I recently bought a house that was originally built in 1988 which has a Selkirk metalbestos 3620 ZC fireplace. Wanting to make sure the chimney was clean before burning anything, I scheduled a sweep and cleaning. The chimney sweep said that the thing was hardly used and that it appears that the previous owners rarely ever used the box. This is confirmed as well by the previous owner that said they only maybe used it 2-3 times in previous 10 years. However, it appears that while I noticed a crack in the right refractory panel that seems to split the panel apart, however it is still being somewhat held in place by the top right retaining clip as well as the bottom panel. Can I go ahead and make some fires in here? or should this panel be repaired / replaced? I've looked everywhere online and cannot find the exact Selkirk 3620 replacement panel so changing the panel and/or repairing it would void the UL listing if I attempt anything?
I'm wondering if it is in fact just safer to leave "as is" with the panel cracked but in place and doing it's job, but I'm not sure if that's the best course of action.
I'm wondering if it is in fact just safer to leave "as is" with the panel cracked but in place and doing it's job, but I'm not sure if that's the best course of action.