Hi,
I am happy to report that my Heatilator Constitution was successfully installed yesterday! Three guys came to do the install, and it took them roughly 2 1/2 hours time. That fireplace is about 600+ lbs. The first reaction from the installers standing in my driveway was "Oh S**T! How the F**K are we going to get this thing in the house"? Keep in mind I have an open basement, and all four access points to my first floor involve going up some steps! The other issue is that all the rooms on the first floor have hardwood floors EXCEPT the family room (where the fireplace was going to be installed). The installer said that carrying it over the hardwood floors is NOT an option, because you are likely going to have to "set it down" to take a break while moving that beast, it will leave a permanent "impression" on the hardwood floor no matter what you try to protect it with. (He once had to have a a portion of a customer's hard wood floor replaced moving the same exact model). Anyway, they removed the doors, fascia, and bricks from the unit. It took the four of us to carry it up 8 steps to my deck, and carry it through the sliding door into the family room!
The unit is placed on my hearth constructed of block & plywood. I still have to frame the unit better, put the Micore (KIT) around the unit, and re-sheet rock the walls (upstairs and downstairs!). Then I can think finally think about building the extended hearth, doing tile work, and building a mantel.
The issues that I had with the fireplace were as follows:
1) One of the fire-bricks was broken during shipping from manufacturer. (Dealer is replacing)
2) The left door has three nice sized nicks on the top front edge of the arch roughly 1/2" apart. I did not see them in "natural lighting" during the day. However, in the evening, with recessed lighting shining right above the fireplace, the nicks were very obvious. I looked closer, and there also appears to black paint over-spray on the porcelain just below the arch too. I know for a fact that the nicks did not occur during shipping or during the install of the unit. The unit was sealed in original box on the installers truck, and the "nicks" are not showing any shiny metal, so the "touch-up" likely occurred during final inspection at Heatilator. (The Dealer is replacing)
3)The customer service at Heatilator are not fully knowledgeable with their own products. I had inquired about heat protection around the unit in one of my early communication threads with them. I asked if they had a Micore "KIT" for the Constitution. They said NO, and that I must CREATE one myself. Turns out that there is an included Micore-based "KIT" that fits nicely around the unit
(Just need to use 1 1/4" or less sheet-metal screws.) The Micore should fit cleanly with the sheet rock and/or concrete board.
4)Another issue is that the "Electrical" portion of the Install Manual is crap! Perhaps I am being overly critical since I am an electrical engineer! The instructions imply that the wiring is done through the side access panel BUT that is not the case. The instructions should state that the a 12-15" length of 14-3 wire be secured into the side access plate with strain relief. (Doing this PRIOR to putting the unit into the chase is recommended!) BTW...you cannot do the wiring through the side even if you wanted to! The wires inside of the unit are NOT accessible through that access hole, because there is a second inner access door that is screwed from the inside of the unit. The wiring MUST be done from the sheet metal access door at the lower front portion of the unit. This means that the wire handle on the damper lever, the round knob for the outside air, the front doors, and the fascia all MUST be removed prior to removing the screws at the bottom left and right of the lower access door. BE VERY CAREFUL DURING REMOVAL OR RE-INSTALL OF DOORS AS IT IS EASY TO SCUFF THE PAINT ON THE FASCIA Once the screws are removed, you can pull the sheet-metal door downward towards you. The first thing you will notice is that the fan wires don't even reach the side access door. Secondly, the wires were not stripped properly. Third, there is NO dedicated (green wire) grounding point. I ended up screwing it down tight to one of the inner (electrical) access door screws. I checked to be sure there is continuity from the green wire to the outside sheet metal of the unit, and made sure there was NONE between the firebox doors to the external sheet metal of the unit. (DO NOT connect the green wire ground to any metal of the firebox!! (There is NO electrical continuity from the steel of the firebox to the external sheet metal of the unit, NOR should one be made!)
I also have an issue with the wiring diagram for the (included) switch and rheostat. Why the heck would you want to feed the output of the rheostat to the switch, and then have the switch turn only one fan ON and OFF? It makes more sense (to me anyway) to not feed the switch output to the rheostat instead, so that the switch turns BOTH fans ON and OFF, and still adjusts the speed for both fans.
Some of the issues I have have found are probably applicable to the sister unit, the HeatNGlo "Northstar".
All in all, the installer was very professional, Dealer was great handling the sale and the defect issues, and the fireplace looks awesome! The manual needs to be cleaned up, and the Heatilator customer service should provide correct UP-TO-DATE information. Hope my post is helpful to someone! Please do comment on your experiences, correct me, add more information, or simply say "HI" 
I'll try to add some pictures soon!!
