Is it possible to use it without the pedestal or legs?? Like, just sit it down in the fireplace?? The would totally make it possible! Is this a crazy idea? And we are still talking about the Englander, right?
Anyone have experience with a longburner insert?
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Is it possible to use it without the pedestal or legs?? Like, just sit it down in the fireplace?? The would totally make it possible! Is this a crazy idea? And we are still talking about the Englander, right?
Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
We are talking about the Englander. I don't think you can rest it on it's belly. You want at least something for legs on it.
I would not go completely without legs myself.
I would not go completely without legs myself.
Ok. Well it was worth a shot. I found a drolet that looks like it would completely fit the bill....except the darn depth. I have 14.5 and this drolet needs 15.75. Sooooo close
Is there a safe way around that?? Is there an adjustment we can make aside from removing bricks? Can it just be moved out on the hearth a little farther?
Hogwildz
Minister of Fire
I suppose if you have a deep enough hearth, you could put the Drolet in there with it extended out a bit, as long as you can still get a liner to the outlet of the stove, and as long as you still meet the hearth requirements in front. You can always extend the hearth if need be.
bluedogz
Minister of Fire
Ok. Well it was worth a shot. I found a drolet that looks like it would completely fit the bill....except the darn depth. I have 14.5 and this drolet needs 15.75. Sooooo close
I think this is why someone above asked how deep the hearth is... take out a ruler and look at how long 1 1/4" is... yes, a stove or insert can be moved out a bit. Look at the manual for your model and read the Specifications section. You MAY need to add a bit of proection in front of the hearth but may not.
For example, I picked a random Drolet manual here: http://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/158967.pdf
Which says mandatory 18" floor protection to the front. So, a 14 1/2" firebox + 24" hearth means we have 38 1/2" to work with, 15 3/4 stove +
18" clearance<38 1/2", so it seems my example would work.
Manual for the NC30: http://www.englanderstoves.com/manuals/30-NC.pdf
Says front clearance=16", so if we can make the height work then you're there.
The 15.75 is what drolet says is the minimum fireplace opening depth is. The actual stove depth is 26 3/8, so basically 26.5. So 26.5" plus the minimum required hearth in front of 16" is 42.5" so I'm 4" off from what I can tell. Here's the link to the stove I'm talking about. See what you think.
http://www.drolet.ca/en/products/wood/escape-1800-i-wood-insert
So I guess my question is...is the 4" a deal breaker? Are these mandatory requirements?
Maybe I'm doing this wrong because I'm coming up with a 8.5" hearth deficit of the nc30. Here's my math...
Stove depth - 31" + hearth in front 16" = 47" total depth needed
47" total depth needed minus 38.5" actual depth I have = 8.5" deficit
It could be even a bit more if the back of the fireplace is sloped, decreasing clearance. If all else works out, the hearth can be extended. How this is done depends on the current hearth design.
bluedogz
Minister of Fire
With the ongoing disclaimer that many if not most people here know more than me...
Is 4" a deal-breaker? Yes. You're lighting a fire in your house... there is no margin for guesswork.
Are they mandatory? It's unlikely the woodstove police will visit your house, but the insurance folks will likely look for documentation a new stove was installed correctly.
You have correctly identified my error.
I think it's about time for some pictures of your fireplace so folks can have a better sense of how they can help.
Sure! I'll get some.
You really made me laugh out loud on this one
But yes I'm sure you are right. The insurance company would frown on it and what am I paying all the money for insurance for if I'm not going to do this right...I gotcha. True.
Look up inside your damper toward the back wall (this is where a big hand mirror and a flashlight come in handy). That back wall should be a smoke shelf. Others may chime in but on mine it provided no structural integrity to the chimney or fireplace. Had I needed to I could have taken out the entire smoke shelf and gained a 10" (4" brick + 6" dead space). Make sure you check clearance for any insert your looking at but a lot that I seen require 18" of hearth. So if that holds true you may have 6" to work with for the insert to stick out. I will go ahead and warn you to get an idea what is under that tile on the hearth. Mine also sat level with the floor and it was only 2" of mortar then tile. Definately not enough r-value that is required. I had to build a free floating hearth 2" high and set the insert on pavers to level it.
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I think we are ok on the hearth as far as what's under it because when we had the certified sweep/installer here to look things over and make sure our idea was doable he didn't seem to think we would have to do anything with it as far as deepening but I'm guessing it's going to be hard to find an insert that only sticks out 6" so I'm fairly certain we will need to extend the hearth. The only thing I'm worried about there is aesthetics. I'd like to find a way to make it look good (you know, since I'm a girl and all, lol) but haven't been able to come up with it yet.
bluedogz
Minister of Fire
Depending on how handy the Southys are, making that hearth work doesn't seem like a crazy or expensive project.
Lol...well, we are as handy as we need to be I guess
We learn as we go and aren't usually afraid to tackle a project but a 100+ year old chimney and the fear of tearing something up makes me much more hesitant. Now, Mr. Southy on the other hand...not quite as hesitant, lol. If it were only his decision he would have grabbed the first insert he could find, shoved it in the hole and started burning the first load of wood he could have delivered! I'm the researcher and thankfully he indulges my need to research thoroughly (sometimes even to a fault) and have things done the right way so it doesn't generally cause us problems 
bluedogz
Minister of Fire
Well, I wouldn't go down the road of busting things out... I was just talking about adding some r-value to that hearth to make it work.
Here's a link of what I had to do to make mine work. It will be great if you have to do nothing, but just in case:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...t-it-installed-and-running.75933/#post-971636
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...t-it-installed-and-running.75933/#post-971636
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