Decided on Equinox

[Littlespark]

Been lurking here for like six months.

We are finally finishing off an addition to our old farmhouse (much to my chagrin I have been working on it for 10+ years). We have a 28*30 great room with a 16 foot ceiling (looked good at the time). My wife and I reviewed the forums, looked at the T6, and the two Hearthstone products rated for our home. We like both the stoves but it was decided that the Equinox is much prettier. My thinking was- If we are both going to be tending to the stove I’m going to make sure I get the prettier one.

We already had the mechanical inspector into the house to review where the stove will be and our required chimney height. We are going to have a damper installed in the flue pipe above the stove like was suggested by a few posts. We also had two installers stop by. (We decided to go with the one that actually knew he needed to pull a permit and have a MI mechanical license). I’m a big fan of the “bonded and insured” language on his business card. He was also mentioned by the mechanical inspector as a good installer (Inspector volunteered this information before he knew I had already contacted a certain installer- so no conflict there).

I will post photos when the drywall gets finished in March and of the install in April. I was thinking about being proactive and having the closest to the stove drywalled in the type x fire rated drywall board. I’m really looking forward to next heating season. I already have some wood drying and am going to the Stihl dealer to get a small saw this weekend.

This forum is extremely helpful. I can’t imagine how many mistakes I would have made or how many times I would have almost burned the house down. This is great for comparing products, experiences, and offering solutions. What a treasure trove.

My only questions are:

1) Anyone have any experience with type x drywall being used on the wall behind the stove?

2) Do I need the outside air supply kit in an old drafty house (I have a crawl under the stove’s room,that I could access easily)

3) Do standing dead trees need less drying / seasoning time than fresh cut? (I have a dozen large ash trees still standing in my woods that have been dead for five years). I’m going to take them down next month. . . if stored correctly any thoughts on how dry they will be by next November.

Thanks a lot to all those forum users. What a resource.

Littlespark

 

[BrowningBAR]

1) Anyone have any experience with type x drywall being used on the wall behind the stove?
If it is just drywall it is treated as a combustible, so standard clearances apply. For the Equinox that means 21" from the back or if you install the heat shield it is 6".

2) Do I need the outside air supply kit in an old drafty house (I have a crawl under the stove’s room,that I could access easily)
My answer is no. I too have an old, drafty, stone farmhouse. My father in-law owns a Hearthstone Heritage and a stone farm house (less drafty than mine, though) and his works just fine without an outside air kit.

3) Do standing dead trees need less drying / seasoning time than fresh cut? (I have a dozen large ash trees still standing in my woods that have been dead for five years). I’m going to take them down next month. . . if stored correctly any thoughts on how dry they will be by next November.
Good rule of thumb is: don't plan on standing dead tree seasoning any quicker than fresh cut. Seasoning/drying begins once the tree is cut and split.

 

[Littlespark]

Thank you so much for the info.

Looks like I will be scrounging for real dry firewood and the Ash will have to be heating season 2012.

I was still going to use the full hearth pad and tile wall install in accordance with the manual, I just thought since I am doing the drywall right now. A bit extra caution with type X might just be "wearing belt and suspenders" (as my Opa used to say).


Littlespark

 

[Todd]

I'm willing to bet the 5 year old standing dead Ash will mostly be ready to burn next Fall if you cut and split it now. At least the branches will be, maybe some of the trunk section will have some moisture but Ash dries fast and has little moisture to begin with. You will find out when you split it. Nice choice on the stove by the way.