Ashford 25 - outlet behind surround?

[ashford55]

Ive got a ashford 25 on order, the closest outlet is currently about 10ft away on another wall in the room so hiding the cord isn't really an option. Instead I was going to put an outlet right behind the surround to the right of the stove and run some armored cable to the outside of the firebox where I'd switch to conduit and tap in to power in the attic. I was going to have about an two inches between the outlet and the stove so I was going to make an some roxul there to insulate between the outlet and the stove and prevent the outlet from getting too hot. Since the blowers and the power cord are already on the bottom of the unit I assume it wouldn't get hot enough to be a problem. I also noticed that Lopi sells a direct wire kit where they recommend running bx wire behind the surround. Does this make sense?

 

[DAKSY]

Can you run BX cable up through the ash clean out &
tap into the household electric in the basement?
You can tapcon a metal outlet box to the floor & install
a receptacle BEHIND the insert in the firebox.

 

[ashford55]

Can you run BX cable up through the ash clean out &
tap into the household electric in the basement?
You can tapcon a metal outlet box to the floor & install
a receptacle BEHIND the insert in the firebox.

So my fireplace is on part of the house that is on a slab foundation, thus no basement. It looks like there used to be an ash cleanout but the previous owner removed it and filled it in with bricks for whatever reason.

Going out the side of the firebox makes for a slightly easier conduit run on the outside (just straight up the soffit in to the attic). Is there a benefit to being behind vs to the side of the insert heat wise? I figured either way Id need to run the cord along the side of the insert.

I was hoping an inch and a half of roxul would be enough to shield it from heat.

 

[putdownfox]

Ive got a ashford 25 on order, the closest outlet is currently about 10ft away on another wall in the room so hiding the cord isn't really an option. Instead I was going to put an outlet right behind the surround to the right of the stove and run some armored cable to the outside of the firebox where I'd switch to conduit and tap in to power in the attic. I was going to have about an two inches between the outlet and the stove so I was going to make an some roxul there to insulate between the outlet and the stove and prevent the outlet from getting too hot. Since the blowers and the power cord are already on the bottom of the unit I assume it wouldn't get hot enough to be a problem. I also noticed that Lopi sells a direct wire kit where they recommend running bx wire behind the surround. Does this make sense?

Did you end up getting this unit? If so, how do you like it? Any feedback on it? I'm about to pull the trigger on one as well.