Picked up an Englander NC30 today...

shouldn't be needing to be #icking with a door gasket on a new stove for three years. you'd think.

 

there is always those Monday morning and Friday afternoon stoves.

 

I agree. At this point I'm just getting through until the burn season is over. At that time I will be giving the stove body a good check to see if it is warped and how severe it is. I checked once already and it seems there is a small gap when placing a straight edge along where the door gasket closes. After the season I will get an idea of how bad it is and then speak with ESW about going forward from there.

This is just a band-aid fix at the moment.

 

These aren't exactly precision instruments. Put your straight edge across the whole side of the stove and you'll see (or at least I do) that the sides are caved in too. Still the door should seal reasonably well.

 

Finished sealing up the basement from the garage and installed an OAK today. I didnt get a pic of the OAK outside. It's under the deck and I was crawling around in the dirt and mud to put it in. I have to get a tube of caulking to go around the edges so I'll snap a pic then.

First two pics are from the garage looking towards the space above the basement drop ceiling. I pulled out all of the rolled insulation and replaced it with rigid. I sealed both inside and outside with canned spray foam. The third pic is the inside view of the OAK.

 

brenndatomu you had mentioned a cold air trap for the OAK. Is there any specifics to this or could I just stick a hook in the wall to hang the flex vent from? That is kinda what I had in mind. I figured about 3 feet off of the floor...

 

You could do that...doesn't need to be fancy...the taller it is, the more effective it will be at blocking "spillover" cold air.
Just needs to come down, go back up, then back down...

 

You can almost see through the tubes. 300 degree flue surface temps.

 

I was out crawling around under the deck yesterday to caulk around the OAK inlet and remembered to get a pic this time.


As you can see I didnt get a nice cut on the siding so had to use a lot of caulk. I will check it once it warms up this spring to make sure it sealed alright. I tried using a sawzall after I opened it up with a hole saw and drill

 

Here's a shot of the cold air trap I made for the OAK...


It ain't pretty but it's a basement install so I'm not overly concerned with looks. Someday I may prettify it with some rigid pipe.

 

I have been pretty impressed lately with the performance of the nc30. I dont know if it has been the additional insulation, the OAK installation or a combination of the two but it's been doing a much better job of heating the house it seems. I've also been mixing in some lumber scraps to lower the overall moisture level of the wood in the stove.

Y'all aren't kidding when you mention burning dry wood. I did a small load of small splits that have been in the basement for a month or 2. Holy moly! Fast lightning secondaries and lots of heat from a small load were the story on that experiment. I am looking forward to next year to see what this thing can do with good sized dry splits.

 

Question on this probe thermometer...


How accurate are these? It hasn't been getting quite as high since I'm cutting the air earlier with dry wood but it is still a bit puzzling sometimes. This pic was taken about 45 minutes in to a small load with a STT of 525*. It peaked at 900* and a STT of 625*. I am wondering if it is reading high or is that normal?

 

They are pretty accurate. Your numbers sound reasonable.

 

If I do not get at the air control quickly with a new or reload of "dry" fuel ( Red Oak Mulberry Ash and Elm mixed loads) stt in the 750 range is what I will see. That is one raging inferno. Closing the air control and it will settle back to the 6 hundreds. I let it selltle back and then re-open the air control to apx the ash lip - that is mostly good until I get back home- there will still be coals for a relight. Pretty much keep the propane back up off for apx 12 hours. It is set at 68F. Did a top down light off this morning - had cleaned out stove prior. Kind of impressive, stove was 98 % red oak and a couple of small mulberry sticks to fill some gaps. will see whats left in a couple hours. First time I ever tried a top down light off.

 

I gotta admit I'm a convert. I never imagined the top down method would work as well as it does.

 

Top down, or my style "backwards burn?" I have never really suceeded with a traditional top down light, but the backwards burn generally works well for me on a relight.

 

I like the backward burn too! I didnt try it in the coldest weather this year. I cant wait to try it next year in cold weather with dry wood.

 

dry wood has been a challenge this year due to all the rain/ sleet /ice/ snow

 

Just wanted to revive this a bit to mention how happy I have been up to this point with the nc30. Now that I have good DRY wood, this thing is a heating beast.

I'm sure it helps that my basement is sealed up much much better than in the past as well.

Just want to thank all of those who gave advice one more time.

brenndatomu the convection deck has been awesome at pushing the heat up out of the basement. By the way, do you still have the Red Green shirt?

 

Yes sir...my wife wears it sometimes...is a tad small for me