Enviro Windsor, does anyone have a PDF to the original brochure?

[VCBurner]

Hey! okay just what I wanted to hear. I've been putting the OAK off because, well quite frankly I've been just trying to figure out what materials to use for a DIY - don't really want to pay extra for a kit, and it's much more fun to do it yourself. Anyway, my stove is very close to the wall and a 3' section of flex would be more than enough - will have to check out Aubuchon (I still haven't figured out what to use for a thimble (inside and outside of house) to dress it up?. Not that I forsee any burnback or hot gasses exiting out of the OAK, I guess it's a possibility - any special concerns (insulation, heat?) when going through wall? Did you have to use any special adapters or 45 degree angles for your metal conduit?

I'm a novice with this OAK thing too! I suppose the intake would have to be placed at least 4' from the vent termination. Mine is just straight out but I have a vertical run on the pipes
so the cap ends up more than 4' away. If I get rid of the vertical run it may add the need for a 90 and an extention to the oak.

 

[VCBurner]

The door rattle drove me nuts last year, and the year before. Just had open them a bit for it to stop. Also experienced the joy of hearing the rear access and back grill panels rattle too because a few of the screws got stripped and weren't holding the panels very tight. Found that some high temp tape on the panels and a Campbells soup can wedged between the floor and the back grill stopped some of the shaking. Not pretty, but a good temporary fix until you can tighten things up.

LOL! I suppose a soup can would do if it works heh! Is it even visible back there? The doors on mine are now unlatched to eliminate the noise. Sometimes I get a squeaking noise coming from the convection blower compartment. I ,just push on it and it goes away. I tried some silicone between the rear panels and it seems to have made it quieter.

It is always more silent after a cleaning. I'm trying it without the gasket across the top of the glass for the first time after tonights cleaning (got trimmed away). We'll see if the glass stays cleaner. The burn pot build up was rediculous again. I have a feeling it may be pellet related as Dexter said. Infernos from National Lumber is what I've been burning almost exclusively. Itrieda couple bags of green supreme from Aubuchon,but at $6.50/bag I'm not sure I'd stick to those for good. I'll have to look around for some other sources around here.

 

[jtakeman]

To fix the rattles, I have gone to the stove shop and picked up window glass gasketing. Its available in different width's and thickness's. It has adhesive on one side or you can use silicon. Cut little pieces/strips to fill the gaps or isolate the pieces that rattle together. Worked great on my little quad and my breckwell bigE. My Omega hasn't needed it yet.

 

[VCBurner]

So it has been about a day since I cut out the gasket across the top of the door and I see a major improvement on the look of the glass. Thank you Vtrider and Frogwood for the tip. Without your info I would never have known about that design feature. It surprizes me that it is not mentioned in any manual! There is still some gasket cement on the glass, which will remain there until a later date. I'll scrape it off the next time I feel like attempting such a feat.

To fix the rattles, I have gone to the stove shop and picked up window glass gasketing. Its available in different width's and thickness's. It has adhesive on one side or you can use silicon. Cut little pieces/strips to fill the gaps or isolate the pieces that rattle together. Worked great on my little quad and my breckwell bigE. My Omega hasn't needed it yet.

Thanks for the info J, as well as all the help you've given since before I purchased this stove. I was also thinking about putting some of the putty type material that HVAC guys use to piece together ducts (between the panels). It comes in a roll like tape with paper in between. That stuff would be a great sound deadner. The idea you mentioned with the sticky rope gasket would be perfect for the cast iron decorative doors, which rattle sometimes when latched. Now that I think about it, the doors haven't rattled since I cut out the top gasket! Hopefully it stays like this. Any ideas about how to adjust my slider damper? It seems to be stuck, unless I'm going about it the wrong way. But it would be very likely to be stuck since it is an 8y.o. stove...right?

Another question is about a mag gauge can you recommend one?

 

[jtakeman]

Any ideas about how to adjust my slider damper? It seems to be stuck, unless I'm going about it the wrong way. But it would be very likely to be stuck since it is an 8y.o. stove...right?

Another question is about a mag gauge can you recommend one?

