Why Install a Wood or Gas Insert into Your Fireplace?

WHAT IS A FIREPLACE INSERT?
A fireplace insert is a stove specially designed to be retrofit into an existing fireplace. We offer models that burn firewood, or models that burn LP or Natural gas. Fireplace inserts were developed as a means of converting an open fireplace into a powerful heating source.

SAVE ENERGY DOLLARS
A fireplace with an open damper is the equivalent of keeping a window open all winter! 15% or more of your energy dollars may be going right up your chimney. By installing a fireplace insert, the damper area is blocked off to help stop heated air from escaping up your chimney.

SAVE FUEL COSTS
Controlled combustion, glass windows, optimized venting methods plus advanced combustion and heat extraction design means a fireplace insert will create more heat - up to 10 times as much heat from the same amount of fuel - than an open burning fireplace. A fireplace insert uses less fuel and turns converts that fuel to usable btu's for primary, supplemental or emergency backup heating.

MAXIMIZE FIREPLACE EFFICIENCY &
MINIMIZE REPAIR COSTS
For those homeowners who need to line an unlined fireplace chimney or reline a damaged fireplace flue, we will gladly restore it to its original design by lining the chimney with a state-of-the-art stainless steel chimney liner, but keep in mind the inefficiency of your open fireplace. But if you consider the alternative of installing a wood or gas burning insert, you can usually make a high-effiency conversion for less money, quickly recouping your investment through less energy loss and added heating capability.

     See Buck Stove Wood Burning Inserts
     See Gas Burning Inserts

CONSIDERING A CONVERSION TO GAS?
You have 3 basic alternatives when converting your fireplace to gas:

• Vented gas logs provide a decorative fire. They require the fireplace damper to be clamped open for safety reasons, so that gas fumes are less likely to escape into your home. They use the most gas - commonly rated at 60,000 btu input (2/3 gallon per hour) - and the open damper means all the heat they produce will typically escape up the chimney. Vented gas logs average 10% to minus 10% efficiency.
• Vent-free gas logs, while a popular choice, are not the option we endorse. Vent-free appliances actually emit their fumes into your house, which can be a health concern for people with certain health conditions. The flames aren't as realistic as a vented product, they can put excessive moisture into your home, and are not recommended for long burning times. We always recommend that gas products be vented models. Vent-free models use less gas the most decorative models, averaging 1/3 gallon per hour. At 99% efficiency, all of the heat comes back into your house, but so do the fumes and moisture that vent-free products create.
• Vented gas inserts offer maximum safety, fuel economy and heating capability when all factors are considered. A model rated at 30,000 btu (1/3 gallon of LP gas) consumption per hour may heat 1500 square feet or more in our area at about 80% efficiency. The gas emissions are vented to the outdoors, assuring excess moisure and fumes exit your chimney where we think they belong. Thermostat controls are common, meaning you can have even, comfortable heat - even in a power outage. See our Valor Gas Burning Inserts

CONSIDERING A WOOD INSERT?
There are a number of great reasons to burn wood in your fireplace: wood is a renewable energy source, it's abundantly available and inexpensive in our area, and a real wood fire warms the soul like nothing else can. And by installing a wood burning insert in your fireplace, you can enjoy up to 8 times as much heat from the same amount of wood! Fill the wood stove with about half as much wood as your open fireplace, and it will burn for 8 hours or more in a standard size model. Glass windows mean you'll still enjoy your fire view, but you'll make less smoke, haul less wood and heat up to 2000 sq. ft. or more! Wood inserts offer great supplemental or emergency heating.
See Buck Stove Wood Burning Inserts

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