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Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sat. Feb. 19, 2011 12:04 pm
by lowfog01
Hi Andy,

I have a free standing Mark II. It sits on a hearth which is approximately 3.5ft by 5ft in my family room. The stove is connected to a Class A chimney; a code requirement in my county for any solid fuel supplemental heating appliance. That's what the county calls my stove even though it provides 100% of my heat. The wall is 22 inches from the back of my stove and is covered by a "heat shield" (5ft by 7ft) made of concrete boards. The heat shield is off the wall by 2 inches in order to allow the air to flow behind it and dissipate the hot air. That too is a county code requirement.

As I said the stove is connected to the chimney via a chimney connector pipe and thimble. As you will learn, it's wise to disconnect your stove or insert during the warmer months due to the humidity but that's another topic. When I disconnect my stove for the summer I put a "pipe end cap" over the hole in the wall so it looks decent and no pests can get inside through it. The stove just sits there; I usually put a plant on it. The hearth my stove sets on is "colonial brick" and I hope to cover the heat shield with the same color and style in brick facade over the summer. The brick facade is less expensive and easier to install then building a fireplace. It comes in natural stone and a variety of other materials. The advantage to not having a fire place is that you can pick the spot for your stove. You are lucky to have found the forum before you brought anything or made any changes to the house. Believe me, I would have put my stove in an entirely different room had I know then what I know now.

Have your scrolled through the "pictures of my stove" page to see just what kind of stoves and decor people have. I suggest that you and the decorating committee do that together and see if there is some style you can agree on. I think you will be surprised at all the possibilities. Good Luck, Lisa

Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sat. Feb. 19, 2011 9:14 pm
by asuplee
Thanks for the suggestion on the Alaska, Eddie. They look like they could do the job just fine.

As promised, I've included a picture of where I hope to install whatever we end up deciding on. Hopefully, this shot will bring a little clarity to the discussion!


Thanks!
Andy

Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sat. Feb. 19, 2011 10:09 pm
by titleist1
If I understand correctly, you would be placing the stove mid-peak. You can either powervent a stoker through the wall or go through the wall to an external chimney (either masonry or double wall insulated SS) for a hand fed or stoker. You will need to have clearances to meet code for the stove you purchase, but could decorate the wall behind the stove with stone all the way to meet the ceiling at the peak if that's what the committee decides. As Lisa suggested, the stove would stay in place all year, but the pipe through the wall (thimble) could be capped off to help minimize the humidity your stove would see. Forgot to add that the hearth would need to be the appropriate size for the stove's footprint. Give yourself a little more room in the front than the clearance code since the coal can "pop" as it's heated and could jump out if the door is open at the time landing beyond the clearance measurement.

Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sun. Feb. 20, 2011 5:42 am
by PC 12-47E
Andy,
Also take a look at the Keystoker Hearth model stoker stove 90,000. BTU. The footprint of the stove is just about the same as the Alaska Kast Console. :idea:

Good luck with the stove choice....Your living room will be a great location for a coal stove.

Eddie

http://www.keystoker.com/products.php#as

http://www.leisurelinestoves.com/
Look at the Leisure line Hearth stoker. The owners of Leisure line are members of the Coal Fourm and offer great support.... :D
17531331_scaled_216x288.jpg

Leisure Line Hearth 90,000 btu

.JPG | 23KB | 17531331_scaled_216x288.jpg

Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sun. Feb. 20, 2011 11:44 am
by asuplee
Hi all,

Thanks again for all of the advice, suggestions, and information. Things are starting to come into focus a bit now, and I can start to nudge things in the direction I'd like them to go.

Titlest1, you are right on in your assumption that the hearth will be installed mid-peak. I'm now to the point of figuring out the stone style we want to use (currently looking at StoneCraft stone veneer), how big it'll all be, etc. Trying to decipher the building/fire codes is darned-near impossible for a layman, but I do have a friend who's a fire marshal, so that should help out!

Eddie, I like the links you've sent, and I appreciate the time you took to gather that info. I especially like the Keystoker Hearth stove, as the back clearance is 0", and it'll keep the footprint a little smaller.

Lisa, thanks for all of your info, and I did go looking for the "pictures of my stove" page, but haven't found it. Can you point me towards it?

That's pretty much where I am at the moment. I do have a family member who is highly sensitive to certain odors (coffee is too strong, and a kerosene heater once sent her running for the door). We need to spend some time around a coal stove to make sure that it won't adversely affect her.

There's also still a strong push for an LPG fireplace, so I need to do some more research to really get all the facts straight.

Again, thanks for all of the help!

Andy

Re: Totally New to Coal, With Lots of Questions!

Posted: Sun. Feb. 20, 2011 12:10 pm
by lowfog01
The pictures of your stove post is at Pictures of Your Stove. Just scroll through the pages, there are a lot of unfinished basement stoves as well as pictures of stoves in finished living spaces. I hope you can find a style you'd like for your living room. If you look at the installations you can see that a good many stoves are attached to chimneys via chimney connector pipe but some are vented via a power vent. If you have a dependable source of electricity that may be the way to go. It will be the least expensive. Good Luck, Lisa