Who makes the best wood burning insert?

[Skitheeast]

why would you put a 5.5" liner in when 95% of stoves today will run a 6" liner? I guess cause you can fit the 6"??

The store we went to showed us the manufactures recommended liner and it was 5.5". I thought the same thing regarding the 6".

 

[TMonter]

The store we went to showed us the manufactures recommended liner and it was 5.5". I thought the same thing regarding the 6".

If it'll fit go with the 6-inch liner.

 

[velvetfoot]

I believe mine is a 6" liner.

 

[granpajohn]

My method of converting SF area for high ceilings is to just divide your height by the normal 8'. e.g. for a 9' ceiling, 9/8 is 1.125 so your 1800 sf becomes 2025 sf. Basically 12.5%. If 10' ceiling, use 1.25.

And, insulate the chimney if it is exterior. (and it will fit)

 

[Mr A]

Well we finally went to three different stove stores this past weekend and 2 of the stores were pushing the Hampton HI300, which we already liked and decided to go with. The only thing I need to do is check the clay tile flue to make sure I can get a ss 5.5" liner down her. We built the house in 2009, the fireplace was made for burning wood, so do you guys know the size of the flue that would have been installed according to current codes? Will I be able to get that liner down without troubles?
Also, I read a couple threads regarding things you should do when installing an insert. Insulating the liner, (which one dealer told me wasn't necessary), Insulating the outside walls of the fireplace, and putting a block off plate in.
Lastly, I am a little concerned about being able to heat the house with the unit, as we have 1800 sq ft of space with 9ft ceilings in the whole house. We plan on using the ceiling fans in all the rooms, but our house set up may be difficult to get the heat down the halls into the bedrooms. I was on Woodstocks website, and they show you how to calculate area with taller ceiling heights, and it is borderline for that unit with our ceilings and sq. ft.
Any thoughts?

The narrow side of my clay flue liner was only 5.5" I.D. I bought ovalized liner with a oval to round adapter for the insert connection, paid a litle extra fgor an ovalized chimney cap. I went to a few hearth stores around my area, they all said the same thing, they dont' install blockoff plates or liner insulation. I wanted a blockoff plate but it was too difficult to install with the work room available. I stuffed roxul around the liner at the top of the chimney and called it good. The installers all said they used fiberglass insulation. Fiberglass can melt, I thought it not a good idea. They said the top of the flue is not hot enough to melt fiberglass insulation unless there was a chimney fire. i had success installing my own, it is pretty simple once the process is under stood. in the end, it is just a pipe running down the chimney to the insert

 

[Skitheeast]

The narrow side of my clay flue liner was only 5.5" I.D. I bought ovalized liner with a oval to round adapter for the insert connection, paid a litle extra fgor an ovalized chimney cap. I went to a few hearth stores around my area, they all said the same thing, they dont' install blockoff plates or liner insulation. I wanted a blockoff plate but it was too difficult to install with the work room available. I stuffed roxul around the liner at the top of the chimney and called it good. The installers all said they used fiberglass insulation. Fiberglass can melt, I thought it not a good idea. They said the top of the flue is not hot enough to melt fiberglass insulation unless there was a chimney fire. i had success installing my own, it is pretty simple once the process is under stood. in the end, it is just a pipe running down the chimney to the insert

Thanks for the info. Greatly appreciated. I will be doing the liner myself with the help of a friend. Loolks like we will go with a 6" and wrap it in insulation. 12 x 12 clay flue - should be able to get it down pretty easy. Going to have to notch where shelf is to get past without interference. Where can I get that Roxul stuff? Couldn't you just stuff the roxul around the shelf area above the insert rather than do a block off plate?
Thanks -

 

[granpajohn]

Couldn't you just stuff the roxul around the shelf area above the insert rather than do a block off plate?
Thanks -

Yes you can. But it is often easier to accomplish that when you put a plate or other rigid structure up there. Get a close look at your situation, then decide. Search the forum for "block off plate" and you will notice that some members have built some real nice BOPs...where no one but Santa Claus can see it. (Mine is in the "functional-not-pretty" category)

 

[Mr A]

I would like to have a block off plate, just too difficult to get in. I understand the idea to be cutting off the heat to the mass of the masonry chimney structure. In my house, the chimney is still warming the living room, 18 hours after the fire went out. For quick heat, I guess no block plate is a disadvantage. It isn't very cold yet, I had all the windows open yesterday on a 60 degree day. The hall thermostat is still holding at 68 degrees after overnight temps in the 50's. Roxul was hard to find for me, Google Roxul, the company website has a list of suppliers. Also searching Roxul in the forums, there is a place mentioned in a thread that sells it by the batt for small quantities. I have 8 ,16"X48" insulation batts available from my garage. I had to buy a whole package of it from the building supply company, 80 miles away. I only used a few batts. You have plenty of room with a 12"x12" clay liner to wrap your liner in roxul. I would like to sell my 8 batts for $50. They are made for 2x4 stud bays, so they are 4 inches thick. More than enough to wrap your 25 ft liner when split into 2" batts. Better, thicker insulation than an insulation blanket, usually only 1/2" thick for a few hundred dollars. I also have a box of Thermix I need to get rid of, $25 plus shipping.

 

[mellow]

Most of us get Roxul at Lowes. They can special order it in.

 

[Mr A]

I wanted it today, when I got mine. I went to both Lowes and Home Depot service desks and they had no idea what I was talking about. The guys at Home Depot did their thing of asking up the chain for about 30 minutes, finally a guy said,"yea, we can order it". Still have to buy a full pack of 10 batts, and wait, and pay for shipping.

 

[Skitheeast]

Hi everyone,
We are waiting for the liner to come in. A friend who does masonry work ordered it through Olympia. Should be here in a few days. He suggested putting vermiculite, (everguard), down there rather than wrapping the liner in an insulating blanket. Said it would be cheaper. Any thoughts? I'm a little confused regarding the insulation around the stove in the firebox. I have a masonry chimney built a few years ago, sounds like people who insulated their firebox around the stove had a different firebox, or problems with old chimney. Wouldn't the block off plate with insulation above it as well as an insulated liner in the flue be sufficient? I would think the heat would stay in the firebox area pretty well once the unit has been goiing for a bit with a BOP and insulation above it?

 

[begreen]

The store we went to showed us the manufactures recommended liner and it was 5.5". I thought the same thing regarding the 6".

Usually one only downsizes the liner if the chimney is tall or if the chimney flue is small. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

[mcerin]

I like the harman because its a great looking insert AND you can run it like an open fireplace was supposed to run and look,with the door WIDE OPEN and the optional fireplace screen in place for an open fire with lots of radient heat. I dont know of ANY other wood stove that has this option. Their free standing model(which i own) can do this as well as roast food INSIDE the stove.

 

[relevance]

Hi everyone,
We are looking to purchase a wood burning insert for our masonry fireplace. The house is well insulated, (2x6 const. with R-21 in the walls), and is approx. 1800 sq. ft. I have been checking this site as wwell as manufacturers websites. We like the cast iron inserts -The stoves we are looking at are; Alderlea T5, Hampton HI-300, Jotul Rockland, Quadrafire Voyageur, Enviro Boston or Cabello 1700. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks -

Hi,

I just purchased a Lennox "Performer" insert and couldn't be happier with my purchase. It's heating my 1300 sq ft, 60 year old ranch with a suspect amount of insulation. I learned that the seams on a cast iron, if over fired too often become brittle, break down, leak and lose their efficiency. Welded steel doesn't have that problem. While cast iron has that really nice traditional look, the logic behind long lasting efficiency won me over.

Matt