My Fireview install (and of course with Pics!)

[Jambx]

Well guys after I posted my block off plate install I wanted to post a few pics of my hearth build and fireview install.

This is my first go at burning wood and I am totally loving it. Have 8 cords already processed (mostly oak) and just last night had my first real fire. The girl friend usually nags how cold it is so it was a first to hear “it’s too hot in hereâ€!

My hearth needed to increase 10 inches in depth to make the required 8 inch clearance off the front of the fireview so I proceeded to rip up the old hearth slate, re-cut to floor to the proper size, added support from below, used ¾ plywood, 22 gauge metal sheet, two layers of durock and finished off with brick which I washed in a lime salt mix to give it that classic look. All in all I think it came out pretty good for a newbie.

Next getting the stove in place with just me and the 105 lbs of gf was going to be fun. First I thank god for Kubota power (which got it into the front door) and placed onto a wheeled dolly, then used two hydraulic jacks on either side and carefully lifted and placed the stove ever so gently onto the hearth. It was scary how easy this was and the connector length was perfect without any mods needed to fit.

Did a few break in fires and last night was my first real fire. Now the questions;

1) I totally understand the idea of a cold stove, bringing it up to temp slowly and engage the Cat @ 250F (500F inside) however, when I go to reload I assume I do not have to wait another 15 minutes or so to re-engage the Cat as I would think the temp inside the box is pretty hot – so, how does one judge when the Cat can be turned on?

2) I noticed there were times there was no flame present but the Cat was glowing very RED – is this ok?

3) I also was blowing through wood. On a pretty full load I was getting ~2 hours burn time – the wood I am using is sugar maple cut three years ago – it is DRY..maybe too dry (if there is such a thing)…

4) When I engage the Cat I usually bring up the draft to just a hair less than one – there is some flame but no much – I assume this setting will give me a nice long burn but not just 2 hours….comments please?...

5) I was shocked to see how HOT the floor in front of the stove gets – is this normal?....and Yes I will be adding a heat shield to the mantel!

BTW – I assume you will look at my pics and see the floor plugs kind of have a mine of their own! My cuts and dimensions were perfectly square – so I think it’s safe to say the installers back in 1939 didn’t snap lines!

Anyhow just wantd to share this with you since you help in in every part of my selection and installation process.

Thanks!

~jim

 

[HollowHill]

Very nice job, aesthetically it looks great. Love whatever it was you did to the bricks, they definitely look aged. The Fireview looks super with the marble and mantel. What are you going to be doing for a mantel shield. I have the same problem with my upcoming install (mantel too close), so will be interested to hear how you plan on tackling that issue. Thanks!

 

[Pagey]

Wow, that looks awesome!

 

[certified106]

Looks very nice, Great Job!

 

[begreen]

Sweet, that's a very clean looking installation. Well done!

 

[firefighterjake]

Looks good . . . nice work . . . also liking the Kubota.

 

[leeave96]

Did a few break in fires and last night was my first real fire. Now the questions;

1) I totally understand the idea of a cold stove, bringing it up to temp slowly and engage the Cat @ 250F (500F inside) however, when I go to reload I assume I do not have to wait another 15 minutes or so to re-engage the Cat as I would think the temp inside the box is pretty hot – so, how does one judge when the Cat can be turned on? If you have the SS cat - you shouldn't have to wait to re-engage your cat. The idea of waiting IMHO is to prevent steam driven thermal shock - moisture from wet (say light rain or snow on the splits that are otherwise seasoned/dry) wood finding it's way to the cat and exploding as steam or causing rapid cooling of the cat. Have you pulled your retaining screws on your cat hold down bracket? They are for shipping only and removal makes it really easy to just grab the cat holder and take the assy out for a quick clean.

2) I noticed there were times there was no flame present but the Cat was glowing very RED – is this ok? Red is OK, I have that with and without flames - more like super bright orange sometimes. The cat is also working if it ain't glowing - just look at your stove top temps and a quick smoke out the chimney check for zero smoke. But don't be afraid of having flames in your firebox, after all that big glass front and the name "Fireview" scream for some flame action for nice viewing. For long overnight burns and shoulder season burns - yes, snuff out the flame and burn the cat only.

