The Wood Fireplace Insert Blog

A wood burning fireplace insert can be a great way to save money on your heating bill and provides for a cozy atmosphere as well.  But your insert is only as good as the fuel you put in it and using good fireplace insert wood is the key to getting the best efficiency and heat from your fireplace insert.

Qualities of Good Fireplace Insert Wood

Good fireplace insert wood will, first and foremost, be dry wood.  Burning wet wood in your fireplace insert will cause several problems.  First, there will be more smoke because the heat will not be high enough to burn as much of the smoke and gases as it normally wood if the fireplace insert wood was dry.  This will cause creosote to build up on your chimney faster.

The evaporation that takes place in the process of the wood burning actually reduces the heat of the fire.  More smoke also means more emmissions which will lower the air quality.  Wood that has a moisture content below 15-20% will burn the hottest and therefore the most efficiently and smoke free.  If you are collecting your own wood you will want to season it for at least a year to get the moisture content down.  That means planning ahead to get your wood ahead of time.

The best wood will also be untreated and free from compounds that could be toxic, such as wood stains, paint, or pesticides.  Avoid using scrap wood or landscaping wood that may have been treated with creosote or other substances that can become toxic when airborne.  Clean untreated logs make the best wood for your fireplace insert.

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Wood burning inserts vary from maker to maker and model to model so it’s hard to generalize about service and maintenance of different wood burning inserts, but here are a few suggestions for keeping inserts working the way they are meant to.  Obviously you will want to consult the insert owner’s manual if possible.

Test the seal on the insert’s door with a piece of paper by opening the door (when the insert is cold, of course) place the paper across the gasketed area and close door on the paper. When you try to remove the paper it should not pull out easily. If there is an area where the paper comes out easily the door seal needs attention.

Some wood burning inserts allow you to simply adjust the door latch. If the door can’t be adjusted, or if adjusting it doesn’t help, you will probably have to replace the door gasket(s).

If you are in doubt about the size and density of gasket to use, remove the door and take it to a store that carries parts for inserts to test a variety of wood burning insert gaskets. The gasket can be cut to length from a reel or packaged by the manufacturer in a kit for most inserts.  The cement to hold the gasket in place is often included in kits.  If it is not included, you can by a small container of it or use silicone sealant that comes in a caulking tube.

To install the gasket in wood burning inserts, remove the door and place it on something to prevent scratching the finish. Pull out the old gasket; on some inserts you’ll have to take apart the door to get the gasket out. Clean the gasket groove with a screwdriver to remove old cement.  Then clean the groove more thoroughly with course steel wool to get a good clean surface for the cement to stick to.

Apply a narrow bead of cement or silicone (usually 1/4″ to 1/2″ wide, depending on gasket size) along the entire groove.  Lay the gasket in the groove and avoid stretching or bunching it, starting on a long straight part of the groove. Cut the gasket slightly long so that the ends can be tucked into each other forming a good seal and press the gasket into the cement.

Mount the door and test the seal. When lightly slamming the door of the wood burning insert you should hear the muffled sound of the gasket, rather than metal, hitting the stove body. Then test the seal again with the paper.

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The problem with an ordinary conventional fireplace is the fact that it pulls air from inside the house and sends it up the chimney creating a draft in the house and pulling more cold air into the house. 

If you like your fireplace but don’t like the draft and the increased burden on your furnace, a wood burning fireplace insert may be the answer. A wood burning firplace insert uses the same technological improvements of wood stoves but fits into a conventional open fireplace. Like wood stoves, new wood burning fireplace inserts must be certified by the EPA. 

These new inserts that are made from plate steel or cast iron are clean burning and highly efficient.  They are built with glass doors to allow for a view of the flames. They fit right into the opening of and existing fireplace, with some models protruding onto the hearth. These inserts which extend out may be more efficient because the sides, top, and bottom provide for the release of additional radiant heat.

Fireplace inserts typically have blowers, which improve efficiency and heat circulation, mounted in the front or along the sides of the insert. Depending on the system the blowers may be controlled manually or automatically by a thermostat.

Installation of a Wood Burning Firplace Insert

Wood inserts must have a positive connection between the outlet and the first section of the flue liner. This allows the smoke and any unburned gases to go up the chimney more directly and minimizes combustible deposits that can condense in the fireplace. A full relining of the chimney is an even better choice since the smaller pipe size  provides a better draft and an added margin of safety.

If you install a full relining system, a stainless steel pipe that connects to the insert and goes to the top of the chimney you can avoid the need to remove the insert to clean the chimney.  Since most fireplace inserts are heavy and difficult to move this can be a real benefit.

