Introduction

[IowaRSFBurner]

Happy Friday hearth members; been a lurker for a long time and decided to become a member and introduce myself. We built a home in 2016 and installed an RSF Opel 3c after exhaustive research and comparisons (I wanted a wood stove but my wife like the fireplace look). I have learned a ton from this site about functionality of an epa stove as well as wood harvesting. My side job I work with a certified arborist and so access to wood is not an issue. My home is roughly 2900 sq ft and the Opel does an awesome job. Not new to wood burning, grew up in a house with a fireplace and my in laws have always had a wood burning stove. Thanks to the help and knowledge of this forum, I’ve recently helped my parents install a new Jøtul Oslo (my mom is not a wood stove fan but loves the Oslo) in a house that didn’t have any wood heat. I must say this is a great forum with tons of knowledge and help.

 

[Sodbuster]

Welcome to the forums, always nice to have another pro on the site.

PS - what kind of flooring is that in your hearth room?

 

[kennyp2339]

Welcome aboard Is the fireplace centrally located?

 

[moresnow]

Saying hello from NE Iowa. I spent a fair amount of time building the 4 lane around Pella! Many years ago.

 

[IowaRSFBurner]

Sodbuster, that flooring is Palladio Wide plank flooring, the color is whiskey oak. It’s an engineered hardwood.

Kenny, the fireplace and blower are in my great room that is in the center of the house and faces my main section of house. It’s a 2 story with open staircase so the heat fills the upstairs and main level quite well. My master bedroom is behind and a little cooler than the main house but nice for cuddling with the wife in winter.

Moresnow, where at in NE Iowa?

 

[moresnow]

Moresnow, where at in NE Iowa?

Waverly

 

[jetsam]

Small world! I probably know your parents.

 

[moresnow]

Small world! I probably know your parents.

Pella or Waverly connection?

 

[Dix]

Welcome to the forums !!

 

[jetsam]

Small world! I probably know your parents.

Pella, but I'm a New Yorker these days. I figured it'd stop being strange eventually, but it never did.

 

[Eiffel93]

Hello Iowa! Central Illinois native here. We just installed an Opel 3C in our house reno project. Would appreciate any insight you might be willing to share about your installation. I recently posted some questions about the safety of our wood framed chase:

Safe construction of wood framed chimney chase

Just installed a new RSF Opel 3C fireplace in an addition to an old house. Chimney chase was constructed on outside wall of the addition, with 2x4 wood stud construction, Roxul mineral wool insulation in stud bays, Zip sheathing at the exterior, Thermoply at the interior for vapor barrier, and...

www.hearth.com

I wasn't concerned about it until I read a thread on this site about overheating in the chase, and now I'm paranoid enough that I'm hesitant to close up the wall. You said your chase is central in the house, but I assume it is still enclosed in a chase up to the roof, correct? If you tell me yours was constructed similar to mine and you've had no problems, I might start to relax a little.....

 

[Sodbuster]

I have a wooden chase and as long as you meet clearances you'll have no problems.

 

[begreen]

As noted in the other thread. You are fine and somewhat overthinking this. With a nicely designed and insulated chase like this you could put a vent in the chase to scavenge some heat if desired, but that may not be needed if the house is super-insulated and sealed.

 

[IowaRSFBurner]

Welcome Eiffel, whereabouts in central Illinois are you from? Curious about how you came to select the Opel 3C? I had been planning all along on probably installing an FPX 36 or 44 elite or a Quad 7100 when I found out about the RSF company. I'm very happy with my purchase.

In regards to my chase, I will attach some pictures of the construction phase. I have a couple of different things going on with my installation. My fireplace obviously has a chase or enclosure and since I have vaulted ceilings it runs up the length of the wall. My chimney enters my attic but isn't enclosed beyond that until it gets to the roof.

As far as temperatures go, I have the clean face kit with natural stone. The stone immediately attached to the face of the unit gets hot and the hearth in front of the unit gets hot, but everything else is cool to the touch. Because of the clean face kit, I had to install the gravity vent kit. I opted to put the inline fan in as well for extra heat distribution. That really helps not let too much heat build up. My master bedroom is right behind and unless I don't run the fan I never feel any heat buildup on the drywall.

All in all I haven't focused on any issues related to heat buildup. My install was done by a professional chimney sweep so he was very pleased with the overall construction. I see that you had begreen reply, he is knowledgeable beyond that of the normal poster. Looking at your install, you have gone to the extra extent to make sure you are safe. Keep an eye on your catalyst temperature ( I didn't get the display when it was first installed but I made sure to buy it now so that I can keep an eye on it). If you would like some extra assurance, but a cheap IR gun and keep an eye it but I haven't had any concerns with it.

Its a great burning unit, I feel like I'm still learning but enjoy the heat. It definitely likes dry wood and with my tall stack can burn it down if I don't get on top of the air right away. I'm curious to know how you're experience has been to this point.

 

[Eiffel93]

We are out in the country, NW of the Peoria metro area....about an hour or so from the Quad Cities. When we started looking at wood burning fireplaces, the RSF was a top choice because of the efficiency and the high marks from Popular Science. I was also looking for a traditional appearance, not something modern or too rustic. The Opel 3C really reminded me of a traditional wood burning stove, but without taking up a bunch of floor space.

During design & construction we were following all of the clearance requirements in the RSF product data, but most of their installation instructions focus on installing the unit in a central location with the pipe exposed as it passes through the attic. We don't have that, and as I started reading comments from various sources, I grew concerned about the potential for heat buildup. Our bedroom is directly above where the unit is installed, and heat rises, so we really didn't want to flood that space with even more heat from a gravity vent. (And there are no adjacent rooms to the side.) We do have the heat dump going to the basement office, but I don't know how much that will actually help in the chase.

I've received some good ideas here on this site, so it's still a work in progress at this point. At times when I've been stressed out about this, I have had some serious regrets. But, I'm sure when the power goes out on a frigid night, we'll be VERY glad that we have it.

 

[IowaRSFBurner]

I know where that is, I grew up in fort Madison and had family in the quad cities. That was actually where I first learned about rsf and the opel. The guy at fireplaces plus in Bettendorf was raving about it. That was when my search changed. I really wanted the big door, not a double door system but a nice big firebox. I wish I was getting a bit longer burn times but I have a really tall chimney and right now am burning mostly elm.
As far as the chimney temp and chase temp, if you have a way to get the firebox heat into the house easily I don’t think the chase will get too hot. My mom has an ICC chimney connected to her Jotul Oslo and I don’t think the outside has gotten that hot, maybe a coupe hundred degrees so maintaining proper or extra clearances like you did shouldn’t be any issue.