New England B.S. Thread

The one with the ridiculously good looking short balding guy in it obviously...

 

Doesn't really narrow things down that much at an engineering firm in Maine...
The GF works for Sebago Technics down in Portland; so far most of her coworkers that I've met have been short and balding.

 

Pretty much! But I got to work fine lol

 

Just a few inches here in ct so far

 

Nothing but rain here on the south coast! so far...

 

Sucks to be you

We've probably got about 5 or 6 inches here so far.

 

I can only wish...
I had a snow blower given to me yesterday because it was broken... got it up and running in literally 5 mins. 22" Yard Machine....

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Drive safe and have fun in the snow.
Denis, Happy Birthday!

 

What the fuck!

Thanks Tony!

 

Thanks Dave!

 

Yep we have about 8 inches around here, got to go out in a couple hours and get the gf from work. Her car won't make it anywhere...

 

Does anyone have any good advice for wood stove inserts? brands models? My fireplace opening is 36"w 28"h 20"d. Anything I should be looking out for? I am thinking of new rather than second hand. My fiancé wants a wood stove or insert and not to burn in what has been there for 80 years. We will obviously need to have the chimney checked out.(just purchased the home in July from family and is to be our first winter in it) It has the furnace exhausted through it also.

I am thinking I might part out a few things to get one this winter rather then wait until next winter. Depending on how much these inserts will run.

 

There's a lot less than that in Pittsfield, but I went up to my parents in the Windsor/Peru area and it's probably about 8 inches up there.

Where abouts in Western MA?

 

9" here. Power just went out!

 

I have an Avalon insert in my (unfinished) basement fireplace which we use everyday. It does a great job heating my ranch house. I'm sure you are already aware but wood stoves are rather dirty when you empty the ash and load the wood. No matter how you slice it, you get crap from the wood - not to mention spiders and the occasional bee - all over the front area of the stove and floor. Emptying the ash if the stove is slightly warm results in ash dust lofting in the air. Also, don't just dump the outlet from the back of the stove into the chimney as you'll end up with a LOT of creosote which WILL end up in a chimney fire. You definitely need a liner pipe all the way to the top of the chimney. If your going to put the insert in a living area (not in an unfinished basement) and are going to buy split wood by the cord, I'd suggest looking at a pellet stove or even possibly a vented gas insert. I bought mine used about 12 years ago on CL for about 1/4 of the price of a new one and it was in great shape. Hope this helps...

 

Just got home. Got to watch a semi trailer do a completely unintentional Tokyo Drift around a curve on the road, and pulled a Jetta out of the ditch opposite the stop sign at the bottom of my hill.
The dangerous bastards are out in full force tonight. Everybody drive safe.

 

Deerfield and my gf lives in northampton, they have nothing down here for snow just all wet. But got to watch a transformer blow in Deerfield so going back home to no power woohoo. Glad I threw the chainsaw in the truck too.

 

Thank you! Yes this helps.
Do you know anything about the catalytic and/or self cleaning inserts? Apparently, these things burn the vent gases that would go out the chimney as well and the flue is for the air intake.

It is in the living room. It has not had a fire burnt in it in 10 years.. but thats because the previous owner was a single 90 year old woman. The chimney is duel vented and is currently being used by the furnace think /II\ .

Has anyone ever seen a fireplace with an ash flue? Where the ash is push into a trap door that is then clean out in the basement? Kinda like a laundry shoot. That is what I have but I have never seen this before.

 

Mine is a non cat type stove. The only ones that I've seen with a cat operate in the same basic way as a non cat stove. The cat is there to cut down on unburned gasses that otherwise goes up the chimney.

I have 2 fireplaces in my house. The one in the living room has an ash drop like yours. It's fairly common in the 50s style houses that I've been in except for the new houses that have a zero clearance metal firebox.

The chimney set up that you are describing is a two flue style. One for the furnace and the other for the fireplace. Each flue should be separate meaning they shouldn't actually connect together. The way to tell is to look up the fireplace with a flashlight and see if there is a continuous lining up it. Of course the other way is to look down from the top. If you have it installed, it doesn't matter as a good hearth shop would verify what you have and need.

Heres the best tip I can give you.

Have the liner sleeve installed. I attempted to DIY it and due to a bend in the flue couldn't get the pipe all the way down the chimney. To make matters worse, during the struggle with 30 feet of 6" stainless flex, I herniated C6/C7 in my neck and had to have surgery... All to save a buck.

 

Great info!!!
That sucks about the back surgery. Is that a recent thing and are you fully healed? This is something I have a very limited amount of knowledge about... being a Floridian transplanted in NE. I was def planning to have a complete install by a hearth shop. I don't have a 35' ladder to get to the top. Even if I could I think a professional has to install it by law in RI. House was built in 1934 and I am learning all about it...

edit: I am guessing that happened 12 years ago...When you installed it.