VC Montpelier 3" Extension Kit

[Acadia]

Does anyone have experience with the 3" extension kit for the Montpelier insert? We have a small fireplace, and the only fireplace inserts that seem to fit without major renovation work are the Montpelier - using the 3" extension kit to bring the fireplace depth requirement down to 14" -- or one of the Jotul small insert models that doesn't meet my wife's aesthetic standards.
We like the looks of the Montpelier, but have only seen and read about flush-mount installs. I read the entire thread on the experiences with the insert, and learned a lot from all of you -- but I haven't seen anything anywhere on a Montpelier install with this extension. It basically brings the whole Montpelier firebox 3" out into the room; the surround stays put. The kit provides sheet metal sides & top fitted back to the surround. We're installing in a brick fireplace with a 7" Supaflue'd chimney running 3 stories; chimney is in center of house, not exterior wall.
Just curious about how the extension might affect performance of the stove, etc. Would seem to offer more radiant heat potential with about 3" of sides & top now exposed, but specs from VC are the same. Any thoughts?
- Acadia

 

[allhandsworking]

Does anyone have experience with the 3" extension kit for the Montpelier insert? We have a small fireplace, and the only fireplace inserts that seem to fit without major renovation work are the Montpelier - using the 3" extension kit to bring the fireplace depth requirement down to 14" -- or one of the Jotul small insert models that doesn't meet my wife's aesthetic standards.
We like the looks of the Montpelier, but have only seen and read about flush-mount installs. I read the entire thread on the experiences with the insert, and learned a lot from all of you -- but I haven't seen anything anywhere on a Montpelier install with this extension. It basically brings the whole Montpelier firebox 3" out into the room; the surround stays put. The kit provides sheet metal sides & top fitted back to the surround. We're installing in a brick fireplace with a 7" Supaflue'd chimney running 3 stories; chimney is in center of house, not exterior wall.
Just curious about how the extension might affect performance of the stove, etc. Would seem to offer more radiant heat potential with about 3" of sides & top now exposed, but specs from VC are the same. Any thoughts?
- Acadia

Hello When I ordered the insert I purchased the extension. I installed the insert without the extension because it had not arrived yet. Upon completion of install I had maybe 1" 1 1/2" of space between the surround and brick. I decided to cancel the order of the extension due to the fact that an inch of space between surround and chimney was not a big deal and did not affect performance of insert due to the fact that the insert is sealed with the block off plate at the damper area. I guess if it was any wider of a gap I would have installed the extension. I'm sorry I cant answer your question about how it actually attach's to the unit.

My wife also loved the looks of the insert and it performs excellent! Your set up with interer chimney and liner will work great! It was in the 40s last night and the first floor was 75 upstairs was 71. Split small if your wood is under seasoned. I have discovered you can burn wood with 30% miosture if you splits are under 4" and you have a good bed of coals! Season wood is a pleasure though and prefered

 

[Wildman_fab]

I am in the process of doing a stone veneer on my chimney and I may also need the 3in kit to make the stove line up right. I would definitely like to hear of anybody that has used it.

 

[Acadia]

Should look pretty when you are finished! One of the issues that came up with my (hopefully soon to be done) install is hearth size. I'm raising the unit 3" to allow for 16" deep hearth (VC says 16" from the door opening is OK when unit is 3 or more inches off the floor), which means apparently 16" plus 3" for the extension plus 2+ inches more for the door opening meaning a 21" deep non-combustible hearth. Kinda big...

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Wildman,

I am interested in your veneer project. Do you intend to bring the stone down to restrict the fireplace opening? I am curious if it would look better if the stone came right up to the insert or close enough that a surround panel was not needed. Then the insert would look more "built-in" rather than "shoved-in".

Or maybe there's a practical reason for going with the surrounds. At least VC offers some better looking surrounds than the enormous sheet steel surrounds.

 

[Wildman_fab]

the picture is kinda deceiving, there isn't much room on the sides, maybe 2-3inches from the stone to stove, up above there is 4in or so. I am thinking the medium size surround will work, I am going to order it, see if it will fit by itself and then get the extension kit if I need to later. Money is a little tight right now and projects have taken a major slow down.

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Wildman,

You sound like me. You got the stove to SAVE money not to spend more.

I'll let you in on a tip. For a lot less $ than the surround kits you can just cut a piece of sheet steel to fit around your stove and exactly to the inside dimension of your fireplace. A can of stove black paint and a little high temperature silicon caulk along the edges and it makes the insert look built in.

Since you're going over the brick with fake stone, you might have even more options than I did. For example you could have the edge of the stone go over the sheet steel. That would look pretty good, except that once you do that removing the insert would be a pain.

Except for the fact that I couldn't push my insert far enough back to make my surround fit inside the opening, I really like my style of surround. The resulting gap between surround and stone opening makes for a rather large caulk seam. But it still looks "built in" rather that stuck in.