My First Wood Burning Fire Insert

[Leikeze]

Hi all,

After many hours of research on this site and manufacture sites I made a choice. I really appreciate all the people that participate in this forum. My need to research when first involved in something new is important to me.

I hope that this post helps others.

My wife and I bought our house in January 2014. Northern Ohio then had one of the coldest winters in 30 years, at least that is what they said. It was COLD. Negative in the double digits for 2 weeks straight with a low of -15. Electric and Gas was quite outrageous in price even with keeping it at 50deg.

Our thought during the winter was to get a wood stove to heat the house and to save money. But as well we both appreciate a fire and believe we will like the physical labor / chore that comes with it. I have chopped much wood in the past and her father use to heat the house with a Buck.

Our House: Built 1970's. 3 stories. Basement, 1st floor, 2nd floor.

The floor plan for the basement and the main floor is rectangular (see image below)

Walk out basement with 3 bedrooms, bathroom and large laundry area. Very typical layout.

1st floor has the fireplace at the end of the short side (Closer to the garage). Cathedral ceilings in the fire place room that also has a loft area above. Kitchen is open / connected to fireplace room and you can see the other end of the house from end to end. Problem is there are 4 Double sliding doors that are older and LEAKY! We will be sealing them for the winter as a quick fix until we have enough $$ to replace. I do not know how efficient the seal is but I hear it works well.

2nd floor is the loft that is open all sides and the master bedroom. One door leads to the master bedroom approx 40 ft away from the fireplace.

I attached the floor plan and some pictures.

Insert: First I knew nothing but that a Buck is a good stove. Found there were flush inserts by all manufactures. Realized flush inserts aren't quite as efficient and I like the thoughts about the "in case of a power outage" BUT the wife wants a contemporary look with a Flush insert. I like the flush insert but I'm more of a practical kind of person and tried to compromise with the most contemporary looking stoves. Didn't work.

We settled on the Regency CI2600 early on in the researching phase by looks and specs through the manufacture. I quoted 3 places and was going to make a move before I found this forum! From reviews it didn't seem like a secure enough purchase. I then spent many many hours reading and learned more than just about stoves.

We ended up purchasing the FPX Large Flush Hybrid-Fyre with the rectangular door and the shadow box! Good looking insert, suppose to put out really nice heat, large fire box, big viewing area, clean exhaust and can always get the "Green Start". Though reviews are saying not getting long burn times as the manufacture says but the 6-8 hours isn't terrible and subjective to all the elements in the equation. It was a high price but bargained a little and for $3,800 out the door I also got the liner kit and it comes with a moisture meter.

I will be doing the install myself and have a couple questions. These questions I'm on the fence about and might have read to many posts. haha.

Exposed chimney, 20ft height, There is enough room, Thoughts on if I should insulate the liner for 300-400$?

I have gas running in the fireplace. Anything special I need to do other than remove it? Anything cool I can do with it?

Thoughts on insulating behind the insert?

As far as wood - I don't have enough and may need to purchase. May have some at my parents that I need to investigate. Will be picking up the insert in about a week when the shadow box arrives.

Any comments on the whole setup?

Will get more pics of the house. I found the hardest thing to compare is the floor plan and what stove will work.

Check out the pics and please comment

Thank you
Leikeze

 

[mellow]

If you have room I would insulate the backside of that fireplace at a minimum with some 1/2" Durock and make a block off plate for the damper area.

Always a good thing Insulate the 6" liner, especially in exterior chimney (make sure you have a big enough flue to fit it)

Gas needs to be fully removed from firebox, I would cap it off as far away as possible for safety.

You have a moisture meter, you will need it if you are buying wood this time of year, anything below 25% (20% is best) taken on the face from a fresh split piece of wood will get you burning. You might want to look into biobricks or whatever FPX says is OK to burn in the stove as an alternative this year.

 

[begreen]

All good advice. Definitely insulate the liner and install a block-off plate at the damper. If possible insulate behind the insert as well. Have the gas line removed and capped down in the basement. For the patio doors consider an insulation kit from 3M
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Patio-Insulator-1-Patio/dp/B0000CBJ80

 

[Dmitry]

I just installed the same insert. Had same kind of fight with my wife about design being flush. Was kinda happy to give up.This thing is gorgeous. You can buy insulation kit for about $200 or so on ebay. I did .Decent quality. You gonna have some foil insulation left to insulate you insert as well. I put some roxul inside the box and stuffed it in the beginning and the end of the chmney as far as i could push it . My chimney is interior 15 '. Bought cord of wood from craiglist and regret it. Just like guys say here it's impossible to find really seasoned wood. The glass was all black, had to clean after each fire. Bought another cord after inspecting it, not complitely dry but big difference. bought 4 tons of biobrick, planning on mixing it. Having fun learning to burn.

 

[Dmitry]

Here is some pics

 

[Leikeze]

Great advice.

It's amazing how some stove installation companies say to insulate the liner and others not. Yet everyone here says yes to insulating. If it helps then it helps and should be recommended even if code doesn't say you need to IMO. Even the block off plate they said is unnecessary because the cap for the liner blocks any air flow.

I'm going to start hunting for an insulation kit. And for the block off plate I'll need to remove the damper door and take measurements. Luckily I work at a machine shop

For the patio doors consider an insulation kit from 3M
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Indoor-Patio-Insulator-1-Patio/dp/B0000CBJ80

Yep that is what I bought other than the brand name!

Here is some pics

- Insert looks AWESOME! Thanks for the encouragement!

Is there a certain type of Biobrick? Or is biobrick biobrick.

I also heard in Amish Country I may find some Slab. Cut off from the log to square it up. Anyone have any experience with this?

If you have room I would insulate the backside of that fireplace at a minimum with some 1/2" Durock

Durock Cement Board?

 

[Dmitry]

Bio brick is a brand name , I think they were first , there is other brands , I got hot bricks , it's local product from CT. It's called hardwood fire bricks, there is other brands on a market.

 

[begreen]

Biobrick is a brand name. They are a good product. There are others on the market like ECO etc. That are also good. Avoid products that have low compression. They will flakier and will puff up a lot when burned and leave a lot of ash.

Yep that is what I bought other than the brand name!

I like the 3M kit better than the Frost King. It seems to adhere better and longer and doesn't leave a glue residue when removed.

Yes, Durock NexGen cement board. It has an insulation value of R-.39. If you have more room then consider Micore or Roxul insulation board (Comfortboard = R 5 @ 1.5").

 

[mellow]

Durock Cement Board?

Yes, you can see my install here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...lating-my-fireplace.75755/page-2#post-1635483

 

[Leikeze]

Good Morning,

Yes, you can see my install here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...lating-my-fireplace.75755/page-2#post-1635483

I read your whole post on the insulation. Thank you was very helpful. Yesterday I stopped by Home Depot to get a visual on these products.

Now that I have my head fully wrapped around all of this I need to start comparing measurements. My plan if I have room (I have a pretty large fireplace) is to have Roxul on the sides, back and on top of the blocker plate. In front of the Roxul I'll put the Durock to insulate / hold in fibers. I'll make the blocker plate out steel. To cut the whole I'll wait for the liner so I know if the Inside Diameter or Outside diameter is 6".

Went to eBay and bought the insulation liner kit for $225.

Still haven't been on my roof to get a visual of the flue from the top. Definitely will be wearing my rock climbing harness and get a belay from my wife.

Temps are dropping and I WISH I had the insert already installed! Was 21deg this morning.