# Fireplace Xtrordinair insert install.



## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

Had my insert installed yesterday. Pretty funny, the day before this was in the paper:





This was also pretty funny (unexpected oil delivery during install!):


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

The installer had great communication and did a good job.




He removed the damper and inserted the heavy duty smooth liner that I paid extra for.





He installed this fitting and had to cut a small portion out for the rod that opens the top damper air bypass.



This hand truck was really cool. A nice back saver.



Cap installed.






Final product with first burn in fire.


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

This was the before by the way. I did all the work myself.


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

My thoughts on install.

Man we payed a lot for this thing, I hope it works and pays for itself eventually!

Installer was really nice, but  this was a really easy install. Ranch home. Virtually straight flue. I probably could have done it myself.

I don't think he installed flue cement at the connection between the liner and insert. I think I would be able to see it?

His normal protocol is to just insulate at the top of the chimney. I had to ask him to add insulation at the bottom of the liner where the old damper was. He chuckled when I asked and wondered why. I tried to explain the best I could and told him it was because of my research that I did online. I mean cmon, what did it take about $4.00 in material and 4 minutes of time?

My wife loves the look and I think we will do well reducing our oil bills. I wish I got a free standing stove, but this option worked best for us.


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## James02 (Oct 16, 2012)

Nice, with a 3.0 cf box and hopefulle good wood you'll be toasting yourself out of your home office!!...Where on LI are you?


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## Todd (Oct 16, 2012)

Nice job, looks great, keep us posted on your results.


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## mellow (Oct 16, 2012)

You mention you paid extra for smooth liner,  but in the photo's that looks like standard flex liner,  was the inside of that liner smooth?


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

mellow said:


> You mention you paid extra for smooth liner, but in the photo's that looks like standard flex liner, was the inside of that liner smooth?


 
It seemed very smooth inside compared to the other ones I have seen. He normally installs a cheaper thinner liner.


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## raybonz (Oct 16, 2012)

Looks great Freddy! Thicker isn't necessarily better when it comes to liners BTW it's more on how they are constructed and quality/grade of the S/S that matters. Yes I agree insulating the liner is a good idea and in your situation I believe many here create an insulated block-off at the bottom of the chimney. I don't know what you paid but it will pay for itself plus you will be much warmer than if you heated with oil! Congrats and good luck I hope you have some dry firewood so you can realize a clean chimney and maximum BTU's along with trouble-free operation!

Ray


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## jonwright (Oct 16, 2012)

Definite upgrade.  Nice.


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

I also had a previous post where I questioned what to do for electric for the blower. I wound up tapping off a line in the basement and using MC cable up thru the clean out to the firebox chamber. I put an outlet inside the firebox since I think the new code requires that an outlet be mounted behind an appliance.


Here is the basement shot:


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## freddypd (Oct 16, 2012)

I hear whistling. Is that because the liner wasn't sealed? Door gasket? Bad draft? It definitely seems loudest at the top vent.


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## mellow (Oct 16, 2012)

Is the fan on?


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## raybonz (Oct 16, 2012)

freddypd said:


> I hear whistling. Is that because the liner wasn't sealed? Door gasket? Bad draft? It definitely seems loudest at the top vent.


An air leak in the flue pipe will do that if there is a small leak. If that's the case it's nothing to worry about. Mine does that when I have a strong draft and while it can be prevented by some furnace cement at the joint it doesn't bother me so I leave it alone..

Ray


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## firebroad (Oct 16, 2012)

freddypd, that is exactly how mine was installed, right down to the top insulation and the in-box receptacle.  Hope you enjoy yours as much I love mine.  My oil company fired me because I didn't buy enough oil last year!


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## freddypd (Oct 17, 2012)

mellow said:


> Is the fan on?


With the fan off I get a whistling sound. Not sure if it is there with  the fan off, since the fan is kinda loud.

How important is it to seal the flue? Should I attempt it? Should I call the installer back?


