Keep Your Fireplace Ambiance, and Heighten its Heat, With a Fireplace Insert!

On a frigid Willow Springs day, nothing “warms” up a room (metaphorically speaking) like a blazing fireplace. The light, sound and movement all combine for a romantic, relaxing ambiance.

Unfortunate truth is, an open-hearth woodburning fireplace hardly warms a room. Up to 90 percent of the fire’s heat is lost through the chimney. An open fire actually sucks more heat out of a space than it could possibly return. Homeowners run a fire risk from airborne sparks landing on combustible surfaces, as well.

Want to make your fireplace experience safer, far warmer and more enjoyable with a sleek, highly-efficient fireplace insert in Willow Springs!

Going right into the fireplace opening, a fireplace insert for a woodburning fireplace is a self-contained unit that sends heat directly into a room, rather than sending most through a chimney. The fire is visible through a glass panel. The ambiance remains – along with far more warmth!

Homeowners can select between gas fireplace inserts and wood fireplace inserts. Both are offered by Butler Chimneys, your fireplace and chimney inspection company in Willow Springs. 

Which fireplace insert is for you?

 

A gas insert is perfect for those who want instant, low-maintenance fire. The fire literally ignites at the flip of a switch. Available in a broad array of designs, gas fireplace inserts are fast, clean, and little effort to operate and maintain.

A woodburning fireplace insert creates significantly more heat than gas. The work involved is much greater, though. A fire has to be physically started, wood added, and air controls adjusted to moderate the blaze. Because it burns so efficiently, a wood fireplace insert consumes much less timber than an open-hearth design. For those with unlimited or cheap access to firewood in Willow Springs, a wood burning insert can be noticeably) more cost-effective, and a nice {supplemental heating source for a home.

The choice between gas or woodburning is purely user preference. Many Willow Springs homeowners proactively install insert-style fireplaces for enhanced heat and cleanliness, often when building homes.

The alternative situation for adding an insert is when a fireplace inspection discovers cracked or missing flue tiles. Installing a brand-new insert will bypass many issues, and is often less costly than doing repairs. The decision might not be difficult.

Fireplace inserts are made of heavy-gauge sheet steel. The doors are cast iron, which allows highly-effective heat conduction. Fire is completely enclosed within, seen through ceramic glass, and can be left unattended.

Smoke is exhausted through a new stainless steel liner added inside the chimney. Wood fireplace inserts use a single 6-inch liner; gas, two 3-inch liners, one for providing air to the firebox, and another for exhausting gases.

Butler Chimneys typically installs fireplace inserts – gas or wood – in homes in Willow Springs in one day. If the former is added, a new fuel line is run from a gas source elsewhere in the house.

New stainless steel chimney liners have lifetime warranties. Their installation can sometimes allow homeowners to skip pricey chimney repairs that would otherwise be needed to ensure safe venting of fireplace gases.

Another benefit of fireplace inserts? If power goes out, they remain a steady, reliable heat source. In severe weather, they can literally be a lifesaver.

Ready to ponder a fireplace insert? Contact Butler Chimneys. You’ll enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace … and a far warmer, more comfortable space around you!