# Vermont Castings Montpelier insert



## KaptJaq (Dec 30, 2011)

Hi Vermont Castings Montpelier insert owners...

   The Montpelier has been on the market since the fall of 2008 but I rarely see them mentioned here.  That could be a good thing or a bad one.  Either they are great inserts so nobody has any problems with them OR they are soooo bad nobody wants to talk about it.  How has your experience been?

   I installed mine in January, 2010.  Internal masonry fireplace with a 15 foot 6" SS lined clay flue.  I use it to heat my 1,800 sq ft main floor.  It does well in the LI,NY climate.  Without pushing, it keeps the 1,000 sq ft open floor plan in front of the unit in the low 70's, the bedrooms behind it in the mid to upper 60's. When it gets really cold we light the coal stove downstairs to help.

   The only real problem I had with the unit was the bearings on the fan fried the first season.  They were permanently lubricated sealed bearings that may not have been oiled during assembly.  VC authorized a replacement with no hassle. 

  Like most new wood burners I had  a learning curve both with the stove settings and "seasoned" wood.  By fall of 2010 I was getting pretty good with the stove and my wood had been css for over a year.  Now I usually have fairly clean glass (just a little gray fly ash that I wipe off once or twice a week) and easy "overnight burns".  I usually pack the stove about 11PM and get up to re-load about 6 AM (have to warm the house before the boss gets up).  In the morning I have a good bed of coals and can easily start a new fire with some small splits on the bottom and some medium ones on top.

   I clean the flue twice a year getting a cup or two of dry black dust each time.  Shoulder season I check the screen on the cap frequently.

   One of my neighbors liked my unit enough that he just bought one for himself.  I helped him install it and noticed that over the last two years VC has updated a few components (fan assembly, outer skin, etc) but all were minor changes. The new fan did not need any tweaking to quiet it down, it was great right out of the box.

   I'm happy with my unit, are you?

KaptJaq


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## Fod01 (Dec 30, 2011)

Hey Jaq - We installed in October '08.  Cape Cod with fully lined exterior clay lined chimney.  Finally bought an IR thermometer this week to help me see whats 'really' going on with the stove.  The Rutland stuck in the hot air vent was worthless.  I quickly learned that I need to keep that blower off until I'm reading 300Â° or so, then the unit really performs.  Was wearing shorts in the livingroom last night, stove was cruising about 400.

I do get a bit more 'coffee grounds' when I clean the flue, but thats probably due to the exterior chimney.  I plan to clean this weekend.  Going forward, it will be interesting to see how letting the unit heat up will affect the amount of buildup.

I recently cleaned the fan for the first time.  Before I re-installed it, I tested it by bypassing the snap-disc.  It made a ton of noise.  A couple small drops of 3 in1 oil took care of that (much to the chagrin of a few Hearth.com members).  It runs quiet, and I am actually running at slower speeds to help keep the temps up.  Sounds counter-intuitive, but the room is toasty!

Right now the handle squeaks a bit - I need to get some graphite for it.

The only 'complaint' is that the small 1.5 cu' firebox makes loading for the overnight a bit of a challenge, but I've learned to split a bit on the fine side. 

Gabe


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## briv (Dec 30, 2011)

My Montpelier was installed November 2010. I'm absolutely in love with how the stove looks, performance wise I don't think I'm at it's full potential. A hard first year with minimal dry wood.  My wood supply is much better this year but I still can't seem to get the heat out of it.  I find I struggle to heat an 1100 sf floor plan above low 60's (64 on a mild day with the stove going from early morning).  I'll have to try and keep the fan off until it hits the 300 mark.  Any input on how I should run the stove? I usually wait until the wood is completely engulfed in flames, then turn the air down 1/2 way.  About 15 - 20 min later I turn it down completely.  Would leaving the air cracked get more heat out of the stove? I also run the fan on high to get more heat into the room.  Am I hindering myself by cooling the stove down to much by doing this? 