3) I also was blowing through wood. On a pretty full load I was getting ~2 hours burn time – the wood I am using is sugar maple cut three years ago – it is DRY..maybe too dry (if there is such a thing)… Not sure what's going on, but you should be more than 2 hrs - keep trying and learning your stove and it ought to improve.

4) When I engage the Cat I usually bring up the draft to just a hair less than one – there is some flame but no much – I assume this setting will give me a nice long burn but not just 2 hours….comments please?... That's the receipe for long burns, but again don't be afraid to open things up to enjoy the flame view too or just for more heat.

5) I was shocked to see how HOT the floor in front of the stove gets – is this normal?....and Yes I will be adding a heat shield to the mantel! The floor in front of my Keystone gets warm too, but nothing to worry about. Our biggest challange was learning the Wife and kids that jammies melt - so keep your distance with loose clothing!

You got a great looking install, super great stove that will last you a lifetime.

Good luck,
Bill

 

[Flatbedford]

Looks great.

I think you may have been reloading too soon. When I first started with our Fireview I was reloading every few hours because I was used to feeding the old smoke dragon. You will learn that there is a whole burn cycle. After reload it will look like any other stove. Plenty of flames. After a few minutes, I engage the cat and set the air down below 1. The flames will probably stop, but if you watch the thermometer on the stove top, you'll see the temp rise. The fire may even look like it is out after an hour or so. Check the temp, it should still be up over 400 and should stay there for a while.
Remember, with this stove you have two fires going. The first is the one you see in the window. The wood is burning, heating up the whole stove and the cat. Once the whole stove is at temperature, the decreased in air slows the first fire to a slow burn. The smoke of the slow burn now fuels the second burn in the cat itself. All the first fire has to do is keep a steady flow of smoke going into the cat. If you look through the window at this point, you won't see much "fire" activity. Maybe the occasional northern lights like secondary flames, but that's it. A full load should give 6-10 hours of heat once you get it figured out. Another thing is that you won't get the best results until it gets a little colder outside and the draft gets better. Shoulder season burning is always a little tricky.
Play around with it. You get it figured out and you will be very happy. Good luck with it.

 

[fireview2788]

My guess is that you have the damper too open and thus getting shorter burn times. I set mine a hair below 1 and get four hours out four splits. I burned all day Saturday on about eight logs (0830-2230).

I got my mantel shield from Northline for $44 give or take a few. Works great for reducing the heat on the mantel.


Nice looking install BTW.

f v

 

[Todd]

Looks great, you can pat yourself on the back. As far as burn times, it will take a little trial and error to find your sweet spot on your air settings. My old Fireview easily went 12 hours at a .75 setting and a full load of Oak. I can also get the same from my Keystones. Once you get a good coal bed established try raking the coals forward towards the glass, place a large split in the back, fill in the rest from there, let the fire catch for about 10 minutes, engage the cat at about #1 and let it burn for awhile before turning it down to where the flames start to lift off the logs. Little air adjustments can make a big difference, most burn somewhere between .5 and 1.25 depending on their chimney setups.

 

[Shari]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

 

[Todd]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

Fireview only requires 8" out front, looks like he's got that to me.

 

[Shari]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

Fireview only requires 8" out front, looks like he's got that to me.

Another difference in area codes: Our inspectors here require 16" on any stove - regardless of manufacturer specs.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

Fireview only requires 8" out front, looks like he's got that to me.

Another difference in area codes: Our inspectors here require 16" on any stove - regardless of manufacturer specs.

That seems kind of dumb. Or annoying. Not sure which.

Oh, and in my area I don't even need it inspected. Which is nice and frightening at the same time.

 

[gmule]

Great job. I like the color of your stove

 

[Jambx]

Thanks for all the kind words.

The project has been immensely rewarding. I would agree that I need more "fire time" and ash under my nails in order to get the hang of operating this system - I also did receive some feedback from Woodstock on my initial question's in my first post which I will share below.

I do need a shield for my mantel and appreciate the referal. I was also thinking of fabricating one out of aged copper.

As far as the frontal distance - it looks deceptive but it is right at 8 inches (just as required). If it was 16 I would not have been able to install in the present location. I would have loved to have gone another inch or two but there is a floor joist right at the 8 inch mark which would not have given me the depth I needed unless I did a total re-construction on the framing.

-----------------------

Response's From Woodstock;

1) from a cold start bring the stove up to temp slowly. Try to engage the cat between 225*-250*. Depending on the wood it may light off a bit sooner but 250-ish is a good benchmark for most. When re-loading on hot coals wait for the fresh wood to become involved- usually 10-15 minutes and then engage the cat. Adjust to a lower damper setting.


2) A glowing cat is a very hot cat. This usually happens in the early stages of the burn cycle when there is a lot of smoke (fuel) passing through the cat.. Keep an eye on the surface temperature. If it looks like its running away (rising very quickly) you can open the bypass to cool the cat. The cat will glow at times but it does not have to glow to be working properly. You can feed the fire more air to get the flame back. A glowing cat is not necessarily bad, but bears watching until you get used to the stove.


3) Try to mix wood species and split sizes to achieve longer burns. Fill the firebox. The stove needs to have enough fuel to go the distance. That can be hard to do in the spring/fall when you really don't need all that much heat. Avoid short cycling the stove. You will get more complete and efficient burns if you let the stove complete the burn cycle all the way down to hot coals/ ash. Let the stone radiate heat while the coals burn down.


4) Experiment with different air settings. Your final damper setting will vary depending on wood, weather, desired heat output. There is a learning curve, but once you get the stove dialed in, it burns better the less you do to it.


5) The stove will project a lot of heat through the front glass. The minimum listed clearances are safe, but they are MINIMUMS. Give yourself more room if you can.

 

[bpm44]

I'm impressed with both your install, which is very nicely done - especially your aging of the brick- as well as the very thoroughly detailed response you got from Woodstock!

Two thumbs up. Happy burning. Oh, and did your gf ever say "It's too hot"?

 

[NH_Wood]

Very nice job - beautiful install! Cheers!

 

[tickbitty]

Looks great. I like how the brick surround is whitewashed so it sort of works with the stone. And the floor is gorgeous, those wide floorboards! nice job and nice set of pictures!

 

[Jambx]

Looks great. I like how the brick surround is whitewashed so it sort of works with the stone. And the floor is gorgeous, those wide floorboards! nice job and nice set of pictures!

Funny the surround bricks and grout were covered by a previous owner in a solid white - I work with a number of materials to try and strip what I could - finnaly settled on a product called "peal away" (lowes) - I was hoping the look would be similar to my lime /salt wash brick for the hearth but in the end it works.

As for the wide planks (which are thoughout the house) is Red Oak of various widths up to 15 inches (cira 1939) - I can explain the natual patina they seemed to have taken over the years - the colors just mellow.

Again thanks for the compliments.

~jim

 

[North of 60]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

Fireview only requires 8" out front, looks like he's got that to me.

Another difference in area codes: Our inspectors here require 16" on any stove - regardless of manufacturer specs.

No difference. This is a side load stove. He has more than enough on the loading side.
That would be my take anyhow.
Excellent job.

 

[Todd]

Nice looking 'update' from you previous fireplace. The only question I have is: Do you have 16" of non-combustible clearance in the front of that stove? It looks like only the width of one brick for clearance.....

Fireview only requires 8" out front, looks like he's got that to me.

Another difference in area codes: Our inspectors here require 16" on any stove - regardless of manufacturer specs.

Is that local code requirement in front of the loading door or just the front of the stove? I would hope an inspector would be a little lenient and realize the Woodstocks are side loaders, have a fixed front glass and have been run through the required clearance testing.

 

[fire_man]

Todd:

That's exactly what I was thinking, the 16" minimum probably applied to the front of any stove that is a front loader. Otherwise I think the inspector would be out of line to require 16" clearance on a stove rated for 8".

 

[corey21]

Very nice install and stove.

 

[HotCoals]

Looks good..like the jack trick.