I recently bought a floor model Hampton h1300 from a dealer in Vermont and I am going to install it this weekend. I have used this forum to do research on products but now i thought I would join. When I bought the house 8 years ago I noticed that there was allot of dying ash trees on my property, about 25 to be exact, and with the storms in the northeast over the past 3 years I have several trees already on the ground cut and stacked. I am sick of paying 3.59 for home heating oil so it’s time for a change.
I was going to hire a professional to install the stove, but in the chimney world I am realizing that the word professional is up for debate. I cannot get a consensus from anyone of how to properly install the stove or on a price. The quotes ranged from 1250 to 2500. The Manual recommends a steel liner from the back of the stove to the roof in an existing masonry chimney and that is the method I am going with. I cut a hole in the damper with a saws all and removed one brick in the center to be safe, Here is where the problems begin.
1. My stove has a 6" opening the dealer I bought it from recommends a 5.5 liner. Professional installers gave me different answers on what size to use. I bought a 5.5 2ply smooth flexible liner. Thoughts?
2. Insulating the pipe. The Hampton manual does not call for one. None of the installers near me would insulate the liner they say it is not necessary. My house has 8 x 13 clay tiles in the chimney. Two installers told me that it would be impossible to put a 6" liner with insulation in there. The online liner sales people tell me i need one and that the stove will function better with a liner. My chimney goes between an outside wall and the garage. I have a bag of left over Roxul safe and sound and i was going to use it at the top of the chimney to block airflow back in the house.
3. Making a plate to block the damper, again not called for in the manual, but the professional installers say it is a must. I am pretty handy and I have rebuilt the entire house ( that’s why i waited 8 years for this stove) I have left over durarock 1/4" sheets i was going to make a damper blocker out of durarock and cover it with sheet metal. Is this overkill? Will a damper blocker produce more heat with a cast iron insert?
4. Lets talk wood, all of the wood i have was split this year, but most of it came down in the October storm in 2011 and has been sitting on the ground.( mostly oak) the wood is dry, but some on the bark was wet and had mushrooms growing on it before i split it. It has now been stacked and covered for 45 days. Should I be worried? And I have been told that alot of my ash trees are standing firewood. Can you cut down a dead ash and burn it immediately after splitting. I also have 2 year seasoned hemlock. I heard this is good to start a fire. Yea or nay?
I know this is allot to ask but this is a big investment and i want the stove to function correctly.
Besides I’m sure some of you guys will argue on advice given to me so it will be fun to watch!
I was going to hire a professional to install the stove, but in the chimney world I am realizing that the word professional is up for debate. I cannot get a consensus from anyone of how to properly install the stove or on a price. The quotes ranged from 1250 to 2500. The Manual recommends a steel liner from the back of the stove to the roof in an existing masonry chimney and that is the method I am going with. I cut a hole in the damper with a saws all and removed one brick in the center to be safe, Here is where the problems begin.
1. My stove has a 6" opening the dealer I bought it from recommends a 5.5 liner. Professional installers gave me different answers on what size to use. I bought a 5.5 2ply smooth flexible liner. Thoughts?
2. Insulating the pipe. The Hampton manual does not call for one. None of the installers near me would insulate the liner they say it is not necessary. My house has 8 x 13 clay tiles in the chimney. Two installers told me that it would be impossible to put a 6" liner with insulation in there. The online liner sales people tell me i need one and that the stove will function better with a liner. My chimney goes between an outside wall and the garage. I have a bag of left over Roxul safe and sound and i was going to use it at the top of the chimney to block airflow back in the house.
3. Making a plate to block the damper, again not called for in the manual, but the professional installers say it is a must. I am pretty handy and I have rebuilt the entire house ( that’s why i waited 8 years for this stove) I have left over durarock 1/4" sheets i was going to make a damper blocker out of durarock and cover it with sheet metal. Is this overkill? Will a damper blocker produce more heat with a cast iron insert?
4. Lets talk wood, all of the wood i have was split this year, but most of it came down in the October storm in 2011 and has been sitting on the ground.( mostly oak) the wood is dry, but some on the bark was wet and had mushrooms growing on it before i split it. It has now been stacked and covered for 45 days. Should I be worried? And I have been told that alot of my ash trees are standing firewood. Can you cut down a dead ash and burn it immediately after splitting. I also have 2 year seasoned hemlock. I heard this is good to start a fire. Yea or nay?
I know this is allot to ask but this is a big investment and i want the stove to function correctly.
Besides I’m sure some of you guys will argue on advice given to me so it will be fun to watch!
