New guy needs some advice.

[Jerrshoe]

Hey everyone. First I just wanted to say how much I appreciate this forum. I've just recently joined, but already found quite a bit of useful advice. So let me get to my problem.

I have a wood burning fireplace with and 11.5 inch square chimney that is located in the center of the house. I love it, but it's completely inefficient. Even though it has a blower that pushes hot air out of the top of the fireplace box, I still feel like most of my heat is escaping through the chimney. To address this, I've acquired a nice sized Kodiak stove.

I've measured the stove and have it so that it will fit 1/4 in the fireplace and 3/4 on the brick ledge in front. I want to put a liner in to ensure the draft is good and keep it safe. It's an 8inch hole in the back of the stove, so I understand I'll need an 8 inch liner.

My problem is that I will need to find a way to not only get the liner past the damper, but also past the piping for the blower. I understand that some of these liners can be manipulated and flex around these obstacles, I'm just not sure I can get an 8inch diameter pipe through space that small.

What should I do? Should I cut everything out? Can I cut through a blower pipe and cap it somehow?

Thanks for the help!

 

[begreen]

This sounds like it might be a heatilator fireplace with heat exchanger tubes at the damper area. Is that correct? If so one or two will need to be cut to clear the liner. The damper may need to be cut to clear also. This means the fireplace can no longer be used without the insert. A plaque stating this should be affixed to the back of the fireplace wall.

 

[Jerrshoe]

Yeah...looks like you're right. I'm not sure i'm willing to make that kind of commitment. If for some reason I don't like the woodstove idea, I'd like to be able to go back to using the fireplace.

Anything I can do to help with efficiency that you know of? New doors make a difference?

 

[jophysx]

The difference between an open fireplace and an insert or stove is HUGE! If you are interested in heating efficiency, you won't regret cutting out that heatilator .

 

[Poindexter]

Whatever begreen says, do that. I had a heatilator, it was put in as the house was built. The only thing left of my Heatilator today is a straight shot from the collar of my freestanding wood stove, through the ceiling framing, through the roof framing to the outdoors.

No elbows in my new stove pipe is the best thing I have to say about my old Heatilator.

 

[Jerrshoe]

So, maybe this is a horrible idea, but what is stopping me from cutting one of the three pipes from the Heatilator, capping it, and using the other two to circulate heat as a blower to compliment my insert/woodstove hybrid?

Is that possible? it would be useful.

 

[begreen]

Nothing. Though heat output may be minimal. It's not the same as having direct contact with hot flames off of a fire.

 

[Jerrshoe]

Great...I'll try it out and see how it works out.

 

[Rearscreen]

My heatilator worked great - for all the mice who built their homes in the chambers. It took an hour to clean it all out. Then I put a real heater in and used the chamber area for a fresh air intake to the woodstove by snaking flex pipe through it.