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## raybonz (Oct 17, 2012)

freddypd said:


> With the fan off I get a whistling sound. Not sure if it is there with the fan off, since the fan is kinda loud.
> 
> How important is it to seal the flue? Should I attempt it? Should I call the installer back?


Fred when the chimney is hot it creates a pretty strong vacuum and any tiny leak will create the whistling sound. If you're really worried about this seal the pipe joints with furnace cement. Smoke will not enter your home because of the sound you're hearing..

Ray


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## etiger2007 (Oct 17, 2012)

Love the install, I too sealed up my appliance connector and ss liner with cement never an issue.   I think I will insulate the top portion of my liner before it gets too cold , how much of yours did he insulate?


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## PLAYS WITH FIRE (Oct 17, 2012)

You can do a smoke test with an incense stick or something. If you find a leak somewhere and you are not sure if you can seal it with furnace cement, post pix and they will tell you.


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## corey21 (Oct 17, 2012)

Nice work.


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## Billybonfire (Oct 17, 2012)

freddypd said:


> I hear whistling. Is that because the liner wasn't sealed? Door gasket? Bad draft? It definitely seems loudest at the top vent.


 
Hi Freddy, thought I would comment as my stove makes a slight whistling sound because it has a strong draft, yours may be similar thing.
Does it whistle when you close the air down ?.
I find it quite useful and use the whistle as an indicator when fully up to temp, closing the air down till whistle is just gone, find this is best setting for those lazy flames 

Great looking fire you got there.

Billy.


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## raybonz (Oct 17, 2012)

Yup Bill pretty much what I was attempting to convey here.. I guess when you're new to wood burning you have the fear of the unknown?

Ray


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## Puffins (Oct 17, 2012)

Looks great!  We just had this same insert installed last month.  I've burned about 5 nights so far and have had great results - each time an improvement as I get to know the stove.  It got down to mid-30s last night and I stuffed it before bed with large birch and white pine splits at about 11pm.  I shut the intake down completely too.  I woke up at 6:00 and the blower was still going (it shut off about 10 minutes later).  Looking forward to seeing how it does with oak!


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## weatherguy (Oct 17, 2012)

Nice looking unit Freddy, one of my favorite inserts lookwise, you should save a ton on oil this year. My BK whistles too because I have a strong draft, the whistle comes from the air intake. If your draft is strong it may be the same thing. I did seal my connection with furnace cement.


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## freddypd (Oct 17, 2012)

Billybonfire said:


> Hi Freddy, thought I would comment as my stove makes a slight whistling sound because it has a strong draft, yours may be similar thing.
> Does it whistle when you close the air down ?.
> I find it quite useful and use the whistle as an indicator when fully up to temp, closing the air down till whistle is just gone, find this is best setting for those lazy flames
> 
> ...


I will check the noise tonight with the air down. Strong draft is a good thing right?

Last night was really cool. We had our first after break in fire and the whole family sat around and watched the flames dance around. It is not even that cold right now, but I had to do another fire just for the heck of it.


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## Billybonfire (Oct 18, 2012)

freddypd said:


> I will check the noise tonight with the air down. Strong draft is a good thing right?
> 
> Last night was really cool. We had our first after break in fire and the whole family sat around and watched the flames dance around. It is not even that cold right now, but I had to do another fire just for the heck of it.


 
Hello again Freddy, yes strong draft is a good thing so long a the stove is tight and you can close it down ok, sure yours will be fine as its a new installation and looks very well done.
Nice to hear you're enjoying the new fire, nothing better than comming in from a cold winters day to a real fire .


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## etiger2007 (Oct 18, 2012)

freddypd said:


> I will check the noise tonight with the air down. Strong draft is a good thing right?
> 
> Last night was really cool. We had our first after break in fire and the whole family sat around and watched the flames dance around. It is not even that cold right now, but I had to do another fire just for the heck of it.


