New wood stove install

[sneefy]

I'd prefer not to deal with a cat anyway to be honest, and I'm not sure there's many (if any) non-cat stoves that meet the standard except for on crib wood.

The Lopi Evergreen is a non-cat and qualifies for the 26% credit.

 

[j7art2]

Sorry, I realized I forgot to attach the actual document other than just the email. Looks like Lopi and Osburn are good for non cat!

 

[begreen]

That's great news. It would be good for the EPA to update the database. Maybe it will by the end of the month.

 

[j7art2]

Just wanted to follow up with this and say that my wood stove will be installed Wednesday!

WOOOO!

I feel bad for the guys installing though. Gonna be a hot one. 100*F.
Pics to come.

 

[begreen]

Ugh, 100º up in MI, wow. Have some cold ice tea for them.

Good news on the stove. That was pretty quick.

 

[BKVP]

108F and 80% humidity in western Texas this week! I feel for anyone WORKING in an attic! Good luck with the install and happy burning!

 

[j7art2]

Ugh, 100º up in MI, wow. Have some cold ice tea for them.

Good news on the stove. That was pretty quick.

Luckily they had everything in stock!

It's definitely yuck. Ironically, last week the mornings were 48*, and leaving the windows open at night made me think "I need this thing so I can take the morning chill out of the air." Hah.

 

[j7art2]

I see why these guys are the top rated in the area according to Google reviews. Extremely professional, extremely clean install, and quite quick. Approximately 2.5 hours for entire install. I chose not to butt the hearth pad to the wall on purpose -- I'd have to relocate a floor vent otherwise.

I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to use it!

 

[BKVP]

I see why these guys are the top rated in the area according to Google reviews. Extremely professional, extremely clean install, and quite quick. Approximately 2.5 hours for entire install. I chose not to butt the hearth pad to the wall on purpose -- I'd have to relocate a floor vent otherwise.

I couldn't be happier. I can't wait to use it!

View attachment 296271 View attachment 296272

Looks great and the added hearth protection out in front is always welcome.

 

[begreen]

Well done. That will make a nice difference next winter.

 

[j7art2]

Soooooo....


The saga continues, but I'm hopeful it's almost done.

The stove did not pass inspection.

The flue pipe inside the house is 16.6" away from the combustible wall. It needs to be 18".

Both the mechanical inspector and the company agreed that going with double wall flue from stove to ceiling bung is the solution, which reduces clearance down to 10".

The company installed this free of charge, and also paid the re-inspection fee.

I'm still not allowed to use this yet. On the bright side, with all of the firewood I've been doing this summer, I estimated myself sitting at about 12 face cord of wood. I ran the dimensions of my stacks through a cord calculator, and I'm sitting at almost 20. That's a nice problem to have. Lol.

 

[j7art2]

I now have double wall uninsulated from stove to bung, then double wall insulated the remaining way up.

The positive side from what I understand, is that the double wall will last much longer given that it's stainless inside, and allow for better draft and will increase efficiency overall. The downside is that I'm going to lose most of my flue heat inside the house. I'm not sure how much heat I'll actually be losing, but I'm hoping it isn't significant with the supposed marginal increase in efficiency.

 

[brenndatomu]

The downside is that I'm going to lose most of my flue heat inside the house.

Minimal...you heat with the stove, not the flue.

 

[begreen]

The double-wall will still radiate a lot of heat, just not as much. The advantages far outweigh the small loss.

 

[stoveliker]

Looks good. And congrats on the inspector actually noting something that is a safety issue. You have now a better, safer installation because of the inspection.

Good modern stoves (like yours) are efficient*because* they burn complete and don't push heat up the flue. So you won't loose much with double wall.

Please post some.pics of the first fires. Note to do that when it's warm enough to open windows because it's going to stink (paint curing).

Follow the manual regarding first fires (so the bricks dry out properly, the paint cures properly etc).

And make sure you have a moisture meter; best to burn below 20pct moisture content but up to 25 pct should work in this stove, if needed, imo.

 

[j7art2]

Looks good. And congrats on the inspector actually noting something that is a safety issue. You have now a better, safer installation because of the inspection.

