Please help me in finding an insert!

[Tolyn Ironhand]

If you saw my earlier post, you already know we are looking for a wood insert for a older 70's brick and block fireplace. I have been trudging through the net and am having a hard time finding inserts that have OAK's. Either manufactures do not list the installation manuals so I can see if there is an OAK available or they just don't list it in the features. (which is odd because I would think that would be a good selling point) So far I have found two brands. Vermont Castings, and Pacific Energy. If you have an insert or you know of one that uses an OAK could you please list it. Just the manufactures name is just fine. I can go from there. Thanks

Is there any reason they don't have an OAK that just drops down the existing chimney along side the liner? Seams like that would be an easy way to do it.

 

[karl]

It would be an easy way to do things, except it woud naturally draft up when it needed to flow down. Also you run the risk of pulling exhaust back through it.

 

[Tolyn Ironhand]

Not trying to argue here just thinking of ideas.

What about if you (they) installed a small fan to induce air into the firebox? It could be just like a high efficiency furnace (or a pellet stove) where a fan pulls the air in. And just like a furnace you just keep the exhaust higher than the intake.

 

[Corey]

The fan would probably work fine - until you had a power outage with a full load of wood. Pellet stove or gas furnace has sensors (and additional circuitry which can be prone to failure - see Pellet Mill forum) and they can shut down the fuel in pretty short order. A load of wood is not so easy to do that. Actually, you'd probably want a draft inducer on the flue...there are real problems with fans pumping air 'into' the stove...such as pressure balance issues and the possibility of pumping smoke and CO into the house.

Unfortunately, with a brick fireplace, you would either be chiseling a hole in the brick, or having pipes run across the hearth. If you're really lucky and have an ash dump built into the floor of the fireplace firebox, and an opening outside somewhere, you might be able to rig up something custom.

Assuming the house is the same age as the FP (70's) is there some special reason for the OAK? 70's houses would usually be 'loose' enough that draft shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Tolyn Ironhand]

I didn't think of a power outage. Humm...I'll keep thinking. But as far as pumping smoke into the house, are inserts combustion chambers sealed (more or less) when they use OAKs?

My sort of plan right now is to cut a hole through the side of the block/brick to feed in a pipe for outside air. I have access to some very large tools to get this done. Or I can just rent a core drill if needed. The back side of the chimney is inside a small room that has a propane furnace. This room is heated. I would then just run the pipe along the wall about 6' to the outside wall and terminate it there. There is an ash dump in the fireplace box (which I just found last year after giving the fireplace a good cleaning) but the odd thing is I have no idea where it goes. It was plum full of ash. This fireplace is in a basement that is 1/2 below grade.

Draft is not the problem since right now my fireplace drafts like crazy which is why I put a roof top damper on. It just seams that using air, that I paid to heat, for combustion is a waste.