Hello all,
I've been a lurker for the last few years, and this forum helped me decide on a Princess PE-32 to replace the Dutch West circa 199x Catalytic Extra Large that was in the house when I bought the place and I was unable to rescue it (warped panels from abuse, and very finicky), and I am very happy with the decision. I am about to enter my second year with it, and have some questions that are specific to my setup, so while good advice in other threads has helped me understand a lot I have issues and I'd like to know where I should be focusing my energy on first.
Note: Any action on items below can be independent of each other, I don't need to do all the work at once as I'm happy to compartmentalize each issue until it is resolved. I also enjoy other peoples setup photos, so I've included mine.
1.1 Double wall stove pipe: I currently have single wall, and I am aware that BK recommends double wall to keep the heat and the draft intact. I've got a contractor that is asking for USD $1,200 for parts and labour to change-out my roughly 6 feet of single wall (distance to the connecting box) for double wall with a damper (more on the damper later). In this estimate he has listed everything as stainless, and the parts include an adapter, a damper, the pipe, a coupler, and two locking bands. Is this highway robbery, or generally in the ballpark for this kind of parts and labor? He hasn't indicated any of the brands he would source, should I be asking him to provide?
1.2. Features on the double wall stove pipe: My draft is discussed below, but I'm currently set to pay extra to have a double wall damper installed. If I will consistently have to be dealing with poor draft do I need to pay the extra to have the damper option? I also asked for access holes in the double wall for a manometer, what size and where should these be, or is somewhere else better?
2. Stack height: My place is 3,200ft (975m) above sea level. Roof exit, all straight. From stove to exit I guess I have around 13 feet. However, my chimney cap sits well below the roof ridge/peak, and is impossible to reach without heavy machinery, and might require that I bring down a tree to reach it, or three stories of scaffolding, neither option is cheap or simple. However while I think my stove drafts well I have had a few times during the season where very heavy winds outside pushed smoke into my room. I do not have a manometer to check the current setup, but I think while draft is probably fine, I need to figure out a way to deal with the downbursts. Without replacing all the Class A I've been told by two contractors that if they could reach the roof they could add a little more height to the current setup before having to replace everything, but if I can install a manometer on either my current single wall or potentially the new double wall setup I guess I'd know for sure. To confirm, I am not/not in compliance with the 3-2-10 rule.
3. Blower: I feel I want the blower, but my electric grid is 100V 50hz, and as far as I know the blowers are wired for 120V 60hz. Even with a transformer (which I really do not want to use) I still have the line frequency 60hz vs 50hz issue to deal with, and that will cause early burnout somewhere in the chain on the blower. I could go crazy and convert 100v 50hz AC to DC, then DC to 120v 60hz, but I'd really just like BK to have a product that caters to it's international audience by having a universal power option, or at least being able to spec other power options. Are there other options for me with this to address this issue such as gutting it for local parts? Is there a transformer I could get rewound????
4. Shields on my Ultra: As the picture shows have ample space on the left and right hand side of the stove. The left shield comes off easy, but the right one once removed leaves the thermostat dangling inappropriately, and no holes to put the thermostat brace back onto as the holes for it are on the shield itself. Is this by design? Am I missing something? If I just take off the left shield and leave the right side one on does it affect the performance of the thermostat or some other process? If I leave the right hand side on due to the issue I have should I leave the left on on as well? Is there really a worthwhile improvement by taking the shields off, or does the heat still reach the room eventually through the top of the stove?
A few stats:
1. I burn mostly purchased air dried wood (hardwood mix, mostly oak) around the 20% moisture level on a fresh split. Sometimes I have pine or cedar in the mix.
2. I feel my burn times are low compared to other people on this forum, and need to do a full re-load every 12 hours when the dial is set to around 4:30pm. If I go below 3:00pm the cat can go out, I assume this is caused by poor draft.
Happy to answer any questions.
thanks,
RDP
![[Hearth.com] Princess PE-32, my second year. Stove pipe, blower, stack height, shields, and damper type questions.](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/img_7873-jpg.330480/ "[Hearth.com] Princess PE-32, my second year. Stove pipe, blower, stack height, shields, and damper type questions.")
