Soapstone wood insert, please help me decide... any experience?

Sounds like a similar climate to mine. You need a heat source in the evening, overnight load, and maybe a small load in the morning - around 80% of the time and cold stretches you'll be steady burning.

As for the draft issue -I can't speak to being in a ravine, but cold air does drop down into the ravines/valleys at night. I wouldn't think this would cause down drafting in your stove, though it could cause the outside smoke to drop into the yard.... Remember these stoves produce little to no smoke, mine will smoke a bit on a cold start and re-load on a bed of hot coals - the rest of the time it just looks like a heat bloom.
You'll probably find the draft issue is more related to the delta between outside ambient and inside temperatures - specifically when getting your stove started in the evening/afternoon prior to the sun setting and temperatures dropping. I use a propane torch to light my fires. I use it prior to lighting the kindling(another thing you'll probably want to start stock piling) and pass it back & forth across the exhaust exit in the front of the stove to develop a draft up the liner and then light my fires, it gets a bit of upward pull going and keeps from having a smoke filled living room.

The chimney extension is going to be code related IIRC it has to be 2' past the peak of the adjacent roof ridge - some other folks may chime in with specifics - that's just what I remember.
Your installer should know the codes for your area, and whatever stove you end up buying make sure you have an liner installed (preferably insulated) - don't let anyone sell you on a "slammer" install

 

Jon, point taken on the over simplification of the difference between types of wood.

On the draft issue in the ravine: from what I've been told, the claim is the ravine will be about 10 degrees cooler than surrounding area.

basod, as you note, I think the shown chimney extension was for code but also possibly draft issue. I've been told the code is the chimney has to be two foot above anything within ten foot of it.

When you say liner, are you talking flue tubing or something else? Part of the install was including new flue tubing... a bit on the expensive side.

Also, what is a "slammer" install?

 

A slammer install is when the insert is placed into an open hearth and a short length of liner is used to extend just past the smoke shelf in the existing fireplace.
It causes low draft issues as well as creosote formation due to the exhaust gases expanding into that space rapidly - expansion of any gas produces a cooling effect.
The normal open hearth has no creosote problem normally because there is an unlimited of air to draft upwards. With the newer stoves the air flow (they aren't totally air tight) is restricted to what is necessary for the combustion process to occur. So if you took a 6" diameter outlet and dumped into say a 36" wide x 16" space then up a 12x12 flue tile you've cooled the gases rapidly then expect them to travel up the flue further cooling them and depositing any non-burnt condensable combustion byproducts along with any residual water content of the firewood.

The liner/flue tubing isn't cheap, but it's all 304 or 316 stainless steel - should last a lifetime. There are single wall lengths, double wall lengths, continuous rolls of single wall & double roll. The liners can also be ovalized if your rectangular opening will not accept a 6" pipe - which is the required size for the stoves you're looking at. This is one of the places where bigger isn't better - 8" would cause increased expansion and lower the gas velocity, decreasing draft.

Depending on how DIY you are the liner can be done yourself. There are a bunch of online stores and even ebay has some good deals - they will cut the stuff to fit. Insulation kits for the roll type liners is typically included, but definitely ask, if having it installed, if it is included.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-x30-316TI...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3cde63de27

In your install I'd probably knock those 2 flue tiles off and install a piece of rigid stove pipe to get the clearance to your ridge line

Someone further up recommended a block off plate. this will be a sheet metal plate that usually is made in 2 pieces(I used a couple metal shelves) they have half circles cut in the center and cover the opening to the flue - only penetration is the 6" pipe

 

When I was shopping for a new EPA stove the cats were tabu for me,. but I am a little more educated about the stoves now. I have read enough of Dennis post to be convinced the cats are nothing to be afraid of.
I love my stove, and I get really long burns, I am 66 and have enlarged prostate and I just throw a log on, on one
of my many visits to the bathroom in the night.

 

I traded out my Oslo for a WS IS this year. Soapstone and a cat, both new to me.
Looking forward to it

 

Good Luck, my gut feeling is you will like, even though I will never get rid of mine.

 

You used to be my OSLO heats my home?

 

yup, the former

 

John, when I first started to read the forums a few years ago I got the impression cats are bad, you have to maintain them and replace them blah blah. Well I bought a cat stove and can tell you it was a great experience. The time I saved making fires or loading more than made up for brushing off the cat or replacing it every 5 years for $200. I just brought home a new stove and it also has a cat and is soapstone.
Can you show us a picture of your hearth, you may be able to do what I'm doing and put a free stander on the hearth and rear vent it, if you can do that you would have more options. In your climate a cat stove would be perfect, you could burn I low and slow, if you could put in a free stander you could with with a Woodstock fireview or keystone, for an insert you could go with a blaze king princess.

 

Great suggestions. I second the motion

 

Ask and you shall receive... a couple of pictures. Oh and thank you VERY much to the moderator who moved it.

weatherguy, as you say, the impression I've gotten on cats so far is not that they are "bad" but that they add an extra burden. And that when they fail, it isn't good news.

First is the listing picture of the mantle. The insert shown is Regency propane insert. The opening in the fireplace is ~31" wide x 24" tall. The picture is taken from the "master" bedroom while facing the other end of the house(kitchen and office). At the very far left about center of picture is the thermostat for the propane insert.


Next we have fireplace from outside. The master room is the right side. The kitchen is offset and on the left of the picture. There is a lot more hillside at the top. Bottom of the picture is a year round creek.

And the last picture is what I got to see twice during 2013/2014 winter. About 6-8" of snow that lasted a week... Yeah, I know... not much for the old timers that get 9 months of snow with 20 foot drifts twice a year


To throw some dimensions to the above(when I say deep, I mean perpendicular to the hill):
Master is 15' long and 11' deep
Living room with fireplace is 21' long and 15' deep
Kitchen/office is 16' long and 18' deep

As you can see, the fireplace is almost exact center length wise of the house.

 

LiLJohn, how long is your hearth? (from start of opening to wood floor). As far as cats go I always had a spare in case mine went bad then I could slide the new one in and be back running. The time and money you save on wood with a cat more than makes up for the $200 (some less) expense. They're not for everyone but in your climate and size house low and slow would be perfect for you and if you get a frigid spell you just turn it up a bit for more heat.

 

I measured it at 23 inches. This was bumping the tape measure into the mantle to wood.

 

I have to strongly agree with weather, having a spare cat on hand in case of a cat failure is like having a genny available when the lights go out, it's something we do to be prepared for "whatever".
The cats produce additional heat that secondary (burn tube technology) burn stoves do not at lower temperatures. It burns cleaner and longer at lower temps as well. A cat needs little attention, occasional cleaning and it also will reduce particulates in the exhaust by (what WS w/ the IS) 90%. Creosote is nearly a non-issue with a CAT burning stove.
Don't rule it out until you weigh all the pros and cons.

 

You could probably go with any three of the Woodstock stoves (Fireview, Palladium,Keystone) with front hearth protection and rear vent it, those stoves burn a long time so you won't have to worry about overnight burns.
Edit- on second thought you may not have the height but I'm not sure.