Good modern stoves (like yours) are efficient*because* they burn complete and don't push heat up the flue. So you won't loose much with double wall.

Please post some.pics of the first fires. Note to do that when it's warm enough to open windows because it's going to stink (paint curing).

Follow the manual regarding first fires (so the bricks dry out properly, the paint cures properly etc).

And make sure you have a moisture meter; best to burn below 20pct moisture content but up to 25 pct should work in this stove, if needed, imo.

I learned early here to use a MM, Harbor Freight has my back! Cheap enough I can afford to lose them. Lol.

All of what I've cut with the exception of some slab wood cut in April is dead and down stuff. The highest I've gotten so far in a check this year is 34%, but I obviously haven't checked every piece. I will absolutely take a picture again once it's inspected again and I burn off the fumes.

I figured the first 45-50F day we get, I'm gonna light a fire, open the window behind the couch and have the box fan sitting on the couch and pointing out the window to pull all the stink out... I hope.

 

[begreen]

figured the first 45-50F day we get, I'm gonna light a fire, open the window behind the couch and have the box fan sitting on the couch and pointing out the window to pull all the stink out... I hope.

It may take a few fires to bake the paint in. Try to take the stovetop up to 550 on the third fire.

 

[stoveliker]

34 pct oak won't be ready this winter. If this is the first year for that wood (split, stacked, covered), it may or may not be ready next year....

Try to get all stacked up that you will need for two (or better three) years as soon as possible. Lotsa work but after you get ahead you'll only have to work on whatever you need per one year. And the burning will be so much more satisfying (and clean).

Slab wood is good to dry quickly for the first (two) years.

But you may already know all this - I didn't read back the long thread...

 

[j7art2]

34 pct oak won't be ready this winter. If this is the first year for that wood (split, stacked, covered), it may or may not be ready next year....

Try to get all stacked up that you will need for two (or better three) years as soon as possible. Lotsa work but after you get ahead you'll only have to work on whatever you need per one year. And the burning will be so much more satisfying (and clean).

Slab wood is good to dry quickly for the first (two) years.

But you may already know all this - I didn't read back the long thread...

I have hardly no oak at all. A little, but not much. The piece I tested was ash, at the trunk, in the center of large rounds, which were then split into 5 pieces on average. Ash dries fairly quick and is generally low moisture content to begin with too. EAB is very prevalent in MI, so probably 60% of the ash in our state is standing dead firewood. Some of the dead standing ash I've cut in the past has had as little as 8% MC freshly bucked near the top of the tree.

My 20 face is composed of about 50% ash, 30% pine, 10% birch, 5% mixed poplar and 5% oak. I live in the forest, so my need to harvest live trees is almost none. 100% of what I've cut is either dead standing or dead down with the exception of some pine slab which is already ready to go.

 

[stoveliker]

Sounds good. Though dead standing does not guarantee dryness, possibly with the exception of Ash.

 

[bholler]

Standing dead ash certainly doesn't mean it's going to be dry. In my experience the top is usually really dry but the bottom parts of the main trunk can still be really wet. And if it has started to become punky it can all absorb allot of water

 

[j7art2]

Standing dead ash certainly doesn't mean it's going to be dry. In my experience the top is usually really dry but the bottom parts of the main trunk can still be really wet. And if it has started to become punky it can all absorb allot of water

Yep, I check them with the MM and split and stack accordingly. Wetter wood always goes on the bottom or in next years wood. Most punky stuff I leave behind.

 

[j7art2]

Also; in great news, the stove has passed inspection. We are ready to burn!

 

[j7art2]

Update! First fire in the Osburn 3500. Kicks out a ton of heat despite numerous windows open in the house due to off-gassing. Already set off a fire detector lol. Draft is GREAT, so much better than my old basement wood furnace. Gonna take a little learning to use, runs awesome with the door handle cracked, chokes to about 60% when its locked, but my wood is a little damp from rain a few days ago and wasn't covered (about 18% MC inside). Going through a lot of wood too, but thats also likely due to the windows being open and me just being a cold baby.

I'm digging it so far. Gate is a reminder for the kiddos.

 

[stoveliker]

Nice!
Now comes the fun part; play with it to learn and get comfortable (in two ways!).