Long overdue Clydesdale install pics

[Turner-n-Burner]

Well now... Long weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday, and after a few setbacks and a couple of sidetrips, I finally have the insert burning and a few extra minutes to post pics... That's one more thing to be thankful for...

First pic is our own GVA stuffing the 6inch liner down my chimney - at this point there was enough pipe on the roof that I could go down the ladder and grab the camera....

Second pic: the liner is most of the way down the chimney. GVA is still up top and Elk is inside at the fireplace. With GVA pushing and Elk pulling on the rope, they work the liner down past a chunk of mortar and past the offset.

Third pic: Elk and I had ovalized a few feet of the liner to enable it to pass through the existing damper opening. Here is the liner poking down into the fireplace opening. You can see the "cone" the Elk made, and the rope inside that is tied to some large steel washers. Without the cone shape and the rope to haul on, we would probably not have been able to get the liner down this flue.

Thanks again to Elk and GVA

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

OK, so after getting sidetracked with my chimney... and taking some time off to install some new windows... and finally getting a blockoff plate fabbed, fitted and sealed.... I finished putting all the trim on the insert and setting up the blowers. Then a few small break in fires, and one longer hotter fire.

For the record, this thing puts out a lot of heat. And despite having to ovalize a short section of liner and not being able to fit insulation in the flue, draft does not seem to be a problem it lights easily and burns strong!

Other than the mantle shield, I am really thrilled with how this looks in the room. I think I'm going to need to either modify the shield or make one from scratch. This one will have to do to get me through the inspection.

Finished product pic attached!

 

[Roospike]

*********** FIRE ! ************

 

[begreen]

Awesome! That is one significantly big and wide-angle view of the fire. Looks like competition for the big screen on the right.

 

[ourhouse]

Looks great nice job guys.

 

[MrGriz]

That even warmed up my screen! Looks awesome and great teamwork.

 

[thechimneysweep]

I hope your plans include extending your hearth. The Clydesdale requires 16" of code-approved floor protection in front of the loading door, and the hearth rug shown in your photo doesn't qualify.

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

Requires 18" actually... I have ~15" now....

If I only had 3 more inches........









LOL

Yeah, I plan to upgrade the hearth protection, but I'm not sure with what yet. The add-on hearth extenders are not really ringing my bell.

I'm thinking of replacing the wooden mantle with stone so I can lose that mantle shield, and I could use a matching piece on the floor - or maybe cap the entire hearth. Don't know - need to think a bit more.

-Dan

 

[Rhone]

That's a different mantel shield than the one I got with my Clydesdale. Mine, was a piece of sheet metal bent to a 45 degree angle, painted stove black, with extra long screws with 1" ceramic washers that kept it suspended below my mantel. Your mantel shield looks MUCH better than mine, and yours attaches to the surround instead. After seeing mine, I removed it and went about looking for a stone mantel. They're VERY expensive unless you get blue-stone which... I didn't like the look. By the way, the cheapest place for a polished stone mantel I found was from a company dealing with cemetary stones. I was then thinking about tinted cement and creating a form. Then, figured the best route since I was just 1" short on the mantel clearance was to simply remove the current mantel, stick a couple pieces of cement board under, put the same mantel back on, and cover the below gap created with tile. I don't know how short you are, but that option looks possible if you're an inch or less.

I also ran into the hearth issue, and didn't like the pad option either. I opted to cut out my oak floors, and install my own extended hearth with matching tile. Looked good, but the wood expands/contracts and has been messing up the grout at the junction between the tile & wood. I'm looking into different transition pieces, like those that go between rooms now.

Here's a picture of my Clydesdale, you can see how I covered the gap after raising the mantel 1", and can see how I extended the hearth into my oak floors.

 

[suematteva]

Rhone,

Nice set up...Like the wood bin..good idea.

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

Hey Rhone,

Yeah, that's a different mantle shield. I didn't much like the Hearthstone one either. This one is made by Travis for one of their inserts, it's a pretty good fit though - it's not even permanantly attached, just wedged down behind the Clydesdale surround. There is so much weight and friction that it doesn't move at all! It would look better if I trimmed it back, but I'm still tossing around the idea of returning it for a credit.

