First off, hello, and great forum. A wealth of knowledge amongst these pages.
I just installed this small Avalon Pendleton into an existing hearth in my home for supplementary heat. Over the past 7 years living in two different homes, I have heated exclusively with wood with great success. These past stoves were free standing, not inserts. They put out more heat than one could ever want, and worked with flawless perfection. This insert is another story, no doubt in part to my installation skills.
After installation, I was only able to have the stove be slightly better than flush with the hearth. I made a sheet metal block off plate that fits tightly inside the hearth, above the stove about 5 inches. Then sealed it with fireproof insulation to prevent draft. I used stainless steel 6" liner that goes approximately 2ft up into the existing 8" liner. This is all what the instruction manual states.
Issues:
1. This stove takes significant preheating to prevent downdraft and smoking during start up. I have been using a benzomatic torch (what the dealer suggested upon purchasing), to preheat the flu.
2. Even when the fire is hot, with a nice bed of coals, it still smokes quite a bit when opening the door. Even if opening the door slowly to promote draft.
3. Because I installed it with minimum clearance and nearly flush with the hearth, there is some amount of apparent heat trapping in the hearth. I have used the 'search' function for more info on blowers for inserts, and it seems that this would be invaluable for this installation.
Any tips on preventing the excessive smoking, improving the draft, or overall installation tips to make using this little beast more pleasant?
Thanks.
I just installed this small Avalon Pendleton into an existing hearth in my home for supplementary heat. Over the past 7 years living in two different homes, I have heated exclusively with wood with great success. These past stoves were free standing, not inserts. They put out more heat than one could ever want, and worked with flawless perfection. This insert is another story, no doubt in part to my installation skills.
After installation, I was only able to have the stove be slightly better than flush with the hearth. I made a sheet metal block off plate that fits tightly inside the hearth, above the stove about 5 inches. Then sealed it with fireproof insulation to prevent draft. I used stainless steel 6" liner that goes approximately 2ft up into the existing 8" liner. This is all what the instruction manual states.
Issues:
1. This stove takes significant preheating to prevent downdraft and smoking during start up. I have been using a benzomatic torch (what the dealer suggested upon purchasing), to preheat the flu.
2. Even when the fire is hot, with a nice bed of coals, it still smokes quite a bit when opening the door. Even if opening the door slowly to promote draft.
3. Because I installed it with minimum clearance and nearly flush with the hearth, there is some amount of apparent heat trapping in the hearth. I have used the 'search' function for more info on blowers for inserts, and it seems that this would be invaluable for this installation.
Any tips on preventing the excessive smoking, improving the draft, or overall installation tips to make using this little beast more pleasant?
Thanks.