Installing a jotul 3 in my fireplace

[cookin2night]

Hello,
As the title states I'm installing my jotul 3 into my fireplace and I have some questions. First off I will give you some background on my house.
Built in 1987 center hall colonial. In an area where there's only propane or oil heat. I'm lucky to have propane... At least for cooking I am. I have a Vermont castings in my family room off my kitchen which is on the right side of the house and I have a traditional masonry fireplace on the opposite side of the house in the living room.
First question, should I install the insulation over the flex liner that I'm connecting to my jotul? Is it worth it, the run from the fireplace to the chimney top is about 22 feet.
Second question, do you think having two, one on either end of the first floor of the house, is overkill? Do you think running both will substantially reduce my propane bills? The house is roughly 2800 square feet and each by themselves are rated to heat up to 1400 square feet. The house is pretty well insulated. This will be my first full winter in this house and propane is ridiculously expensive in NW NJ, around 4 times the cost of natural gas.
Third question, is having this jotul in a masonry fireplace safe? I'm nervous about leaving it burning over night. How warm will the second floor get? I live at about 900 feet above sea level which isn't that high but I did have about a dozen days last winter that were only in the single digits. This jotul is in like new condition as well, I replaced everything inside the fire box such as the burner plates, log retainer, glass, and all the gaskets. Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[begreen]

Properly installed the Jotul should be quite safe. It's a small stove so don't expect burn times to be much longer than 4-6 hrs. Two stoves will not be overkill with 2800 sq ft to heat. The sq ftg rating of the stove is just a nominal rating depending on the many variables there are in different homes.

 

[cookin2night]

Do you think it will cut down on my propane bill having both installed?

 

[begreen]

Only if they are lit and burning in the winter.

Yes, they should definitely help. How much will depend on the quality and seasoning of the wood, how well and often the stoves are run, the layout of the house (closed off rooms or open floorplan), and how leaky the house is.

How much wood do you already have that is split, stacked and seasoned? What model is the VC stove? Has it been gone through thoroughly?

 

[cookin2night]

I have about 3.5 split stacked and seasoned wood. I made a mistake on the name of my other stove, it's a majestic dutchwest. The previous owners serviced the stove and flue after this winter past. They also sweeped my chimney. Do you think it's worth it to put the additional insulation around my flex liner? I really am trying to research as much as I can and prepare myself now for the winter. I want to be one of those success stories that you here where I only spend 50$ a month on propane.

 

[begreen]

Generally insulation around the liner is a good plan, especially if the chimney is exterior. But even if it is an interior chimney, insulating the liner makes the installation safer. A certified sweep can better assess the state of the current chimney, but if it were my chimney I would go ahead and insulate. Peace of mind is going to be higher knowing that the heat in the flue is going to stay in the flue.

 

[cookin2night]

I think I'm going to do that with the insulation. The chimney is an exterior one.

 

[begreen]

Good plan.

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

It definitely won't be overkill, I have a center hall and if I wanted to heat the entire house with wood, I would need 3 units to do so.... Get more wood now is my advice to you.... Good luck and keep learning.....

 

[cookin2night]

I love wood burning and fireplaces and tending to it. My family and I have a fire going every weekend in the pit now that it's summer time, although I think I'm stealing from my winter stash. My profile pic was taken last night. But at the same time I fear the first propane fill. I have had natural gas for the past eight years and now moving into a propane heat house I just don't want that huge bill. I hope I'll be okay with the two stoves on opposite ends. I have a family room right off the kitchen and it's wide open from the family room to the kitchen. And the opposite end is the living room that goes wide open through the entrance hallway to the dining room, like a typical center hall. Ram, how is the heat upstairs? I don't mind it being a little cooler upstairs but I don't want it to be a ice box!

 

[cookin2night]

I have some more questions about installing my jotul in the fireplace. I am pretty sure I am going to go with the Rockford chimney liner, it comes with a 10 tee connector for free and an optional 22 inch connector. Should I get the 22 inch and cut it if it's to long? I need to extend my hearth because the depth is only 18 inches. The minimum depth from the face of the stove is 18 and the stove won't fit all the way in the fireplace. Any recommendations on how to extend it? I was thinking of lining the outer sides of the hearth with more red brick then putting a dark thin slate on the top of it that way you can't see where the addition was made. The hearth is low to the ground, only one layer of brick high. Where can you get old mill style red fireplace bricks that aren't faux? Appreciate anyone's help! And I'll post before and after pictures once complete. Also, any tips on connecting the stove to the tee so that I won't ruin my knuckles too bad?