Thanks from a new guy

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

jgrz0610

Burning Hunk
Dec 13, 2011
158
Eastern CT, Andover
Installed my stove a few months ago but waiting for town to issue permit/inspect took forever and was a waste of time on more than one level. Wanted to thank all of you for the posts and info provided to all of the members. This is one heck of a resource and alleviated a ton of fears/answered a million questions I didn't want to bug my dealer with. I'm sure I'll be back here weekly (if not daily) as I stumble through my first heating season. Next year will bring an OAK now that I have read the advantages. I thought my drafty windows would suffice but why suck in the cold through the living room if I can bring it in through a pipe!

So far loving my Enviro M55 FPI but it's not that cold yet so I'm dying of heat exhaustion.

Thanks again
 
Any idea as to how you are going to implement the OAK? I'm in the planning phase for installing one on my M55 CI. My first option, as much as I hate to do it, is to cut a hole in the bricks and go out the back of the fire place. The biggest expense here will be getting the hole saw to do it.
 
BradH70 said:
Any idea as to how you are going to implement the OAK? I'm in the planning phase for installing one on my M55 CI. My first option, as much as I hate to do it, is to cut a hole in the bricks and go out the back of the fire place. The biggest expense here will be getting the hole saw to do it.

Investigate your fireplace's old ash dump path.
 
Welcome JGrizz.

So that M55 is roasting you out? Did you get the cast?

We love pictures, So if you get a minute post one so we can see your beauty! Don't forget to add the stove model to your sig. This lets us know what you have in the future.

Glad you joined us and enjoy your new toy! ;-)
 
JGrizz said:
Installed my stove a few months ago but waiting for town to issue permit/inspect took forever and was a waste of time on more than one level. Wanted to thank all of you for the posts and info provided to all of the members. This is one heck of a resource and alleviated a ton of fears/answered a million questions I didn't want to bug my dealer with. I'm sure I'll be back here weekly (if not daily) as I stumble through my first heating season. Next year will bring an OAK now that I have read the advantages. I thought my drafty windows would suffice but why suck in the cold through the living room if I can bring it in through a pipe!

So far loving my Enviro M55 FPI but it's not that cold yet so I'm dying of heat exhaustion.

Thanks again

Welcome.

Come sit by the fire and join in.
 
Yeah I went all in and got the cast M55. Ran it at 5 for a few hours and damn near melted the dog. I'm going to run my OAK down through my ash dump like others have suggested, in to the basement, and out through an existing hole where the previous owner had the dryer vent going. My chimney is centered in the house so I can't go out the back and I have mixed emotions about going up the chimney...too many considerations when that ash dump is screaming to be used for something. I'll fix the signature and get some pictures up later but now I have to quit messing around and get my daughter off the bus!

(Fake signature follows)

M55FPI Cast
Cheapo pellets because no one delivers quality to me right now!!!
 
This is the greatest place for ANY info. Several different Forum's and MANY knowledgeable people that truly know there stuff....

Congrats on the stove and We love Pics. Especially of the stove burning.
 
I went out the ash dump on my Castile; however, if you are looking at a longer run, which it sounds like, you may want to up the diameter from 2" to 3". I'm still procrastinating on the other fireplace since it's internal to the house and no ash dump and a solid foundation 8' deep to the lower level!!! Up the chimney it goes!
 
@JGrizz, welcome to the club for sure. We would all love to see some pictures.

@Smokey --- I have looked into this as well, but I think that it would be some extra work for sure, and possibly not as effective.

Here are some factors to be taken into account for this option:
1. The clean out is not big enough to accept a 3" vent pipe so I would have to use or make a riser similar to what is used in a central air floor duct, only inverse.
2. Because the M55 insert frame does not incorporate the OAK connection in a similar way as the exhaust vent, I would have to make my own frame for the OAK connection and then attach this to the inserts frame so that when the stove is slid back into the fire place, the OAK makes a sealed connection. Not impossible by any means and I have actually thought of doing it even if I go out of the back of the fire place.
3. It is a long run down to the basement were the clean out door is, probably 6' or so.
4. I would now have to build something to go over the clean out door and accept a 3" or 4" or 6" vent pipe.
5. The other end of the vent pipe would then be somehow connected to a small window next to the flue, and about 6' away. Unfortunately this window is only 6" or so above the ground and I would be worried about snow building up and blocking the vent (yes, it does snow when nobody is home).
6. The length of the OAK would now be somewhere around 12'-14'.

