My Journey with a Castle Serenity Pellet Stove.

[GT_Sharp]

Can you post a bunch of pictures of the inside guts of this stove?

Wasn't going to pull the stove out today so just pulled the side panels and got the best shots I could. Hope it helps. With the downloadable manual for reference, these should make sense.
Have a great weekend!

 

[fcat]

I just joined today after reading up on Pellet Stoves for the last couple of months. GT Sharp, i just did the exact same as you, ordered the Castle Serenity from ACE using a 15% off coupon, they cancelled the order an hour later. I tried ordering it again with the code but it no longer worked! I found another code for 15% discount, ordered again and they havent cancelled yet!, fingers crossed. if all else fails i'll do the same and get it from HD.

 

[Old Spartan]

I just joined today after reading up on Pellet Stoves for the last couple of months. GT Sharp, i just did the exact same as you, ordered the Castle Serenity from ACE using a 15% off coupon, they cancelled the order an hour later. I tried ordering it again with the code but it no longer worked! I found another code for 15% discount, ordered again and they havent cancelled yet!, fingers crossed. if all else fails i'll do the same and get it from HD.

Had the same issue last Fall. My local Ace honored the 15% discount, ordered the stove and I picked it up a couple days later.

 

[GT_Sharp]

I just joined today after reading up on Pellet Stoves for the last couple of months. GT Sharp, i just did the exact same as you, ordered the Castle Serenity from ACE using a 15% off coupon, they cancelled the order an hour later. I tried ordering it again with the code but it no longer worked! I found another code for 15% discount, ordered again and they havent cancelled yet!, fingers crossed. if all else fails i'll do the same and get it from HD.

I sure hope you get it with the 15% off. That would be a sweet deal . When you pick up at either Ace or HD be sure to check it over well. Mine was only attached to the pallet with 2 brackets which makes it pretty vulnerable, IMHO.
Oh yeah, Welcome to a Great Forum .

 

[rich2500]

I just joined today after reading up on Pellet Stoves for the last couple of months. GT Sharp, i just did the exact same as you, ordered the Castle Serenity from ACE using a 15% off coupon, they cancelled the order an hour later. I tried ordering it again with the code but it no longer worked! I found another code for 15% discount, ordered again and they havent cancelled yet!, fingers crossed. if all else fails i'll do the same and get it from HD.

let us know when you get your stove so we can initiate you into the Serenity sorority

 

[fcat]

let us know when you get your stove so we can initiate you into the Serenity sorority

Well ACE Hardware came through!

 

[GT_Sharp]

Awesome! Thanks for the pic!

 

[rich2500]

Sweet, now you are officially a member of the Serenity sorority.

 

[fcat]

I bet i'm, the only English member in the US! I'm special, well thats what my wife keep telling me! lol

 

[fcat]

So i unpacked the Serenity this afternoon and all is well, the 2 small brackets holding it onto the pallet were screwed down and intact.
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This is what comes with the stove, Instructions, warranty card, control panel, power cord, remote control and four screw in adjustable legs.
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This was a test placement to see where to put it etc, once i found the ideal place i taped it out with painters tape on the floor so i could get it back in exactly the same place after installing the Thimble, vent pipe and the OAK
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I installed a surge protector outlet this afternoon, swapped the exiting one for this one off Amazon for 20 bucks.
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As i was looking inside after taking the side panel off i noticed the component on your picture GT_Sharp is the same as mine, there two of them, but the left one of yours is connected and the right one of mine is connected ?? is this some type of temp sensor and there's a spare one mounted in the fan outlet ? see pics blow:
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I have all my Duravent pelletvent pro pipe ready, am going straight out with a 24" piece and a downward facing thing on the end.OAK is going out above this. Doing the venting tomorrow

One funny thing, my wife loved the stove until i showed her the control panel and where it went. She immediately said "i don't like it, it looks like a washing machine or a tumble dryer"! So i took the metal bracket off the back of the control panel and am mounting it to the wall to the right of the stove.

 

[GT_Sharp]

As i was looking inside after taking the side panel off i noticed the component on your picture GT_Sharp is the same as mine, there two of them, but the left one of yours is connected and the right one of mine is connected ?? is this some type of temp sensor and there's a spare one mounted in the fan outlet ? see pics blow:
(broken image removed)

Well, I don't know for sure but my theory is that these are "proof of fire" switches and one is just an extra, beings they are both on the exhaust chamber. I've been meaning to call the company to find out/verify and just haven't done it. Can't imagine that one would have that big a difference in temp reading than the other...... but don't know for sure.
Really appreciate your pictures and excellent documentation! Please continue. Anxious to see your vent setup!
I am really liking my Serenity . Haven't had any long burn times, just turn it on & off daily to take off the chill. I've chosen to dump the firepot before each start, it's way too easy . Only burned less than 6 bags and still haven't dumped the ash pan. Less than a 1/4" accumulation in it . I'm sure you're really going to enjoy yours!

 

[fcat]

I have created Fire!! Well kinda

I'll do the write up and pics of the install soon.

Question:
Started up exactly how the manual says, all lights on, icons that should be on came on and went off as they should. Its been on now for 30 minutes on manual, fan is on number 1, everythgin is on default haven't touched anything yet. The flame goes high, to the top of the firebox, then when more pellets are dropped in it goes roaring away and then it drops right down to a couple of inches before a few seconds later roaring up again, is this correct ?

