Newbie Install

[W.B.]

I recently found this site and while I think it's a great place, I must admit that I'm in information overload at the moment.

I'm buying a home with a fireplace that needs relining. I love the idea of heating the whole house with wood, so I've decided to install an insert as opposed to just relining the inefficient fireplace. I can get a great deal on a Summers Heat SNC-13I so that is what I've decided to go with. I believe that it will provide plenty of heat for the 1100sqft bungalow. Am I right with that assumption?

Also, after reading through the wikis, it seems as though I have a heatform. Are there any special considerations when installing the insert into a heatform style firebox? I know that I'll need to cut away some of the steel to make room for the insert, but I'm not sure what else I should be looking for. Can I insulate behind the steel firebox?

How about the liner? The chimney is on an exterior wall (north facing). I will definitely be putting in a block off plate, but should I be insulating the liner as well? I've gotten conflicting information from my local chimney guys.

I plan on reading everything I can find on here, but in the meantime I hope you guys can get me started in right direction. Thanks.

 

[branchburner]

Good idea to insulate liner in exterior chimney.

 

[summit]

Good idea to insulate liner in exterior chimney.

+1 - you should tyry to insulate outside applications whenever possible.

 

[mjcarrjr]

What's the advantage of insulating a liner in an exterior mason chimney? Had a insert installed in March, and the recommendation was a SS liner to the to, but it's not insulated. how does it help? Apologies for the second 'newbie' question.

 

[weatherguy]

Exterior chimneys are colder plus a lot of heat will be absorbed by the masonry. You want the heat to stay in the house and in the liner as best as possible. Best way to achieve this is to insulate the liner and put a block off plate. Also some guys are talking about reflecting the heat from inside the fireplace back into the house instead os being absorbed by the masonry to the outside.

 

[W.B.]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like insulating the liner will be the way to go. My main concern now is with clearance. When I had the chimney inspected, the sweep (who was originally going to be my installer for the insert) said that my flue tiles were 8x13. He didn't think that putting a 6" liner with wrapped insulation was going to work out so well. He actually suggested that insulation wasn't even really needed, but we could go that route if I was concerned. If I can't get the 6" to fit should I try going with a 5.5" liner with the wrapped insulation, or is a pour-in mix like vermiculite with the 6" liner a better option?

I believe that some of my flue tiles are damaged, so my main concern is safety. I want to make sure I'm doing this right.