New Pacific Energy FP30 Installation Progress Thread

[huauqui]

Looks like a gorgeous install. Can't wait to see it all finished and burning. Great detailed pics to thanks for sharing.

 

[Weaselfest]

Let's hear some of your thoughts....im interested. Do you think there is merit in drawing the air from another room vs from the stove room? I would like to get as much air circulating as possible. My new home build will be very tight with little air infiltration. What sort of things would you try to incorporate?

From a circulation design stand point, there may be merit to introducing another room's air space into the system. It seems very difficult for the average home owner to model this type of air movement to gauge benefits before implementing a design. Then there are the issues of fire and sound containment with the addition of a pathway to another room. I'm life experienced enough to know neither of these issues should be handled with a "shoot from the hip" type of approach. Time to do a lot of research or pay some licensed pros for their time.
If I were building a new home, an energy recovering fresh air exchange system would be a mandatory component to the HVAC system.

 

[saydinli]

Looks like a gorgeous install. Can't wait to see it all finished and burning. Great detailed pics to thanks for sharing.

Thanks. Should be all done by next weekend. Can't wait to finally see it done after 3 months of waiting.


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[Weaselfest]

Have you posted what you are using for stone? Curious how you will be covering your hearth top.

 

[saydinli]

Have you posted what you are using for stone? Curious how you will be covering your hearth top.

We're using quarried stone from a company called Masonal Natural Stone . We went with a line they call Niagara Valley (http://www.masonalstone.com/mobile/index.php?page=Valley_Estate_Cut_Heights&&gid=32#PhotoGallery).
It's stone that's blasted from various quarries in Canada and then it is cut into Veneer in 2 and half , 5, 7 and and half and 10" heights and of various lengths. All pieces are hand stoned as well.
The hearth top stone is going to be 3 pieces of sandstone that has a textured top to match the rest of the stone.

Here's some pics of the stone I brought in to the house ready to go for tomorrow.

The last pic is the hearth top pieces.









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[mcdougy]

All homes in Canada are required to have a hrv/erv. All homes are required to have a heat loss calculations. All homes must have a hvac system design. These specs/design must be done by a professional in order to obtain a building permit. Unfortunately solid fuel heating is a very vague portion of our building code. The only requirements are for the appliance to meet a energy effiecency if it the sole heating device. When a solid fuel appliance is a supplementary heater it is not factored at all in the design process. There are not any dedicated "pros" when it comes to wood heating systems. Most wood heaters are not practically or legally designed with remote heat ducting, due to most users have a free standing device or a fireplace insert. When speaking to a "pro" shop owner or wett certified installer, most have never installed the RHD nor know much about it. In my quest to find the "pro" who could aid in the design of this system, i essentially have come up short thus far. That is what has led me to this fabulous web site. I am confident that with my research I can explain features to most the "pros" and in some cases know the product much more than they do. Taking a weekend course for wett certification does not make you a pro in my mind, decades of experience do. Due diligence is my goal, a wicked new home is my latest passion. Hearth.com is the best source I have found for this thus far. I have completed the hvac portions and applied for the building permit, now it appears I must figure out how to make this appliance function at its full potential.

 

[mcdougy]

We're using quarried stone from a company called Masonal Natural Stone . We went with a line they call Niagara Valley (http://www.masonalstone.com/mobile/index.php?page=Valley_Estate_Cut_Heights&&gid=32#PhotoGallery).
It's stone that's blasted from various quarries in Canada and then it is cut into Veneer in 2 and half , 5, 7 and and half and 10" heights and of various lengths. All prices are hand stoned as well.
The hearth top stone is going to be 3 pieces of sandstone that has a textured top to match the rest of the stone.

Here's some pics of the stone I brought in to the house ready to go for tomorrow.

The last pic is the hearth top pieces.

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It will be awesome!!

 

[saydinli]

Today's progress report....

The stone work has begun..YIPPIE. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here's the pics of today's work





He hopes to be done up to about a foot above the mantle by end of day tomorrow.





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[mminor]

It looks great already - thanks for all the updates and pictures. Your stonework looks awesome! Please post more pics as the stones progress.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Weaselfest]

Wow, really like the keystone thing over the fireplace. Can't wait to see how it all gets filled in.

 

[saydinli]

Today's progress...

More stone and the mantle was put on. The reason for the support beam under the mantle is to prevent any sag while the adhesive that is cementing the rebar to the mantle cures. It'll be strong enough to sit on no problem.

The stone work looks better than I could have imagined when looking at it on the skids and floor for he past 3 months . [emoji16]





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[Weaselfest]

DUDE!
That is the mantle I wanted, but was voted down by the Mrs.
Can you share anything about how it was fabricated and finished?