Going out the back would be much easier. I would have to drill a hole in my nice brick chimney, but it is on the side of the house that nobody ever sees but me when I mow the lawn, so I no big deal I guess. I would still try to come up with a frame or some type of system that would make a sealed connection for the OAK when the stove is slid into the fire place opening.
 
tjnamtiw said:
I went out the ash dump on my Castile; however, if you are looking at a longer run, which it sounds like, you may want to up the diameter from 2" to 3". I'm still procrastinating on the other fireplace since it's internal to the house and no ash dump and a solid foundation 8' deep to the lower level!!! Up the chimney it goes!

Can I run the 2" down the ash dump then bump it up to 3 or 4" once it's in the basement? This would make my life soooooooooo much easier. Don't see why not. The volume in the 4" pipe for the long run should probably be sufficient to feed the 2" they intended regardless of my run size. Thoughts?
 
JGrizz said:
tjnamtiw said:
I went out the ash dump on my Castile; however, if you are looking at a longer run, which it sounds like, you may want to up the diameter from 2" to 3". I'm still procrastinating on the other fireplace since it's internal to the house and no ash dump and a solid foundation 8' deep to the lower level!!! Up the chimney it goes!

Can I run the 2" down the ash dump then bump it up to 3 or 4" once it's in the basement? This would make my life soooooooooo much easier. Don't see why not. The volume in the 4" pipe for the long run should probably be sufficient to feed the 2" they intended regardless of my run size. Thoughts?

The M55 insert has a 3" connection for the OAK. I'm not sure I would want to go less then that for fear of restricting the air flow and degrading the performance of the stove.
 
Drill a hole not I.

I would remove a brick, usually removing mortar is easier, but it is your call and ash dumps frequently work out quite well provided the connection can be made to the stove. Every stove model is a bit different.

3" round has a cross sectional area of 1.5 x 1.5 x 3.14159 square inches so that is what is needed throughout the OAK's path. 7.09 square inches.

Time to put the birds to bed.
 
I also though about removing the bricks. But what are the chances the the fire bricks in the stove line up with the bricks outside that make up the chimney? I want to have a nice clean hole that is easy to cover up and still be attractive. The Accentra insert has the OAK connection integrated into the frame. I'm not sure why Enviro did not also do this considering that there recommendation for using an OAK is in big bold letters.
 
Smokey the Bear...I like the idea of removing a brick(s) So I have to ask a dumb question. Knowing nothing about a brick chimney...how thick (in Bricks) is a typical chimney? Is it 1 brick (easy) or is it 2 bricks (harder) and Would they line up with each other? I agree that this would be easier than drilling a hole. Bill
 
And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to remove brick. Then they can be kept in the barn or basement and put back in place if the need ever arises. Thickness would be at least two bricks maybe three --- One layer of fire brick in the fire box and one or two layers of exterior brick, depending on the quality of the exterior chimney. The bricks most likely will not line up, so the hole will most likely end up much larger then the pipe going through and a thimble or something similar will need to be used to seal up the extra space around the pipe.

It is probably a lot easier to chip out mortar then to try and core drill a hole with a hand held drill. Not quite as clean, but easier and cheaper since I already have the tools to chip out mortar but would need to purchase a good carbide hole saw.
 
JGrizz said:
Installed my stove a few months ago but waiting for town to issue permit/inspect took forever and was a waste of time on more than one level. Wanted to thank all of you for the posts and info provided to all of the members. This is one heck of a resource and alleviated a ton of fears/answered a million questions I didn't want to bug my dealer with. I'm sure I'll be back here weekly (if not daily) as I stumble through my first heating season. Next year will bring an OAK now that I have read the advantages. I thought my drafty windows would suffice but why suck in the cold through the living room if I can bring it in through a pipe!

So far loving my Enviro M55 FPI but it's not that cold yet so I'm dying of heat exhaustion.

Thanks again

I totally agree! My Harman P61A was installed on 12/6. I learned a lot reading all these posts. I never thought I'd be so obsessed!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.