To answer the question re: flush mount or not... it looks like it was retrofitted over an existing fireplace. Here’s a pic of the chimney from the outside with the gas vent poking through.
Big stove for exposed stovepipe vs existing chimney
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Yes, I see what you mean. The nearest CSIA listing in 72 miles away in Roseville. This fellow shows up as a certified NFI tech.
Randall P Kesler
Randall P Kesler
- Company : Woodstove Distributors Inc.
- Address : 881 Tahoe Boulevard,Highway 28,Incline Village,NV,USA,89451
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You may hate me for this, but I would consider tearing out everything up to around 8' (loft level?) or 10' if there is a firestop there, then put in a ceiling, and finish it out as an alcove for a freestanding stove. That would look intentional.
I’m coming around to your line of thinking. Except I’m now reverting back to an insert like we had at our last place. Seems like the least amount of hassle. I found a chimney sweep out of truckee who is coming down monday to check things out.
An insert may not be possible. It depends on the ZC make and model. You will get more heat out of a freestanding stove, especially in a power outage.
That's a beautiful home you have. Personally I think its a shame to set a wood stove in front of that existing fireplace setup, the only way I would be putting wood heat in that would be an insert, but as already said the clearances might not be enough.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
WIth your circle of burning friends, you may have had a chance to experience soapstone first-hand? I think that up there, the stove will run 24/7 once it gets cold, and faster warm-up wouldn't be a consideration most of the time.
I'll vouch for the reliability of the Woodstock stoves..their straight-cats with which I've had experience, anyway. They are built like tanks, and the engineering is top-notch.
Reading posts by Woodstock PH owners, they say that it sips wood more stingily than even their previous Fireviews did, and of course get much longer burns with the larger firebox. Yes, it has cemented seams which will eventually require a build, but will virtually last forever as it is contructed of replaceable parts. Not many of those will wear out though. I think the PH has double stone in some of the sides, like the Fireview and Keystone do, but the available diagrams don't show that..you'd have to check into it. They are happy to answer any questions by phone or email.
The PH may radiate some heat out the windows if they are close, unless they are high-end windows. Of course, once the snow gets deep enough to cover the windows, this won't be an issue.
OTOH, I recently got my SIL a PE Alderlea Classic with the enamel. It's also a well-engineered stove of quality construction. It has the cast-iron jacketed construction of which begreen speaks. It is simple in construction and easily servicable.
If you don't feel pressed for time to buy a stove, read in depth the posts about Woodstock, PE and BK stoves. I think the better choices will become evident.
Hard to believe there are no certified sweeps nearby..lotta people would heat with wood up there, I think. OTOH, they may be well-heeled and don't care if they spend a little cash heating. My SIL went out there to do some painting within the last few years, for a couple who were clearly not monetarily-challenged.
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The problem with an insert is that a) it may not be permitted in the insert, b) that the fireplace integrity has been violated and c) even if a and b were not present, the insert would not be large and would require a blower running. The cheaper option may be to put a hearth pad in front of the fireplace and rear-vent a stove up the flue with a 6" stainless liner.
RandyBoBandy
Minister of Fire
I would gut the whole thing and put a jacketed freestander there. Internal pipe straight up through the ceiling. My 2 cents.
An insert would be my 1st choice but i kinda like the stone wall as a back drop to a free stander. If the stone can be matched I'd consider removing the fireplace and covering, building the hearth out and go straight up with a chimney. For the out side you could just tear down to roof level.
Mech e
Feeling the Heat
I think this is the best idea paired with a contemporary wood burner like an Osburn Matrix. I live just down 80 from you so I know the area well. Unfortunately, if you can't do it yourself you will have to pay Bay Area prices to get it done. With the stove, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a $30k+ job.
I agree with both the above ideas, cover in the wall where the fireplace is now, run a new chimney to the roof in front of the existing and build a pedestal and put something like an Osburn Inspire on the pedestal. Similar to this picture from the Osburn website.
That looks good! Thanks for providing a visual I can show my wife. No idea about the stove, but we do have a dealer nearby.
Thanks everyone for your help with this project. I’m burning a seasoning fire right now. 2’ snow expected tomorrow and happy to have it installed!!
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
Lookin' good! Sounds like you still have some stove weather left up there. I always look forward to reading new-stove reports. 
Why didn't you get one of each?
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Well, the initial report is as fantastic as it could be with the exception of price. That said, you get what you pay for. The stove is super controllable, puts out plenty of heat, and had a huge pile of coals this morning (first overnight burn). I haven't loaded it full yet. Last night at 9pm I put in 4 medium/large splits (3 oak, one pine). I let them catch, engaged the cat and shut off the air. This morning at 6am, the logs were coals... but more than coals... still on the "log" side of the continuum rather than on the "ash" side if that makes any sense. I've been burning continuously since finishing the seasoning fires yesterday and it heats the house well. Our cathedral ceiling living room was 86F yesterday as I got a bit exhuberant learning the stove. Even the upstairs bedrooms are 3 deg warmer than where the thermostat is set at during the day. Stove top temps have been around 450 when cruising to 550 when I was trying to get it to make more heat. I've still never had more than 4 splits in there... could probably fit 6.Lookin' good! Sounds like you still have some stove weather left up there. I always look forward to reading new-stove reports.
The stove is handsome. The construction/workmanship is impressive. The smoothness of the door latch and precision of the stone cuts are art-worthy.
As stated in another thread, the customer service from Woodstock is just fantastic.
My only concern at this point is the heat transfer to the hearth pad. The temps on the pad are up to 170F according to my IR thermometer. I don't know if thats normal or not for a hearth pad rated to R 0.85. I do have the Ash lip (bringing the required R value down to 0.4) as well as the ash pan/ash dump system with all of the appropriate included heat-shielding installed.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
The R-value requirements are established to provide adequate protection in a worst-case scenario, e.g. with the stove overfiring, so I'd think that with the required R-.85 built into the hearth, it is still safe as far as the amount of heat being transmitted to combustibles.
Different stove, but my hearth under the Keystone barely gets warm. When you run with no secondary burn happening, cat only, heat should be mainly in the top of the stove. I think you'll see lower hearth temps once you get some ash built up on the grate, regardless of burn rate and secondaries.
I let the ash build up somewhat deep, unless it's very cold out and I want to get the biggest loads possible into my small firebox. I never swirl all the ash down into the pan though, I always leave at least some on the grate. I have a cast iron ash pan housing, so it may not transmit heat as readily as the PH, I don't know.
Also, if you swirl a lot of small hot coals down into the pan, the housing will get hotter and transmit more heat to the hearth. I usually swirl ash into the pan when the fire has burnt down pretty low, so there aren't a lot of live coals going into the pan.
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
Good idea to overbuild. Glad you're liking that new machine. We have at least a few months left of burning season, the folks in other time zones seem to only burn for a short part of the year.
weatherguy
Minister of Fire
I can fit between 6 and 7 splits in mine and will get up to a 12 hour burn easy, and they do throw some heat.
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