Jeremy VanGelder

I think I would build it as a bell. The chimney is quite large. I am certain I could fit a 6" double-wall stove pipe down it. So I would install it as a plunger tube. So all four sides of the fireplace could absorb and store heat.

I don't think it would have enough internal surface area to harvest all the heat of a 6 inch batch. But I am okay with that.

Another issue is that the other end of the house has a higher chimney. About 5 feet higher, so I would need to extend the stovepipe to that height and have a rain cap on it. The existing rain cap is pretty big and probably wide enough to anchor a stovepipe to. I suspect that some of the backdraft problems we have had are related to the chimney height.

I bet your masonry skills will serve you well!

This stove was built for circulation around the outside of the firebox. There is a line of fans under it, forcing air behind and over the stove. It has some interesting fins inside. I am wondering if they held a grate in place? I usually think of grates as a waste of space. Without a grate there is room for more wood. But maybe elevating the fuel gave it more access to oxygen?

I cleaned the chimney today. And I cleaned the old insert. I like to understand the things I am getting rid of. And this thing has a fascinating story.  It is an Alpha-1. The first time I searched for "Alpha-1 fireplace insert" nothing useful came up. But I tried again today and there was this result:

The Alpha-1 fireplace insert is a vintage wood-burning heating unit invented by J. Darrel Johnson in the early 1980s (often associated with the Lewiston and Clarkston area of the Pacific Northwest).

Key Details

• Design Concept: Unlike standard air-tight wood stoves that restrict airflow to make wood smolder, the Alpha-1 was designed to burn hot and fast with plenty of air to consume organic vapors before they could escape up the chimney.
• EPA Certification Status: Because it burned too quickly and lacked a traditional closeable draft control to slow down combustion, the Alpha-1 was not able to pass standard U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions certifications.

Interesting. That sounds a bit similar to to Matt Walker's experience at the wood stove competition.

This one has a damper to close the outlet. But the air control for the inlet has about an 1/8" of clearance along the whole top of the door even when it is closed down. This was a source of frustration for my siblings who lived here before. So they used that piece of square tube steel to wedge it shut.

It does smoke back on occasion, so they wanted to stop that.

I know a couple who heat with a wood stove. That was working out. Then the husband had an accident and broke his legs. That next year, the wife was in charge of getting all the firewood they needed to heat the house. It would have been a lot easier for them if they didn't so much firewood.

That is a big hugel. How did it grow this year?

I remember that Paul has said that he wouldn't build anymore systems smaller than 6 inches at his place. He's been saying that for years, well before they released these plans. So I think it is at least a 6 inch system. Hey! I have access to these plans because I supported that kickstarter. Let me check...

Yes, it is a 6 inch system. It uses a 5 minute riser, not fiberboard. But I imagine that fiberboard would work. Would it be strong enough to hold up to loose pea gravel against it? I don't know.

Post 10 is another one of my favorites. He lives somewhere in the NE US and he clears flooded streets for fun.

This youtuber is restoring fire lookouts!

Thanks for the videos, Andrew! I just watched this one: