Masonry or Metal

Hey guys, I currently have a PE Summit that I am not overly enthusiastic about. As a result I have seriously considered buying the Blaze King, especially for the longer burn times and bigger wood box. So, when I bought the house 20 years ago and installed my Consolidated Dutchwest I put in a 6 in double wall thimble through the basement cement wall and chimney outside the house. I recognize that if I go with the BK, the connector is 8†and you should not neck down to a 6â€. That in itself causes me to install a new chimney. In redoing it, what would you guys recommend? Would it be best to stay with a metal pipe for a chimney or would it be better to just build a masonry block and tile chimney instead? Thanks for the insight.

cass

oldspark said:

Whats wrong with the Summit, I like the metal chimneys due to less hassle installing and they work betterIMHO. I have a summit and am wondering why you dont like it.

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Nothing wrong particularly.....While the burn times are longer than they were with my Large CDW, it doesn't seem to want to throw the heat the way the DW did. It seems to take longer to get up and running good. I like the blower on it and it helped keep the basement at a more even temperature, maybe even the whole house by circulating the air better. Maybe its steel vs. cast iron. Wood was seasoned and dry, some of it standing for a couple of years. If i had a "do over" i would probably get a Jotul or BK. Have concisered the Princess, but sticks are shorter than i would like them to be. should check the code, i know that my chimney to my furnace is a masonary/brick/clay liner.

cass

it might be the radient heat factor. i considered the Jotul F600 and opted for the Summit instead. I know the little Jotul F 3B i have upstairs in the living room for the shoulder seasons and those days in mid Jan/Feb when can sometimes get really cold can really get warm. That might be exactly what it is. One factor that has really made me consider the BK was the burn time and loads. I'm away for 12-14 hrs during the day before i get home and a long burn time would certainly help. I get about 12-14 with the Summit if I use a combination of the draft and pipe damper.

cass

i gotta say that the glass stays clean on the summit. think i only cleaned it one time last season. then, mostly to wipe off the fly ash that accumulated. can't say i care much for the ash pan/hole either. not the best set up. guess i prefer the grates of the DW or Jotul. we'll see how it goes this season. maybe i can grow more fonder with time. like i said, i do like the blower as it tends to keep the temp in the house more even and moving. i do miss having an easy clean-out of a masonry chimney. i used have to pop the bottom of the pipe to get empty any accumulated soot after cleaning. now after cleaning i just pull the stove pipe from the thimbal, on the inside, and stick the vacume hose from the shop vac back there and get it out. really much easier than messing with the bottom of the pipe and making sure you have it closed back up right.

cass

thanks guys, appreciate all the input and valid points.....like mentioned earlier, i might give it one more season and see if i learn to like it more. i can start with the summit and always change further in.

cass