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[logwagon]

Hey everybody I am new to owning a OWB, but no stranger to cutting wood, so I have alot of questions.  First I have a Hardy H-4. What is everbody's  idea on concrete pads do I need a footer or not?

[2muchtime]

I do concrete for a living.If you take a shovel width wide all the way around the inside of form and just thicken it oh let say 6 to 8 inches it won't hurt. If you got some old wire fence or re bar to lay in it would be good too. If you order it from a concrete company. You could have them mix some fiber glass fibers right in the concrete. This will take the place of wire or re bar.  I hope this helps.

[logwagon]

 Hey 2muchtime thanks alot. I do have plenty of concrete fence I call it, left from when I poured my garage floor.

[PhinPhan]

One thing to think about is raising the stove up to make the door higher to make for easier loading, my brother had a slab poured then added some solid concrete blocks under his hardy H-2 to get it up higher.  Just something to think about now in the planning phase.

[NC4AB]

From experience installing 3 Hardy H-2's, you are better off leaving the rear of the Hardy sitting off the pad for ease of connecting the water lines (see the pictures in the installation manual), and use the extra concrete in the front of the stove.  An extra 2 or 3 feet in front of stove works great for cleaning out ashes and loading the wood.

As far as thickness of the pad you need at least 4", pour it a little thicker around the edges and you will be in business.

[Scratch]

I just finally poured my pad after letting the stove sit on blocks all last year.  I put a 4 foot pad for me to step on while loading the stove since I remember how muddy it was last year.  I'll try to snap a picture of it.

[Jason]

HOO rah!  Another Hardy burner.

*ahem* Anyway...I agree, for what it's worth, with what these guys all said.  My H5 sits on about a 4" pad that has blocks on it for the furnace to sit a little higher.  I have a couple feet sticking out in front for ask cleanouts and loading and the comment about the back of the furnace was right on.

Enjoy your furnace. 

[logwagon]

Thanks a bunch guys I. How old is your Hardy Jason.

[Jason]

We installed it new and fired it up for the first time on January 1, 2007.  No major problems at all.  My grates are bowed a little, but I'm going to try and get through one more year with them, and the silicone caulk or whatever it is on the trapdoor going into the blower fan has given it up and needs to be replaced.  It's been my sole source of home heat duing that time and those are the worst of my mechanical issues.

I burn mostly pine and dead elm.

[ckbetz]

I leveled out an area and used concrete lintels.  They work pretty well since the stove bears on the entire length of them.  I can't really see the advantage of a slab underneath the unit since it seems like so much of the waterline maintenance would come under the stove.  Everything I have on my Central Boiler pretty much comes from underneath (waterlines, electric lines, gas lines).

[loadthestove]

I built a 12X 12 concrete block build that I have my stove in.The stove keeps the building  warm plus allow room for me two pull the gator in when loaded with wood.I generally load my stove around 11 pm so i'm basically inside when i'lm loading.

[Jason]

All the wiring and piping comes up from under the ground in the very back of the furnace, so we have the furnace hanging over the edge of the slab a bit.  Everything goes straight up from the ground to the rear of the furnace.  It works out really well.