Need Assistance From " I'm on Fire"

Time of year does not make a difference in price on the stove...
Just how long it takes for delivery...
Stoker boiler is the best way to go...
But the most expensive...
If you want the stove in the basement...
Powervent the NG boiler...
And hook the DS to that now unused flue...
The DS is not overkill with the house as described...
In my leaky Cape Cod cottage when the wind picks up and the temps drop...
The heat gets pulled out of the house quickly...
Have yet to put 240# thru it in a single day...
But I have done 180#...

Man, I'm completely late to the party. I saw this thread at around 0630 this morning but didn't have time to reply since I was running out the door to go to work. I've been driving for four hours to get to my first job. I've been to three banks today and two of the three them I was unable to inspect; I'm sitting in the parking lot of the third to reply.

Ok, as far as the DS-1600 being "overkill" for your 1100' home. I'd say no. You'll be fine with it. I'm heating 1200' with little to no insulation in the walls; some walls have r35 while many have blown in that does not go all the way to the roof rafters. My house is drafty and the 1600 does a very good job keeping my house warm. I have no heat in my basement as my DS sits in my living room. I had thought about putting it in the basement when I bought it but several things were against me; 1) No room, 2) No easy access to the basement, 3) No viable way of getting the heat upstairs. The DS-1600 is a circulator stove and does have tubes running up through it. On mine I believe I have 12-14 tubes; can't remember the exact amount.

I am able to shut my oil furnace off during the winter. Which leaves my basement with no heat. Since it's completely underground it doesn't get colder than 40* and I've blocked all the windows with styrofoam and spray foam. I've also insulated around the perimeter of the basement with R35 and used spray foam in all the "holes" that I could find. The only down side to having the stove in my living room is that the hot water in the lines is very cold before the hot water fills them up. But that only means I get to wait a minute longer before I hop in the shower.

I did have a Chubby SR before the DS-1600 and in the shoulder months the Chubby was wonderful; however, as the temps dropped it couldn't keep up. The DS has no problems keeping up. And I've got 11' ceilings in my living room. I think you'd be happier with the DS-1600 than the Chubby. The Chubby is a great little stove but not for a drafty old house, IMO. If you are able to put the DS in the basement and have easy access to it and a way to move the heat upstairs then by all means put it in the basement and get the Chubby for the living room. But if not, then put the DS in the living room. Just make sure you bring the pad out far enough the stove is sitting on it. I've tiled almost 5' off the front of my fire place so that the stove sits on it and is code compliance. In fact, I just moved the stove an additional 2' into the living room so I need to tile again.

Pictures of what you have would help everyone out too. I'm curious to know if you have a boiler in the basement as I'm sure others are as well.

Dont have the house yet. Closing is at the end of the month.

Have a natural gas furnance and abd a natural gas hot-water heater.

Would want to keep the gas furnance as back up and if I leave the home for extended periods of time.

question: the DS-1600 weighs about 600 lbs. how do I know if my floors can support that load?

is natural gas in new jersey competitive with coal?
morpheus

I've got my 1600 sitting on a tiled 2x6 floor with 24" on center floor joists. Seems to hold up to it fine. If you are concerned you can add supports to the floor.

Don't know about Jersey ... but up here natty gas is MEGA expensive - no comparison to coal whatsoever. Not even in the same ballpark.

now: I assume the DS-1600 will run me $1700.00. I assume a total of $4-5K for installation (including stove cost), including stainless steel liner for chimney. This does not include $1700 for fireplace chimney repair and $1300 for gas furnance chimney repair. House also needs another 3K in plumbing and electrical repairs, So I do not think a coal boiler is an option. Thoughts? comments?

Morpheus

why do you need a liner?

You can alleviate some of the costs by doing some of the work yourself. You can do the liner yourself, and install the stove yourself. Hell, depending on how good you are with mortar you can probably do the chimney repairs yourself. Are you positive you need chimney repairs and a liner? Damn, I got "treed" by Coalfire!!

I'm not 100% but I believe last season the 1600 was going for a little over $1500. I paid $1711 for mine because I had to have DSM make some "modifications" to my stove so it'd fit where I needed it to go.

Are you buying the stove through a dealer or going directly through DSM?

Need a liner because the fireplace masonary chimney is severely damaged (according to the chimney guy--lots of water damage). I assume I am using the right term "liner": I am going to vent the stove thru stainless steel pipe thru and up the chimney.

with regards to doing the repairs myself: not my expertise...not very handy. Would want it done right.

My brother and I dropped my liner down the chimney in an afternoon. There are no special tools or skills required. The stove install is pretty straight forward too. The only thing that you have to check is front clearance, you need 18" off the front of the stove and proper pitch of the flue pipe exiting the stove.

I don't know man - stainless liners & coal are not a very good combo in my humble opinion. I have a 304 stainless connector pipe that I was able to perforate after just one summer of leaving it uncleaned in my very wet basement.

I'd bet 10 to 1 that you'd get 5 times the life out of a crumbling chimney than you would out of a stainless liner. Sulfuric acid from flyash & moisture don't play well with metals. If you have a decent draft & no CO coming into the house, then steer clear of the liner. Your just tossing money out the window that you could use to buy several tons of coal. Just my 2 pennies ...

I agree with Smitty to avoid the liner if at all possible. After repointing and repair of the chimney paint the exposed bricks to prevent more water damage.

Hate to go "off post" but it sounds like Rob's therapy sessions are working....

If the gas source is propane---get a stoker boiler and stick it to the man!!!

If the gas source is natural gas---get a stoker stove and keep the man in check!!!

My 2 cents...

paint the interior of the chimney? confused. IF the chimney is not suitable for woodburning appliances without the liner, how can coal be any better in this regard?