The damper could have a set screw or lock on it. Some of the tech's will lock them so the users can't adjust them once set. Remove the side panel where the damper is and look for something that will lock it in place. I have also seen some stuck from rust and debri. If you use a soft hammer and tap lightly it should work free. Just don't wack it to hard. I want to say hit it with penetrant, But I'd worry about solvents and such. Maybe a non flamable penetrant?

I like my dwyer and scored it cheap on eBay. Brand new and Less than 40 clams shipped to my door step. Part number is 2000-00

 

[VCBurner]

So two days have gone by since the last clean up and removal of gasket across the top of the door. It has remained cleaner on the glass. It also quieter, the decorative cast iron doors didn't rattle for at least 24 hours after the cleaning! I'm happy with the overall performance of this stove. Even though, it is my first pellet burner and I have nothing to compare it to. My next pellet purchasewill be something other than Inferno's which is what we have been burning. Lots of ash build up in the burn pot.

The damper could have a set screw or lock on it. Some of the tech's will lock them so the users can't adjust them once set. Remove the side panel where the damper is and look for something that will lock it in place. I have also seen some stuck from rust and debri. If you use a soft hammer and tap lightly it should work free. Just don't wack it to hard. I want to say hit it with penetrant, But I'd worry about solvents and such. Maybe a non flamable penetrant?

I like my dwyer and scored it cheap on eBay. Brand new and Less than 40 clams shipped to my door step. Part number is 2000-00

Thanks for the tip on the Mag J!
There was a screw on the slider damper but it didn't move after tapping on it with a flat bar and hammer, the screw was losened. I'll try to remove the screw altogether and see if it'll move. Maybe when I take it outside for the end of season clean up I'll be able to get it to move. It is in a tough spot to access the back of the stove, only about a foot away from the railings.

 

[DexterDay]

Once you start burning something other than Inferno's, you will be able to run on at least one level lower on the heat setting.

Glad the pellet thing is working out for you. Having the 30-NC this year is nice. But of I had to pick.. Pellets are the way to go. Get a High BTU unit and place it centrally in the home and Bingo.. Pellets dont need seasoned and you dont need to keep 3 yrs worth (unless you want to/I am close to it).

Hope you had a Good Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

[VCBurner]

Once you start burning something other than Inferno's, you will be able to run on at least one level lower on the heat setting.

Glad the pellet thing is working out for you. Having the 30-NC this year is nice. But of I had to pick.. Pellets are the way to go. Get a High BTU unit and place it centrally in the home and Bingo.. Pellets dont need seasoned and you dont need to keep 3 yrs worth (unless you want to/I am close to it).

Hope you had a Good Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you Dexter,
The boys had a great Christmas, wife and I as well!
The new year I hope will bring happiness to both of us and our families!
I can't complain about the pellet burning, easy and the wife loves just turning it up or down and never having to load it!
I for one, miss the wood burning, the fires, the wood, the penetrating heat. I can certainly heat this place up in a hurry with the Windsor, don't get me wrong. I could foresee a combo in my house, like you! I was always curious about those 30nc's! Lots of happy Englander owners around here. I'm a union carpenter, often laid off in the winter months. I enjoyed going out and maul splitting logs in single digit temps! To me there is nothing more therapeutic! That coupled with the cheaper price of wood and possibility of the occasional free wood scrounging is enough to make me a fan of wood stoves. I had two years worth of free wood, the two past heating seasons. Unfortunately there aren't too many free bags of pellets out there!
I can't wait to hook this thing up to a thermostat and make it even easier to operate on high/low. Thanks for all the tips DexterDay, burn on!

 

[VCBurner]

So after a warm weekend, lots of folks here cleaned out their stoves. I wish I had a leaf blower that was adequate for the popular trick clean up! In the absence of one, what is your procedure for cleaning out a Windsor or any pellet stove? More specifically, I've heard of people needing to replace gaskets after a deep cleaning. I am trying to avoid any damage to gaskets, but would like to make sure the combustion blower/channel is not getting all full of debris. I read recently about another member loosening some sort of plate while trying to vacuum out the exhaust path from the inside of his Windsor. I have never done a deep cleaning or even removed the firebox liner. Although, I have changed the configuration of the vent pipes (and cleaned) a couple of times since the end of October, when the stove was first installed.

