An insert will cut down on the soot and smoke dramatically, but it won't eliminate it totally.

I used to heat with an insert. I did not have any problems with it. It was a quality unit, and it was professionally installed.

I don't recall ever having any issues with soot or smoke in the house. You do have to be careful removing the ashes. That will be true with any wood burning heat source.

Thank you both. We would definitely be having it professionally installed; we're not that handy.

kframe, in your experience, will there be a distinct sooty area on any of the vertical brick facing around the fireplace, or is it more of just a fine dust that could be anywhere?

I'm not trying to be dustless, I just don't want the big sooty patches we currently have to happen on brick we've painted white...

The insert has a high temp gasket between the door and frame. You should get no particulate from the door gasket if the door is properly sealed. It is sealed to eliminate excess combustion air.

I have a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace, and used to get soot on the vertical face above the fireplace opening. Since I installed an insert in 2002, we have not had to clean the vertical surface where we used to get the soot (and my wife is a cleaning freak - if it needed to be cleaned, it would have been done).

Take care.

GaryG, thank you!

I grew up with one in my parents house and have getting one for my house on my long-term improvements list.

The big advantages I see are having a blower to circulate the heat and having an outside air intake. The blower means you aren't just relying on radiant heat and takes better advantage of the stove. And the outside air intake means you aren't pulling combustion air through the house (and into the house as infiltration).

My parents have an early 80's vintage Buck stove and I've looked at getting a small one for my place.

I think your first priority is to have a competent professional examine your fireplace and chimney and figure out why it is malfunctioning, and to fix it. The chimney should also be professionally cleaned before you install an insert. If your chimney is old, it may have developed cracks that cause drafts or other defects.

If you want a really efficient insert, you should consider one of the direct vent systems, which use either natural gas if you have it piped in already or propane if you do not. They do not smoke; they have no drafts; and they throw off a lot of heat. Since the govt is giving tax credits of up to $1500 for efficient systems, you should check to find out what specific systems qualify for the credit, so you can save yourself a lot of money.

The most important thing to consider, in my opinion, is that you identify a really competent installer. Inserts are a specialty, not something an "average" homeowner can do, and it is also not something an average chimney gut can do. You really need to ask around to find out the local installers who have a good track record. Most inserts take 2 guys close to a whole day to install.

I am biased toward gas direct vent systems. I have one for our third winter now, and it's terrific. Make sure you get a remote thermostat that's usually offered at extra cost, but worth it.

Just a clarification that I was talking about a woodburning insert. And I'd assume with our 60-year-old clay tile chimney liner that you'd be lining it with a new stainless duct.

If I was going to be burning gas in it, I'd probably be looking at a furnace upgrade to high efficiency, more insulation, and air sealing first. Those won't be as aesthetically pleasing, but they'll keep the bills down.

The big advantages I see are having a blower to circulate the heat and having an outside air intake. The blower means you aren't just relying on radiant heat and takes better advantage of the stove. And the outside air intake means you aren't pulling combustion air through the house (and into the house as infiltration).

I disagree on the need for a blower. I have seen inserts that circulated air quite well from convection alone. Blowers tend to be noisy.

There is some controversy over outside combustion air. We elected not to use it in our new build. See the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: woodheat.org

Opening the door to stoke the stove can result in a small amount of smoke being released into the home, possibly a small amount of soot, as well, especially if it's a windy day and a gust causes the stove to "puff back" when you have the door open.

Compared to an open fireplace, though, it's going to be minimal, and you'll see the fine dust accumulate on the brick long before you see smoke or soot.

My aunt and uncle heat their ranch-style house exclusively with a wood insert. Occasionally they'll get a whiff of woodsmoke when stoking it. Otherwise, they don't have any issues.

Thanks all. I was figuring we'd need a new chimney liner, and likely some repair as well, as our house is older and when the sweeps cleaned it last year they said it wasn't in perfect shape, although there were no problems they could see that should have been affecting the draw.

re: blower vs. no-blower... I didn't know that not having a blower was an option. My father-in-law has an insert with a blower that is in fact a bit louder than I'd like, so if I could do without the noise, that'd be great.

