Osburn 2200 installed

[Iembalm4aLiving]

...and looking good if I do say so myself!

Here's a history of my hearth in a few pictures......


As purchased in 2001:

Cultured stone done shortly after we moved in:

And now, with the insert installed and ready to go!

Another shot for good measure:

I'm looking forward to the cold...for the first time in a long time.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Looks great...Love the stone!!

 

[pyronut]

Great job Congrats

 

[fossil]

How did you get from pic #1 to pic #2, in terms of dealing with the original arched fireplace opening and making it rectangular? Rick

 

[Iembalm4aLiving]

How did you get from pic #1 to pic #2, in terms of dealing with the original arched fireplace opening and making it rectangular? Rick

Rick,

My brother in law is a brick mason and he did the wall and the conversion of the opening from arched to square. I remember lots of chiseling and hammering--and if I remember correctly he rebuilt the opening with firebrick. It's been 10 years now, so the details have faded somewhat.

 

[Gasifier]

...and looking good if I do say so myself!

Here’s a history of my hearth in a few pictures…...

Very, very cool. Now we need a picture with a nice fire going in there.

 

[Iembalm4aLiving]

Here you go, first break-in fire tonight....llllloving it!

 

[begreen]

Now yer' cookin"! That's nice.

 

[FPX Dude]

wow, that's a cool transformation... was there any condsideration for concealing the blower cord a little more ?

 

[Iembalm4aLiving]

wow, that's a cool transformation... was there any condsideration for concealing the blower cord a little more ?

If it bothers you, I could photoshop it out....... :smirk:

 

[Gasifier]

There you gooooo! :coolcheese: Very nice! Congratulations! That is one classy looking room you have there now. What a center piece for your entire house!
(No need for photoshopping.)

 

[Sully]

How are you liking the 2200? Meeting
Your needs? What do you think of heat output and burn times ?

 

[Iembalm4aLiving]

Hi Sully,

We PMed each other on this, but for the benefit of any other interested parties, here's my experience:

We are going on winter #3 with the 2200. Overall, we are very happy with it. Going from an open fireplace to the 2200 is like night and day.

I love the modern styling and bay window design. Great views of the fire. It definitely keeps the entire downstairs of our 1,900 sq. ft. home toasty.

Burn times are a bit less than I expected--I usually get 4 hours or so between reload times. If I reload before bed, I can easily have enough coals the next morning to restart without any help. I know many guys on this forum with cat stoves claim 8+ hours between reloading. I try to keep in mind that with my open fireplace I was adding wood on an hourly basis and having to fiddle with it to keep a decent flame going. With the 2200, once it's loaded and going, you really don't have to do anything (besides adjust the air control) until it's reload time.

So long as you keep the stove burning hot, the windows stay fairly clean. Let the stove cool below normal operating temps, and you'll get some soot--more so on the side glass. Again, not a big deal--we don't burn 24/7, so I just clean up between uses.

Aside from an occasional fan rattle (usually the surround needs a nudge away from the blower cover to make it go away,) I can't really think of any other minor annoyances with the insert. I did have the door gasket replaced this year--where the rope material ends met at the bottom center of the door was starting to fray. While it didn't seem to affect operation, I didn't want to take any chances.

Going into winter #3, we still love it. You made a good choice with the 2200, and I think you'll love it too.