Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

I like the door latch system on the nc30. It is simple, robust, and automatically adjusts to be “tight”. What more could you want?

 

Well...I agree with one part...its simple.

 

For it to not wobble like a weeble when I open the door.

 

You Gotta get them weeble's out of there man

 

I started closing it tighter. That has helped quite a bit with keeping the glass clean. I can still pull a piece of paper out but it has quite a bit of resistance now when I close it that tight.

Here's a pic of the handle position closed tighter...

 

Perfect

 

3 or so years in, mine is at 4-5 o'clock position. Haven't changed the gasket yet. I think new it sat at about 3-4 o'clock.

 

Have any of you guys done any mods to the nc30? I was just perusing the interwebs and read about some people blocking secondary air, doghouse air, etc. I know every setup is different and dont really feel the need to change anything just curious.

I did read through this thread which was interesting: How much secondary air is enough or too much? What if it was adjustable?

One caveat - most of my wood is marginal (18-22% MC) so not even sure it would do any good if there was a good mod to make.

 

I think the answer is " it depends". If you feel your stove is running great as is, no need to tinker. But no harm in wondering or thinking out loud. You never know what you may discover.

 

Yep, I've tried covering/partially covering the secondary, and the doghouse intakes in different amounts. Never got great results, so I stopped messin' with it.
I love to tinker with stuff to make it "better".........like the people who built the stove didn't do any of that research themselves.
Give it a shot if you want. Won't really hurt anything as long as you keep the flue clean.
Keep us updated.

 

making a plate to fit from the back to the front to direct more air flow across top of stove is a favorite of mine. does depend on your installation if it is worth the effort my old place yep, new place nope.

 

I personally think it shows lack of creativity to dismiss ideas outright like that. Thinking shouldn't be a bad word. If you think the stove is perfect, and all problems are wood too wet/dry, stack too tall/short, or don't know how to burn, boy do I have a site for you to visit.
Do I believe all wood stoves are as good as they can be? Yes, and no. They're built to a price point. You could have Englander as a prestige stove that blows the doors off a BK if they spent enough money and decided that was their market. But their market seems to be a good budget no frills stove. Just like you could have an economy line of BK, called the Budget King, no cat, no thermostat, just a big black box that looks a little prettier than an Englander. But that's not their market.

Why doesn't my stove have adjustable louvers or an ash pan or a cat? Because maybe 0 or 1 person in a thousand would want them, so even if it made the stove better ( at a greater cost), why would they?

They're also built to pass emissions testing. I've already witnessed for myself what slowing down a fire does with a damper (not required according to dogma). Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't turn a stove into a smoke dragon (at least not in my climate).

They're also built so they can run in Alaska weather and South Carolina weather.
I would also think they try to make them somewhat idiot proof. Anything built on earth will have compromises built into it.

 

Hmmm, I didn't dismiss anything. Wow.
I won't bother responding to that post anymore......not worth the effort.

 

papadave, did you get your OAK condensation situation squared away?

 

That's something I want to hear about. My house isnt super tight but I've kicked around attaching an OAK like DexterDay has. My only concern is with a basement install I've read rumors about backpuffing being a potential danger. I've never had a backpuff that I'm aware of though. I believe that would be why brenndatomu mentioned a cold air trap at one point though?

 

Yep, sure did.
I got some Armaflex (Armorflex?) and wrapped the aluminum flex with it right up to the wall, and just a few inches on top of the raised hearth.......condensation/frost gone. Might be a bit ugly to some, but it works, and so does the OAK. Thanks for asking, Jon.

Same here, chris. No creativity on my part, but it works.....and quite well.

 

Wrap some birch bark around it...