
When the fire burns down I close the window, and I close the fresh air vent on the side of the Heatilator160.
First thing I do when I get up is to see if there's any burning embers remaining. If there are I scoop them up in a metal bucket, bring them outside, and wet them down. Now I can close the damper and unplug all the conventional heat vents. On really cold nights air comes down the chimney and cools this room off considerably before I get up. My wife doesn't understand the need for these measures and will sometimes leave the double doors open and run the dryer which is in the adjacent room or the bathroom fan or the stove top fan or all of the above causing some backdraft or smoke issues throughout the house.
The insurance company had no problem with the original fireplace insert and has no problem with us putting an insert with in it. I installed the original fireplace with a 20 1/4 inch slate hearth over a bed of fire rated insulation board. All conforming to the code of the time 2011.
I have 2 each 45° bends in my chimney flue. I plan on using SS straight pipe above them and flex pipe to pass through them down through the damper to the new insert after I thoroughly sweep the existing flu.
I would prefer a large ceramic glass door. I would also like it to extend into the room 2 inches, for the added heating benefits, but no more so that I can still maintain the 18 inch code for the hearth. I could extend the hearth if the benefits made it practical. I would like to be able to leave the double doors to the sunroom open without worrying about any heat loss or backdraft issues. In fact I would love it if it would help to lower my heating costs.
I am open to ideas as to what would be the best fireplace insert. I would like to spend less than 2k on the insert and I realize that the chimney liner/cap cost will need to be factored in additionally.
Would like to start on this as soon as possible. Any suggestions?
After enjoying the look and warmth of wood heat from an open fireplace for a few years I'm beginning to tire of the shenanigans I go through to keep from losing all the 'conventional heat' up the chimney. The fireplace is located in the ~350sqft sunroom, with vaulted ceilings, of a well insulated modestly airtight T-shaped ranch.
When we are having a party I just turn the heat off and let the fireplace work it's charm.
When it's just us I installed double doors on the sunroom to isolate it from the rest of the house; obviously I close these; I put a chill chaser under the doors; I stuff rags in all four of the heat registers in the floor; I then tape a piece of cardboard over the return register; I check to see which way the wind is blowing and then I crack a window open on the Windward side of the room so as not to suck any smoke from the 18' chimney. I open the outside air intake and the damper in the flue and start the fire.
When the fire burns down I close the window, and I close the fresh air vent on the side of the Heatilator160.
First thing I do when I get up is to see if there's any burning embers remaining. If there are I scoop them up in a metal bucket, bring them outside, and wet them down. Now I can close the damper and unplug all the conventional heat vents. On really cold nights air comes down the chimney and cools this room off considerably before I get up. My wife doesn't understand the need for these measures and will sometimes leave the double doors open and run the dryer which is in the adjacent room or the bathroom fan or the stove top fan or all of the above causing some backdraft or smoke issues throughout the house.
The insurance company had no problem with the original fireplace insert and has no problem with us putting an insert with in it. I installed the original fireplace with a 20 1/4 inch slate hearth over a bed of fire rated insulation board. All conforming to the code of the time 2011.
I have 2 each 45° bends in my chimney flue. I plan on using SS straight pipe above them and flex pipe to pass through them down through the damper to the new insert after I thoroughly sweep the existing flu.
I would prefer a large ceramic glass door. I would also like it to extend into the room 2 inches, for the added heating benefits, but no more so that I can still maintain the 18 inch code for the hearth. I could extend the hearth if the benefits made it practical. I would like to be able to leave the double doors to the sunroom open without worrying about any heat loss or backdraft issues. In fact I would love it if it would help to lower my heating costs.
I am open to ideas as to what would be the best fireplace insert. I would like to spend less than 2k on the insert and I realize that the chimney liner/cap cost will need to be factored in additionally.
Would like to start on this as soon as possible. Any suggestions?