I'm also at a loss on how to take the fan out.  Does it come out of the front of the unit or do I access it from under the plate inside the stove?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks.


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## Fod01 (Dec 30, 2011)

I've never run the fan past the 3 o'clock position.  Now I'm running it at 6 or 5 o'clock.  
This stove takes a while to heat up.  After a half-hour from a cold start, the blower may kick on, but the IR thermometer would show barely 200Â° above the door, too soon to be pulling heat off it.
I keep it off, even after a reload.

Fan is simple.  From memory:

You'll be taking the shelf/fan door assembly off.  Open the fan doors.  You'll see 2 black screws in either corner.  Remove these and the whole bottom assembly will come off.
After that, I think its 2 or 4 screws that hold the fan in.  Remove these, then disconnect the 2 wires to the snap-disc.  this will free the unit from the stove.
With the fan out, uncrew the screens from the ends.
The fans are held in with spring clamps.  Needle-nose pliers remove them.  You should be able to pull the fans off their spindles easily.
I rinsed mine in the sink (they were plastic back in '08' )
Installation is reverse.

It wasn't bad overall.  Hope this helps.

Gabe


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## briv (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks Gabe!  I'll try pulling the fan and cleaning this weekend.  It is noticeably louder than last year so I'm thinking it needs a good cleaning.


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## KaptJaq (Dec 30, 2011)

Hey briv,

     What kind of wood are you burning and what does your flue look like?  Overnight I burn 2 year css red oak, during the day mostly 1 year css silver maple.  The stove is very sensitive to moisture in the wood.  If my moisture meter reads over 22% I have a hard time getting a lot of heat out of it, the initial warm-up takes a long time and consumes a lot of fuel.  I also notice that it reacts quickly to changes in draft.  My house is pretty tight.  If the clothes dryer and/or the kitchen exhaust fan are running I have a hard time getting the secondaries going. 

     Do you have an internal or external chimney? Insulated liner? Block-off plate or the smoke shelf stuffed roxul? 

     The only time I run my fan on high is when I am burning a very hot fire trying to heat the room quickly. I'm usually in the room when I let it get that hot. For my overnight and long controlled burns the fan is usually about half way.  Less air moving but much warmer...

KaptJaq


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## KaptJaq (Dec 30, 2011)

Fod01 said:
			
		

> Fan is simple.  From memory:
> 
> You'll be taking the shelf/fan door assembly off.  Open the fan doors.  You'll see 2 black screws in either corner.  Remove these and the whole bottom assembly will come off.
> After that, I think its 2 or 4 screws that hold the fan in.  Remove these, then disconnect the 2 wires to the snap-disc.  this will free the unit from the stove.
> ...



On the earlier units  the fan assembly is held in with two screws and the snap disk is a separate piece connected by two wires and held to the stove with two screws.   On the newer units the fan assembly is held in with 4 screws and the snap disk is part of the fan assembly.  The four screw mount prevents the fan from shifting/twisting and so prevents a lot of the rattles and hum early users complained about.

KaptJaq


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## Jagtec1 (Dec 31, 2011)

We love ours so far.  It was installed late last February.  I too, am learning to get the most out of it.  Any tips or advice are appreciated...always good info here!


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## summit (Dec 31, 2011)

stove works pretty well, a sharp looking insert. Just run it hot, and I MEAN HOT, for about 30 minutes before you try closing off the air to prolong a burn. It takes a bit to get all that refractory heated up properly inside to promote a good 2ndry combustion. Biggest initial complaint I get from folks who purchase this unit is the glass getting dirty, and that is usually the result of not getting it all up to proper temp before shutting it down. After a lesson in proper burning, they are usually able to resolve the issue by getting it up to proper temp before shutting it down for a long burn. The Exhaust in that thing not only goes around the baffle, but also does a 2nd turn around a cast iron U in front of the flue outlet, so if you are not heating up properly, the secondary and airwash is not getting a proper burn off of the smoke/gasses since they have a little longer residence time around the baffle and the glass because of this design.