 

[saydinli]

DUDE!
That is the mantle I wanted, but was voted down by the Mrs.
Can you share anything about how it was fabricated and finished?

LOL. I know how you feel. I get a lot of stuff voted down by the Mrs. I'm glad we've been on the same page on this whole project because it's sure made it go smooth.

The mantle is a hand hewn piece of red pine (I believe) that's a reclaimed barn beam. There's a guy about 15 mins from me that specializes in reclaimed wood. We had an idea of what we where looking for in a mantle and went to his yard and looked for a piece that was the right size and look.

It was an 8 ft length I had him cut down to 5'4".

I used the leftover piece to test about 5 or 6 stains until we found one that suited our living room and the stone. I then used a wire wheel on it to clean it up and then 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness. I then wiped it down with Mineral spirits.
I put a coat on wood conditioner and then 3 coats of stain and then finally 3 coats of matte urethane to protect it. That's about it.




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[Weaselfest]

perfect, couldn't have asked for more. I may use your pictures to make one final presentation. We aren't completely locked into anything yet, and I can see a way to reverse engineer this to fit my application.

 

[begreen]

That's going to be one very sharp looking fireplace. The stone looks great.

 

[saydinli]

perfect, couldn't have asked for more. I may use your pictures to make one final presentation. We aren't completely locked into anything yet, and I can see a way to reverse engineer this to fit my application.

Good luck hope it works out for you.


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[saydinli]

That's going to be one very sharp looking fireplace. The stone looks great.

Thanks. [emoji846]


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[ADV]

Looks very good. Identical to our layout only I'm using the non-arch and power venting to our bedroom. You were wise to beef up the understructure with all the weight. Interesting how the building code make no minimum structural requirements for stone veneer.

Keep up the good work!

 

[ADV]

Just looking back at your installation and had a couple of questions.

Did you insulate your B-vent with roxul in the basement wall? I'm thinking about doing this to get the air a bit warmer at the other end. I haven't closed it off in my basement ceiling yet so I still have the option.

Did you apply cement board or metal flashing to either side of the fireplace pad between the pad and inside walls?

BTW nice job adding a bit of B-vent between the fireplace and OAK duct. My installer foil taped the duct directly to the intake on the bottom of the unit. The FP30 manual and my dealer both recommend this, but the opening for the duct connection gets way too hot for that. The sleeve on my duct actually starts to melt on long burns. PE should really revise this detail and provide 2 feet of 4" B-vent with the unit. I'll be making this change.

 

[saydinli]

Just looking back at your installation and had a couple of questions.

Did you insulate your B-vent with roxul in the basement wall? I'm thinking about doing this to get the air a bit warmer at the other end. I haven't closed it off in my basement ceiling yet so I still have the option.

Did you apply cement board or metal flashing to either side of the fireplace pad between the pad and inside walls?

BTW nice job adding a bit of B-vent between the fireplace and OAK duct. My installer foil taped the duct directly to the intake on the bottom of the unit. The FP30 manual and my dealer both recommend this, but the opening for the duct connection gets way too hot for that. The sleeve on my duct actually starts to melt on long burns. PE should really revise this detail and provide 2 feet of 4" B-vent with the unit. I'll be making this change.

Thanks.

Actually I didn't add any Roxul to the B pipe in the wall but maybe I should have. [emoji848].

No cement board or flashing between the unit and the side walls as it is not required but the required 7" clearance from the unit has been exceeded.

The B vent on the OAK was actually the installers doing not mine as well as the 6" of insulation at the wall end to prevent condensation freezing on the really cold days.

I can't take credit for any of the installation, it was done by the place that sold me the unit and they are a top notch business, very pro and experienced and great customer service.




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[ADV]

Great, thanks! I'm not sure if it's worth the cost, but I am considering it.

If anyone else can think of a good reason why I shouldn't apply roxul to the power B-vent please chime in. I believe the clearance is 1" from combustibles, but roxul doesn't burn (I've tried) and obviously a very poor thermal bridge.

Regarding the floor protection; my setup is similar to yours with the raised hearth. Only difference is the non-arch design. The intake grill under the ash lip seems to be in the perfect location to allow the passage of embers that may roll out and land on the hearth. With the b-body design, the lower sides of the secondary fire box walls are now open, potentially exposing adjacent combustibles at either side of the stove base. In fact over the time that I've had the b-body I've noticed ash collecting under the fireplace on the metal base under the stove in the area of the grill opening. I think some of this ash may also be coming from the 6 air intake holes at the front of the unit as well. The FP30 lower air chamber is not very well sealed up from the under carriage of the stove. The design of the raised hearth was based on my original a-body which had secondary walls completely enclosing the stove. Now with the b-body in place I'm wondering if I should think about how stop ember penetration through the bottom grill. Maybe I'm paranoid but I think it's a legitimate concern judging by the ash that can be seen collecting on the base.