 
Somebody's going to get hooked!


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## maverick06 (Oct 18, 2012)

great install, exact same as my install! Looks perfect. we are now 5 or 6 yeras into it, its working just great. Just a little maintenance, gaskets (this year), bypassed the thermostat on it (5 years ago), replaced a cracked firebrick (2 years ago). thats it!

Also burns pretty clean, I go through about 2-3 cords a year and only need to sweep it at the end of the season.


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## freddypd (Oct 18, 2012)

maverick06 said:


> great install, exact same as my install! Looks perfect. we are now 5 or 6 yeras into it, its working just great. Just a little maintenance, gaskets (this year), bypassed the thermostat on it (5 years ago), replaced a cracked firebrick (2 years ago). thats it!


 
I noticed that it took about 40-45 minutes for the blower to kick on. Is that why you bypassed the thermostat? I gotta do a search on the forum about that.



> Also burns pretty clean, I go through about 2-3 cords a year and only need to sweep it at the end of the season.


 
I did notice my ash building up. Is it OK to just light fires right on top? I thought I would have to clean the ash every few days.


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## raybonz (Oct 18, 2012)

freddypd said:


> I noticed that it took about 40-45 minutes for the blower to kick on. Is that why you bypassed the thermostat? I gotta do a search on the forum about that.
> 
> 
> 
> I did notice my ash building up. Is it OK to just light fires right on top? I thought I would have to clean the ash every few days.


Fred it is normal that the stove has to heat up before the blower turns on.. My stove is designed to do this as well. I always keep some ash in my firebox and shovel out if it gets too full but always leave a layer of ash. This actually makes the stove run better and will also help protect the stove bottom.. Just relax and burn away 

Ray


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## freddypd (Oct 18, 2012)

etiger2007 said:


> Love the install, I too sealed up my appliance connector and ss liner with cement never an issue. I think I will insulate the top portion of my liner before it gets too cold , how much of yours did he insulate?


The installer put insulation at the top of the chimney (I did not inspect that, but believe that is what he did) He also put a layer of insulation where the damper would be above the stove, probably about 8" thick? He also put a piece of insulation between the unit and the blower cord. I doubt that was necessary, but I am sure it doesn't hurt.


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## raybonz (Oct 18, 2012)

Sounds like a quality install Freddy!

Ray


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## wacnstac (Oct 18, 2012)

Start saving your money for new catalysts, you'll need it.   I've cracked several and no it wasn't from over firing.   Would love to find a steel one as opposed to ceramic.


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## maverick06 (Oct 19, 2012)

Mine would take well over an hour to turn on, hour and half to 2 hours. I think something was wrong with it. now I just watch the temps and turn the blower on when its ready. Search for iit, there are lots of threads about it, i am vocal. if you arent an idiot and it annoys you, bypass it. Hopefully they have made it better in the past few years since i bought mine.

The stove burns a lot better with about an inch of ash on the bottom, you can make a little channel in the center to get air everywhere. You will like the stove. 

no comment on the cat (mine isnt one), didnt even know they made a cat version of it.


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## freddypd (Oct 20, 2012)

Do any of you guys with the xtrordinair's use thermometers? If so what did you buy and where did you put them?


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## rideau (Oct 20, 2012)

wacnstac said:


> Start saving your money for new catalysts, you'll need it. I've cracked several and no it wasn't from over firing. Would love to find a steel one as opposed to ceramic.


 
Condar has steel replacement cats for almost everything...


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## raybonz (Oct 20, 2012)

wacnstac said:


> Start saving your money for new catalysts, you'll need it. I've cracked several and no it wasn't from over firing. Would love to find a steel one as opposed to ceramic.


Cats shouldn't failing that way.. Adding wet wood to a hot stove can crack a cat as will flame impingement. I burned a cat stove for 20 yrs. and never shattered a cat but did a little cracking on a few but it didn't affect the cat operation..Generally I got 6+ years from my cats..

