Ideal Steel Finally Finished! Pic Heavy

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Dillier23

New Member
Jan 9, 2015
46
Illinois
It's been since April when the deconstruction of my awful zero clearance fireplace began. Getting that hole ready for an Ideal Steel stove has been one journey that I m glad to say is over. I am pretty pleased with the outcome and hope the stove works as hard for me as I did to give it a good home to sit.

Here's some pictures for you.
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Excellent, always hear very good things about Woodstock. Good luck and happy burning.
 
Looks great! Lot of IS fans out there. Enjoy your new toy and post some pictures when burning season gets here.
 
The outside air kit was a idea I had after recalling the massive amounts of cold air, mice, chipmunks and insects that crawled into the zero clearance air intakes before I purchased the house. It's a water tight slide valve made by Valterra painted flat black. Should be able to keep everything out while it's not in use.
 
I'm ordering an IS very soon. I like the idea of an outside air kit but I really don't want to put another hole in my wall.

Does anyone know how much better it makes a stove run and prevent heated inside air from leaving the house by way of stove and pulling in cold outside air into the house?
 
When the stove is Clammed up for a long Burn it cant be pulling in much air... Is the OAK Pipe insulated?? or is it a cold spot??
 
Awesome Job BTW !!!! What Motor are they Building on that show on TV :)
 
The outside air kit was a idea I had after recalling the massive amounts of cold air, mice, chipmunks and insects that crawled into the zero clearance air intakes before I purchased the house. It's a water tight slide valve made by Valterra painted flat black. Should be able to keep everything out while it's not in use.
Put a screen over the outdoor intake to keep vermin out.
 
When the stove is Clammed up for a long Burn it cant be pulling in much air... Is the OAK Pipe insulated?? or is it a cold spot??

The spot in the wall is very well insulated. The flexible duct coming into the stove is not insulated, I suppose that could lead to some cold air intrusion. Insulating the pipe did not occur to me honestly. What would be an attractive insulation to wrap it with?
 
They have insulation for dryer vents, It'll end up Silver just like you have now, But wont be emitting any cold... ( I don't know if your pipe is gonna be cold, I've never had one, May be Okay)
 
The spot in the wall is very well insulated. The flexible duct coming into the stove is not insulated, I suppose that could lead to some cold air intrusion. Insulating the pipe did not occur to me honestly. What would be an attractive insulation to wrap it with?
The insulation is not attractive at all. I don't worry so much about cold air infiltration as much as condensation. I see a lot that form condensate which drips and puddles on the hearth.
 
I'm not sure what motivated you to do the rear flue install, but I have to say in my opinion this makes the IS more attractive. I like the look of the stove top much better this way. Perhaps I have seen others installed this way, but this one stands out for some reason.

Will be curious to see how the OAK works out with regards to condensation.
 
Here's an update after two good months of burning. The OAK vent tube has not had condensation drip from it, but it is cool to the touch compared to the inside temperature. I did not insulate it.

The valve against the wall will seal well enough to severely choke down the fire. The kit on the stove must be sealed well.

Last year I had a zc fireplace that we tried to get heat out of by dumping massive amounts of wood. When this was in use there was a terrible draft coming in from around the down stairs windows. Come to find out if had a lot of negative pressure caused by the amount of air the fireplace was consuming/sending up the chimney. This year the stove with the OAK has completely cured that issue. The house feels totally different this year, more healthy even.
 
Yes, 4 inch slip connection. Use silicone to seal the flexible vent into place.
What did you use between the valve and the wall?
My pellet stove oak is 2' long and will get very wet (and frosty in sub-freezing weather) but ironically it has never dripped.
Seems the condensation evaporates before dripping.
I need to insulate it.
 
Outside there is a dryer vent, between the valve and vent is a piece of pvc pipe. The thin metal tube from the dryer vent is stuck inside the pvc and cut off flush with the end that's slid into the valve flange.
 
Outside there is a dryer vent, between the valve and vent is a piece of pvc pipe. The thin metal tube from the dryer vent is stuck inside the pvc and cut off flush with the end that's slid into the valve flange.

I had a oak similar to your installed a couple weeks ago during our coldest weather of the season 0 deg f at night teens during the day, the oak pipe was cold to the touch, no condensation though, it did take metal tape and cover all my connection joints. Your project came out very nice, looks like you will be nice and warm for years to come.
 
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