We do want to stay with woodburning.

re: blower vs. no-blower... I didn't know that not having a blower was an option. My father-in-law has an insert with a blower that is in fact a bit louder than I'd like, so if I could do without the noise, that'd be great.

This is where a really good dealer comes in. He should be able to tell you which models are good at convection heating and which models really need a blower.

I would definitely want a variable speed blower on a wood burning insert. A stove is a different animal. Variable speed blowers are quiet on a low setting. Mine goes from "quiet" to "blow dryer" speeds, and any where in between.

I wouldn't want to depend on natural convection heat alone, or even radiant heat alone for that matter, with an insert. Especially if you are using it as a heating source.

If you find you don't need the fan, then fine, don't use it. Or use it on a very low speed. Better to have one than not.

My opinion.

Take care.

My Aunt and Uncle's insert has a continuously variable speed blower using a circular knob.

When it's really cold out they'll turn it up to get the most heat out of the insert possible. It only becomes objectionably loud when it's going full speed.

I have a woodburning insert that I use as a backup heat source. It works great but it took me some time to figure out how to keep the heat output just where we need it.

Smoke can still be an issue with the insert if you don't operate it properly. In my unit, I found that kindling wood used to get a fast & hot start works much better than paper and keeps the chances of smoke getting into the room down. I also found that letting the fire dwindle too far down at night resulted in a higher chance of smoke getting into the room. In my unit, the catalytic converter must be disengaged (pull a damper rod out) before the doors are opened - otherwise smoke will enter the room.

The catalytic conveter is used to help get a cleaner burn. If the converter is engaged when the firebox is not hot enough - that can also lead to more smoke. And if the fire dwindles and the firebox temp falls too low (still hot - but not hot enough) - that can also lead to more smoke. I wish I did not have the CC in there but that was not an option at the time. If I were in the hunt for a replacement, it would not have a CC in it.

My unit has a blower fan that is activated by a thermostat inisde the firebox. Once the tstat reaches the hot point (which I cannot change), the blower fan kicks on to draw in outside air. For ambience fires, I wish that i could turn the blower off but that is not possible for safety reasons. The air coming in is to prevent the firebox from getting too hot as well as to serve as a source for more hot air flow.

When we use the fireplace as a heat backup (usually during power outages), I found that using portable fans works great for moving air around the house. I can generate a lot of heat with the fireplace - so much so that the room it is in get's too warm. So if you intend to heat with a high BTU output unit, make sure you can get good airflow throughout the house.

Another little trick I learned is that when we are cranking the fireplace and the air outside is very cold and dry, the humidity level in the house plumets. Since my humidifiers are connected to my HVAC unit, when the HVAC is out I have no humidification. So I bought 2 portable humidifiers that I run to get some moisture into the house.

I also have a gas fired insert. This one can also operate as either a heater or ambience fireplace with the flip of a lever. The nice thing about this one is that it has a hand held remote that also servces as the thermostat. So I can set the temperatue and put the remote wherever i want to, and the fireplace fan will turn on and off based on the remote's tempertaure setting. You can then move the remote around to either a cold spot or a warm spot in the room to keep the room temperature comfortable and stable.

The gas unit was much easier to install than the woodburner. Gas unit only had a single 8 inch duct for noth intake and exhaust. The woodburner had a 16 inch exhaust duct plus two 6 inch air intake ducts for combustion PLUS the air intake for the vent fan. It was a beast to install.

If you have power outages and use a backup generator - put the gas or woodburner insert on a backup circuit - both require a small amount of power to operate.

Check on the fireplace forum for discusions on these types of units. Spend the extra bucks and get a top of the line unit if you plan to use the fireplace frequently and/or as a primary heat source.

If you have power outages and use a backup generator - put the gas or woodburner insert on a backup circuit - both require a small amount of power to operate.

Better yet, avoid a unit that requires electricity to function.

As far as I know, the Napleon inserts linked below, which come with a blower(s), do not require the blower for basic operation.

The also don't have catalysts.

We installed the freestanding Napoleon 1400L woodstove.

Here is a link that might be useful: Napoloen Inserts