Fire in the hole!

Found a great deal on a "gently used" Drolet 1400i insert stove at the end of last winter and I had the summer to mull over how to install this lil beast. Our fireplace is not huge but I was pretty sure I could get the 1400 in there, but I guess I should back up.
The Vogelzang Defender EPA stove that I had there worked OK, but it is a bit small (1.2 CF) and I had to mod n fiddle with it quite a bit to get it to perform like I felt it should, which made it too hard for my wife to run easily. So I wanted a better and bigger stove...enter the 1400i (1.8 CF)
Anyways, I really liked the look of the VZ stove and didn't want to lose that "stove" look with the insert, so using the surround panel was out right from the get-go...it would never lay right against the natural sandstone fireplace anyways.
So I decided to make a steel platform with legs to get the firebox up off the floor a bit and help with the "look".
I had measured the back of the fireplace while the old stove was still in there so it was hard to get all the angles exactly right, but it was clear that I needed two more inches to get the insert where it needed to be to hook up the chimney liner. I decided to "nip" the top corners of the inserts air jacket, it turned out great, but didn't fit against the back of the fireplace like I needed. So back out to the shop with the 1400 again...but this time I was able to mark exactly what needed to be cut...1" in on the backside and 2.325" forward on the sides...fortunately there was lots of extra room for a lil nip n tuck of the air jacket back there.
Fit like a glove this time...6 pounds of stove in a 5 pound box! Finished up Saturday night but ran out of steam for first fire, so it had to wait 'til Sunday night. Worth the wait though, lit up two handfuls of wood just to cure the paint but it still raised the temp of the house 4*...I thinky me gone likey! Pics proof... The first try...


Second go round...

Same shape as the back of my fireplace now...


Flash on... No flash

 

Great mods!

 

Excellent job making it fit just right. Happy burning!

 

Looks great!

 

Thanks guys! I post these details and pics mainly because I enjoy reading when others post these type of build threads...that and I know "the policy" 'round here.

DOW will mean the Drolet Tundra furnace downstairs will be rockin n rollin...and if its really cold, maybe both!

 

Nice work. What did you use to cut the jacket? It looks pretty straight and clean.

That arch in the stone can make it a challenge to find a stove or insert that can fit. I think you did quite well.

 

4" grinder and a wiz wheel...the straight part comes from lots of practice using this tool for cutting at work.

 

Very impressive. You should be very warm this winter.

 

Ya did a nice job man, looks good in there

 

Great job, brenndatomu and nice looking stove and install

 

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Nice clean work on the stove and it looks and fits great in action!

 

wildwest , did you post this in the wrong thread????

 

Wow! Just WOW! You will get a whole lot more (at least 28.6%, probably more) performance from that firebox. And it looks spectacular, all at the same time.