 

[VCBurner]

So, I posted the previous question pretty late last night. If members Vtrider, Frogwood and Ejectr are lurking around, I know you are currently using the same stove, I'd love to hear specifics about your clean up! DexterDay, jtakeman and smokey's input has also been helpful in my short, inexperienced ownership of a pellet burner. The stove is off right now and cooling, in preparation of a somewhat deep clean. I'll report with an update after the clean up. I feel confident enough to do the cleaning having read all the information that I've researched here. But if anyone has any last minute ideas feel free to say so!

 

[DexterDay]

I dont own that stove, but the area that is the most critical to clean, is from the firebox, to the combustion blower (the area or traps in which it travels) If your not buying a gasket. Then do not remove tue combustion blower.

If you have a leafblower, that works great too. Also an air comprossor. Blasting spurts of air into the channels (areas inside or behind firebox/firebrick that accumulate fly-ash). The vent you say you have done already, but it never hurts to do it again. A straight shot only takes a second to do.

Wish I had more for ya. Pretty sure your gonna do a good job..

 

[VCBurner]

Thank you DexterDay,
It was fairly easy to clean it up! The toughest part was moving the stove off the raised hearth and onto the furniture dolly. I took off the rear panels and started by vacuuming inside the exhaust flange. I the removed the exhaust flange and got as far as I could with the vac attachment. I took a brush to the passage also. I was also able to vac the horizontal 5' run from the inside of the house with the two vac hose extensions attached. There was quite a bit of build up in the pipe too, not as much as what I was about to discover behind the fireback panels. The side where the exhaust is located wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. But the other side of the stove was packed! It must have been at least a third of the way up, full of ash. I used a small spatula that my wife bought a long time ago. It is the best cleaning tool for scraping the ashes into the ash pan. I suppose a two inch putty knife would work just as well. The two inch kitchen spatula I use has a wooden handle and a mice angle to the blade. I did not take the combustion blower off, due to potential need for gasket replacement, but the convection blower did come off for a good vac'ing. Though I feel pretty confident that the combustion passageways are pretty clean, removal of the blower will have to wait for the end of season clean up. The combustion blower compartment, was pretty dirty. Pellets had fallen down between the hopper and the firewall and landed in the convection blower cage. There were quite a few in there. They should have designed a block between the top cast iron piece and the top of the hopper. Usually if any pellets land on top of the hopper they just roll under the cast iron lid. So,e of them end up rolling far enough to fall between the hopper and the firewall. They don't get stuck there luckily, but end up right inside the convection cage. I figure a thick piece of rope gasket should take care of that problem. I've yet to find a good source of stove gasket near the new house. In the old town, we had Klem's, is like a Tractor Supply but with better quality and more variety. They had quite a good selection of hardware, bolts, screws and nuts of all sorts, you could get any replacement screw for just about anything, including stove screws. Their stove selection was not the best but gaskets, venting and anything else stove related was to be had there.
As of right now, the Windsor seems yo be burning very well! It seems to be happy about the cleaning and is heating like a champ! I did find that the screws holding the convection blower to the cage were sticking out too far and were rubbing up against the ash pan compartment. I trimmed them in order to avoid rattling. All is good!

Burn on!
Chris

 

[VTrider]

Hey VC! Couldn't help but notice the 'Windsor' thread bumped up, sounds like you've completed a pretty thorough cleaning of it which by the way is pretty much exactly what i've been doing with the stove for years. Last Fall, I decided to grab my tools, some beer and pretty much disassemble everything I could on the Windsor - glad I did because I don't remember it burning this well since I started using it! I was amazed at the hidden ash I found stuck in all the nook and crannies!

I've never done the leaf blower thing, will need to keep a lookout at yard sales this Summer. Only thing I would recommend is to start keeping a supply of gaskets around so you will have them when needed. I started making my own recently for this particular stove with great results, I use a high-temp ceramic material called Spectre 565, but there are many options like lytherm and other high-temp gasket material which can be had from local HVAC suppliers/businesses.

One area which I did find a good build up of ash was in that 'combustion chamber' - that square-ish combustion way which proceeds past the combustion blower and exits the stove - to where the connecting exhaust pipe attached, spent lots of time there with various tools, brushes, air compressor.

 

[VCBurner]

Hey VT, I agree, the tube steel passageway after the combustion blower is a pain to clean. I wish I had a piece of clear tubing that fit over my vac hose, so it could get around the corner. I saw some sort of lint cleaning tool just like that advertised on this site earlier today. I had to brush and scrape the dust to an area the vac could reach. Another thing I wonder about is why isn't there a vac hose attachment with a 3" or 4"poly brush already attached on it? Cleaning vent pipes would take seconds!

Anyway, the only thing I still need to clean is to take apart the combustion blower. Mine seems to have the red high temp gasket material oozing out of the seams. I don't know if that is stock. I've been reading about some gasket material sheets from auto parts stores, etc. I want to get some for my final cleaning. One thing I lost was the deteriorating gasket material behind the middle firebox liner, around the drop tube hole. I read some people here tried different types of material to replace that felt like gasket. It looks like the previous owner tried to squeeze some red high temp silicone there too. I almost put some furnace cement back there. But with all the rattling potential these stoves have I hate to add a hard material like that in place of a more pliable material such as the original. I also heard someone post it was not crucial to have. I'm pretty happy with the result of the cleaning, at least I have the peace of mind of knowing everything is kosher.
Take care.

 

[Ejectr]

That gasket on the back of the center back plate is a fuzzy type fiberglass and it really doesn't do anything other than block that gap that is around the feed tube off from letting ash behind the plate. I just leave the ash that builds up in that gap there when I do a minor cleaning and let it block the gap off. Even if you leave out the gasket and clean out the ash build up in the gap, the amount of ash that gets back there between deep cleans is pretty minimal. If yours was packed the way you said it was, the previous owner probably didn't pull the back plates too often. I pull mine every ton and the ash build up back there isn't really that bad.

 

[Frogwood]

That gasket on the back of the center back plate is a fuzzy type fiberglass and it really doesn't do anything other than block that gap that is around the feed tube off from letting ash behind the plate. I just leave the ash that builds up in that gap there when I do a minor cleaning and let it block the gap off. Even if you leave out the gasket and clean out the ash build up in the gap, the amount of ash that gets back there between deep cleans is pretty minimal. If yours was packed the way you said it was, the previous owner probably didn't pull the back plates too often. I pull mine every ton and the ash build up back there isn't really that bad.

I agree. Mine came off as well and I haven't replaced it in a few years. It hasn't been a problem as long as I pull the panels every so often and clean it out.

 

[Frogwood]

Hey VT, I agree, the tube steel passageway after the combustion blower is a pain to clean. I wish I had a piece of clear tubing that fit over my vac hose, so it could get around the corner. I saw some sort of lint cleaning tool just like that advertised on this site earlier today. I had to brush and scrape the dust to an area the vac could reach. Another thing I wonder about is why isn't there a vac hose attachment with a 3" or 4"poly brush already attached on it? Cleaning vent pipes would take seconds!

Anyway, the only thing I still need to clean is to take apart the combustion blower. Mine seems to have the red high temp gasket material oozing out of the seams. I don't know if that is stock. I've been reading about some gasket material sheets from auto parts stores, etc. I want to get some for my final cleaning. One thing I lost was the deteriorating gasket material behind the middle firebox liner, around the drop tube hole. I read some people here tried different types of material to replace that felt like gasket. It looks like the previous owner tried to squeeze some red high temp silicone there too. I almost put some furnace cement back there. But with all the rattling potential these stoves have I hate to add a hard material like that in place of a more pliable material such as the original. I also heard someone post it was not crucial to have. I'm pretty happy with the result of the cleaning, at least I have the peace of mind of knowing everything is kosher.
Take care.