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## briv (Jan 3, 2012)

I did some experimenting this weekend.  I pulled the blower out and cleaned it all up, it wasn't too dirty but I think it helped a little.  I tried getting the temp up to approximately 300 (measured with an IR Thermo directly above the arch of the door) and then turned on the fan.  It helped A LOT.  Secondaries also seemed to be cruising much better after I did that and the glass was not as dirty.  A little more babysitting on my part but definitely worth it.

I'm not sure what my moisture % is on my wood.  It's a stack of mostly birch that's been c/s/s since early spring 2010 and since it's either that or 1 year c/s/s oak, I'm using the birch.  I think I'll be in good shape next year when I move on to the oak pile as I tried a few small chunks of the oak and things went great, hot fire good secondaries.  

My house it not air tight by any means so I don't have a problem with reversing the draft when appliances fire up.  

Thanks for the advice everyone.  Happy burnings!


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## Fod01 (Jan 3, 2012)

You're welcome, and thanks KaptJaq for starting up this thread.  The Montpelier is really a  good stove, but doesn't get a lot of press.

Gabe


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## rover47 (Jan 3, 2012)

Ours was installed Oct. 2009. This year I have the best wood yet. Oak CSS for two years. What a difference the wood makes. I too get the glass dirty when I shut down to soon. I can tell I'm running hot enough when all the bricks are as clean as when they were new. Had no problem with the fan after tweeking it a little when it was new.  Lately I have been running the fan at about 6 o:clock and the air around 3/4 closed. It will keep this old 1913 house pretty warm. When it gets real cold (as in tonight) I run the 602 in the kitchen also. With both running the whole house is warm. Never checked how hot it is running (don't have an infer red therm.) I just judge on how clean the glass is and the color of the bricks. We really like the insert, the last two nights loaded at 12pm and have enough coals left to restart around 6:30 am and the blower is still going. The only thing I don't like is I have to clean the screens on the blowers a lot. I know what the problem is though, three cats and two dogs. One of the cats is sacked out in front all the time with one of the dogs. I'm think about adding extra screening on the magnectic doors to help with the fur thing.
   Three of my neighbors have inserts, they may get more heat out of thiers. Each one of theirs sticks out into the room. But they all like the looks of ours with the big glass and the flush mount. i know that hurts the heat out put.


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## SolarBrian (Jan 3, 2012)

Had my first big fire yesterday. 3 Envi logs going, intake air set to the lowest (right) and the blower on medium-low. The temperature of the cast iron top of the door got up to 540F! The first floor of our 2 story 1800sq ft colonial was a toasty 80F (mid 30's outside).

Even with these temps, I haven't experienced any significant paint curing/outgassing. Must be they use "better" paint on the newer stoves.


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## lindyhistory (Jan 7, 2012)

Hi fellow Montpelier owners,
I just got mine this year.  I don't know much, but this site has been helping a lot.  I am curious, why do I have to wait to turn on the blower?  It turns on automatically when the thermostat reaches a certain degree.  As soon as it goes on warm air comes out.  Does the blower also serve another purpose?  I am also getting a lot of creosote.  I have to clean it every few days.  In the lower right corner of the glass it gets bad.  Any info you can give would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Chris


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## lindyhistory (Jan 7, 2012)

When you use the infrared temp gauge on the door do you aim for the cast iron on the door toward the top?
Thanks


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## KaptJaq (Jan 7, 2012)

Hello cc,

  As far as I know you do not have to wait to turn on the blower.  A thermal switch will automatically activate the fan when the stove is hot enough to support a clean burn and de-activate the fan when the stove cools.  You should stop the fan when you open the door.  There are two reasons for this.  First the running fan creates a venturi effect along the top edge of the door sucking the exhaust gasses (and any smoke) into the house. The second reason is that if hot embers fall from the firebox in front of the fan inlets those hot embers will go with the air flow and blow out the top vents at you or into your room.