Ray


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## freddypd (Oct 24, 2012)

I had my first overnight burn! The weather was pretty mild last night but we decided to have a fire anyway. I loaded the box up about 3/4, got it good and going and put the air down all the way at about 10 PM. I shut the blower off because it was so mild. Woke up at 6 AM and had some coals. I raked them forward. (not sure why, I think I read it here though) I turned on the blower to check and found the box was still hot enough to run the blower. The room was also really warm even with the blower off all night which surprises me. I didn't think inserts gave off that much heat with the blower off. I put 1 very seasoned piece of wood in with some dried twigs and cracked the door open for a few minutes. It started again with not much effort! It is really mild here now so I will let this fire burn itself out.

The only problem was, when I woke up the glass was almost completely black. I guess the "seasoned" wood I had delivered was not so seasoned. Hopefully I am not loading the chimney liner with creosote.


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## James02 (Oct 24, 2012)

The only problem was, when I woke up the glass was almost completely black. I guess the "seasoned" wood I had delivered was not so seasoned. Hopefully I am not loading the chimney liner with creosote.[/quote]

You'll get that this time of year with the mild weather....


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## maverick06 (Oct 24, 2012)

From my expirance and reading, the xtrordinair easily gets its glass blackened. i dont bother cleaning mine anymore, it just gets covered too fast. I dont burn slowly, wood is all over a year C/S/S, gaskets have been from new to used to new again. Just the way the stove is, dont worry about it.

Also, from my expirance, you get almost no real heat out of it without the blower on. Maybe enough for this mild weather, but not enough for anything meaningful. Go through a 24 hour power outage in january and you will learn that it doesnt put out any meaningful heat, inverters and car batteries arent enough for anything more than an hour or so, and you will go buy a generator.

Feel free to ignore my expirance, doesnt effect me, but you will just learn the hard way.


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## raybonz (Oct 24, 2012)

Appears these are catalytic inserts and yes the windows tend to blacken on a long slow burn. If you burn at a medium to high level I would think the airwash system should keep the glass clearer. At least it does on 99% of other modern EPA wood burners.

Ray


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## wacnstac (Oct 24, 2012)

maverick06 said:


> From my expirance and reading, the xtrordinair easily gets its glass blackened. i dont bother cleaning mine anymore, it just gets covered too fast. I dont burn slowly, wood is all over a year C/S/S, gaskets have been from new to used to new again. Just the way the stove is, dont worry about it.
> 
> Also, from my expirance, you get almost no real heat out of it without the blower on. Maybe enough for this mild weather, but not enough for anything meaningful. Go through a 24 hour power outage in january and you will learn that it doesnt put out any meaningful heat, inverters and car batteries arent enough for anything more than an hour or so, and you will go buy a generator.
> 
> Feel free to ignore my expirance, doesnt effect me, but you will just learn the hard way.


 
Yeppers.


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## Machria (Nov 7, 2012)

Fred,
What installer did you use, and where did you buy your unit? I am about to pul the trigger on a freestanding unit by Enerzone from a place in Bohemia, on Vetts hwy, also on LI. I'm out in Brookhaven Hamlet.

"dypd" ? Trying to figure out what PD dept that is??


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## freddypd (Nov 8, 2012)

I used King of Hearths in P.J. I would recommend him. He did work with me on price a little bit.

My first choice was actually Kindlewood on vets in Bohemia. He had a GREAT price but then flaked out. He wouldn't return my calls for a while then eventually called and said he wasn't going to sell FPX anymore. He may be going through some financial issues?? If you are thinking of using the same guy, good luck. I am sure it will work out. Maybe call Enerzone and see if they are an authorized dealer?

Sleepy Hollow in Deer Park was also on my short list. I think they have been in the business for a very long time. The salesman Bart is very knowledgeable and not pushy.

If I were to do it again I would get a free standing stove. I really like the FPX, but you need to have power for the blower to run, which can be noisy at times.

