Hello all! You may remember me from this link a few weeks ago. In the end, we decided to go with the Regency I1200 because it was basically the only insert that would fit our fireplace as it exists currently. Now that we have the thing installed and I have a cord of relatively decent wood, I had a few more questions with operating an insert.
1) What kind of fireplace tools do I need to get? I'm assuming I don't need some of things I associate with open fireplaces, such as a poker, but may need some things specific to wood stoves. I'm under the impression that I need a brush, a coal rake, fire resistant gloves, and an ash can. Does this seem right? Is there something I'm totally missing?
2) I couldn't resist firing this up today. After getting some kindling established, I added a couple of splits. There seemed to be a good bit of coals at the bottom, but the wood itself seemed to be burning much more slowly than I expected and I had very little in the way of flames. Is this normal, is this because of the small firebox, or did I just build a lame fire? The unit seemed to get relatively hot, hot enough to kick on the auto-fan, but it didn't seem to be putting out as much heat as I expected.
3) I've seen a number of people install thermometers on their stoves or inserts, and would like to do the same. However, the manual that came with insert didn't mention anything about this. How does one go about installing a thermometer?
Again, my thanks to everyone for your past, and (hopefully) future advice. Without you help, I don't think I ever would have talked my wife into an insert. In case anyone is interested, here are a few pictures of the new installation:
1) What kind of fireplace tools do I need to get? I'm assuming I don't need some of things I associate with open fireplaces, such as a poker, but may need some things specific to wood stoves. I'm under the impression that I need a brush, a coal rake, fire resistant gloves, and an ash can. Does this seem right? Is there something I'm totally missing?
2) I couldn't resist firing this up today. After getting some kindling established, I added a couple of splits. There seemed to be a good bit of coals at the bottom, but the wood itself seemed to be burning much more slowly than I expected and I had very little in the way of flames. Is this normal, is this because of the small firebox, or did I just build a lame fire? The unit seemed to get relatively hot, hot enough to kick on the auto-fan, but it didn't seem to be putting out as much heat as I expected.
3) I've seen a number of people install thermometers on their stoves or inserts, and would like to do the same. However, the manual that came with insert didn't mention anything about this. How does one go about installing a thermometer?
Again, my thanks to everyone for your past, and (hopefully) future advice. Without you help, I don't think I ever would have talked my wife into an insert. In case anyone is interested, here are a few pictures of the new installation: