Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

I did notice a smell once or twice the last few days. I think I was closing the door too hard early on. Either that or I just got a bum gasket. The difference is amazing though after fluffing it up.

 

And yes it was brand new

 

The stove body where the gasket seals is known for being less than flat. Set a 2’ level (as a straight edge) across the door opening, at the bottom, and I bet you’ll find it’s not flat.

 

Yeah, I run the nc30 really hard. The tubes glow every load and I don’t even think of closing the air down until after passing 700. It’s been holding up really well. Full loads every time. Just wish it had more output but there really aren’t many bigger stoves.

 

What do yo do if it isnt flat?

 

Door gasket replacement- when installing do not pull it taunt so that when the end meet there is extra- you want to bunch it back on itself. looks really huge that way but solves inconsistency in the face panel.

 

Like Chris said, you try to fill with gasket bunching or even a deeper silicone bed under the gasket. This is why you seat the gasket into the mud by mounting the door to the stove and lightly closing it. That way the gasket contour matches the door opening.

On the other hand, a little door leak isn’t that bad. I mean heck, the doghouse air hole is a wide open opening to the outside.

 

Good idea Check With a straight edge To see if your door is flat like I said ,and If the stove front is flat also , then you have an idea what ya got

 

Checked the stove earlier with a straight edge. The bottom has a gap that's maybe 1/16". The top is pretty good. There may be the slightest gap up top but not much. Forgot to check the door.

Question about the ac30 blower...do you all have one? It seems pretty much every nc30 owner I've seen comment recommends it. For those of you that have it, how do you run it? Do you have a switch set up to kick it on at a certain temp?

I have the blower that came with it. I thought I would wait until next year to upgrade but right now I seem to be constantly running back and forth turning the blower on or off depending on STT. This is a problem when I'm gone all day for work and overnight burns. It would be nice if it had an even lower setting so it wouldn't cool the stove top so fast after peak burn.

 

You could get a basic outdoor timer such as this.

 

Interesting....I never thought of that. So do you just set it for a time then? I guess if you have your routine down well enough that would work just fine.

 

It has a bypass so you can run it when you're around and just turn off the blower when you want as you normally do. I only use the timer for going to bed or gone in the daytime. Just set it depending on the load. It doesn't matter if it runs even once the stove is petering out, as it keeps the convection loop going somewhat. They don't cost very much either, $12-$15 should get you a basic timer.

 

I don't think there is any "harm" in letting the blower run when the STT drops, it doesn't affect the burn, really it's only a waste of the electricity.

 

Next time one of you gents load up your stove, as in some of the earlier pictures, if possible, would you mind weighing how much wood you've loaded it up with? Could one of you guys give me a weight as close as you can and the kind of wood?

Well aware that different woods will have different weights and different btu's. I'm just curious.

I know Marvin is using a lot of Elm and some others are using all Ash. Just curious at to how much wood by the pound is being loaded. No more, no less.

That stove has a big fire box! Loading N/S how long are the splits?

I'm watching this thread and couple others trying to gather some information on this Englander NC-30 stove as it's not a stove I've previously took the time to research any. Watching this thread and looking at Home Depot's webpage...need to go to Englander website as well...will do that later...I see this stove is likely going to be too big for my 1350sq.ft. However, I really don't ever want to have to push a stove as hard as some of you are doing. I'd likely never load my stove that full either, though having that option is nice. Having a stove with a fire box that big allows for much larger chunks of wood to be burned, rather than so many smaller splits which are fine too, but if I bought that big of a stove I could likely control it well with just a few pieces of wood rather than loading it up so much. That said, I'm wondering is the smaller stove would serve me better? Of course, the stove will be my primary heat...not so much for shoulder season type weather, but for when it really turns cold...like today...it was 14*F this morning...and anything below 32*F I would be leaning heavily on the wood stove instead of the fuel oil...which I'd like to only use as a back-up for when we are not at home...setting the thermostat to say 59*F for the furnace to kick on.

 

Hoytman I will try to remember to weigh the wood I load tonight but I wont load it full until I'm ready for the overnight burn. As you mentioned I am burning almost exclusively elm at this point with a few sticks of ash mixed in here and there. Not sure what the weight differences would be between the two. The other thing is my wood is not as dry as I would like (ranges anywhere from 18-22% moisture) so that will figure in to the weight.

I have been very pleased with the 30nc so far although I'm still learning some of its little nuances. I'm heating a split level from a finished basement which has it's own challenges but it has done a pretty good job of keeping the upper level warm (as long as the wind isnt howling, I need new windows). In total I have about 1800 sf to heat. If you want smaller, I believe some members here have a 13nc which, from my understanding, is the 30s little brother.

I'm trying something new as saskwoodburner suggested and have the blower set on a timer that I had for Christmas lights. I have it set up to run on low in roughly 30 minute on/off increments. We'll see how that does pushing heat upstairs.

 

That's an interesting way to go about pulling the heat out, curious how it'll work for you. Dumb question, but what kind of ceiling run do you have going up the stairs before it hits the door way? Could you take a pic of how it looks? I may have the silliest way to help move air a little bit easier.

 

I'll take a pic later. The ceiling runs about 10 feet (drop ceiling) until it gets to the stairs which are open.

 

Here are a few pics of the stove room. As you can see the stairway is pretty open up the steps.

From behind the stove...


From the side...