  A lot of Montpelier owners have commented on the build-up on the hinge side of the door.  What I have noticed is when I start a fire I have the door slightly cracked for the first few minutes. The air swirling in the crack goes around the fire and the smoke hits the far side of the door before it goes out the exhaust.  If my wood is not dry and the glass is still cold I can see a small amount of moisture form on the door glass near the hinge.  The particulate in the smoke clings to this moisture and forms creosote. 

  When burning good dry wood there is nothing but a very fine gray ash on the glass that I wipe off every few days with a dry cotton cloth.  How dry is your wood?  Do you have a moisture meter?

   The problem with this and most other inserts is that there is no good place to take stove temperatures.  The spot you describe is good for relative heat levels but does not accurately give you a stove top reading.  The air that flows over the glass, the "air wash", goes right behind this point and cools it somewhat.  The highest temperatures I have seen are when I have the surround off and I can get a reading from the cast-iron just behind the outlet.  I'm not pulling the surround every time I want to check so I use the top/center of the door arch for relative reference temps.

KaptJaq


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## lindyhistory (Jan 7, 2012)

KaptJaq said:
			
		

> Hello cc,
> 
> As far as I know you do not have to wait to turn on the blower.  A thermal switch will automatically activate the fan when the stove is hot enough to support a clean burn and de-activate the fan when the stove cools.  You should stop the fan when you open the door.  There are two reasons for this.  First the running fan creates a venturi effect along the top edge of the door sucking the exhaust gasses (and any smoke) into the house. The second reason is that if hot embers fall from the firebox in front of the fan inlets those hot embers will go with the air flow and blow out the top vents at you or into your room.
> 
> ...


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## KaptJaq (Jan 7, 2012)

cc said:
			
		

> cc said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Chris,

   I usually keep the blower about half way during normal burns.  That speed seems to get the most heat out of the stove for the longest time.  When I want to heat the room quickly I start a hot fire with smaller splits, a little more air, and run the fan on high.  The fire does not last too long but gets some heat in the room quickly.  Usually when I burn it that hot I like to stay close by to keep an eye on it.

  If the dollar bill is slipping out easily on the handle side of the door you can adjust the latch screw to tighten it.  Look at your user manual to see how.  If you don't have the manual it is online on the Vermont Castings website.

KaptJaq


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## lindyhistory (Jan 10, 2012)

SolarBrian said:
			
		

> Had my first big fire yesterday. 3 Envi logs going, intake air set to the lowest (right) and the blower on medium-low. The temperature of the cast iron top of the door got up to 540F! The first floor of our 2 story 1800sq ft colonial was a toasty 80F (mid 30's outside).
> 
> Even with these temps, I haven't experienced any significant paint curing/outgassing. Must be they use "better" paint on the newer stoves.



SolarBrian,
How do you like the Envi blocks? I am thinking about picking up a pallet.  Are you using the Envi Blocks or Envi 8s?  I think I would burn these at night if they would last about 8 hours. How many does it take to fill up the Montpelier?
Thanks,
Chris


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## lindyhistory (Jan 17, 2012)

Does anyone have any photos/or advice for loading your Montpelier for a long burn?
Thanks,
Chris


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## Fod01 (Jan 17, 2012)

Rake the coals forward.
Load the biggest split/ splits you have tight to the rear wall, on top of each other if you can.
Fill the firebox with however many more splits you can.

Thats it.  No real magic here.  1.5 cu' is not a lot of room to play with.

Gabe


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## lindyhistory (Jan 20, 2012)

I just noticed 2 hairline cracks on the ceramic bricks on the sides.  One of the cracks has a small pit about 1/8" by 1/8".  I know I saw this addressed somewhere but I can't find where.  Anyone have any ideas?


