How important is the insulation AROUND the fireplace insert? (Especially FPX 33, Lopi Declaration)

[Bubbavh]

It really doesn't matter too much which one you use. For cost I would say just a standard rutland magnetic on the glass frame between the doors is the easiest to see but not always the most accurate depending if the fire is toward the back or front of the stove and during relights. I have 2 of them... a rutland as mentioned above and a chimguard that is on the stove top behind the grates. The one behind the grates can be a little hard to read without a flashlight. Either one is fine because when your stove gets real hot they kind of even out and that is when the reading counts.

 

[jbroich]

I finished a Lopi Declaration install a couple of weeks ago. I did the sealed top plate, 21' feet of insulated flex liner, and a damper block off plate with a layer of leftover liner insulation on top. Something else you might want to ask your installer would be about sealing the connection between the liner and the stove. I have an annoying whistle on my Declaration and contacted the maker, Travis Industries. They suggested that whistling usually comes from this connection and that is indeed where it sounds like it's coming from. I plan to seal this weekend with some furnace cement, hopefully that will do the trick. Good luck with your install.

Finally installed by FPX 33(not quite flush however...).

Regardless, I'm not quite sure I understand the logic behind a block off plate at the top and the bottom of the chimney?

I've only used it for a few days with break-in fires mostly. I'm a little dissappointed in the way it puts out heat. Could be my open floor plan but sitting across the room it doesn't really even feel warm.

Suggestions?

...And it definitely takes a while to master the insert, bonedoc. ...A lot of time tweaking the controls, adjusting your timing, managing your fuel.