Kuma Sequoia Insert Install

I saw that someone had posted some questions about the Kuma Sequoia in the last couple of days, so I decided to post some pictures and give a brief summary of my install experience from this past fall. This is my first insert, and I found this website to be extremely helpful throughout the process. In addition, we did not have a local dealer at the time of my purchase, so the Freeman family of Kuma very patiently answered all of my questions. Kuma really seems like an excellent American family-oriented company.

We have about a 3,500 sq. ft. two story home in southwest Missouri with a centrally located brick fireplace in a vaulted living room. I installed two 68" ceiling fans to help move air around better, and I did not purchase the optional fan for the insert because I was hoping to have less noise. We had a heatform type metal firebox liner that I had to greatly alter using a grinder (slow, noisy, and dirty, but eventually successful). I purchased the 8" chimney liner from Fireside Chimney Supply and installed it (no pictures because I had my hands full trying to not die). I placed Roxul insulation just below the chimney top as well as above the block off plate I made from a piece of sheet metal. I used an appliance dolly with moving blankets, a furniture dolly, a motorcycle jack, a roll bar, a sheet metal slide, and some friends to move the insert from my garage to the inside of the fireplace. We decided to cut the surround down and make a decoration in it. We did this partly because my wife didn't like that much brick covered or the solid black appearance. We also thought there might be just a tiny bit of heat that was be available to come through the holes in the surround. Finally, I wanted to be able to see the catalytic thermometer that is normally hidden behind the surround. I used my jigsaw and electric drill to cut down the surround and make the little holes all over it. I then used the paint they recommended to repaint the surround. I made a slate hearth pad to get the 18" protection in front of the insert. I converted my fireplace toolkit broom into an ash rake, and I made a rolling woodbox out of some cedar.

I only had about 1 1/2 cords of wood good and dry, so I haven't burned it quite as much as I would have liked, but I have plenty ready for next winter which we are excited about. Being a woodburning rookie, I don't have much to say comparing the performance to anything else. However, we have been totally satisfied and have really enjoyed the insert this winter. When I've kept it going, it was able to meet all of our heating needs by itself even on our coldest days this winter and made the main part of our home much more comfortable than we had been before. I definitely want to express my appreciation to all of you who have been such a great resource for me. It would have simply been too overwhelming to try to figure all of this out and do it myself without all of your advice and experience.

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kumastoves said:

The surround panel modification is impressive, and the big brick hearth is very cool. Any questions at all make sure and send a message thru our contact form on the website. Jack, who handles those emails, uses a Sequoia too.

Jason

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Thank you, Jason. My wife was happy with how the surround turned out, and I was relieved that I didn't have to turn around and order another surround after butchering the first one (although my little craftsman jigsaw bit the dust half way through the project and had to be replaced). Jack was extremely helpful through the entire purchase process, and I even have a question into him through your website right now. You guys have been great.

kumastoves said:

I can't get over how cool that fireplace is. Next time we need photos for a brochure I'll be checking in with ya.

Jason

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Thanks Jason. That sounds like fun.

kumastoves said:

Judd,

Do you have an air source into the fireplace for combustion air or is it taking room air through the cut outs?

Thanks,
Jason

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I did not put in an outside air supply. It would have been a very good idea, and I probably should have. At the time, it seemed daunting to tackle drilling a big hole through that much masonry down into my crawl space and then outside, so I didn't do it. I did consider that the little holes in the surround might let air through a little easier to the air intake. Although I think there probably would have been enough air getting around the surround without them. The little holes were primarily aesthetic and to let me view the catalyst probe thermometer.

weatherguy said:

That's real nice Judd, I almost had one but didn't think I could get an 8 inch liner own my chimney, how long of a burn time do you get with a full box?

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I know this is a delayed reply. I didn't see the question initially and haven't been around the site for awhile. Regarding the burn time, I must admit that I don't know exactly how to answer the question because the definition of burn time is not clear to me. The manufacturer claims 14 hours. I am sure they are way better at operating the stove since this was my first year, but I wasn't able to keep it "burning" for 14 hours at what I consider burning. I was, however, able to load it before I went to bed at 10pm and when I got up at 6am there would be many burning coals and the largish space I was trying to heat was still comfortable on our cold days. For me, that was success. In order to really compare stove burn times between different manufacturers and models, it seems like you would have to control for several factors including wood species & moisture content (and probably many many more that I am too ignorant to know) and then define the temperature at a specific location on the stove at which you consider it no longer "burning". I have looked a little and it doesn't seem to be that standardized. "The bigger the box, the longer the burn time" does seem to make sense, so the Kuma Sequoia probably does have a decent burn time compared to others since it is on the bigger side. I don't know if that really helps answer your question or not.

