Need Help Selecting Fireplace Insert For Large Home

[jdlev]

Hi Folks,

I've spent way too much time trying to find the right insert for our home - a 3 store 4100 sq ft propane guzzling ice cube. After we bought the house last November, we were pretty shocked by our propane bills being $600+ Dec-Mar and I've been looking at inserts ever since. After combing through every website from northerntool.com to efireplacestore.com to craigslist and back again...we though we'd found the perfect insert in the Osburn 2400...until we found that the back of our fireplace was 1.5" too small *sigh*. So...new friends at hearth.com...I seek your wisdom.

Here's what I'm looking for in order of importance:
1) Prefer an insert that can output 90-100k BTUs...but if our chimney can't accommodate such an insert, I've seen many that provide 70,000+ BTUs that will fit.
2) Budget of $3000 for self installation w/ fireplace liner
3) Qualifies for $300 EPA tax credit
4) Blower that can circulate at least 120 CFM and preferably has a quiet fan/motor
5) Easy load/ash cleanout (which I don't know much about)
6) Bay window preferred or large ceramic window will do if bay windows have some drawbacks


Fireplace Dimensions:

Front: 33.5" wide x 27.75" tall x 25" deep (straight to back)
Back: 27.5" wide x 27.5" deep (along wall)...narrows towards the top towards the flue
Flue: 27" x 11"...flue door looks to be 26.5" x 5.5"
The fireplace is all brick masonry.

I had a few questions:

1) I plan to use a 6" insert...with the flue door opening only being 5.5" wide, will I have to cut out the cast iron flue door frame or is there some type of adapter I could use or should I just bend the pipe through the opening?

2) We have 2 small (and curious) boys. We have a fireplace screen right now...would that provide sufficient protection to keep grabby hands from touching hot surfaces?

3) I've seen various chimney liners. While at efireplacestores.com, they offered a liner that was $550 which seemed pricey to me. eBay has various liners for less than 300 bucks that are the same specs (6" x 25'). There's even this one for less than $150 that looks similar to others:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WESTAFLEX-9...964529?hash=item58e5873171:g:UDAAAOSwZJBX-8HS

Is this liner junk, or are others just overpriced?

4) What is the point of insulating the fireplace liner? Seems like a waste of money once the heat leaves the insert?

5) I have a huge supply of infested pines - loblolly pines overrun by pine bark beetles. I've read pine is the last thing you should burn and other people who say it's no big deal. I planned on burning the pine w/ a mix of other hardwoods. Is that ok, or should I just not burn pine at all?

6) Are there any fireplace insert features that are must have's that I've forgotten or that you'd highly recommend?

Thanks so much for your help with any advice and tips you can provide

 

[blacktail]

An insulated liner keeps your flue gasses hotter which means better draft and less buildup in your liner. It also gives you more protection if you have a chimney fire.
Yes, you can burn pine. In some places it's all they have.

 

[begreen]

Take max btu output numbers with a grain of salt. You most likely will not see them. Don't go cheap on the chimney liner, it is infrastructure. A heavy duty liner will last longer. It probably will need to be insulated unless the chimney has 2" clearance from combustibles at all points. Insulation is both code safety insurance but it also improves draft in milder weather and can keep the flue cleaner by keeping the flue gases hotter.

Plan on cutting out a section of the damper to clear the liner. Pine is fine as long as it is fully seasoned before burning. It tends to burn hot and quickly. Forget the ash cleanout, they rarely exist on inserts.

If the fireplace lacks depth only at the top of the insert back then the brick can be ground out there to fit. Taking out 1.5-2" is ok. Though the Osburn 2400 insert is only 16 7/8" deep behind the surround so double check depth at 23" high (insert height in back).

 

[bholler]

1) I plan to use a 6" insert...with the flue door opening only being 5.5" wide, will I have to cut out the cast iron flue door frame or is there some type of adapter I could use or should I just bend the pipe through the opening?

cut the damper frame to allow for the liner. You can squish the liner but you dont want to it hurts draft and can cause a weak point in the liner

2) We have 2 small (and curious) boys. We have a fireplace screen right now...would that provide sufficient protection to keep grabby hands from touching hot surfaces?

I can almost guarantee they will not touch it wood stoves are hot enough they will feel the heat long before they touch it.

3) I've seen various chimney liners. While at efireplacestores.com, they offered a liner that was $550 which seemed pricey to me. eBay has various liners for less than 300 bucks that are the same specs (6" x 25'). There's even this one for less than $150 that looks similar to others:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WESTAFLEX-9...964529?hash=item58e5873171:g:UDAAAOSwZJBX-8HS

Is this liner junk, or are others just overpriced?

To me $550 is an extremely cheap liner and I would question its quality much less a $300 one

4) What is the point of insulating the fireplace liner? Seems like a waste of money once the heat leaves the insert?

The point is two fold it keeps the temps up inside the liner better so you get less accumulation of creosote and better draft. It also protects your house in the case of a chimney fire. The fact is that the vast majority of masonry chimney are not built to code with the proper clearance to combustibles and insulating the liner makes it so that is not a problem.

5) I have a huge supply of infested pines - loblolly pines overrun by pine bark beetles. I've read pine is the last thing you should burn and other people who say it's no big deal. I planned on burning the pine w/ a mix of other hardwoods. Is that ok, or should I just not burn pine at all?

Pine is like any other wood if it is dry it is fine to burn. But it will burn hot and fast. It does not have nearly the btus per piece of wood that hardwoods have.