Valcourt St-Louis EPA 2020 Wood Burning Fireplace
Combustion that regulates itself and a fireplace you set from your phone. The Valcourt St-Louis (FP19) is an EPA 2020-certified non-catalytic wood fireplace rated 100,000 BTU/hr maximum on dry cordwood at 78% optimum efficiency and 1.8 g/h, for 1,000 to 2,400 square feet: NexFlame motorized air control reads a smoke sensor and thermocouples and holds the burn rate you choose in the Wi-Fi web app. It frames 58-1/2" wide by 48" high to the first header by 20-1/2" deep at zero clearance to the enclosure, vents through an 8-inch Class A chimney, takes 18-inch logs behind 37-3/8" x 19-7/8" of glass, and ships with its blower. from $8,414 for the fireplace alone; the seven-foot Signature Profile faceplate with its built-in gravity heat outlet is required to complete it and is priced on top.
Choose the St-Louis if you want a wood fireplace that manages its own fire: load it, press the button, and the controller opens and closes the air shutters to hold the burn you asked for — low for an overnight load, high to heat the room fast — while the app shows the firebox temperature and performance from the couch, and the blower switches itself on and off. Its tall faceplate is a design decision as much as a requirement: a seven- foot black profile with the gravity heat outlet built into its top, so warm air rises out of the wall above the fire without a separate duct kit or extra framing. Pick it for a large room in a cold climate; Valcourt's climate-zone calculator reads up to 3,300 square feet in the mildest zones.
It is not right if you want a fireplace that works with the power out: the St-Louis needs electricity to operate its air control, and in an outage it drops to a fail-safe mode that finishes the burn unless you add a 12 V deep-cycle battery. It is not for a manufactured home in the USA (mobile homes are approved in Canada only), not for an alcove, not for a masonry fireplace opening, and it takes no gas log set. There is no firescreen option, and the forced-air distribution kit Valcourt sells for it is approved in Canada only, so plan on the gravity outlet in the faceplate as the way heat leaves the wall. It needs a full 8-inch Class A chimney at least 15 feet tall, a 96-inch ceiling above its base, and it holds 18-inch logs, not the 20- and 25-inch lengths of the Dallaire II and Waterloo.
Specifications
Frame the enclosure 58-1/2" wide, at least 48" high to the first non-combustible header and 20-1/2" deep, add the thickness of your finishing material, and leave the space above the fireplace empty of combustibles to 96" from its base; with the fresh-air intake keep 12" between the framing and the side standoff on the duct side. The back, sides and floor of the enclosure are zero clearance; the chimney keeps 2". A combustible side wall stays 15-1/2" from the side of the door, the wall facing the fireplace stays 36" away in the USA, and the zone at least 60-9/16" wide and 96" high around the faceplate is non-combustible material only — brick or ceramic can be glued straight to the facade. The faceplate's hot-air outlet sits 12" below a combustible ceiling and 10" from a combustible stud. Floor protection is 16" deep and 36-3/4" wide with no R-value requirement. The chimney is an 8" ULC-S629 / UL 103 HT system from the approved list — at least 15 feet from the base to the cap, at most two offsets (Valcourt recommends 18" of straight pipe before the first one), and one support at least. An electrician wires the fireplace to a household circuit; with the faceplate on, the assembly stands 84-1/4" tall, 44-5/8" wide at the gravity box and 28" deep.
Features
- EPA 2020-certified non-catalytic firebox: 1.8 g/h emissions, 78% optimum efficiency, 100,000 BTU/hr maximum output and up to 7 hours per load
- NexFlame automatic combustion: a smoke sensor and thermocouples drive motorized air shutters that hold the burn rate you set — press one button when you reload and the fireplace does the rest
- Wi-Fi web app on your phone sets burn rate, blower speed and a one-minute boost, shows temperature and performance gauges, and takes a wall thermostat if you add one
- Panoramic 37-3/8" x 19-7/8" ceramic glass in a single steel-framed door, 18-inch logs east-west in a 3.15 ft³ firebox, rated for 1,000 to 2,400 ft²
- Blower is in the box and runs both ways — into the room, or up through the gravity outlet in the tall faceplate
- Zero clearance to the enclosure at the back, sides and floor; frames 58-1/2" wide x 48" high x 20-1/2" deep on an 8-inch chimney
Answers to common questions
What chimney does the St-Louis need, and is any of it included?
None of the chimney is in the box. The fireplace vents through an 8-inch factory-built chimney listed to ULC-S629 / UL 103 HT (2100 °F) from Valcourt's approved list — DuraVent Dura Tech, Dura Tech Premium, DuraPlus HTC and Dura Plus AC, Selkirk Ultimate Plus, CF Sentinel, Super Pro 2100 and Super Vent 2100, Security ASHT+ and S-2100+, Olympia Ventis, Nexvent, Champion and Rockford, Metal Fab Temp Guard, American Metal HS and HSS — starting with an 8-inch anchor plate on the fireplace. Plan on at least 15 feet from the base of the fireplace to the cap (17 feet with four elbows) and no more than 35, at most two offsets, at least one support, 2 inches of clearance around the pipe, and 3 feet above the roof; Valcourt recommends 18 inches of straight pipe before the first offset but also approves starting with a 30° elbow (45° in Canada only). A masonry chimney with an insulated liner is also approved. The chimney maker's manual governs the run itself.