The stone mantle is a slippery slope... one of the local stone yards has a big display on fireplace veneers... I'd likely wind up wanting to reface the entire fireplace in stone instead of brick, adding a new mantle and extending the hearth... $$$$$$$$$$$$

And even if I eventually go that route, that means a lot of dissassembly of the stove and heating downtime, so that is NOT a winter project.

I'm thinking a short term solution for the mantle shield would be to make my own out of some heavy copper flashing... Shouldn't be too expensive, and I could make a really custom fit.

Does the "warming shelf" around the loading door get pretty hot on your insert? I was surprised to see mine ~330 degrees - I didn't think it would get that hot!

-Dan

 

[citizanken]

I also have this insert. The warming rack is what Hearthstone calls the "ash lip" in the manual. Mine will get hot when I am really cranking out some BTU's but when I am loading a split at a time, such as on a day that is not too cold, this will stay cool to the touch. It will still be warm closer to the door.

 

[Rhone]

FYI if you're thinking about a polished stone mantel, the best prices I found were from cemetary stone companies. They laugh when you tell them you want it for a mantel, but their prices were darn good compared to kitchen countertop companies. The gravel & stone companies I visited weren't helpful, they didn't offer me any choice except blue-stone which was cheap, but if I want a nice mantel they simply told me I'm at the wrong business.

Wow, I'm used to calling it a cooking surface, now I hear ash lip, warming shelf... mine I doubt gets that hot but I don't have a thermometer. One of those cool laser pointing thermometers is on my Christmas list this year though. The cooking surface has an air space underneath, if you're getting it to 330F with the air space that's really hot I think. After a fire, is your soapstone inside black or has the black burned off and you have the gray soapstone? I can tell by the picture you included you have a lot of draft, the Clydesdale certainly loves it.

Thanks Vintage, that stores about a months worth of wood in spring/fall, and in dead winter each side holds almost a week. Has really helped with the start-ups letting the wood dry inside for days. Screened to let air flow, and the sides are seperate with gasketed doors so bugs can't escape. I fill each side as they empty, then move to the other side to let the new one dry. Within a day of filling all the bugs come out and I see them hanging around inside, while I pull wood out the other side. By the second day there's only a few left alive, and by the time I finish a side and need to start on another the only bugs left are spiders or ants. Last year I had 1 mosquito make it into the house, that's pretty good for 4 cords of wood. Still need to paint/stain it and I can't see it being part of everyone's Feng Shui but it certainly is convenient.

 

[GVA]

Wow Nice stove.... I was starting to get worried. Good timing too I heard were supposed to get snow on Friday.

As far as the mantel You can get a 5 foot polished counter from Grossmans Bargain Outlet up these parts in peabody... It's about 1 1/2" thick and about 24" deep But with a diamond blade on a grinder could cut it down to size i'm sure...... It's about $150... Or they have a beveled backsplash 3/4" thick about 5" maybe 6" in the same length as the counters 5' not sure how big you want to have the mantel but this is only about $39.
Good luck and have fun with the stove. :cheese:

 

[Roospike]

Cant remember if it was mentioned in all the different threads posted........

Was this install inspected ? I asked because i didnt notice the lack of clearance in front of the stove until it was stated above.

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

Inspector is coming Wed morning... I was hoping to slide by with the hearth rug until I find what I want for a hearth extension.... Now that GVA has mentioned that backsplash, I might head over to Grossman's for a look-see.

-Dan

 

[GVA]

Good timing too I heard were supposed to get snow on Friday. :

This is new england however so cancel the snow warning........... Now it'll be near 60* on friday

 

[GVA]

Dan,
How are ya making out

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

Doing great Install passed inspection on Wed. Home insurance is updated, CO2 detector installed. I don't think the furnace has fired more than twice since - and I don't even know where my slippers are!

 

[begreen]

AKA - HAPPY CAMPER

She looks beautiful Dan. Congratulations to you, DVA, Elk and crew for a job well done.

 

[GVA]

Doing great Install passed inspection on Wed. Home insurance is updated, CO2 detector installed. I don't think the furnace has fired more than twice since - and I don't even know where my slippers are!

Great news on the stove...as far as the slippers....that's what dogs are for. :cheese: