" Could the soot be vacumed out of the elbow on a FV through the open top?
Angus, I'll check out the Jotuls."
In regards to cleaning the chimney - I haven't ran it yet but we are putting a Jotul F50 into the house we are building. Our chimney is straight up/down. No elbows. The installer that I am purchasing it from told me that the Jotul F50s allow us to clean the chimney into the stove without removing the pipe and then just vacuum the creosote out of the stove. He also sweeps chimneys and though it would be a nice setup to clean. But like I said, I am going on what he's telling me as we haven't ran the stove yet and won't until this winter........
Woodstock sold a pastel of Classics but methinks the Fireview is still the big seller. Not too many want the Classic after seeing the Fireview. Like firecracker stated, we like to see the flame.
Interesting thought about cleaning soot through the open top. I see no reason why you could not do that with a good shop vac. Not sure how well you could make the bend to get down in a tee but with just an elbow, it should be no problem.