You can tell that it's warmer now. The fireplace forums were all extremely busy a few weeks ago. Now, barely a peep. I'm expecting my HI300 on Tuesday still. I'll post again then.

I'm in NoVA and am interested in the HI300. Wouldn't happen to be a brown porcelain model would it ?

Well, it is. Unfortunately, the one I got had a piece broken on it so the other one is being delivered tomorrow (1 + 1 = 2 = all gone). However, they could easily weld the right cast piece back on and sell it but that's their call. It actually looks like the piece was tacked on and the factory forgot to do the full welds. So nothing is really broken, just the welds didn't get done.

It was Pitkin's Ace Hardware in Dale City (Woodbridge). They may be getting another one from Hampton as a priority since the one they gave me the first time was defective.

Thanks !

Called and put my name on it. They didn't say anything about it being damaged. Guess I'll see tomorrow.

I went by this evening and showed them what was wrong. They're really nice people there and I'm sure they won't steer you wrong. Trust me, I'm pretty picky and I would still have taken this stove after they get the piece welded on properly. If you want to see the problem just follow the link I'm attaching.

Do you know anyone in the area that delivers wood? The guys doing my install have done some really good work so far... just in case you haven't found an installer yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: HI300 saga

Thanks for the link.

Looks like I won't be getting that one from Ace after all, so it is still available.

I have had one on order from a Falls Church dealer for about two weeks. At the time, they told me 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. So, I gave them a call and asked for a delivery update, figuring I would cancel unless they could get it within a week or two. Well, turns out the unit shipped last Friday. Looks like the warm weather has cut down the backlogs.

I get my wood from my Dad who has some acreage and heats his house with a wood boiler. Craigslist has firewood ads. Also the paper or pennysaver. Haven't bought any wood so I can't recommend anyone. The trick is to find someone reputable who won't shortchange on the volume. Unless you pay for stacking and then you can see what you've got before the guy leaves. You can't tell if you've got a cord or not when it's piled.

I'm planning on doing the install myself.

Did you insulate your liner ? My dealer said they don't bother to insulate when they install around here, but some online sources seem to indicate it is a good idea. My chimney is interior so it may not be as important. Also, the flue tiles are 6 inches wide, so the insulation will be difficult to fit.

Thanks again

Since your chimney is internal to the house it's pretty well insulated by the house itself. Mine is external so they insulated it. If your flue tiles are 6" wide then it's probably more of a hassle to insulate it and probably won't be worth your while. How does your fireplace draft as it is now? That's probably a good indicator of how much work you should put into insulating your reliner.

After watching the installers break out the damper, drill out the chimney for the outside air kit and whatnot, I'm glad I paid to get it done. They spent 7 hours here and haven't even finished yet.

There are some recommendations from an inspector in that forum I linked to before and I would definitely follow them. Stuff like sealing the flue adaptor to the stove instead of just using screws like some do... make sure to do a bottom plate, again, your chimney is internal so a bottom plate might not be so important. I would seek some advice on these forums from the professionals.

Best of luck to you and thanks for the suggestions. Everyone, there's still an HI300 available in No. Va.

Thanks !

I'm a little confused about the outside air kit. There doesn't appear to be anything listed in the manual or on the Hampton website about that. Is this a separate accessory or just an opening in the fireplace wall for air to come in to feed the insert ? I could open my ash door but that would just suck warm air from the basement.

The outside air kit isn't mentioned in the manual, from what I can see. However, my installers said that their tech contact at Hampton said that it was essential since its drawing its combustion air from an area behind the front surround within the hearth. It's misleading since it says you should provide combustion air by opening a window but if you get an outside air kit (Pipe with a sliding door on it and a louvered vent for the outside) and bore a hole through your chimney you can ensure a good draft and that it will draw your combustion air from the outside instead of the room.

Since you have an interior chimney I don't think you have an option for an outside air kit unless you can patch together some ducting that leads from your ash cleanout door (now unusable) to the outside. But I could be wrong about that and the fire might go like crazy even without the outside air supplement.

It all goes back to how well your fireplace performs now. PM me and I'll see if I can give you some more help.

It's installed and running and I couldn't be happier. I've posted a link to the pics below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics of the new HI300 installed