Hey VC...thanks for documenting all your progress. Enjoy reading it all since I can pretty much relate to it all since we have the same stove.
So, did you remove the exhaust blower from the rear and clean from that direction? Or just removed the brick panels and stick the vac hose down the exhaust channel and try and get as much stuff out as possible? Or both?

 

[VCBurner]

Hi Frogwood,
I did not take the combustion blower off. I just removed the pipe adaptor flange from the back of the stove and cleaned out thetube steel exhaust passages and then cleaned as much as I could from behind the access panels in the exhaust passage inside the firebox. From what I could see the only place that was not reached was the fan itself and the housing around it.

 

[nailed_nailer]

VCBurner,

I haven't been following this thread for some reason and just came across it.

I have made vacuum adapters for many of the folks here.
If you would like one,
PM me a mailing address and the inside diameter of your vacuum cleaner hose.
I will make a flexible tube adapter for it and send it to you.

It makes cleaning those nooks and crannies much easier.
---Nailer---

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hi Frogwood,
I did not take the combustion blower off. I just removed the pipe adaptor flange from the back of the stove and cleaned out thetube steel exhaust passages and then cleaned as much as I could from behind the access panels in the exhaust passage inside the firebox. From what I could see the only place that was not reached was the fan itself and the housing around it.

That fan and its cavity can hold a pile of crud.

You might want to use a good strong shop vacuum or leaf blower in vacuum mode attached to the end of the vent outside to suck the mess out at least all of the stuff not stuck to the fan usually comes out.

I should probably should have reread the thread to see how you ended up doing the venting before mentioning the above.

 

[VCBurner]

Hi Smokey,
Nice to hear from you again, your input is always appreciated. As far as the pipes I brushed and vacuumed from the inside. I bet that blower housing does get pretty gummed up. I cant wait to do the leaf blower trick, as soon as I get my hands on one! I believe I need the felt like gasket material once the blower is removed correct? I may take a trip to the stove shop, Auto Zone or go on Amazon to get that gasket. Then I can get into that blower and check things out!
Thanks.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hi Smokey,
Nice to hear from you again, your input is always appreciated. As far as the pipes I brushed and vacuumed from the inside. I bet that blower housing does get pretty gummed up. I cant wait to do the leaf blower trick, as soon as I get my hands on one! I believe I need the felt like gasket material once the blower is removed correct? I may take a trip to the stove shop, Auto Zone or go on Amazon to get that gasket. Then I can get into that blower and check things out!
Thanks.

Yes, you always need a gasket just in case the current one is damaged.

 

[VCBurner]

VCBurner,

I haven't been following this thread for some reason and just came across it.

I have made vacuum adapters for many of the folks here.
If you would like one,
PM me a mailing address and the inside diameter of your vacuum cleaner hose.
I will make a flexible tube adapter for it and send it to you.

It makes cleaning those nooks and crannies much easier.
---Nailer---

Thanks for the offer Nailer, a PM will be under way!
The wife and I met on the Cape, while I was living in Sandwich and working in Hyannis. We had two kids there before moving to central MA closer to her family. We have many fond memories together and I of growing up there! Have you seen that lint lizard that is being advertised here?

 

[VCBurner]

Three days and four bags after the deep clean and it was time to empty out the ash pan, clean the glass and empty out any build up in the burn pot. I noticed considerably less build up in the burn pot. About 30-40%less. It is probably a result of the deep cleaning. I see why lots of people do it every ton as opposed to once or twice per season.

I must make another observation on the pot liner. It seems to have some area that is raised, it looks like build up but is not easily scraped. It is across from the ignitor and air intake tube.

 

[Frogwood]

Three days and four bags after the deep clean and it was time to empty out the ash pan, clean the glass and empty out any build up in the burn pot. I noticed considerably less build up in the burn pot. About 30-40%less. It is probably a result of the deep cleaning. I see why lots of people do it every ton as opposed to once or twice per season.

I must make another observation on the pot liner. It seems to have some area that is raised, it looks like build up but is not easily scraped. It is across from the ignitor and air intake tube.

Occasionally have the same build up and doesn't come off with a wire brush. Finally got most off by chipping away at it with a flat head screw driver and a hammer.