Yeah use bricks to get you through this winter then build the hearth pad before next winter.
Castle Serenity - chimney size question
- Thread starter Talegas
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you know what? I should state that the Ventis system folks (olympia) have a great customer service. The product itself is ok, although it was cheaper than my local store (half the price) and same price as the duravent that requries you to seal it with silicone, there are some quality issues with it (exterior painting, some sealant was not correctly placed in the chimney adapter, some minor scratches on painted surface).. .but the customer support guy wow.. very good . He was about to ship out a silicone tube when i showed him how it was missing in a section.
granted, they could have said "send it over and we'll replace it" but in these hard economic times i would understand that the cost effective approach (and less time consuming) would have been for the silicone to be shipped to me.
That said, now i need a freaking "slide" tube that will remove the need for me to raise up the stove. I rather do the slip pipe rather than raising the stove. First of all, it is heavy and the wife is not up to help me.. and it will look like a pedestal.. like a freaking worship altar lol. It is also easier to adjust the length with the slip pipe rather than trying to be exact with the hearth.
bad news.. another f-ing week without pellet heat.
granted, they could have said "send it over and we'll replace it" but in these hard economic times i would understand that the cost effective approach (and less time consuming) would have been for the silicone to be shipped to me.
That said, now i need a freaking "slide" tube that will remove the need for me to raise up the stove. I rather do the slip pipe rather than raising the stove. First of all, it is heavy and the wife is not up to help me.. and it will look like a pedestal.. like a freaking worship altar lol. It is also easier to adjust the length with the slip pipe rather than trying to be exact with the hearth.
bad news.. another f-ing week without pellet heat.
Deezl Smoke
Feeling the Heat
You mean your wife does'nt do all the heavy lifting at your house? That's just crazy talk...........
You mean your wife does'nt do all the heavy lifting at your house? That's just crazy talk...........
I'm telling you, man. . One tries to help them keep in shape by asking them these things, and all I get is a slap on my whole face.
FOR THE LOVE OF THE LORD
I cannot believe the freaking descriptions from pipe vendors.. " 6 Inch slip venting pipe, adjustable bla bla bla". it becomes ONLY 4" usable. .damn it!!
I needed 5 inches.. actually, 4 and 3/4th
![[Hearth.com] Castle Serenity - chimney size question](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/193/193223-f19e9a96b53d0a11b69ad933e767d414.jpg?hash=lQhi2fXttj "[Hearth.com] Castle Serenity - chimney size question")
I cannot believe the freaking descriptions from pipe vendors.. " 6 Inch slip venting pipe, adjustable bla bla bla". it becomes ONLY 4" usable. .damn it!!
I needed 5 inches.. actually, 4 and 3/4th
Faith in humanity and the fireplace-chimney store (and Olympia ) is restored once again. I called Olympia CS to point out that the true 4" length by the 6" slip vent should be clearly described.. He agreed that it has caused problems with other customers. The Fire-Chi store does not accept returns on these Ventis systems, so i asked the CS to help out, he said to call the store and let them know Olympia was ok waiving the re-stocking fee and shipment costs..
All great and that.. . i reached out to Fireplace-Chimney store and .. even better, Scott ended up telling me not to send the part back and he'll send me the piece i need free of charge.
If I bought the stove due to comments on their customer service, i will definitely continue to buy anything related to my fireplace/stove from Scott at the Fireplace-Chimney store. Best folks to deal with.
Waiting for the 9" slip vent to finalize the installation and avoid any concrete brick "raiser" :D
Any brand i should use in case i want to "tape seal" the joints of the venting pieces?
All great and that.. . i reached out to Fireplace-Chimney store and .. even better, Scott ended up telling me not to send the part back and he'll send me the piece i need free of charge.
If I bought the stove due to comments on their customer service, i will definitely continue to buy anything related to my fireplace/stove from Scott at the Fireplace-Chimney store. Best folks to deal with.
Waiting for the 9" slip vent to finalize the installation and avoid any concrete brick "raiser" :D
Any brand i should use in case i want to "tape seal" the joints of the venting pieces?
Sooo.. first burn going on right now. Two things..
1. a lot of "smoke" came out of the slots above the window even before any ignition was happening.. it was in ignition mode, but no actual fire yet. I hope that was just the oil being burnt on some of the parts.
2. smoke detector went off after 10-15 minutes of the roaring fire inside the stove. .interestingly enough, the CO detector did not go of and it was closer to where the stove was.
i'll keep the window open while this first burn happens to avoid more smoke detector going off, but i will be concern if gases that are supposed to go out the vent pipe are lingering inside.