Also when the pellets drop in there's sparks flying all over in the box even when the pellets are not dropping in, is this correct ? the wife says it looks pretty

 

[fcat]

I cut out the vent pipe hole and the OAK hole on the inside on the drywall. Put a small drill bit hole through the exterior board and vinyl siding from the inside and then went round to the outside. Due the the gradient of the plot the outside hole was about 10 feet above ground and the OAK another foot above that. (i know they maybe shouldn't be that near but read on)





I went outside and cut out the siding and then the wood and mounted the outside Thimble and the end cap for the OAK, i also added some J channel to the siding to finish the edge off around the thimble.







I screwed the inside thimble to the wall and the same with the OAK plate and slid the stove back to where it would be.



I then wrapped where the stove spigot and the appliance adapter meet with the high temp silicon tape (thanks for the tip from this board) i also wrapped the tape around the single join i have in the house, even though i was using Duravent Pelletvent Pro which has the built in silicone seal and says you don't need to add anything at all (i have not used any RTV sealent )



I then connected the OAK to the back of the stove, plugged in the power lead and mounted the display console on the wall.





So the venting outside is as you see in the pictures below, that side of the house doesn't get a lot of wind but it does get some. I left some of the OAK corrugated pipe outside so i can bend it down, left or right if needed,. The vent comes out from the side of the house by about 18" and as you can see from the picture below, the vent extends past the oak by a good 14" if i have any problems then I'll just put a 90' bend on the end of the pipe and have a 3 foot vertical pipe and a couple of brackets to the wall, that way the vent pipe is further out than the soffit above.









I am curious about my question in my post above this, when i turn the fan onto high there's sparks all over in the firebox. is this normal ?

All fired up!

 

[ohbix]

Looks nice. Question. If you used the duravent thimble, did you frame out a 7 x 7 space in the wall?

 

[fcat]

Should i have done ? Its not flush mounted on the inside just surface mounted.

Edit: Ahhhhh you're thinking i got the thimble where you frame it out and it allows you to pull in air through the thimble ? I didn't , just the regular Duravent 7" thimble and a totally separate OAK.

 

[rich2500]

Looks good.have you checked the air intake adjustment it sounds like it's open to far.

 

[fcat]

Looks good.have you checked the air intake adjustment it sounds like it's open to far.

I haven't no, when i say sparking, its very very light and not a lot, and its not like its huge flying pellets that are sparking just tiny ones. i saw a couple of videos on youtube of people that had sparking and its nothing like that, might close the air intake a touch though and see how it goes.

 

[ohbix]

I've got the regular duravent thimble. Instructions said to make a 7x7 frame. As I've seen others describe cutting a round hole vs framing it out, I was curious as to how you did yours. Hope you love the stove. It seems like an excellent deal.

 

[fcat]

I've got the regular duravent thimble. Instructions said to make a 7x7 frame. As I've seen others describe cutting a round hole vs framing it out, I was curious as to how you did yours. Hope you love the stove. It seems like an excellent deal.

Yehi just cut the hole out! Cant see what framing it out would do at all apart from giving you something to screw to !

 

[GT_Sharp]

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This is a video of my Serenity burning on 1 at 'manual'. I consider it to be normal for me .

 

[GT_Sharp]

Yehi just cut the hole out! Cant see what framing it out would do at all apart from giving you something to screw to !

The Selkirk thimble I installed gave the same suggestion in their instructions. I interpreted it as being for stability if needed . I did catch one stud on the right side though and I allowed some air between the thimble and the fiberglass insulation. Used wall anchors on the other side. I've done framing on the inside of walls in the past and it just turns into a cluster .

 

[fcat]

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This is a video of my Serenity burning on 1 at 'manual'. I consider it to be normal for me .

Id say mines just like that but the flames a touch higher, im gonna close the air off a touch tomorrow

 

[fcat]

So i had the building inspector round this morning to inspect my stove install.
He knew nothing at all about stoves and did EVERYTHING by the book! and when i say book i mean the user install manual.
He failed my install because the OAK comes out above the vent pipe! I tried to explain to him that i didn't even have to install an OAK and said i would disconnect it now for him from the back of the stove. He said "no because that would still leave a pipe going through the wall and you're best blocking the hole off" I asked him where it says the OAK has to come out below the vent, he pointed to the diagram below in the user manual, i said those are "example" installs, it says nothing about it coming out below the vent in the manual.He asked me where i had heard i didn't have to have an OAK installed i said online, i asked him to show me where it says i have to have one, i said the only place in the manual it says one is REQUIRED is in a mobile home. He got all pissy and handed me the failed paper and told me to cal the county for another inspection when i had removed the OAK and blocked up the hole!!

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Your thoughts ?

 

[fcat]

The more i think about this the more its bugging me! so if "stretch out" the air pipe to make it longer and then run it 12" down the wall so the opening is below the vent pipe the OAK opening is then below the vent pipe yeh ??

 

[BrotherBart]

He may not know it but international mechanical codes are on his side.

503.8 Venting system termination location. The location of venting system terminations shall comply with the following (see Appendix C):

1. A mechanical draft venting system shall terminate at least 3 feet (914 mm) above any forced-air inlet located within 10 feet (3048 mm).