Woody Stover said:

Missed this thread previously. Great-looking install, and nice to have one in the field that we can get some feedback on next season (hint,hint.) I'm curious as to what the actual usable firebox size is? In lieu of measurements, a couple of pics would be nice. The Buck 91 claims 4+ cu.ft. but it's more like 3, usable; The height from the floor of the box to the cat shield is probably around 12".
The Buck pulls its air from under the front of the stove, and I was looking on the Kuma website for better pics of the front. What they have pictured there shows a cutout under the door, but also looks different than your stove...I see 2 air levers down low? The Buck has a left and right air slider....left is the doghouse air which comes in below the door in the center/bottom of the box. Does the Sequoia have something similar?
I also wonder how loud the blower might be. The Buck is tolerable on low. The blower would give you the ability to heat up a cool house faster, and might help distribute the heat around the house better by creating a stronger convection loop, depending on your floor plan. You could possibly use it at night, when fan noise wouldn't be an issue, to get more heat to the bedrooms. On my freestanding Dutchwest, the blower makes a huge difference, several degrees of room temp. The drawback is that when I don't want the fan on, I have to drop down a couple of block-off plates to allow the stove to convect well. I'll have to figure out a better, quicker way to do that. Not sure if just having the fan installed would slow the natural convection of the Kuma. Did you ask Kuma about running the stove without a blower, and if so what did they say? I think the Buck would get really hot if I didn't have the blower pulling heat away from the box...

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Thank you. Attached is a picture of the inside of the firebox. I know you didn't ask for measurements, but I'll add them just in case anyone else would like to know. It is 24" wide. The height from the firebrick floor to the bottom of the catalyst shield is 12". The depth is a little variable depending on where you consider the front, but I would say it is 18" of usable space with an extra 1.5" or so to the actual glass. Based on these measurements, I would consider the actual real world usable volume to be about 3 cubic feet (it is listed on their website as 3.6 cubic feet, which I am sure is accurate if you are counting the entire firebox...both usable and unusable). There is a little space on each side of the catalyst at the top that increases the usable space some (and I do use it when I'm really loading it), but conversely there is also a tiny amount of space that us cut off at a 45 degree angle in each corner of the box that would decrease the volume about the same amount, so the 3 cubic feet is probably pretty close. As I understand it, it is not unusual for manufacturers to list the absolute largest possible way of measuring their firebox, and probably since they all do it, it is accurate in a relative sense.

The picture on the website for the Sequoia is an old photo. I believe they redesigned it in 2012 and do not appear to have updated their photos yet. The following website link shows the changes they made: http://kumastoves.com/index.php?dispatch=news.view&news_id=10#10 They added outside air capability, a single air control (which is what you noticed as different), an ash lip, and a new blower mount design. The air now enters the at the back and bottom (where you would attach and outside air kit and makes its way forward to the front inside of the firebox which is controlled by the single lever on the right.

I don't know how loud the blower might be, but I imagine it is similar to the one on the Buck. I am sure I would appreciate the extra air flow from the blower. All things being equal, I would have put it on. However, we had a few considerations. Most important is that our brick is very short in front of the fireplace, and the blower would stick out beyond the brick, which was less pleasing to us aesthetically. Also, I specifically asked Kuma about the fan issue. They said that the fan moved 160cfm, and they could not quantify the air movement from natural convection (but I am sure it is a lot less). Most importantly they said that the convection would still work with the blower turned off, but the natural convection would be somewhat constricted. I didn't want to restrict the natural convection or have to mess with adding and removing a fan. Based on all of this, I installed two large ceiling fans in the room, did not add a fan to the insert, and hoped for the best. I love the quiet, and since I don't know what I am missing with a fan, I'm happy. I have no doubt that the air distribution could be faster and more aggressive, but overall it works for us. Regarding the temperature, I only have the thermometer on the catalyst, so I don't know how hot other parts of the stove get. I agree that the blower could help in that regard as well.