Flush Mounting a Hitzer 983 Insert?

I called the Hitzer people the other day and I must say, really nice people. The actually spoke to me and even answered some technical questions, unlike Harman . This is the deal, I have a open fireplace and I want to install an insert, but I want/need a flush mounting unit. According to the Hitzer people their 503/983 line-up will protrude approx. 7 inches because of the blower intake(s). What do you 503/983 insert owners think of a recessed install with a little ducting (sheet metal) to extend the blower intakes to the front of the hearth? Doing the metalwork is not the issue, actuall quite easy (have access to sheet metal shope) I just do not have a working model to mock-up. Does anyone see any potential headaches with a recess install with duct extensions?

Frank

Why do you want to burry the stove in the fireplace. got any pics.

Just my preference, I had an pellet insert there and I did not like the 10" protrusion of the stove onto the hearth. Smaller area that is he main walkway to the stairs/bath, lots of foot traffic and I want to keep it all contained within the fireplace.
Frank

PelletstoCOAL - You're correct about Hitzer, ask for "Dean" when you call. I have a 503 that is on the third season, I read here on the forum they now include a manual chimney damper ... good idea especially on real cold days. As for flush mount, we really like the 503 with the EZ (gravity) Flo Hopper; for that it must protrude into the room as you simply pour the coal in with a scuttle. If you would flush mount this advantage disappears and also would rule it out unless you remove the chute (But I have been told you can then burn wood) It is also true that with a flush mount your radiant heat off the box
would be eliminated, on 50-60F days we often turn off/idle the fan. Only wish that we have is that we had added a course
of brick under the unit and then left an airway from the old ash cleanout door to bring combustion air out of the basement. I
measured our unit, the unit only comes 12" into the room (at the top, 9" at box)-- and as mentioned gives substantial heat of the metal surface. At normal burns and the fans running expect air to exhaust at about same temperature as box - for us about 290-300F. Also I believe the 983 has a triple shaker vs a double on the 503
We often leave the 503 untended from Sat am till Sunday after dinnertime - 30-32 hrs. Best Regards, baldeagle

Seems to me it could work but two other issues: there is a metal surround for the stove that attaches to the sides of the stove, about 10 inches back from the front edge/surface of the stove. No reason you couldn't do away with this, but I wonder how happy you'd be with the appearance of the final product. After all, you'd need space at the sides of the stove to run the ductwork to the air intakes, which would leave a space of at least a few inches on each side (plus some space above the stove)--may not look finished with all that empty space. Second, the blower control switch is a few inches back from the front surface also, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem since you'll already have space, in order to operate the switch, due to the ductwork.

baldeagle, is the EZ Flow Hopper only on the 503? All my radiant heat would not be lost, most will transfer into the maronry of the central positioned fireplace, thus warming a few rooms up and downstairs. It worked well when I had the pellet stove in the fireplace, and the coal stove will radiate more heat. On cold nights (- to 0's) I still burn a fire for 3-4 hrs to heat the masonry and that will prevent my upstairs from dropping below 62 deg (no other heat on).

Ashcat, thanks for the info, I was figuring on making a new surround that would attach to my brickface, closing up the gaps and providing openings for the intakes. The switch is no problem, just relocate it or put it on a wall switch.

frank

PelletsToCoal - Yup, far as I know the hopper/chute only comes on the 503. We enjoy the additional burn time and the simplicity of filling .... but I do not know how tight your leg room must be. I have heard you can remove the hopper and have what then would be a two grate 983. (I think the 983 has 3 grates)
For burning with the hopper we usually run slightly more than a "circle" opening in the ash door slots - 40#/day
run at 1/2 a slot is = to 60-80#/day depending on how hard/often you shake (2/3?)
run at a 1/4 of a "moon" on the slot - goes to a 30+ hr. burn
You are of course correct about the central chimney, plaster is warm to touch on third floor when running hard, my son's second floor bedroom is quite comfortable. We like the hopper. Best Regards, baldeagle