I am getting an Accentra installed wednesday.

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Amaralluis

Member
Hearth Supporter
Dec 14, 2005
177
Finally!
That's all I have to say. the store got the stove and are coming wednesday to install.
I am taking the day off, to oversee the instalation and to make sure they dont mess up with the roof. I dont want to be dealing with leaks couple years down the road.
Unfortunately it has been really cold the last couple days and it is going to continue to be cold, and I am afraid that it will hinder the performance of the poor folks that have to go on the roof for the flue, but I will keep an eye on it.

I want to make sure that they do the draft test to be certain that the stove will be working at optimum performance.

Because I don't know much about that stuff, do you guys have any info on how I am certain that the stove is well regulated and just not because the installer says it is and wants to get the hell outta here?

Anyway, the stove will be installed between the kitchen and living room. It is a somewhat high traffic area, but I am counting on the stove to be really hot only on the glass area.
It is a good location because it is more or less central area in the house, as I have a open kitchen/finingroom and large entrance to living room, and right in front of the stove the hallway for the bedrooms and washroom.
So the stove should be able to keep the house warm without effort. :)
Its only a 1200sq open area.
Hopefully some of the heat will get to the basement.
the flue will go thru the wall and then it will have "T" to which it will then go up thru the ceiling and then roof.
The "T" is for cleaning purposes as I dont want to go on the roof to brush it. :)

It is a very windy area around here, I hope that wont affect the draft.

I cant wait for wednesday. :)
 
Amaralluis said:
Finally!
That's all I have to say. the store got the stove and are coming wednesday to install.
I am taking the day off, to oversee the instalation and to make sure they dont mess up with the roof. I dont want to be dealing with leaks couple years down the road.
Unfortunately it has been really cold the last couple days and it is going to continue to be cold, and I am afraid that it will hinder the performance of the poor folks that have to go on the roof for the flue, but I will keep an eye on it.

I want to make sure that they do the draft test to be certain that the stove will be working at optimum performance.

Because I don't know much about that stuff, do you guys have any info on how I am certain that the stove is well regulated and just not because the installer says it is and wants to get the hell outta here?

Anyway, the stove will be installed between the kitchen and living room. It is a somewhat high traffic area, but I am counting on the stove to be really hot only on the glass area.
It is a good location because it is more or less central area in the house, as I have a open kitchen/finingroom and large entrance to living room, and right in front of the stove the hallway for the bedrooms and washroom.
So the stove should be able to keep the house warm without effort. :)
Its only a 1200sq open area.
Hopefully some of the heat will get to the basement.
the flue will go thru the wall and then it will have "T" to which it will then go up thru the ceiling and then roof.
The "T" is for cleaning purposes as I dont want to go on the roof to brush it. :)

It is a very windy area around here, I hope that wont affect the draft.

I cant wait for wednesday. :)


Hmmm.....DEFINITELY have them check the draft......make sure they test it on high and low draft (In test mode the stove will run on high for a minute, then drop to low, then back to high)....thats important....also important is to write down the draft readings in the owners manual so you can check it later if theres a problem. As for the roof, sounds good, but if its 3" pipe, the run shouldnt be more than 15 total feet, counting each elbow and tee as 5' each. No horizontal run over 4'. If you have 4" pipe, you can go further, pipe-wise.
The stove will be VERY hot only on the glass, but the rest will get quite warm as well.
The Accentra FS is 40,000 btu/hr, so it might do an ok job keeping the place warm, depending upon what you figure warm is, and how cold it is outside. Also, closed-off rooms wont get heated.
Dont count on getting any heat in the basement.
If you clean from below the T, you will create an ungodly mess. When cleaning the pipe, take the bottom off the tee, get a big trash bag, and duct-tape it to the bottom of the tee. Then go on the roof, remove the cap (there BETTER be a cap), and run your brush up and down, till its clean.....the flyash will mostly go into the bag, not all over you or the room....the go to the stove, remove the ESP probe, and clean from there to the tee with a brush as well, this flyash will also go into the bag. Take off the bag, recap the tee, recap on the roof, return the ESP probe, and the pipecleaning is done. Dont forget to clean your heat exchangers once a month or so for optimal performance....they are covered by plates, and they are tough to remove, unless you know how. I can do it in 17 seconds (both sideplates and the fan plate, completely out of the stove), but I practiced....lol...actually won money doing it that fast on a bet. Dont forget to chip down your burn pot once a week, and make darn sure the flame guide is seated correctly....you dont want flame BEHIND it. Lets see......your shingles likely wont seal before spring, so you might ask them to put a bit of roof cement on the to seal them...not too much or they will weep....since you are installing what can be thought of as a hybrid system (mechanical exhaust with natural draft backup), need to be real careful of eddy currents from the ridge, and your pipe should go thru the roof at least a foot, two would be better....ummm...typers cramp...done for now...good luck! Hope you like the stove....Accentras are our second best seller. Oh....almost forgot....make sure you clean the igniter once a month as well!
 
Amaralluis,

What happens to be your best selling unit? I am looking for a pellet stove insert. I like the clean look of the insert and was leaning toward the Accentra. They happened to have a sale this week where I live, though they will not be available until April. A savings of about 25%. Believe me, it is difficult to resist. My wife wants one, but the $2300 plus installation is a bit steep.

Do you have good reports on the Accentra. Wow, the way you describe it, there must be a lot of maintenance with one of these stoves. Never imagined that much to do for heat.

Thanks, Brad
 
Most of my post had to do with piping, no maintenance. I tend to harp on maintenance because most problems arise from the lack of it. We've sold many Accentra Inserts. $2300 isnt a hugely great price, add 25% to that and its a pretty high price, IMHO. The Accentra Insert is our 3rd best selling unit.
 
HarryBack said:
The Accentra FS is 40,000 btu/hr, so it might do an ok job keeping the place warm, depending upon what you figure warm is, and how cold it is outside. Also, closed-off rooms wont get heated.
Dont count on getting any heat in the basement.

I am getting the fs not the insert.

Are you sure it wont be able to keep a 1200 open space area warm??
I was thinking keeping the house at 75F regardless of the cold outside.

I am worried if it can't keep the temp up.
What other stove would do that then?
 
I heat my entire 1250 sq. ft. house with a 45,000 BTU unit and I don't even need all of that to keep it warm. It was recently -10 to -20 degrees here and the stove kept up just fine. I keep my basement between 75-80 and my second & third floor between 70 and 75. If a 40,000BTU input stove can't heat 1200 sq. ft. it must have some heat transfer issues or something.
 
Thanks for the reply.
That reassures me.

My house is new, built in 2003 and is energy efficient rated.
So I am expecting the stove to be able to keep one floor warm easily. :)
 
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