Replacing Federal Airtight

[bakerfield22]

Hi hearth.com,

We are looking at upgrading from the Federal Airtight (XL?) that was built into our 1987 home with an original installation that is a little limiting.

We are looking at the Progress Hybrid, but are happy to consider other suggestions. I am attaching a picture with some measurements of the current installation, and wonder if anyone could help us imagine a PH installed in the same space. The PH seems to be about 1" wider and taller, and maybe 2"-3" deeper.

Of concern are the loading door, which on ours does not open all the way but is sufficient to load - I would like to figure out how far forward the front of the PH would be to allow similar. Also, the ash pan would appear nearly impossible to extract if the PH is set back similarly to our current stove. I was thinking about getting or welding three pans to replace the single pan (!).

What is ash cleaning like without the optional ash pan?

The Dutchwest has been a good stove, running acceptably low overnight, heating our normal living spaces, and heating the far ends of the house as well if required, but a chimney company told her a new stove installed would be safer and now she won't accept anything else.

Anyway, I would love to hear any and all comments. We (both myself and my wife) want an highly-efficient stove that can run for long periods, and heat ~3000ft if necessary if electricity is out. My wife is opposed to a stove that has to be moved out farther towards the carpet. She is fairly fire-averse and is only interested in this project because electricity skyrocketed in our area last winter.

Also curious about the Absolute Steel stove, unsure of the tradeoffs. And I've read plenty of complaints about Vermont Castings here on this forum, so have steered away from them.

 

[begreen]

The Dutchwest was a good stove. Did the chimney company say what is making it less safe now? Are cracks appearing?

The Progress is a side loader and the side clearance on the door side is 16". The front hearth requirement with regular legs is 12". This can be reduced to 8" with the optional ash lip. For these reasons, a front loading stove would work out better.

A possible option would be either the Hearthstone Green Mountain 80, or the Manchester. The caveat is the alcove. Modern stoves have tighter regs for alcoves so regardless of choice, be sure to verify that the alcove where the CDW stove is located passes muster with the manufacturer. Give their tech support a call to verify.

 

[bakerfield22]

The Dutchwest was a good stove. Did the chimney company say what is making it less safe now? Are cracks appearing?

The Progress is a side loader and the side clearance on the door side is 16". The front hearth requirement with regular legs is 12". This can be reduced to 8" with the optional ash lip. For these reasons, a front loading stove would work out better.

A possible option would be either the Hearthstone Green Mountain 80, or the Manchester. The caveat is the alcove. Modern stoves have tighter regs for alcoves so regardless of choice, be sure to verify that the alcove where the CDW stove is located passes muster with the manufacturer. Give their tech support a call to verify.

Long story, none of which could be overcome to convince my wife this stove is fine.

My wife has always been nervous about chimney fires. We have had poor experiences with chimney cleaners in our area. Always different techs with different opinions - my wife has been very unhappy with the confusion and always worries about the condition of the chimney liner. One time a tech came out and said we had obviously had a fire in the liner, then another came out from the same company and said it was fine. And then he seemed to need to order a new 90 degree connection to the chimney for some reason, and then when I started the stove for the first time in the fall I smelled smoke, and I looked under the lip and smoke was visible flowing from pipe to chimney with a three inch gap between the two!

I got a recommendation for a company and called them - the guy that came out was not keen on the patch job he saw as the solution to make that connection solid, and he said they didn't work with stoves that had a non round connection at the stove and a round connection, recommended a new stove, and recommended we order it to save money and just have them install it.

So that brings us to a new install, in time to get the last gasp of the tax credit. I have seen nothing but positive comments about the Progress Hybrid, so that is at the top of the list but also maybe the Jotul 500? or others.

My wife does not want it to come forward too much, and side load is better for peace of mind and mess. Again, our side door does not open fully, maybe 70 degrees?, but it is enough to load the box. I would like to know or calculate how far the stove could sit back in the alcove and allow the side door to open that far.

 

[bigealta]

You can see how "scammers" operate. The try to induce fear. And some people are easily scared and end up be suckered by fear.

I just had a roofer come for a roof replacement estimate, he then came into my house looking for all kinds of "problems". He said all the buzzwords. Mold, Leaks, granular loss, improper ventilation, etc . He then pulls out his quote for a new roof on my small cape house. $67K or $53 k if we commit in 3 weeks or $43 K if we let them make a video for their advertising.

He then says "i'm not a hard sell guy". And within 10 seconds he says "Are you willing to commit today".

Meanwhile i had 3 legit well known local companies bid $15.3K-$17K. which includes full redecking with plywood, as there are cedar shakes under the current shingles.

Luckily i've roofed and done just about every type of construction so the scam fell very flat on me, but i can easily see how non pros can be suckered by the deception and strong buzz words the scammers or just guys needing sales use.

And yes i would never have my wife be at any estimate discussions because she, like your wife, would get and stay very worked up over what the "expert" told her. She doesn't know anything about construction, but she does know what Mold, Leaks, Loss, and Improper mean.

 

[Todd]

Send that picture to Woodstock and they should be able to give you a good idea if the PH would fit. With a front loader stove you will need 16” clearance out front so most likely you will need a hearth extension. May or may not need to extend with a Woodstock side loader?

I have the Fireview and it doesn’t have an ash pan. I just shovel the ash out carefully into a container next to the door. If your draft is good the fly ash will get sucked back into the stove through the door.

 

[begreen]

The Manchester can side load but again, alcove requirements have changed. Check with the mfg. first.

How tall is the flue system on this stove?

With a front loader stove you will need 16” clearance out front so most likely you will need a hearth extension.

It looks like a pretty deep hearth at 50". A 25" deep stove would still have 25" of hearth in front.

 

[xshmoox]

well isn’t the draft adjustment on the back of the progress as well? That would be annoying to me reaching in like that unless you can bring it out far enough to access it and see the draft level. My vote would probably be a pe summit/t6 or could go for one of the kumas which seems to work very well and push out the heat. Or if you can get one the Woodstock ideal steel would work as I think all the adjustments are on the front but no fan option.

 

[xshmoox]

Also I was just thinking if that’s an alcove and not a fireplace depending on how it’s built you may technically have to pull the stove all the way out to meet the clearance requirements off the top of the stove, but I could be incorrect maybe someone else with a bit more knowledge can provide insight.