How to Use a Wood-Burning Fireplace Insert

Before the First Fire

A new insert needs a few gentle fires before it is pushed. The Regency i2450-2 manual, which we use for the steps on this page, says the paint gives off an odor for the first few days while it cures, so open windows, and keep the first fires moderate. Only after five or six such fires should the insert run at its highest setting, and never from cold.

Check that the baffles sit in place at the top of the firebox and that the firebrick is seated. Read your own manual's operating section; every insert's controls sit in a slightly different place, and its loading sizes follow its firebox.

The Controls

Most wood inserts have three or four controls. Find each one on yours before lighting anything.

• Air control: a slide or knob that sets how much air feeds the fire. On the i2450-2 it is on the front left; slide left to open, right to close.
• Door and handle: the door stays closed while the insert burns; it opens only to light, load and stir.
• Blower switch: off, AUTO or a speed setting. In AUTO the fan waits until the insert is hot.
• Bypass lever, on catalytic inserts only: opened for starting and reloading, closed once the fire is going.

A First Fire, Step by Step

These steps follow the i2450-2 manual's start-up procedure. The sizes are that model's; scale them to your firebox and your manual.

• Open the air control fully.
• Lay two longer split pieces front to back on the firebox floor, a hand's width or so apart.
• Put crumpled paper and kindling between them.
• Lay shorter pieces side to side across them, with small gaps, then two more longer pieces front to back on top.
• Light the paper and leave the door slightly open for 5 to 6 minutes, until flames dance along the secondary air tubes at the top.
• Close the door and burn on high air for about an hour.
• When the wood has burned down with good flames left, level the coals; the insert is ready for its next load.

The Daily Routine

Once a coal bed is going, the manual's routine is the same every time. Open the air fully, turn the fan off, and open the door slowly; the manual says to open the draft control fully for 10 to 15 seconds first so smoke does not roll out. Rake the coals level and load the logs front to back. On the i2450-2 that means up to six pieces of about 17 inches.

Leave the door open a few minutes until strong flames take hold, close it, run on high for 5 to 10 minutes, then set the air where you want it. For a high setting the fan can go on high at about 15 minutes; for a low setting, low at about 30 minutes. Stir the coals about halfway through a burn so the load charcoals evenly.

Clean glass tells you the fire is hot enough. The manual's own rule of thumb is that clean glass means a clean flue and clean exhaust. Our page on an insert that is not heating helps when the room stays cool.

Catalytic Inserts and the Bypass

Some inserts burn their smoke in a coated ceramic honeycomb called a catalyst. The EPA explains that every catalytic stove has a lever-operated bypass damper that is opened for starting and reloading, and that these units are a little more complicated to run. With the bypass open, smoke goes around the catalyst while the fire gets hot; once the fire is established, the bypass is closed so the smoke passes through it.

Your manual says when to close it, usually by a temperature on a probe thermometer or a time after loading. The EPA notes that the catalyst wears out and that how long it lasts is largely in the user's hands, so open the bypass every time the door opens.

Ashes and Wood

In regular use, the manual says to remove ashes every few days, into a metal container with a tight lid, set on a noncombustible floor or on the ground away from anything that burns. Expect hot embers even in old ash. Keep stored wood at least 2 feet from the insert, and burn only dry, seasoned, untreated wood.

Things the Manual Forbids

Some habits from open fireplaces are wrong in an insert, and a few are dangerous. If the connector, baffle or top of the insert ever glows, it is overfiring: stop adding wood and close the air.

• No grate or andirons; the fire burns directly on the firebrick.
• No lighter fluid, gasoline or kerosene, ever, to start or revive a fire.
• No garbage, treated or painted wood, cardboard or loose paper loads.
• No running with the door open beyond the few minutes of lighting and loading.
• No changes to the controls or air passages to make it burn harder.

Help With Your Insert

If the insert smokes when the door opens, will not hold a fire, or its fan or bypass will not work, book a free inspection. Our fireplace insert installation crew checks the insert, its liner and its controls, and puts any repair in a written estimate.

Our experienced crew services wood inserts, and the company is family-run, locally owned and Proudly American. Ask us to walk you through your own insert's controls on the visit; that is part of the job for a Proudly American family crew.