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## Fod01 (Jan 21, 2012)

No issues CC.  Mine has hairlines as well.  Post a pic if youl like, but I think the stove is fine.

Gabe


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## coulombe208 (Jan 23, 2012)

This is my first winter with the Montpelier, installed early 2011. I spent a lot of time going through the Heath.com threads before buying. Many of the concerns discussed here were thrown at the potential vendors/installers before a decision was made. Most of them did not have a clue of what I was saying. Finally found the right guy who was willing to take the time to discuss the cons and pro of the VC unit. For a no brainer operation, he suggested a Jotul unit, but without the nicer look and the larger glass of course. In general he knows that people who buy those units are not returning to him for help or complaints. For the VC, he will take time to educate the customer because this unit is nicer, but needs more pampering (type of wood, preheating. etc). So thanks to all the posters for helping me finding the right vendor.

Installation was standard, but with the following details
A block off plate was not installed at the base of the full 25â€™ liner. Instead, approximately 1 foot of insulating wool was tuck tightly between the flue liner and the chimney masonry. This does 95% of the job of a perfectly air tight plate (which is almost impossible to achieve anyway)
To avoid any deformation of the liner while going through the damper area, a hydraulic jack was used to remove the cast iron damper assembly.  This allowed plenty of space to avoid any kinking of the liner during installation (we saw quite a few horror stories in the threads), and enough play to insure an easy connection to the insert outlet. Of course, the original fireplace is now dead â€¦ 
And most important thing, I was there during the whole installation process.

Initially, I had the reported problem of the door bottom rubbing on the front table while opening. As suggested, I played with the door adjustment, but a simple tightening of the bolts was sufficient to solve the problem, and improve the dollar bill test results. Seems that the unit was shipped with partially tightened bolts. The noisy fan problem was also easily solved as per suggestions in the forum.

With time, I found out the best loading instructions were in the VC user manual. Yes it takes time to build a good coal bed (2 to 3 small loads, 60 to 90 minutes) but only then can a full load be considered (otherwise poor operation and dirty glass). After that, operation with full air until 300deg is measured above the door, then operation with reduced air. This has been very successful for me. Thanks again for the tip on temperature monitoring.

I am still experimenting with the type of material to burn. The ecologs are practical but they tend to lose flame after a while and form a bed of red hot coal. Probably very efficient for night heating, but when Iâ€™m there I want to see FLAMES. So I will return to wood.

Overall experience with the unit has been good, mainly because I got good advices from this forum. Uninformed users must be quite desperate â€¦.

Here are some pictures, one with nice secondary combustion. For those who might worry, the mantle is made of light concrete, so is non combustible.


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## Fod01 (Jan 23, 2012)

Elegant install... very nice!

Gabe


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## KaptJaq (Jan 23, 2012)

When I first started looking at inserts I was considering either the Jotul or the Montpelier.  I liked the look of the Montpelier and started to do some research. I read the original thread on this site about them and all the concerns that were listed.  This pushed me towards the Jotul 450.  When I spoke to the dealer and mentioned some of the problems people had listed he did not think they were major or show stoppers.  He had sold a number of Jotuls and Montpeliers and put me in touch with a couple of customers.  After speaking to them I decided to go with the Montpelier.

I feel it was a good decision.  I followed the manual as a starting point on loading and burning. As I got more familiar with the stove and my installation I have changed things a little.  Basically am very happy with the stove's functionality, looks, and most important, heat output.

It burns 24/7 and usually there is at least one resident in front of it...

KaptJaq


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## SolarBrian (Jan 23, 2012)

cc said:
			
		

> SolarBrian,
> How do you like the Envi blocks? I am thinking about picking up a pallet.  Are you using the Envi Blocks or Envi 8s?  I think I would burn these at night if they would last about 8 hours. How many does it take to fill up the Montpelier?
> Thanks,
> Chris



Hi Chris, sorry for the slow response I just noticed your question now.

