Wood Burning Insert Question

[dp16]

This is my first post and I am new to wood burning. The wife and I recently purchased our first home and it has a Fire Boss insert in the fireplace that I have a couple of questions about.

Does anyone know how efficient this insert is? The house was built in 1980 and has baseboard electric heat. I am hoping to save money on the electric bill by burning wood as an alternative

Where can I get a user manual for this unit. I have never used a stove and the manual might help me with the whats what on the stove.

Any tips or insight on where to begin would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bholler]

This is my first post and I am new to wood burning. The wife and I recently purchased our first home and it has a Fire Boss insert in the fireplace that I have a couple of questions about.

Does anyone know how efficient this insert is? The house was built in 1980 and has baseboard electric heat. I am hoping to save money on the electric bill by burning wood as an alternative

Where can I get a user manual for this unit. I have never used a stove and the manual might help me with the whats what on the stove.

Any tips or insight on where to begin would be greatly appreciated.

They are not efficient at all but they are tanks and will put out allot of heat. But you will burn through allot of wood to make that heat. Where you should start is to pull of the top of the surround or slide the stove out a little. Once you do that you should be able to tell if it is hooked to a liner that runs up to the top of the chimney or not. If not it is not safe to use.

 

[dp16]

Thanks for the info. I do not have a chimney liner. I just talked to the chimney guy today. I wanted a professional to do the first inspection and clean before I do it myself. He said everything looks good with the chimney and recommended I stay with the chimney as is and not put in a liner.

 

[jatoxico]

Did the sweep have to pull the stove to clean it or was he able to sweep down into the stove? It's important that you at least have a permanent direct connection to the chimney. If there's just a piece of pipe stuck up the flue it's dangerous.

 

[bholler]

Thanks for the info. I do not have a chimney liner. I just talked to the chimney guy today. I wanted a professional to do the first inspection and clean before I do it myself. He said everything looks good with the chimney and recommended I stay with the chimney as is and not put in a liner.

Find a different chimney guy who knows and follows codes.

 

[dp16]

He swept from the roof down into the stove I believe. He did not pull the stove out. I asked him about whether I should consider a liner and he recommended I leave as is.

 

[bholler]

He swept from the roof down into the stove I believe. He did not pull the stove out. I asked him about whether I should consider a liner and he recommended I leave as is.

So he didn't even clean out the stuff that fell down into the smoke chamber and onto the stove? You really need a new chimney guy that is really bad he only did about 1/4 of the job.

 

[jatoxico]

It's possible it's connected directly to the tile no?

 

[dp16]

He did not. I wasn't home, but he told my wife that he swept the chimney and cleaned the interior of the stove, but did not pull the stove. What do I need to do now to finish the cleaning job?

 

[bholler]

It's possible it's connected directly to the tile no?

Yes but even at that he should atleast pull the stove out a bit to make sure nothing fell down aroung the liner shoved up into the bottom of the clay. And yes it usually does which means disconnecting that stub of pipe pulling the stove and cleaning it out. That is why I would never consider doing a direct connect even though it technically meets code.

 

[bholler]

He did not. I wasn't home, but he told my wife that he swept the chimney and cleaned the interior of the stove, but did not pull the stove. What do I need to do now to finish the cleaning job?

You need to know if there is a stub of liner running from the stove up into the base of the clay liner. To know that you need to pull the top of the surround or slide the stove out a little. Once you do that you will be able to see if it is connected at all and if it is if anything has leaked down onto the stove.

 

[jatoxico]

Too bad you weren't home to see what he did. Yes to pulling the surround and seeing what you have. You have to (read; should) get involved enough at this point to assure the install is safe.

Pulling the surround is not usually difficult and you will be able to look up and see the connection (if any). If it's just a section of pipe stuffed up the flue there will be soot and ash all over the top of the unit. Worst case is there is no flue pipe at all. Take some pictures. You want one these two.

 

[dp16]

Thank you to everyone for the info. I will pull the cover and see what I have. If there is no connection I am sure I will be back with many more questions. Thanks again!