Canadian Border big hugs for the stove and your help. I will use the stove for now and try to replace with an NC-30 when HD clearance them out
In length of burn time alone that would be a nice upgrade.. if I knew anything about wood stove sizes when I started I would have gotten 30 for 150 dollars more.
Kimberly , I have no idea of your financial situation, but the 30 is still available for $649 plus shipping from Home Depot. See the thread Englander NC-30 $649 | Firewood Hoarders Club You could probably offset a good chunk of that price with the sale of the one you have. Greg
I lived for 15 years in a mobile home. Back then I smoked and when the wind blew, it was so draughty that the flame on my Zippo lighter would blow out before I could get my cigarette lit. But that little no-name stove would have us down to our underwear even when it was 20 below outside.
Brief thought on the Outside Air Kit... I see it was a Canadian company on the label. - Doesn't the Canadian (and Washington state) code require OAK more than normal? So maybe it's more likely to have one? Maybe a knockout plate? - Since the imposition of said codes, hasn't a stove industry group tested and determined that the OAK does little good and is unnecessary? Bold statements? Just going with my memory. Haven't researched lately, but I know my installation manual called for OAK on mobile home installs. edit: ah, I found this: A non-commercial service in support of responsible home heating with wood - The Outdoor Air Myth Exposed from this: Sweep's Library - Outside Air: A Conflicting Opinion?
I was thinking that too. The stove might be set up for an OAK , I would be looking for a knockout plate where the OAK might hook up to
I look at oaks this way anything that will reduce the air draw from inside the house is going to help keep my hard earned heat in the house. And if Oak are so bad why do all the new HF gas furnaces come with sealed combustion chambers that require an outside air source? any way I have always hooked mine up and find that they indeed do work, heck when I do not have the fan running I can hear the air being pulled in through that connection( and my hearing isn't all that great anymore). I remember a friend from many years ago that got a brand new MH circa 1977, it was a sieve, my own of 1980 vintage wasn't any better, current units are world of difference- mostly due to new construction requirements vs 30+ years ago.
Most houses are not sealed units and the ones that are must have active ventilation systems, otherwise, just the moisture from your breathing and perspira5tion would condense on the walls and you would suffocate. Read the article about how much air a wood stove consumes. If you turned on the exhaust fan over your cooker you would pull more air out of the house.
I am back from the boonies and I must say, I am unsure of what to do. The wood stove I got has the baffle plate burned out; I can take photos. Therefore, in the current state there is no secondary burn and the fire just goes up the flue.. I really do appreciate the help that Canadian Border worked to give me. I wish I had a normal job with a steady paycheque.
My old USSC magnolia had a knockout for the Outside Air intake. The pipe that had the knockout was only 1.5 - 2 inch diameter.... On a side note. I always wanted to knock it open and connect my shop vac on the blow setting.....
The OAK is not an issue for me. What I am concerned about is the efficiency of the stove which means less stuff going up the chimney and less chimney cleaning plus less wood burning so my firewood goes further. As the CFM stove is now, there is no secondary burn at all; see the attached photos.
I can't really tell what I'm looking at in those photos, but I guess it's looking down the chimney connection at something that's broken. However...there must be something there where the baffle belongs, or else it would be looking at the bottom of the stove. Or is that what it is and it's just a trick of the camera? The pre-EPA stove guys have proven that anything durable can be used as a baffle. On the Quadrafire, it's just a ceramic thing with insulation. (not terribly durable I'm afraid) I wouldn't be surprised if that thing burns fine as it is, at least for a few more seasons.
Think you could get that broken part out and photograph it separately? (On my stove, it requires removal of 2 of the tubes. Which is easy.)
I wonder if setting a heavy piece of plate steel (1/4" thick or so) in place would act as a baffle enough to get the stove working enough for this year? Then save up for a new stove.
More pics of the stove might help determine what stove it is and how to repair it , front of stove , inside top etc What's type of material is in the top for a baffle, brick, ceramic board or what ?
The baffle is plate; not sure of thickness. It is welded in place and not replaceable; that means rigging up something and I am not sure I want to do that for a stove that will be in my house.
Understand your reluctance to modify a stove, but someone correct me if I'm wrong, but by plating over those holes it will only effect efficiency and not affect the safe operation (air tight) of the stove? Obviously the plating shouldn't installed to constrict the flue.
Here is another aspect to consider; spend money on fixing this stove or use the money towards the NC-30?
The fixes I am talking about...assuming others think it will work...are $20-$30 of steel placed over those gaps to provide a baffle. But yes I think this gifted stove is a starting place and saving up for the exact one you are after is a great idea.