Hitzer 503 Installation Photos

Install crew arrived about 9:30 AM and were done by 12:30 PM. It was a relatively simple install for them, other than the weight of the beast (they had a regular hand cart and just two guys). The ramp from the truck helped a lot.

More to follow....

More photos....

Even when pushed all the way in, the insert still hangs over the hearth about 1.5". I have a short 8" hearth, so I'll be getting a non-combustible hearth extension to protect the carpet underneath and to the sides.

Questions and comments welcome!

Nice looking stove dog, it looks really good with the brick. What did it cost?

Nice looking stove dog, it looks really good with the brick. What did it cost?

Thanks! I think it looks nice. The wife is less thrilled. She thinks it sticks out too much.

Soup to nuts, it cost me $4,405.78.

Stove: $2,495

Flex Liner Kit: $775

Labor/Install: $800

Tax: $335.78

Being warm this winter without paying big money to Big Oil: Priceless.

I paid more for the stove than I could have, but I ended up buying it from a dealer who does installations. The other dealers I got quotes from were cheaper, but none of them installed. The cheapest I found was $2,100 with tax, so I paid about $400 more for the stove than I could have. My dealer also banged me an extra $300 over his normal install price because I was way out of his normal install area (120+ mile round trip).

Part of me is mad that I spent more money than I could have, but I'm just glad that I have a coal stove for this winter. Many, many folks won't get theirs until Spring. I have a friend who is putting $1,000 down on an Alaska stoker this week and won't get it until at least March 2009.

I also liked being able to sit back and let someone else worry about installing it. It would have taken me all day and required some planning to get the help I would have needed.

Looks great,
Do you have two liners in the chimney? Is one for the furnace? I havent taken posessionn of my stove yet,and I have a liner for my furnace due to damage of the tiles. I'm guessing I need to do the same for my stove a well. Is this why you went with a liner.
Also, what's done with the old damper door,is there a sealing plate or something that you installed or does the stove surround trim take care of that for you?

John

Nice looking stove & installation!..Good luck with it! (use good quality coal too)

hotrodzz68 wrote:Looks great,
Do you have two liners in the chimney? Is one for the furnace? I havent taken posessionn of my stove yet,and I have a liner for my furnace due to damage of the tiles. I'm guessing I need to do the same for my stove a well. Is this why you went with a liner.
Also, what's done with the old damper door,is there a sealing plate or something that you installed or does the stove surround trim take care of that for you?

The chimney has separate two flues: a smaller one for the oil furnace and a larger one for the fireplace. We re-lined the furnace flue with a ForeverFlex stainless liner in 2002 due to tile damage, but the fireplace flue was in great shape. We went all the way to the top with the liner for the coal insert to ensure a good draft (I only had 15' of flue from the stove to the top of the chimney). As for the damper opening, they didn't seal it in any way. They disconnected the damper, moved it out of the way, and left it laying on top of the back of the steel firebox. They said the damper did not have to be sealed as long as the front shroud seal was good (which it is). Dean at Hitzer also confirmed this.

Devil505 wrote:Nice looking stove & installation!..Good luck with it! (use good quality coal too)

Thanks, Devil! Blaschak all the way, Baby!

JafaDog wrote:

Thanks, Devil! Blaschak all the way, Baby!

JafaDog

really good photos - thanks very much for sharing those. Very impressed to see the hitzer moved with apparent ease on a handtruck. congrats on a very clean install. That coal supply is looking sweet - hoping I can get good quality from my dealer in Carmel, NY - will need to call and see what they carry.

All us fellow Hitzer owners are learning a great deal from yours and CapeCoalers threads - many thanks again !

VB

I feel warm just looking at the photos. You're going to enjoy it this winter for sure. Good job!

Awesome pictures, and great looking stove. I tried to talk my wife's friend into doing that with her fireplace, but she went with...........a wood insert !

Thanks for all the complements!

Awesome pictures, and great looking stove. I tried to talk my wife's friend into doing that with her fireplace, but she went with...........a wood insert !

Arrrrrgh! My next-door neighbor did the same thing. He was looking at an outdoor wood boiler, balked at the cost, and went with a wood insert. I already advised him of the wonders of anthracite, but apparently he decided against it. Oh well.

nice looking stove you must be from my neck of the woods as I see Herkimer Home and Lisure on the truck I am about 1/2 hour from Herkimer.

JafaDog wrote:Soup to nuts, it cost me $4,405.78.

Stove: $2,495

Flex Liner Kit: $775

Labor/Install: $800

Tax: $335.78

Being warm this winter without paying big money to Big Oil: Priceless.

That's not really that bad of a price considering how in demand they all are. We paid $300 more for our stove, but it was the only one in stock any where and I really didn't want to play the wait and see game, rather have it sitting here and not installed then to not have one at all.

JafaDog wrote:Thanks! I think it looks nice. The wife is less thrilled. She thinks it sticks out too much.

Just remind the wife that there are plenty of things that stick out to much that she is thrilled about.