The short answer is better heating efficiency and potentially lower costs on your energy bill. Why Should You Consider A Wood Burning Fireplace Insert? But, a wood fireplace insert is really more of a pedestal-free stove designed to fit inside an existing fireplace, which explains why so many people call them a wood stove insert.
A wood burning fireplace is simply a masonry or prefabricated firebox that serves as a combustion chamber for wood.
This is because the greater efficiency of the fireplace insert makes for lower flue gas temperatures thus, a smaller flue is needed for the insert to operate correctly. Depending on the installation, a flexible liner may be needed to resize the larger flue of the fireplace chimney. An outer frame called a surround helps cover the gap between the edges of the insert and the fireplace. Unlike factory-built fireplaces, a wood stove insert is not designed to be installed into a framed wall on its own.Ī wood burning fireplace insert must be used in a properly rated manufactured fireplace or masonry fireplace. These are manufactured structures designed to transform low-efficiency, open-faced fireplaces into highly-efficient heating sources. Wood fireplace inserts, often called a wood stove insert, are essentially legless stoves that are inserted into an existing fireplace. But, in reality, these factory-built boxes are just plain fireplaces. After all, you insert the box into the opening in your wall. People often confuse the prefabricated fireplace boxes with fireplace inserts. Or, it can be a factory-built firebox constructed from metal and installed into a framed opening in the wall or a framed enclosure. It can be built using stone, brick, or any other veneer. Technically speaking, a wood burning fireplace is a structural opening in a wall that is designed to burn wood logs. Wood burning fireplace and a wood burning fireplace insert. If you prefer to use wood logs for fuel, the information you'll want to know boils down to the differences between a Yet, all of these terms reference the same type of appliance. If you spend any amount of time probing the web for fireplace inserts, you may run across a number of terms, including wood stove insert, wood fireplace insert, or wood burning insert. The biggest area of confusion when it comes to fireplaces versus fireplace inserts comes down to the difference between how the average person describes the different types of fireplaces and the technical terms used to categorize them. But first, let's clear up a common confusion with fireplaces and fireplace inserts. We'll also provide a list of brand recommendations and tips for care and maintenance. In this article, we'll go over the different model options and what you need for the installation. Wood Burning Fireplace Insert Buyer's GuideĬonsidering a fireplace insert, but not sure where to start? Here's what you need to know about wood burning fireplace inserts.