Hi All Great to see all the posts about this fireplace and have learned lots; I have installed this unit and burn seasoned hickory, elm, and oak. I have not experienced any draft problems or black soot on glass. My burn time on low air is in the 6 0r 7 hour compared to my vermont castings resolute that is more like 8 hours. I want to install the secondary heating system off the top of the fireplace and was wondering about others experience. The book calls out for an 8" insulated pipe but have seen Scotty (the master of all installs) step it down to looks like 6" and it does not look insulated. I would like to go to 6" but think insulation is a good idea to prevent heat loss. Any folks have experience with this? Thanks Nelson
Yes I'm here....... I'm getting ready to finish compiling my last pictures and putting them in my NZ thread.....finally got the laptop screen replaced, so now I can access those pics again....
As for stepping down the heat runs, that's what I did. But I'd recommend not insulating the pipes for at least a little ways from the stove unless you use a fireproof, non-combustible unfaced insulation like Kaowool or Roxul. Those heat runs get quite hot near the firebox.