I've been a lurker for the last few years, and this forum helped me decide on a Princess PE-32 to replace the Dutch West circa 199x Catalytic Extra Large that was in the house when I bought the place and I was unable to rescue it (warped panels from abuse, and very finicky), and I am very happy with the decision. I am about to enter my second year with it, and have some questions that are specific to my setup, so while good advice in other threads has helped me understand a lot I have issues and I'd like to know where I should be focusing my energy on first.
Note: Any action on items below can be independent of each other, I don't need to do all the work at once as I'm happy to compartmentalize each issue until it is resolved. I also enjoy other peoples setup photos, so I've included mine.
1.1 Double wall stove pipe: I currently have single wall, and I am aware that BK recommends double wall to keep the heat and the draft intact. I've got a contractor that is asking for USD $1,200 for parts and labour to change-out my roughly 6 feet of single wall (distance to the connecting box) for double wall with a damper (more on the damper later). In this estimate he has listed everything as stainless, and the parts include an adapter, a damper, the pipe, a coupler, and two locking bands. Is this highway robbery, or generally in the ballpark for this kind of parts and labor? He hasn't indicated any of the brands he would source, should I be asking him to provide?
1.2. Features on the double wall stove pipe: My draft is discussed below, but I'm currently set to pay extra to have a double wall damper installed. If I will consistently have to be dealing with poor draft do I need to pay the extra to have the damper option? I also asked for access holes in the double wall for a manometer, what size and where should these be, or is somewhere else better?
2. Stack height: My place is 3,200ft (975m) above sea level. Roof exit, all straight. From stove to exit I guess I have around 13 feet. However, my chimney cap sits well below the roof ridge/peak, and is impossible to reach without heavy machinery, and might require that I bring down a tree to reach it, or three stories of scaffolding, neither option is cheap or simple. However while I think my stove drafts well I have had a few times during the season where very heavy winds outside pushed smoke into my room. I do not have a manometer to check the current setup, but I think while draft is probably fine, I need to figure out a way to deal with the downbursts. Without replacing all the Class A I've been told by two contractors that if they could reach the roof they could add a little more height to the current setup before having to replace everything, but if I can install a manometer on either my current single wall or potentially the new double wall setup I guess I'd know for sure. To confirm, I am not/not in compliance with the 3-2-10 rule.
3. Blower: I feel I want the blower, but my electric grid is 100V 50hz, and as far as I know the blowers are wired for 120V 60hz. Even with a transformer (which I really do not want to use) I still have the line frequency 60hz vs 50hz issue to deal with, and that will cause early burnout somewhere in the chain on the blower. I could go crazy and convert 100v 50hz AC to DC, then DC to 120v 60hz, but I'd really just like BK to have a product that caters to it's international audience by having a universal power option, or at least being able to spec other power options. Are there other options for me with this to address this issue such as gutting it for local parts? Is there a transformer I could get rewound????
4. Shields on my Ultra: As the picture shows have ample space on the left and right hand side of the stove. The left shield comes off easy, but the right one once removed leaves the thermostat dangling inappropriately, and no holes to put the thermostat brace back onto as the holes for it are on the shield itself. Is this by design? Am I missing something? If I just take off the left shield and leave the right side one on does it affect the performance of the thermostat or some other process? If I leave the right hand side on due to the issue I have should I leave the left on on as well? Is there really a worthwhile improvement by taking the shields off, or does the heat still reach the room eventually through the top of the stove?
A few stats:
1. I burn mostly purchased air dried wood (hardwood mix, mostly oak) around the 20% moisture level on a fresh split. Sometimes I have pine or cedar in the mix.
2. I feel my burn times are low compared to other people on this forum, and need to do a full re-load every 12 hours when the dial is set to around 4:30pm. If I go below 3:00pm the cat can go out, I assume this is caused by poor draft.
Happy to answer any questions.
thanks,
RDP
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