How close can a side wall, the ceiling or a mantel be?
A combustible side wall stays 15-1/2 inches from the side of the door, the wall facing the fireplace stays 36 inches away in the USA (48 in Canada), and the ceiling is at least 96 inches above the base of the fireplace with nothing combustible framed directly above it. Around the faceplate, a zone at least 60-9/16 inches wide and 96 inches high is non-combustible material only — brick or ceramic glued to the facade is the intended finish — and the hot-air outlet at the top of the faceplate keeps 12 inches from a combustible ceiling and 10 inches from a combustible stud. Valcourt publishes no combustible-shelf clearance for this model (the brochure's table lists the shelf as N/A and a 15-1/2 inch side-mantel clearance, the same figure as the side wall): the faceplate runs to seven feet, so there is no shelf over the fire. Send us your wall layout if you want it checked — we're here to help!
What goes on the floor in front of it?
A continuous non-combustible surface at least 16 inches deep and 36-3/4 inches wide — 8 inches past each side of the door opening — such as ceramic on a non-combustible panel, concrete board or brick, never over carpet. No R-value is required whether the fireplace sits on the floor or on a raised base. A folded metal strip at least 2 inches wide protects the joint between the protection and the fireplace (on a base of 4 inches or more it wraps 2 inches up and 2 inches out), and it is not supplied.
What’s included, what’s required, and what’s optional?
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Included in the box: The fireplace with its moulded refractory panels, two-level C-Cast baffle and two stainless secondary air tubes; NexFlame control board with smoke sensor, thermocouples and motorized air control, plus the Wi-Fi web app it serves; Blower (up to 176 CFM per the spec table), mounted under the firebox, bidirectional; Single steel-framed door with ceramic glass and moving handle; Side and back standoffs, the 5-inch fresh-air adapter with intake plate and screws, and the manual kit; EPA 2020 certification, ULC S610 / UL 127 listing and the Valcourt limited lifetime warranty.
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Required to complete the installation, purchased separately: Faceplate - the Signature Profile tall faceplate with its built-in gravity heat outlet, chosen above; it is required to complete the installation and ships in a separate box; Venting - an 8" listed factory-built chimney from the approved list (see pg 70 in the installation manual) or a lined masonry chimney; Floor Protection - a continuous non-combustible surface 16 inches deep and 36-3/4 inches wide in front of the fireplace, with a 2-inch folded metal strip at the joint; no R-value is required; Electrical - a household circuit wired by a qualified electrician; the air control and blower need power to operate (a 12 V deep-cycle battery can back it up).
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Optional: The 5-inch fresh-air intake parts (termination, insulated pipe, airtight register), the faceplate extension for a taller wall, carrying handles and a wall thermostat — the fireplace burns wood fully without any of them.
Does the St-Louis need electricity, and what happens in a power failure?
Yes — it needs a household circuit, wired by a qualified electrician, because the NexFlame air control and the blower run on power, and it must never be installed without a proper electrical connection. In a power failure the fireplace goes into a fail-safe mode that finishes the burn safely, and until power returns only small kindling fires are possible. If outages of more than three or four hours are common where you live, a 12 V deep-cycle battery on the control board's battery tabs runs the fireplace at full capacity: consumption is about 35 W, so a 100 Ah battery gives at least 24 hours and a 20 Ah battery about 6. Never connect a charger to the battery while it is connected to the fireplace.
How does the app control work, and can I use a wall thermostat instead?
The fireplace broadcasts its own Nexflame Wi-Fi access point; you connect once, create a login at nexflame.local, and hand it your home Wi-Fi, after which every phone in the house reaches it at its IP address with the same username and password. From there you set burn rate from low to high, run the blower in AUTO, MIN or MAX, trigger a one-minute Boost, send the Reload command after adding wood, read temperature and performance gauges, and install software updates. A millivolt wall thermostat can be wired to the terminal block below the control board; tell the app it is installed and the thermostat raises and lowers the burn rate by itself. One is not included. The button under the door handle covers the basics without a phone: press once to reload, hold five seconds to switch the blowers, ten seconds to reset Wi-Fi.
Do I need an outside air kit?
It is optional. The fireplace ships with the 5-inch adapter, intake plate and screws; to connect outside air you add the 5-inch air intake termination with clamps, an insulated 5-inch HVAC-class duct of at least 10 feet (at most 30, with a P-trap loop against condensation) in the 10-foot or 25-foot length, and the 5-inch fresh-air intake register with its airtight damper — a mechanical shutter that closes the inlet when the fireplace is idle is mandatory on any outside-air installation. The termination goes outside, above the snow line, away from exhausts and other inlets, no more than 10 feet above or 3 feet below the base of the fireplace and within half the chimney height.
Does buying from The Torch Guys affect my Valcourt warranty?
No. Valcourt's limited lifetime warranty covers products bought through an authorized Valcourt dealer, and The Torch Guys is one — we register the appliance and, if you ever need to claim, we deal with the manufacturer on your behalf. The combustion-chamber welds, castings and ceramic glass are covered for life on parts (one replacement) with 4 years of labour; the C-Cast baffle and secondary air tubes 5 years; the blower, sensors, wiring and controls 2 years; gaskets, paint and refractory bricks 1 year. It applies to the original purchaser, requires installation by a qualified technician, and is void if anything but cordwood is burned. Keep your invoice and the serial number from the plate on the back; we hold the rest on file.