1. a lot of "smoke" came out of the slots above the window even before any ignition was happening.. it was in ignition mode, but no actual fire yet. I hope that was just the oil being burnt on some of the parts.
2. smoke detector went off after 10-15 minutes of the roaring fire inside the stove. .interestingly enough, the CO detector did not go of and it was closer to where the stove was.
i'll keep the window open while this first burn happens to avoid more smoke detector going off, but i will be concern if gases that are supposed to go out the vent pipe are lingering inside.
more than 40 minutes into the burn and the flame still going strong.. I set the thermostat for 75, and is up to 65 or so .. i guess that is why the heat level is still at 4. I will assume it will drop once it reaches 75.
I guess those sparks jumping out of the burning chamber are not a good sight.. The damper is opened half (default).. i guess i should close it a bit.
This video is when the stove reached the desired temp, flame went way down (as the level went to 1) but you can still see all those sparks flying around when a pellet hits home.
This video is when the stove reached the desired temp, flame went way down (as the level went to 1) but you can still see all those sparks flying around when a pellet hits home.
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Deezl Smoke
Feeling the Heat
That's not too bad. Try closing the gate a bit and see, or slowing the exhaust blower in the settings. But that is really not too bad. Pellet type will also effect spark amounts. Some pellet bags will have more fines than others, and fines will most all end up as sparks. But once a pellet is mostly burned and a new pellet lands in the pot, the mostly burned one will spark out of the pot.
That smoke on start up should have smelled like paint burning or shipping spray, not wood. If it smelled like wood, best be looking around for the source.
Ok, today I started the second burn, paint/oil smoke greatly reduced (you can only see it if you use the flashlight trick). The smell is faint, but still there. Well, at least I am hoping that the lingering smoke is due to the paint/oil being burn out. Thoughts on that?
Anyway, I reduced the intake damper a bit, I am not going to say "a third" of the opening since being a circle section i would need some math (sadly, i actually came up to the computer to do the math and figure out the exact area reduction and then I thought.. what the F!? just adjust it and test it..damn it) to figure that out. What i do believe is that the diameter that is "closed" is about 5/8ths of the total. I should have taken the picture of the opening. The results, i still see spars flying out but not that much..and I do believe the fire intensity is the same. This video below is after the desired temperature was reached, the heat level was set to 1 (automatically as temp was reached) and the flame was not lazy, but small. Fan speed was low as you can hear. .so i am assuming is all by design to avoid burning too hot as temp is reached.
Should I try by opening the damper a bit more?
Oh, another question. I did detect a small leak of fumes from the venting pipe. It is very noticeable during ignition (with a flashlight, and i should have taken video of it to show it even to the vendor). Once "heating" started, you could not see any smoke coming out of it. It did smell like wood when the smoke was there, but then i could not detect the smell. I am assuming that draft was already established and that it was easier for the smoke to go up the pipe than trying to break free through the leak (following minimal resistance). Question is: should I try to replace the piece (these are pipes with "gaskets") or should i just tape it up? (by the way, what tape should i be looking for? or should i use silicon?)
Anyway, I reduced the intake damper a bit, I am not going to say "a third" of the opening since being a circle section i would need some math (sadly, i actually came up to the computer to do the math and figure out the exact area reduction and then I thought.. what the F!? just adjust it and test it..damn it) to figure that out. What i do believe is that the diameter that is "closed" is about 5/8ths of the total. I should have taken the picture of the opening. The results, i still see spars flying out but not that much..and I do believe the fire intensity is the same. This video below is after the desired temperature was reached, the heat level was set to 1 (automatically as temp was reached) and the flame was not lazy, but small. Fan speed was low as you can hear. .so i am assuming is all by design to avoid burning too hot as temp is reached.
Should I try by opening the damper a bit more?
Oh, another question. I did detect a small leak of fumes from the venting pipe. It is very noticeable during ignition (with a flashlight, and i should have taken video of it to show it even to the vendor). Once "heating" started, you could not see any smoke coming out of it. It did smell like wood when the smoke was there, but then i could not detect the smell. I am assuming that draft was already established and that it was easier for the smoke to go up the pipe than trying to break free through the leak (following minimal resistance). Question is: should I try to replace the piece (these are pipes with "gaskets") or should i just tape it up? (by the way, what tape should i be looking for? or should i use silicon?)
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