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A catalytic combustor is a ceramic honeycombed device coated with a noble metal such as palladium. It causes the smoke from the fire to be burned rather than allowing it to go up the chimney unused.  Although there are various sizes and shapes, the most common cataltyic combustor is circular in shape, measuring around 5-6 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick.

As long as a fire is burning at a temperature above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit the gases given off by the wood will burn too. However, if the fire is turned down and the temperature is below 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the gases will not burn. This is where the catalytic combustor comes in.  When the gases pass through the combustor, the metal acts as a catalyst causing the gases to burn at temperatures as low as 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

The catalytic combustor slows down the burning process in the stove so that the wood is slowly “Cooked” as opposed to being burnt which results in total combustion with virtually no waste. Coals and ash are reduced to a fine white powder.  The increased heat output while using less wood to heat your home creates a huge savings in time and money.

This increases the efficiency of the stove or insert by 10 percent, reduces creosote production by 20-90% and decreases air pollution by as much as 75%.

Catalytic Combustor Maintainence

By keeping your catalytic combustor operating properly you can add to the wood stoves efficiency. To maintain your catalytic combustor remove and clean it periodically using a shop vacuum to get the light coating of ashes that can accumulate on the surface. If the ceramic cells are clogged you can clear them using a pipe cleaner.

Just like your cars catalytic converter, a catalytic combustor has to be replaced periodically.  Once is starts to crumble it should be replaced. Used properly they will last 10,000 to 12,000 operating hours.  If a combuster is contaminated with foreign materials the operating capabilities will be reduced. To avoid contaminating the catalytic combuster you should burn only natural seasoned wood. Avoid burning trash, colored magazines, coal, paper logs, treated wood, painted wood and lighter fluid.

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Be sure you are taking the proper precautions when installing and maintaining a wood fireplace insert or stove. The Midwest Chimney Safety Council issued a warning to its members recently to be prepared for the busiest fall season in decades. “Chimney sweeps will likely not be able to keep up with the demand for cleaning, inspection, and installation services,” said Kirk Scott, President of the MCSC. “There are only so many qualified chimney sweeps to go around, and we don’t have enough to serve the public.” Chimney sweeps are already reporting that their busy season, which usually starts September 1, started in mid-July this year.

As consumers turn to alternative methods of heating such as wood stoves, wood-burning fireplace inserts, and wood-burning furnaces may attempt to do the installation or service work themselves. “One of the biggest mistakes is not installing a properly sized flue liner with a fireplace insert,” says Marge Padgitt, Educational Director for the MCSC. “If the liner is too large it can cause excessive flammable creosote accumulation, which can lead to a chimney fire.”

Most house fires related to heating appliances are due to improper installation and maintenance, so consumers are encouraged to wait until a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep can inspect and sweep the chimney rather than doing it themselves or hiring an unqualified chimney company.

Fireplace flues should typically be inspected and cleaned annually. Wood stoves or inserts used for heating should be inspected and cleaned at least twice during the wood-burning season. Some manufacturers recommend sweeping the chimney once per month so check your owners manual for details. Furnace/hot water heater flues should be inspected annually for clogs by debris or nests, or breaks or gaps in the flue liner that could pose a Carbon Monoxide hazard.

Visit the MCSC website at http//www.mcsc-net.org Midwest Chimney Safety Council for free consumer information.

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We’ve found some interesting blog posts on wood fireplace inserts you might like to take a look at:

• Discounted Pellet Stoves – What You Need To Know – If you choose discounted pellet stoves that are freestanding or fireplace inserts, they will produce a small fire, however, you can find some with various flame patterns, giving the look of a real fire. …

• Common Questions and Answers About Fireplace Inserts – 1. What is a fireplace insert? It\’sa heating unit that is put into existing fireplaces and into new enclosures built to hold them. They\’re made for all fuel types including electric, gas and wood, although gas is the most common. …

• Warm up with Firewood by EasyArticle For You – Sriram Swaminarayan, Ben Bergen, John Turner, Mike Lang, Tim Kelley, and Jamaludin Mohd-Yusof, represent single player poker freeware programming teams that proved Roadrunner could achieve its performance goals. While everyone is entitled to their own personal views, we are of betting sports gambling odds opinion that term insurance is betting sports gambling odds purest and best form of life insurance. Kita vertus, generolo Songailos ai+¡kinim+³ Seimo komisijai apie jo buitinius santykius su ponia Smailyte ir apie tai, kad ponios nurodytos ma+¡inos pasienyje praleid+-iamos pagal j+³ numerius, nesugalvot+³ net genialiausias satyrikas.

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