Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

No pic needed. I saw the outside pic on papadave thread. Thanks though

 

Running hot is okay. I have noticed I'm still getting smoke from my chimney even with good temps and secondary burn going. Perhaps its something I'm doing wrong?

 

There he is

 

Okay that's probably it then. I think it's around 13* out right now.

Thanks for the OAK info. I might end up putting one in. I dont necessarily have an air issue but at least that would keep it from pulling in cold air through the windows and such.

 

Heck yeah man we didn't forget ya bro

 

The basement is about 8 feet below grade. The stove room is approximately 200 sq ft and the upper level is roughly 1600ish. It's a double wide set on a poured foundation so not the greatest setup for heat to move but doable.

 

A few tips for your new family member Marvin.

1. If you're not absolutely set on using the ash pan, buy a fire brick and cut it (I used a diamond wheel in a 5" grinder in my case) to fit the hole where the pull out plug is. Set the plug behind the stove and forget about it. Not having it in there makes cleaning ash a lot easier.

2. When first firing it up, set the air to wide open, and leave the door open a 1/2" or so to get things rolling quickly. It takes mine about 10 - 15 minutes to get right up to temperature. I then close the door, and set the inlet air so that just the tip of the spring is past the coal catching lip in front of the door, and forget about it. That works for my setup, but of course yours will vary a bit depending on how air enters your house, how far you managed to get the spring pushed onto the rod, type of wood, personal preferences, etc.

3. If you don't have a blower, buy one. It made a huge difference in how my heat gets distributed. I also recommend getting a magnetic mount temperature switch for it. I put mine on the top of my rear heat shield about 2" from the side. Sorry, but I can't remember what temperature it cuts in at. They're pretty cheap on amazon, and wiring it up is pretty simple. I used an old computer power cable I had laying around with a 105 deg C rating on it and have had no problems/signs of melting. Just don't have it right up against the side of the stove. Don't mount the switch directly on the side or top of the stove. It's just too hot there, and you'll kill your magnet.

4. When stacking wood N/S, try to leave a little space right in front of the primary air inlet (bottom center, just inside the door) that will allow air to get right to the back of the stove. You'll find it greatly improves how well your secondaries work.

5. Be careful about banging on the ceramic boards that are sitting on top of the secondary burn tubes. They aren't the toughest things in the world and will chip and crack if you're a bit of a ham fist like me that isn't always the most carful person in the world when loading and cleaning. I bought the tune up kit that Englander sells just to have on hand when I need it. It's got 2 replacement ceramic boards, and the door and glass seals in it.

6. When you get ash sitting on top of the door seal at the bottom of the door (seems to accumulate on the hinge side), clean it off of there with a whisk. continually mashing it into the door seal will cause it to fail much sooner.

Well...that's about all I have to offer on the subject sir. If your experience is anything like mine, you'll be very happy with the amount of heat it puts out and how it runs once you figure out the air settings for your particular setup. Mine will cook me right out of the basement, and it heats our 1700 square foot 1 1/2 story extremely well, even with my crappy air flow. Cheers !

 

Speaking of those baffles...also check them out frequently to make sure they are pushed back, and together in the center. Some people lay a 1/4" steel rod in the gaps on either side to keep them together better...

 

Try to leave a space down the middle directly behind the "doghouse", there is an air hole there and it really helps to get combustion air to the back of the stove.

Edit: I see blacksmithden already mentioned it see his #4

 

Lots of good info there gentlemen, keep it coming I'm trying to learn as much as possible here. You've all been a great help!

 

I think you'll universally find that nobody uses the ash pan. Some remove the plug and put a cut brick in, like blacksmithden suggested, others cut the ring off of the plug, I just leave mine in.

 

I've used the pan in the past, but it's easier to just shovel out the ashes. When pushing the ash down that small opening, it tends to fill up, which requires the use of a small spatula or spoon or something to spread it out in the pan before adding more. It for sure keeps the dust down though, and I'm extremely careful when emptying the shovel into the ash hod.
I've thought of taking out the plug and putting a small piece of brick there, but I'd want to use some high temp sealant to do so. Not sure I trust ash to fill the voids around the brick and seal that.

 

Got home from work today to find a package on my porch

I received a nicely made convection deck from brenndatomu

Pics of it on the stove will have to wait. I'm just getting home from a work Christmas party for the evening. I also have to modify it just a wee bit so it will fit my double wall stove pipe.

Want to give brenndatomu one more shout out and say thank you. You are very generous and one of the many fantastic members that make this such a great place.

 

Winner winner chicken dinner Nice
Way to go brenndatomu Good man
How you likin that stove Marv ?

 

I'm really enjoying it so far. It is so simple to operate and seems to be very controllable. There are a few things I may or may not tweak with it. For example, installing an OAK. I dont think I necessarily need one but I may try it at some point just to see how it operates with one.

The only issue I've discovered has nothing to do with the stove. The wood I was trying to burn wasn't as dry as I thought it was. Luckily I cut a small load of elm last weekend which was ready to burn as soon as it was split so it has now moved up to the front of the wood pile. I'll go get more today.

 

You're welcome!
Glad somebody can make use of it, since my inlaws don't need it...helps declutter my garage a bit too!

As far as opening the pipe hole up a bit, there are obviously a few different ways to do it...some type of calipers would give you a good way to measure from the existing edge and mark a nice even cut line...I use Vernier calipers for this all the time...the tip of one jaw hooked on the edge, the other jaw tip (nose down) will leave a light mark in the paint. If you have (or can borrow) a left and right hand (red, and green handle) tin snips, that would make a half decent inside circle cut like that...I used a ductwork round hole cutter the first time, but those don't work too well to open up an existing hole.
But I'm sure you have this all under control already anyways!