Kevin
I am happy to report that my Heatilator Constitution was successfully installed yesterday! Three guys came to do the install, and it took them roughly 2 1/2 hours time. That fireplace is about 600+ lbs. The first reaction from the installers standing in my driveway was "Oh S**T! How the F**K are we going to get this thing in the house"? Keep in mind I have an open basement, and all four access points to my first floor involve going up some steps! The other issue is that all the rooms on the first floor have hardwood floors EXCEPT the family room (where the fireplace was going to be installed). The installer said that carrying it over the hardwood floors is NOT an option, because you are likely going to have to "set it down" to take a break while moving that beast, it will leave a permanent "impression" on the hardwood floor no matter what you try to protect it with. (He once had to have a a portion of a customer's hard wood floor replaced moving the same exact model). Anyway, they removed the doors, fascia, and bricks from the unit. It took the four of us to carry it up 8 steps to my deck, and carry it through the sliding door into the family room!
The unit is placed on my hearth constructed of block & plywood. I still have to frame the unit better, put the Micore (KIT) around the unit, and re-sheet rock the walls (upstairs and downstairs!). Then I can think finally think about building the extended hearth, doing tile work, and building a mantel.
The issues that I had with the fireplace were as follows:
1) One of the fire-bricks was broken during shipping from manufacturer. (Dealer is replacing)
2) The left door has three nice sized nicks on the top front edge of the arch roughly 1/2" apart. I did not see them in "natural lighting" during the day. However, in the evening, with recessed lighting shining right above the fireplace, the nicks were very obvious. I looked closer, and there also appears to black paint over-spray on the porcelain just below the arch too. I know for a fact that the nicks did not occur during shipping or during the install of the unit. The unit was sealed in original box on the installers truck, and the "nicks" are not showing any shiny metal, so the "touch-up" likely occurred during final inspection at Heatilator. (The Dealer is replacing)
3)The customer service at Heatilator are not fully knowledgeable with their own products. I had inquired about heat protection around the unit in one of my early communication threads with them. I asked if they had a Micore "KIT" for the Constitution. They said NO, and that I must CREATE one myself. Turns out that there is an included Micore-based "KIT" that fits nicely around the unit
(Just need to use 1 1/4" or less sheet-metal screws.) The Micore should fit cleanly with the sheet rock and/or concrete board.4)Another issue is that the "Electrical" portion of the Install Manual is crap! Perhaps I am being overly critical since I am an electrical engineer! The instructions imply that the wiring is done through the side access panel BUT that is not the case. The instructions should state that the a 12-15" length of 14-3 wire be secured into the side access plate with strain relief. (Doing this PRIOR to putting the unit into the chase is recommended!) BTW...you cannot do the wiring through the side even if you wanted to! The wires inside of the unit are NOT accessible through that access hole, because there is a second inner access door that is screwed from the inside of the unit. The wiring MUST be done from the sheet metal access door at the lower front portion of the unit. This means that the wire handle on the damper lever, the round knob for the outside air, the front doors, and the fascia all MUST be removed prior to removing the screws at the bottom left and right of the lower access door. BE VERY CAREFUL DURING REMOVAL OR RE-INSTALL OF DOORS AS IT IS EASY TO SCUFF THE PAINT ON THE FASCIA
Once the screws are removed, you can pull the sheet-metal door downward towards you. The first thing you will notice is that the fan wires don't even reach the side access door. Secondly, the wires were not stripped properly. Third, there is NO dedicated (green wire) grounding point. I ended up screwing it down tight to one of the inner (electrical) access door screws. I checked to be sure there is continuity from the green wire to the outside sheet metal of the unit, and made sure there was NONE between the firebox doors to the external sheet metal of the unit. (DO NOT connect the green wire ground to any metal of the firebox!! (There is NO electrical continuity from the steel of the firebox to the external sheet metal of the unit, NOR should one be made!) I also have an issue with the wiring diagram for the (included) switch and rheostat. Why the heck would you want to feed the output of the rheostat to the switch, and then have the switch turn only one fan ON and OFF? It makes more sense (to me anyway) to not feed the switch output to the rheostat instead, so that the switch turns BOTH fans ON and OFF, and still adjusts the speed for both fans.
Some of the issues I have have found are probably applicable to the sister unit, the HeatNGlo "Northstar".
All in all, the installer was very professional, Dealer was great handling the sale and the defect issues, and the fireplace looks awesome! The manual needs to be cleaned up, and the Heatilator customer service should provide correct UP-TO-DATE information. Hope my post is helpful to someone! Please do comment on your experiences, correct me, add more information, or simply say "HI"
I'll try to add some pictures soon!! Kevin