Hope it helps.


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## maverick06 (Nov 8, 2012)

AGREED! I would prefer a free standing stove! the blower is needed, without it you get just about no heat.

BUT i had no options, this looks great in my fireplace and I really dont have a house that can accommodate a free standing stove. So this works, but i would prefer a free standing stove.


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## A-Team (Nov 11, 2012)

Freddypd, that looks awesome.  That is exactly what my wife and I are looking to do.  I live about tem minutes away from where you bought your insert.  I hope you dont mind, I started a onversations with you to pick your brain.  Paul


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## Helena (Feb 7, 2014)

A-Team said:


> Freddypd, that looks awesome.  That is exactly what my wife and I are looking to do.  I live about tem minutes away from where you bought your insert.  I hope you dont mind, I started a onversations with you to pick your brain.  Paul





freddypd said:


> I used King of Hearths in P.J. I would recommend him. He did work with me on price a little bit.
> 
> My first choice was actually Kindlewood on vets in Bohemia. He had a GREAT price but then flaked out. He wouldn't return my calls for a while then eventually called and said he wasn't going to sell FPX anymore. He may be going through some financial issues?? If you are thinking of using the same guy, good luck. I am sure it will work out. Maybe call Enerzone and see if they are an authorized dealer?
> 
> ...


I live 5 mins from PJ and I am considering purchasing this stove..Are you still happy with it? does it put out enough heat? Have you had any problems with it?


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## gholler (Feb 8, 2014)

mellow said:


> You mention you paid extra for smooth liner,  but in the photo's that looks like standard flex liner,  was the inside of that liner smooth?


The heavy wall liners in this construction are considered smooth wall vs. the correated liners. Most are .015 thick. There is now a .010. in the same construction that is also considered smooth wall. 
The 015. is very durable have seen some in use for twenty five years.


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## gholler (Feb 8, 2014)

freddypd said:


> I will check the noise tonight with the air down. Strong draft is a good thing right?
> 
> Last night was really cool. We had our first after break in fire and the whole family sat around and watched the flames dance around. It is not even that cold right now, but I had to do another fire just for the heck of it.


I have had inserts whistle at the door or at the inlet vent. Your installer should be able to solve the problem. This is p[art of what you paid for.


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## begreen (Feb 8, 2014)

Are you hearing the whistling all the time or  with the air control wide open, or only when it is closed?


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## freddypd (Feb 23, 2014)

Helena said:


> I live 5 mins from PJ and I am considering purchasing this stove..Are you still happy with it? does it put out enough heat? Have you had any problems with it?


I think my dealer is out of business. i really like my stove, but as I said earlier I wish I had a free standing stove. The fan noise gets annoying as the stove is in our most used room in the house.


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## 8686 (Mar 29, 2015)

Hey guys, i was just in king of hearths in pt jeff and was looking at the xtrodinaire inserts.  I googled if they were any good and that led me here.  The guy said the total price would be around 5-6k.  Some guys are talking about whitlsing, some talking about maintenence, and others saying that i will get no heat unless the fan is blowing, which others say is a loud and annoying.  Idk, this seems like a lot of money for all this concern. Im really new to all this and would like to purchase something next year 2016 after my tax return.  What advice would you guys give t someone just starting out.
 Is is less expensive to install a WBS instead of an insert? Tho my wife has concerns with a new born and the dog.

Thanks.


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## raybonz (Mar 29, 2015)

8686 said:


> Hey guys, i was just in king of hearths in pt jeff and was looking at the xtrodinaire inserts.  I googled if they were any good and that led me here.  The guy said the total price would be around 5-6k.  Some guys are talking about whitlsing, some talking about maintenence, and others saying that i will get no heat unless the fan is blowing, which others say is a loud and annoying.  Idk, this seems like a lot of money for all this concern. Im really new to all this and would like to purchase something next year 2016 after my tax return.  What advice would you guys give t someone just starting out.
> Is is less expensive to install a WBS instead of an insert? Tho my wife has concerns with a new born and the dog.
> 
> Thanks.


