Pointless???

[CodyWayne718]

I'd like to start by sayin hello from a newbie! Seems like a lot of info to take in here....I was just wondering if it is pointless to purchase a wood burning fireplace insert unless it is installed by a pro? Read somewhere that if it werent installed by a pro then it wouldnt heat anything, jus wonderin what you all thought and if it would be alright to do yourself.....I am not a pro when it comes to stoves by NO means and not tryin to sound big headed but it doesnt seem like it would be that hard, am i wrong?? Thanks for any kind of input or advice

 

[jtp10181]

You are looking at inserts, so you have a fireplace already?

They are not that hard to install, getting the liner down and connected to the insert is the hardest part.

A lot of people would have a pro do it just for the peace of mind that its done right, unfortunately not all "pros" do it right. Also seems the more south you go, the harder it is to find someone who knows anything about fireplaces.s

 

[dave11]

If you're handy, willing to learn, and careful, you can do it yourself. People here will help you with advice.

In fact, if you do it yourself, you can make sure it gets done the right way. Hiring someone else to do it, even a pro, is no guarantee you'll get it done properly. There are folks on this site that know far, far more, most likely, than any of your local pros.

 

[drdoct]

Not sure where you read that, but there is no magic going on that a 'pro' could tap into. Seriously, be sure to read up here a whole lot and then take all the reviews and questions that you've lurked through and you'll be armed with much more knowledge than most stove shops. Mine took about 2 hours by myself. Heats like a charm. Unless the stove shop is dropping 4 cords of 18% locust, your results will be the same. Wet wood equals not much heat.... dry wood, awesome heat AND longer burns.

 

[CodyWayne718]

You are looking at inserts, so you have a fireplace already?

They are not that hard to install, getting the liner down and connected to the insert is the hardest part.

A lot of people would have a pro do it just for the peace of mind that its done right, unfortunately not all "pros" do it right. Also seems the more south you go, the harder it is to find someone who knows anything about fireplaces.s

Yes, I already have a fireplace, i read that not all inserts have to have the liner go all the way to the top, is this true?? Thats the part I told my g/f i would be lost on was connecting that pipe after it's already in the fireplace lol.....thanks everyone for the fast responses.....

 

[jtp10181]

You don't HAVE to run the full liner on most inserts. Doesn't mean you shouldn't. I ill let others explain, I am tired and going to bed and I have explained this far too many times on here already. In fact I just saw a thread about a Quad insert with a stubby liner, something about 9 gallons of creosote he pulled out of the flue after pulling the insert out to clean it.

 

[Nic36]

You have received good advice already. If you look around on this forum long enough, you will start realizing that not all "professional" installations are in fact very professional. Just because they claim to be professional doesn't mean they are. From my experience in life, most professionals I have had do something for me actually did a very unprofessional job. But I have rotten luck anyway.

Unless you just have to have an insert soon, my advice would be to read, read and read a bit more on this forum. Do a keyword search to find things you want to know about. After a while, you will get a good feel on what needs to be done to install an insert just by reading posts from other peoples' questions. You can always ask questions too.

I can't really answer your questions on installing an insert since I have no experience with one. There are plenty here that can though.

You should seriously consider doing the installation yourself. Not only will you save some bucks, you will have a better understanding of how things work and you will know it is done right. Even if you don't install it yourself, your gained knowledge will work in your favor if you hire someone to do it.

 

[par0thead151]

i went with a pro, so they will be held accountable if something goes wrong.
my insurance co may not pay out if i installed it myself, and it burned down my house.
i will still hate the install co for killing my great dane, but at least i will have the means to buy a new home, vs being homeless because i wanted to save a couple hundred dollars.

 

[Corriewf]

Buddy of mine installed my insert. It may not be perfect, but he said it was the same way the pros installed his a few months ago. It was pretty simple. Liner down the chimney, tighten a couple screws to the rain cap. There was an adapter that came with my 5.5 liner to make it fit the 6 inch stove opening. Stuffed a few sheets of insulation at the top of the chimney and at the bottom. It isn't as nice as having the entire liner insulated but it's and inside chimney. The hardest part was getting the liner down the chimney. We had to ovalize the liner because there was a lot of mortar inbetween each piece of the terracotta.

 

[CodyWayne718]

yeah thats all im sorta worried about is gettin everything down the chimney and doin it right so i dont have any problems, i have been sittin here for prolly 5 hours straight readin about this stuff. now im kinda worried about burning my place down.....jus so much stuff to know when it comes to dealing with a stove and a chimney....never had anything to do with this stuff before and i am clueless, clueless i tell ya....too much to take in....so many factors....i'll get it thou....good crowd of people here.....dunno how many ppl will read this but instead of makin another thread....did summer heat buy out englander or something cause i found the exact same inserts with those 2 names.....jus wondering

 

[Corriewf]

yeah thats all im sorta worried about is gettin everything down the chimney and doin it right so i dont have any problems, i have been sittin here for prolly 5 hours straight readin about this stuff. now im kinda worried about burning my place down.....jus so much stuff to know when it comes to dealing with a stove and a chimney....never had anything to do with this stuff before and i am clueless, clueless i tell ya....too much to take in....so many factors....i'll get it thou....good crowd of people here.....dunno how many ppl will read this but instead of makin another thread....did summer heat buy out englander or something cause i found the exact same inserts with those 2 names.....jus wondering

Depending on your chimney, it might be a piece of cake to get the liner down. See I had to do a 5.5 inch liner because my opening was too small for a 6 inch liner. It's just a stainless steel metal tube that you stuff down the chimney. Make sure you connect to the stove and get the stove as deep into the fireplace as you want it. I left mine out about 5 inches to fit a small pot of water on. Then you go back on the roof and use a hack saw to cut the rest of the pipe off. Make sure you measure the chimney good before you order the liner. I measured 20 foot and ordered a 25 foot and I am glad I did. We only cut off about 3 feet of it. The flex liners are easy to navigate into the hole in the back of the stove. If I wasn't afraid of heights, I would have done it myself. The hardest part of it all was getting the stove into the house. They are heavy enough to make you not able to have kids for a few years if you don't lift ride. We put our on a drop towel and slid it through the living room.

They are both owned by Englander and both referred to as Englanders by most on here. They change names depending on what store you buy it from for marketing purposes.

 

[Nic36]

Don't underestimate yourself. I did my installation and without a doubt, I know it is done probably 10 times better than any "professional" around here would have done.