Long time reader, first time poster!
LOVED this site when I was shopping for my first wood stove. I ended up purchasing an Avalon Olympic Insert, which was just recently installed. I wanted to post a few pics to hopefully help out the next guy!
I wanted to go for a Summit or the like, but unless i wanted to take chisel to stone, it just wasn't gonna fit. As it turned out, the Olympic works great for heating the den/basement floor plus about 60% of the floor above (the ceiling is open to the entryway/kitchen/dining/living rooms).
The chimney is fully lined. I opted for no surround because I thought it would be butt-ugly against the stone. It has the blower option, as you can see. I removed the gold strip that runs along the below-the-door extension that the blower sits under (just a few screws). I also took my heat-friendly black spray paint to the logo at the top right of the stove - I wanted simple solid black as much as I could get it. We had to swap the power cord for the blower from factory default right to left - not a big deal, as it's all pre-configured for either side.
VERY happy owner! Damn solid construction - quite impressive. Though I'm awfully glad I don't install these things for a living - ouch!
Comments about blower noise are not irrational, but perhaps over-stated. I found I had to improvise (binder clips, believe it or not) some supports below the blower to keep it snugged up against the below-the-door shelf. It was "rattle-y" before that. At full-tilt blow (it's a variable speed knob setup) it's not quiet, but I find that at 90% down to 80% of the speed scale, it's a totally acceptable volume that is steady, low, and easy to tune-out.
Always happy to answer questions - don't hesitate to email me mr_doody AT yahoo DOT com.
Thanks again everybody - Hearth.com was INVALUABLE in doing my research!
Doody.
LOVED this site when I was shopping for my first wood stove. I ended up purchasing an Avalon Olympic Insert, which was just recently installed. I wanted to post a few pics to hopefully help out the next guy!
I wanted to go for a Summit or the like, but unless i wanted to take chisel to stone, it just wasn't gonna fit. As it turned out, the Olympic works great for heating the den/basement floor plus about 60% of the floor above (the ceiling is open to the entryway/kitchen/dining/living rooms).
The chimney is fully lined. I opted for no surround because I thought it would be butt-ugly against the stone. It has the blower option, as you can see. I removed the gold strip that runs along the below-the-door extension that the blower sits under (just a few screws). I also took my heat-friendly black spray paint to the logo at the top right of the stove - I wanted simple solid black as much as I could get it. We had to swap the power cord for the blower from factory default right to left - not a big deal, as it's all pre-configured for either side.
VERY happy owner! Damn solid construction - quite impressive. Though I'm awfully glad I don't install these things for a living - ouch!
Comments about blower noise are not irrational, but perhaps over-stated. I found I had to improvise (binder clips, believe it or not) some supports below the blower to keep it snugged up against the below-the-door shelf. It was "rattle-y" before that. At full-tilt blow (it's a variable speed knob setup) it's not quiet, but I find that at 90% down to 80% of the speed scale, it's a totally acceptable volume that is steady, low, and easy to tune-out.
Always happy to answer questions - don't hesitate to email me mr_doody AT yahoo DOT com.
Thanks again everybody - Hearth.com was INVALUABLE in doing my research!
Doody.