I don't know anything about this insert as far as price or install but I do know a blower is essential to get the heat out of an insert and is helpful on convection stoves such as the Alderlea T-5 that I run here.. Good luck!

Ray


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## rideau (Mar 29, 2015)

I wouldn't worry about your dog, or the baby.  A child brought up around a wood burning stove isn't very apt to get curious and touch, or run into it.  Now, if I had a few children, and the roughhousing that goes with them playing, I'd probably have a screen around the stove until they were older.  It is fairly easy to find nice enough screens or gate systems.  Or one could make one. 

Many of us have children and wood stoves, and they are compatible.  You have the time, I'd look at everything: steel, cast iron and soapstone.  Determine the size stove you need, then look at your options.


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## raybonz (Mar 29, 2015)

rideau said:


> I wouldn't worry about your dog, or the baby.  A child brought up around a wood burning stove isn't very apt to get curious and touch, or run into it.  Now, if I had a few children, and the roughhousing that goes with them playing, I'd probably have a screen around the stove until they were older.  It is fairly easy to find nice enough screens or gate systems.  Or one could make one.
> 
> Many of us have children and wood stoves, and they are compatible.  You have the time, I'd look at everything: steel, cast iron and soapstone.  Determine the size stove you need, then look at your options.


I did create a fence out of 2x4s and closet pole that was bolted at the corners as I had 5 kids back early on.. Worked well and didn't cost too much to make.. Blind drilled the 2x4s to accept the vertical closet pole pieces then glued and screwed the corners. The balusters were the closet pole and they were not glued or screwed. Stained and sealed and it looked good and kept the boss happy..


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## mellow (Mar 30, 2015)

Air quality is a concern with a newborn, you will have some ash floating in the air.  You will just have to be extra vigilant when doing reloads to keep the ash down, perhaps with a vacuum with hepa filter.  I would also get a stove that will use an outside air kit.


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## pdxdave (Mar 30, 2015)

mellow said:


> Air quality is a concern with a newborn, you will have some ash floating in the air.  You will just have to be extra vigilant when doing reloads to keep the ash down, perhaps with a vacuum with hepa filter.  I would also get a stove that will use an outside air kit.


Agree here. This stove design, quite a bit more than others, is very prone to sending ash into the air.


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## Dmitry (Mar 30, 2015)

The FPX flush insert has the one of the biggest window for fire watching , and ,yeah ,it that pricey. Got no complaints about mine. They have different  cover plates and face plates  to go with. Don't show it to your wife if she likes contemporary clean look. You can forget about freestanding dragons.


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## cableman (Apr 2, 2015)

8686 said:


> Hey guys, i was just in king of hearths in pt jeff and was looking at the xtrodinaire inserts.  I googled if they were any good and that led me here.  The guy said the total price would be around 5-6k.  Some guys are talking about whitlsing, some talking about maintenence, and others saying that i will get no heat unless the fan is blowing, which others say is a loud and annoying.  Idk, this seems like a lot of money for all this concern. Im really new to all this and would like to purchase something next year 2016 after my tax return.  What advice would you guys give t someone just starting out.
> Is is less expensive to install a WBS instead of an insert? Tho my wife has concerns with a new born and the dog.
> 
> Thanks.



One of my buddys has this stove, hes not too impressed with it. Had to replace a cat, doesnt put the heat out like his old vc. Could be the way he runs it who knows. 
Another bud bought a hampton hi300 from here 
http://kindlewoodfireplace.com/

Bought the insulated liner from here 
http://sleepyhollowchimneysupply.com/chimney_liner_superflex_304.htm

I installed it with all the knoledge from this site!
If your handy install it yourself, i havnt seen one installer on the island recommend an insulated liner or blockoff plate!


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