 

[begreen]

At a minimum, always turn off the blower before opening the door or working the fire.

 

[mcdougy]

Great, thanks! I'm not sure if it's worth the cost, but I am considering it.

If anyone else can think of a good reason why I shouldn't apply roxul to the power B-vent please chime in. I believe the clearance is 1" from combustibles, but roxul doesn't burn (I've tried) and obviously a very poor thermal bridge.

Regarding the floor protection; my setup is similar to yours with the raised hearth. Only difference is the non-arch design. The intake grill under the ash lip seems to be in the perfect location to allow the passage of embers that may roll out and land on the hearth. With the b-body design, the lower sides of the secondary fire box walls are now open, potentially exposing adjacent combustibles at either side of the stove base. In fact over the time that I've had the b-body I've noticed ash collecting under the fireplace on the metal base under the stove in the area of the grill opening. I think some of this ash may also be coming from the 6 air intake holes at the front of the unit as well. The FP30 lower air chamber is not very well sealed up from the under carriage of the stove. The design of the raised hearth was based on my original a-body which had secondary walls completely enclosing the stove. Now with the b-body in place I'm wondering if I should think about how stop ember penetration through the bottom grill. Maybe I'm paranoid but I think it's a legitimate concern judging by the ash that can be seen collecting on the base.

What caused you to replace the A-body stove with the new b-body? How long did you have the original?

 

[saydinli]

Great, thanks! I'm not sure if it's worth the cost, but I am considering it.

If anyone else can think of a good reason why I shouldn't apply roxul to the power B-vent please chime in. I believe the clearance is 1" from combustibles, but roxul doesn't burn (I've tried) and obviously a very poor thermal bridge.

Regarding the floor protection; my setup is similar to yours with the raised hearth. Only difference is the non-arch design. The intake grill under the ash lip seems to be in the perfect location to allow the passage of embers that may roll out and land on the hearth. With the b-body design, the lower sides of the secondary fire box walls are now open, potentially exposing adjacent combustibles at either side of the stove base. In fact over the time that I've had the b-body I've noticed ash collecting under the fireplace on the metal base under the stove in the area of the grill opening. I think some of this ash may also be coming from the 6 air intake holes at the front of the unit as well. The FP30 lower air chamber is not very well sealed up from the under carriage of the stove. The design of the raised hearth was based on my original a-body which had secondary walls completely enclosing the stove. Now with the b-body in place I'm wondering if I should think about how stop ember penetration through the bottom grill. Maybe I'm paranoid but I think it's a legitimate concern judging by the ash that can be seen collecting on the base.

I think your concern over ember penetration is legitimate however very unlikely. Ash is very small and light and can float with the smallest of draft, embers are heavier and not as likely to penetrate or get sucked in the intake grate (if the blower is off). Even if an ember happens to drop down into the lower chamber, it really would be difficult for to roll over to the side and drop since the firebox is getting its air from the OAK which is sealed off from the lower chamber. But having said that a little protection of the floor at the sides wouldn't hurt.

 

[ADV]

begreen: absolutely agree. I tried that years back and the air flow created an almost Venturi-like effect and blew wood smoke at me. Good way to learn I guess.

mc: My switch to the b-body is the result of a long arduous and tormenting warrantee claim with PE. As rediculous as it sounds I'm now in a 2nd claim for a third unit. Those details may be better suited to a new thread. Moderator?

saydinli: I would agree with you that it is unlikely to occur, but the edge of the grill opening at either side aligns closely to the side edges of the metal bottom and is adjacent to my wood floor. Unlikely to get in, but if it did so, at the furthest right/left corners of the grill opening, it would be 50/50 as to weather it not it made contact with the wood floor. I noticed on your arch model it may not be as big of a concern as with the non-arch. Your grill louvres are pitched away from the opening. My non arch has flat bars with more direct openings.
BTW the bottom air chamber is far from sealed. It's simply cut to fit sheet metal. Certainly additional CFMs would be drawn through the loose fitting assembly. Your 4" duct may work just fine if things were welded up down there. Not complaining though, as the unit does breath like a dragon as the claims go. Just stating the facts. I've been up and down both a and b bodies with minions and fine toothed combs.