New guy checking in

Greetings!

I am finalizing the install of a 44 elite & will start test firing it this weekend once I get the cement board up & a temp hearth down. Did all the install myself, (The dealer was laughing at my last visit as he was initially taking bets that I couldn't do it, many try... but I'm Mr. fix-it, former journeyman machinist, made tank & artillery cannon for the Army for 17 years. Installation manual looked to easy to pass the opportunity by.

Our property has lots of white oak & has been neglected for years. Just the clean up will keep me in wood for three or four years. We will be adding a Fisher Momma Bear in the garage next year as I picked up a like new-slightly used unit for $180 at a yard sale!

Wife can't wait, the original dealer said he would have it done in a weekend, I keep showing her stuff that would have been missed and we are saving about 1K on the install alone. Working on it mostly on weekends, I ran into issues with another fireplace in the opposing bedroom- 4" pipe was inverted, the lennox unit required 6" with cooling jacket- due to clearance issues they just inverted 4" and jammed it in the fireplace! That set me back a couple of weeks and $600 for pipe to fix that cob-job.

I will be doing the stonework myself as well, any tips here would be appreciated as well as any 44 Elite info from the pros.

Larry G.
Front Royal, VA

lml999 said:

Welcome, New Guy! Feel free to pose questions, post pictures, share wins!

Have you burned before?

Two things to remember:

- safety
- dry wood

Belt and suspenders on the first, lots of well-informed people here, so ask away.
Regarding the second -- that white oak clean up will make a nice bank of wood for you to burn in 2 to 3 years. Do you have seasoned wood available now? Do you own a moisture meter? Most common challenge to good burning is unseasoned wood...

Good to have you here!

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I have burned before, I have about a cord I cut last year to clean up the front lawn, the rest was dead standing, with woodpeckers well into it. I dropped some of that within the last 3 months & split it, it appears to be quite dry. No green stuff. I had not heard of a moisture meter- I will look into that, thank you!

The PTrap ducts were a puzzle, I ended up doing an 18' run to the end of the house via the sub floor- slightly exceeding the specifications, but it draws cold air like crazy. The unit doesn't tie into the duct work, but someone told me to just run the regular heat fans and that will help. If not, I will put duct work into the attic area as the living room has a vaulted ceiling that will collect the heat & I can use that to pull some up to cold spots if needed. The blower is about 10 feet away, I had only one outside location, but it fit like a glove, resting on the sill plate, just enough room between the end of the deck. All run under the floor. I did check with my insurance guy, he said most home fires are from wood burning, but as long as it is a lab tested fireplace, State Farm is ok with it. My garage is insanely huge, so I will make sure the location is marked off on the floor. Also, there is a support pole that keeps the wife from getting too close with her car.

Thanks for the "warm" welcome!

Larry G.

OK, first fire complete! The fireplace is awesome! On high, it eats wood like it's nickname- I have dubbed it "The Dragon", and it pushes a lot of heat. My daughter pointed out that the kitchen floor tile (abnout 50" away) was no longer cold, which I was surprised to hear. I have about two cord ready to burn & wonder how long it will last.

No issues at all from start to finish with the installation, fan & thermostat working on first testing, doors seal tightly, very easy to adjust. Our concern was that the main floor where it is installed would be too warm & the upstairs would not get enough heat. The lower stat, located about 50' away showed 76 degrees quickly, the upstairs stat, located directly above the lower floor's read 78. I'm running the furnace fans on circulate to help move the heat throughout.

Fan noise seemed to be an issue for others, but not for us. I installed the blower duct via the right side, running to the external box that houses the blower for outside air which sits right on top of the sill plate about 12' away. There were others that posted the fan noise was driving them crazy, but we only hear but a faint whisper from the fan when running, I have it set to high.

I read "zero clearance can" in the literature, and now I really understand that phrase. The two 6" cooling ducts bring in the cold air & the fireplace box top is cool to the touch. The double walled flue made by Travis Ind. is barely warm right out of the firebox. I was concerned with the potential for heat buildup in the wall cavity, and have left the enclosure accessible for now so I could monitor it. I even used angle iron for the joist that runs at the the prescribed 4" clearance for the initial offset elbow, but there really was no need for that. I sealed all joints with high temp permatex & then wrapped with 3M high temp flue tape, which now seems like overkill, but better safe than sorry. I would skip the tape if I install another, or just buy the regular stuff. The high temp was pricey & I got 15' per roll, which goes fast when wrapping the large diameter fluepipe.

Another nice surprise was that Travis Industries put a moisture meter in the welcome kit, which I thought was over and above. My dead standing stuff tested between 22 & 32, so I can pick thru for the drier stuff. I know, dry wood is important, but I was way too busy with the house to worry about cutting & splitting- the house was a wreck as when repossessed, the heat ex-changers were stolen & pipes broke, flooding the home. Needless to say, our first year has honed my handyman skills, but what a bargain it was!

I would recommend this fireplace with no hesitation, just a warning- have plenty of wood on hand to feed the Dragon!!

Hogwildz said:

I highly suggest extending that hearth out at least to double what you currently have, or you may find yourself with burn spots on that nice wood floor.

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Thanks for that tip- I bought a wide hearth rug and it has saved me a couple of times already.