Stove Moving (Egyptian style) & Soapstone temp. guages.

[voith]

Our biggest feat this weekend was getting the Hearthstone Phoenix woodstove up on the 8” stepped hearth we made last month. Amazing how much worrying, discussion and planning time were spent getting to this point. Muscular, we are not, so lifting a 400 lb. item was not an option. We pushed the stove down truck ramps and tipped it onto a furniture dolly, with the stove still attached to the shipping pallet.

While still on the dolly and pallet, we built a temporary plywood ramp then lifted each leg (using a nylon strap tied & slipped over a shoulder) onto a piece of plastic (cut from a bucket lid) and once off the pallet, we lifted each leg again and put down a small square of upside carpet so we could push the stove up and into place without damaging the ceramic tiles.

After patting ourselves on the back, we managed to lock together two pieces of double-walled black adjustable stove pipe so tightly that we can't pull them apart to install them. Has anyone used the double-walled adjustable black pipe? The fit is so tight, I can’t imagine how they deem it “adjustable”. Should we have soaped the edges?

Assuming we get the pipes unstuck, should we be concerned about making holes in double-walled pipe to install a FlueGard woodstove probe thermometer given us by the retailer? We are using the closest clearance possible with double-walled pipe from the stove to the chimney top.

Isn’t the flue temperature enough a gauge for the soapstone break-in or do we need to stove top gauge too? How delicate is this stuff? (the soapstone)

 

[Highbeam]

People have cracked soapstone. I don't want to be one of them. A flue temperature thermometer is not crictical at all but the surface temp thermometer is critical for warranty purposes. So no, the flue gauge is not enough.

You can scratch and carve the soapstone so it is delicate. Don't slide a kettle around on the top.

Good job getting the stove up there. These stoves are heavy.

My adjustable double wall slid aprt very easily. Made by Simpson and was the long 5 foot one.

 

[voith]

Thanks for the comments, Highbeam. Appreciate your interest...our pipes are all by Simpson too, I figure they are so busy manufacturing pipes at this time of year, it's not surprising to get some variation...good to know this is not the norm though.

 

[jkupcha]

Try changing the temp of the stove pipe metal. Leave it outside all night to get cold then try it again

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You can scratch and carve the soapstone so it is delicate. Don't slide a kettle around on the top.

Good job getting the stove up there. These stoves are heavy.

If you do scratch the soapstone, you can get it out.

I agree, the stoves are heavy. We got ours in the house also leaving the stove in the crate and using a furniture dolly. We uncrated it next to the hearth, then using two 4x4's we lifted it unto the hearth using 4 strong guys. (Our hearth is also raised.)