total NOOB needs advice

Good evening. I have been reading, researching and reading some more on this (and many other) websites and forums for a couple months now and have decide to get away from the propane draining insert that was installed (very poorly I might add) by my builder 3 years ago. We built a custom home and during the process they offered up a free fireplace deal and we took them up on their offer. kinda wish I hadn't done that now. Anyhow, there has been so much cold air blowing in around the insert that it got to the point of shutting it off and covering it up with a blanket to try and keep the drafts from coming in. It never really generated that much heat to begin with, even after installing a blower in it during the second year in the home. I decided to remove it and find an alternative. Once I removed most of the veneer stone and pulled the unit out I found that the builder did not drywall all the way up the back of the bump-out. There was insulation in the wall cavities but the drywall stopped about 6 inches above the opening and there is no insulation in the top of the bump-out, I can see the roof sheeting and the nails for the shingles.

Here is my plan
drywall/durock the entire bump-out and insulate the roof and close it in with durock as well, bringing this space into the "envelope" of the entire house.
A local dealer has a Bosca Soul 700 insert that he has on "end of season" pricing for 2500 and I am considering installing that unit in the space where the direct vent (AKA propane drain) gas burner vacated. According to the installation manual of the Bosca I am well within tolerances as far as proximity to combustibles as it sits today so the addition of the durock sheeting should just be an added layer of safety in my eyes.
Pellets seem to be plentiful throughout the year in Central Ohio, TSC, Lowe's and the depot seemed to have them as well as some area dealers.

Does this sound like a solid plan? I hear nothing but great things about pellet burners from the folks that I know that have them. I have not had any first hand experience with them. Any help you all can offer will be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

It was a direct vent Heatilator 3933. label says its a 22,000 BTU unit. The vent that's there now will not line up with the vent on the Bosca so I will need to cover that one and install the new vent a little lower and to the right so that it is a straight shot out of the back of the Bosca. There is more than enough space in there for the new unit. The space measures 39w x 36h x 24d with a 24" stone hearth in front of the opening. not much info out on the Bosca line though, they seem to be relatively new. there are a few people on this forum that either have them or have sold them and had no major complaints. The Salesman said they are designed by the guy who helped start up one of the major lines, Quadra fire maybe??

The Dealer said to use the room air for fresh air intake, they dont recommend the outside connection. They said it could cause issues in the summer when the warm, humid air outside circulates through the cooled down metal parts in the stove (from the AC) and potentially cause rust in the insert. Does that make sense to you all?
On the unit, it is a 50,000 BTU unit. Is $2500 a good price? they have it listed at $3100 regular price. it includes the insert and the shroud, no piping or pellets. He did say he would give me a few bags but not a lot at this price.

Thanks!

OK, after speaking with many other folks I have decided to vent the fresh air from the outside. makes the most sense, especially after speaking with a neighbor who is a home inspector about back drafting the furnace and negative pressure and all that. still on the fence though, sinking all that money into the pellet stove when I can get a vent free propane insert for 1/4 the price tag.

UGH!! Decisions decisions.

Somebody push me over the fence PLEASE!

Thanks!

I TOOK THE PLUNGE

Picked up the Bosca on Friday and installed it yesterday. That Mother is HEAVY!! Pretty straight forward install, straight vent out the back, one section of pipe and the end cap. Fired it up last night.

Now I have a few questions.
1. I smell the fire. I dont see any smoke or anything coming out of the unit, but I still smell the fire all the time while it is running. is this normal?
2. Since this thing is an insert, it is a pain in th @$$ to put the pellets into that slit of an opening. What could make this easier? I have tried a plastic bucket that can be squeezed into a fennel type shape and that made it a little easier but thats a relatively small bucket and it would take a mighty long time to fill the hopper that way.
3. Should you always see flames even on the lowest setting? On 1 and 2 the flames barely come up over the burn pot, on 3, 4, and 5 they are nice and large.
4. They gave me 10 bags of OHP pellets. (Ozark Hardwood Products) there seams to be a lot of dust in the bags. Should I try and filter this out before dumping them into the hopper (thus adding another piece of difficulty into filling this unit.
5. Cleaning the glass. Should I just use a cloth to wipe down the glass at the same time I scrape the ashes in the burn pot?

I think thats about it, for now.

thanks for all the help!!

thanks for the info ranger.

I still think I got smoke getting back into the house though. Even though I dont see it, I sure as heck smell it. It smells like a campfire all the time this thing is running. I re-sealed the joint at the adapter and sealed the first joint from the adapter to the pipe.
Do I need to let that Red ATV sealant cure for any amount of time before I fire up the stove?
I also can see light from around the exchanger tubes whil the fire is going as well. Is this normal or is this where the smoke smell is coming from?
I plan on going to the dealer at lunch today and look at the floor model to see if there is any space around the exchanger tubes on that one as well.

thanks!

I went out to the dealer and the floor models all have gaskets around the exchanger tubes. These were put there by the distributor as part of a change kit that was issued by Bosca (kind of like a recall I guess) but the one in the box didn't get it. They were going to give me the one from the floor but I insisted on getting the one that was still in the box since it wasn't beat up like the floor model, and the salesman that was there that day didn't realize that it didn't get the change applied. The dealer called the distributor and the distributor said that the gaskets around the exchange tubes wouldn't be whats causing the smoke to get back in, that's just to remedy an issue with controlling the burn (something i have been struggling with as well) and they arranged for the distributor to come out to my house next week and install the gaskets and a bushing around the exchange cleaning rod. So the dealer told me that I should have sealed all around the wall thimble as well and to try a better grade of High temp sealant (which he provided to me for free).

This has certainly been a learning experience for me. I love the stove and the Heat I get out of it. I had it running on high for about 45 minutes last night and it darn near put me out of the room it was getting so hot. the dealer has been pretty good to work with as well (aside form the change kit incident).

If anyone has any other tips and tricks on preventing the smell from getting back into the house feel free to send them my way!!

I do have a CO2 detector in the basment, I will move that upstairs tonight.

THANKS!!

its a work in progress, stone should be finished in a week or two.


THANKS!!