Surround costing us heat?

[bholler]

Flush mount with a cat running at 1500 degrees, you can do what you want but I would be pulling the surround.

You can do what you want but if it really was an issue don't you think the manufacturers would warn customers and dealers?

 

[dafattkidd]

I pull my surround about an inch away from the brick facade of the fireplace. When I'm running the unit 24/7, I can feel heat pouring out of that little slot into the room. As others have said, it may eventually make its way into the room anyway, but I like to run it this way.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I pull my surround about an inch away from the brick facade of the fireplace. When I'm running the unit 24/7, I can feel heat pouring out of that little slot into the room. As others have said, it may eventually make its way into the room anyway, but I like to run it this way.

Yep. I don't know what yet, but I might do something else after the block off plate has been in place a while. The blower doesn't seem to do that much, considering how much heat is generate by the stove. First I'll see how the block off plate changes things, though.

 

[Dmitry]

Any update on block off plate?

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Not yet, town doesn't have the permit on file for the install, applying for a new one. Once the install is signed off on, I'll do the plate, and will update!

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I pull my surround about an inch away from the brick facade of the fireplace. When I'm running the unit 24/7, I can feel heat pouring out of that little slot into the room. As others have said, it may eventually make its way into the room anyway, but I like to run it this way.

Any issue with dust/hair getting back there? When I pulled our surround the first time, there were some small dog-hair dustbunnies inside the fireplace cavity with the stove. Not sure if they got trapped when the insert was installed, or developed since then.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Got the block off plate done the other day. Up in Boston for a day or two, then back home...will be burning more when we get home, will be updating with results on this thread:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/poor-mans-block-off-plate-installed.151142/

 

[jscs.moore]

So I had the insert out the other day to see how easy it would be to put in a block-off plate. Took a couple pics. Check out the insert with the surround off, compared to the pic of it burning tonight (first burn this year).

View attachment 164476 View attachment 164477

Now the surround gets pretty hot to the touch, too hot to keep your hand on for more than a two-count. Here's my question:

Is the surround costing us heat, by keeping hotter air trapped behind it? Is that something the block plate will totally fix, or would I get some more heat out of the insert by putting some holes in the surround in a few places with a 1" spade bit? Is that insane/dangerous?

It just seems like even if a block-off plate was in, there would still be a lot of hot air that's not moving out into the room. Why isn't the surround more of a grate than a solid piece?

Thanks!

Hey edge of the woods...this question is a bit off topic but I noticed your insert surround almost touches what looks like wood trim around the fireplace. I have a Regency/Hampton HI300 insert in my fireplace and although it meets all minimum clearances to the wood facing & mantel (double checked by the dealer as well)...I sometimes get a little nervous during long burns when the wood facing feels really hot to the touch. But I have about 4.5 inches from the top of my cast iron surround to the 1/2 inch wood facing...looks like your metal surround is almost touching the wood trim...ever had any concerns with that? P.S. My wife would have never allowed the insert if I had to remove the very elegant mantel and wood trim around the fireplace

 

[Bones]

This is the surround I made....

 

[Lake Girl]

Not yet, town doesn't have the permit on file for the install, applying for a new one. Once the install is signed off on, I'll do the plate, and will update!

Dealer installed with no permit or advice to you to get permit??

 

[dafattkidd]

Any issue with dust/hair getting back there? When I pulled our surround the first time, there were some small dog-hair dustbunnies inside the fireplace cavity with the stove. Not sure if they got trapped when the insert was installed, or developed since then.

I don't know. I vacuum back there when I clean the chimney. I'm not sure if it's building up or just kind been there. Sorry. Not much help.

 

[Heftiger]

This is the surround I made....

View attachment 170280

Very nice!

 

[Chuck the Canuck]

This is the surround I made....

View attachment 170280

Dang fine way of accessorizing!

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Hey edge of the woods...this question is a bit off topic but I noticed your insert surround almost touches what looks like wood trim around the fireplace. I have a Regency/Hampton HI300 insert in my fireplace and although it meets all minimum clearances to the wood facing & mantel (double checked by the dealer as well)...I sometimes get a little nervous during long burns when the wood facing feels really hot to the touch. But I have about 4.5 inches from the top of my cast iron surround to the 1/2 inch wood facing...looks like your metal surround is almost touching the wood trim...ever had any concerns with that? P.S. My wife would have never allowed the insert if I had to remove the very elegant mantel and wood trim around the fireplace

Haha! My wife loves ours, too. Well, the surround never used to get hot to the touch at the part close to the wood. Now it does, with the block off plate in, but not very. I'll take some readings on the next burn. Neither the installer nor the inspector seemed worried about it. because of the size of the fireplace opening, we had to get an extra-large surround from Regency. It's a lot of metal, if anything it feels like it acts more like a heat sink, dissipating heat like a fin.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Dealer installed with no permit or advice to you to get permit??

We had a permit to install, but the town never came back out to inspect until recently.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

This is the surround I made....

View attachment 170280

That is beautiful!! I love the animal accents, very nice touch. What did you use to paint it? Did you weld it yourself? I don't have access to welding equipment, but figure I can bolt some mesh to a steel frame that I bolt together.

 

[Bones]

That is beautiful!! I love the animal accents, very nice touch. What did you use to paint it? Did you weld it yourself? I don't have access to welding equipment, but figure I can bolt some mesh to a steel frame that I bolt together.

I got the metal from shop downtown to cut the 3 pieces of expanded metal. Then I welded it all together except the outer edges which is a "U" piece of sheet metal from the A/C shop - this allowed for movement for poor measurements. Sprayed it all down with high temp primer and then final coat of high temp flat black.
The animals I searched high and low for and found a place that was really cheap. Stamped tin, which I epoxied bolts to and also painted.