I really liked the Envi blocks. I ended up buying 1 pallet (1 ton) of the full size "blocks" and another pallet of the Envi 8's. The blocks really throw out some heat, and for more flexibility with smaller fires, I thought a mix of the 8's and blocks would be good. So far that does work out well.

I haven't really attempted an overnight burn yet, although I've put 3 blocks in at 10:30 and still have some coals at 7am the next morning. Not quite enough to catch another block but with the help of kindling a fire could be rebuilt. I think I could probably fit 6-9 blocks in there, but I'd be scared to. The stove is throwing out some serious heat with only 3 and the air shut all the way down.  

For comparison, I also tried burning logik-e logs. I did not like these. They probably had the burn time of the Envi 8's but they expanded and fell apart much more when burning. Envi blocks give you a much longer even fire.


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## missedbass (Mar 8, 2012)

Had mine installed in Jan'09 and I think it is a great insert. I have not cleaned the fan ass. yet and after reading other posts, it seems pretty easy to do. I made up some air filters to catch the dust and clean them every other week. I did learn that when the boiler was off for more than a couple of days because the stove was on 24/7, the spill switch tripped on the boiler when it did come on due to the downdraft created from the insert.  Now I crack the basement window to allow some make-up air into the house and its been fine.


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## PowerMN (Sep 13, 2012)

Hello!  I am actively looking at having a Vermont Montpelier insert installed and have a few questions.  My main reasoning is that our fireplace width is just 27.5in so there are few choices.  This has been enlightening to read past posts. 
1. I don't feel confident installing it myself but see that obviously many people do.  I'm getting bids of between $4400 - $5200 all in - the actual unit being about $2300 of that - does that sound fair?
2. We have a 1923 home and have 2 chimney flues (presumably they had a fireplace in basement?) and 2 flues going down into basement where there are clean out doors for ash.  My plan is to fill the unused flue with insulation - any thoughts?  I gather there is controversy surrounding insulation around the exhaust vent from an insert - appreciate any advice on that.
3. Anything I should ask for from dealer / installer?  Thanks much for any advice!  David, Minnesota


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## KaptJaq (Sep 13, 2012)

PowerMN said:


> 1. I don't feel confident installing it myself but see that obviously many people do. I'm getting bids of between $4400 - $5200 all in - the actual unit being about $2300 of that - does that sound fair?


 
$2,300 is a fair price for the unit.  Depending on what else is included and the amount of work to be done, $5,200 sounds a little high for the total install.  What type surround (trim kit) is going to be installed?  What type and length of liner is being installed?  Insulated? Will he do a block off plate?




PowerMN said:


> 2. We have a 1923 home and have 2 chimney flues (presumably they had a fireplace in basement?) and 2 flues going down into basement where there are clean out doors for ash. My plan is to fill the unused flue with insulation - any thoughts? I gather there is controversy surrounding insulation around the exhaust vent from an insert - appreciate any advice on that.


 
I don't see the reason to fill the unused flue with insulation. As long as the flue is not in use  I would just cap the top and sealed the bottom.  This way it will be easier to put it back in service if I ever needed to use it. 

Not sure of any controversy about insulation "around the exhaust vent".  If you have an external flue, one on the outside wall of the house, insulation on the liner is almost a must.  A block-off plate just above the lintel or at the damper frame with insulation above it helps seal in a lot of heat that will be wasted going up the flue.  Clarify what you want to accomplish and I can give a better answer...




PowerMN said:


> 3. Anything I should ask for from dealer / installer?


 
Has the flue been cleaned and inspected? 
Does the hearth meet the R factor (thermal resistance) required by the insert?
Will he install a block-off plate? (very important for an external chimney, optional but helpful for an internal one)
Will the liner be insulated? (very important for an external chimney, optional but helpful for an internal one)

These are a first pass at answers and additional questions.  Give a little more detail about the install and there might be others...

KaptJaq


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## PowerMN (Sep 13, 2012)

Wow!  Thanks for replies.  Not sure how to split each qn up as you did.  Firstly, a 2.5 story home - installer calculated about a 31 foot exhaust pipe.  Since fireplace is taller than wide (about 29in tall) going with, I think the Georgian trim.  Also need an electrical connection installed since we don't want a visible cord going to plug-in several feet away.  There seem to be some 'code' issues around the insulation - am awaiting a home visit by installer.  I have no idea about a block off plate.  2. OK on the flue - I had assumed filling it with a non-flammable material would be better than air - defer to wisdom on that.  So, it's an old home with a nice brick well preserved, surrounding the flues on outside of house.  I will check with installer about the block off plate - thanks!  My goal is to insulate this old house as much as I can - already have blown insulation into walls plus the other basics, attic etc.  3. Yes, flues are clean - checked about 3 years ago.  We've used the original fireplace little since smoke would rapidly accumulate in basement once we lit a fire and have been told grout between chimney blocks has deteriorated to make original fireplace unusable.  I certainly hope 'R factor' of our fireplace is satisfactory - how does one measure that?  I will ask installer when he visits.  Thanks for these great comments!  Much appreciated, David


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## KaptJaq (Sep 13, 2012)

PowerMN said:


> We've used the original fireplace little since smoke would rapidly accumulate in basement once we lit a fire and have been told grout between chimney blocks has deteriorated to make original fireplace unusable.


 
1. Have the chimney inspected to make sure it is still stable and up to code for an install.

2. With two flues, one unused, in a recently sealed house I would guess that the smoke is being sucked down the second flue due to negative air pressure in the basement. After you sealed up all the leaks the air going out the first flue had to be replaced and the easiest path was via the second flue. Sealing that second flue should solve that problem.




PowerMN said:


> I certainly hope 'R factor' of our fireplace is satisfactory - how does one measure that? I will ask installer when he visits. Thanks for these great comments! Much appreciated, David


 
Each material has a resistance to conducting heat, the "R" factor. You add the resistance of each component of your hearth to get the total R factor for the hearth. A good installer should be able to eyeball it and calculate a rough estimate to compare to the insert's requirements.

KaptJaq

ps You might want to start a new thread relating to your install...


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## creativeguy (Oct 14, 2013)

Fod01 said:


> I've never run the fan past the 3 o'clock position.  Now I'm running it at 6 or 5 o'clock.
> This stove takes a while to heat up.  After a half-hour from a cold start, the blower may kick on, but the IR thermometer would show barely 200Â° above the door, too soon to be pulling heat off it.
> I keep it off, even after a reload.
> 
> ...




Gabe,
Your info is superb.
Followed your clear and simple instructions, scrubbed fan blades a bit with toothbrush and dabbed a drop of WD-40 with a few flakes
of graphite on base of spindle.  Reinstalled and works like a charm.

Thanks!

Bruce


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## missedbass (Oct 16, 2013)

SolarBrian said:


> Hi Chris, sorry for the slow response I just noticed your question now.
> 
> I really liked the Envi blocks. I ended up buying 1 pallet (1 ton) of the full size "blocks" and another pallet of the Envi 8's. The blocks really throw out some heat, and for more flexibility with smaller fires, I thought a mix of the 8's and blocks would be good. So far that does work out well.
> 
> ...


 Has anyone tried the qualiflame logs at Lowes?


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## Fod01 (Nov 13, 2013)

creativeguy said:


> Gabe,
> Your info is superb.
> Followed your clear and simple instructions, scrubbed fan blades a bit with toothbrush and dabbed a drop of WD-40 with a few flakes
> of graphite on base of spindle.  Reinstalled and works like a charm.
> ...



Hey Bruce,
You're welcome.  I'm glad the instructions worked for you.
Sorry for the late reply, but I'm a cold-weather Hearth member.  I don't usually visit until I need to fire it up!

Gabe


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