Used Regency i1100 install - I've got fire!

[dragon73]

Just finished getting my Regency i1100 installed today. Bought it used a few days ago on Craigslist for $150. It will be nice to have some heat in the home I am renovating. Been working in the cold all winter and it has been very cold here. This was my first install and it was a lot easier than expected. There were a few things that I found that some people might be interested in. The first thing was the top plate was not welded well (really at all) from the factory. The welds were so bad that when I pulled the top plate up, it was perfectly smooth as if nothing had ever been welded to it. I had to take it to a welder to have it welded properly. I did inspect the inside welds thinking it might have other problems, but they looked good. So if you ever buy one of these, check the welds carefully. It was only $20 to have it re-welded, so maybe not a deal stopper, but something to be aware of. I did a full liner all the way up the chimney about 17'. I was not able to insulate it as the 6" liner barely fit. I hope this will be alright since it's an outside chimney and not very tall. My chimney sweep said I could pour some vermiculite down there to help insulate it. Anyone ever done this? Is it worth it? I did make and install a damper block-off plate and I insulated the top of it with 3 layers of the insulation used to wrap the liner. A suggestion for anyone making the block-off plate: use a jig saw with a small fine tooth metal blade to cut out the hole for the liner. Also, I used some rough sawn lumber that has the square edges to bend the metal sides. It made very straight bends that looked great. If you are not 200 lbs like me to stand on the wood while you bend it, you could screw them together to clamp the metal between the boards. To bend the short ends, I cut a small piece that fit between the longer sides so there was no interference. I did replace all of the firebrick with standard firebrick that I cut to fit instead of the pumice type from Regency. I also made a temporary baffle out of regular brick until my ordered baffle comes in. To make it tight across, I had to make a very thin piece of brick that was 1/8" on one side and tapered up to 3/16" on the other. Was amazed that it did not break when I cut it. I hope it will withstand the fires until my baffles come in. The last thing I installed was the plate on top of the chimney. It started snowing here very hard and it was quite unsettling going up a 20' ladder to put on it on and then cap it. The rungs were definitely a little slippery. I think the worst part of the job was cutting some of the metal firebox out so the liner could pass through easily to the stove. A metal cutting blade in the reciprocating saw was a joke. I went through about 5 blades and didn't even cut an inch. I decided to use the side grinder with a thin kerf metal cut off blade. It worked well, but the sparks and dust flying in my face the whole time was pretty bad. One of the sparks somehow made it past my safety glasses and burned my eyeball. Still stinging a bit. Guess if that was the worst injury I had, I did alright. After saying a prayer to the fire gods, I started a small fire and the stove and installation seemed to work well. No smoke in the house and it heated up nicely. All that is left is to clean up and install the surround and blower. I did the whole install by myself, including lifting the stove off the back of my truck and climbing up 20' on a ladder to stuff the liner down the chimney. I don't recommend doing those things alone, but I do recommend installing a wood stove yourself if you are thinking about it. Just get help if you can for the heavy and dangerous stuff. Any way, I managed to remember to take a few pictures while I was working, so here they are.

 

[bholler]

by the top plate not being welded are you talking about the plate that your liner attaches to? if so at least on the new ones it is not supposed to be welded it slides in from the back and there are 2 bolts that you install from inside the stove to hold it in place it makes it really easy to install in tight fireboxes.

 

[dragon73]

Yes, that is the plate I am talking about, but it was definitely welded from the factory. There is no place the top plate bolts down and it is one solid plate all the way across the top. I think on the newer i1200, the part that attaches to the liner is separate. My liner is held to the top plate by 3 L-brackets. I wish I had taken a picture before it was re-welded. I still can't believe that it was perfectly smooth. Zero penetration on the weld. I think the paint was holding it together!