Late in the game, slight smoke from new summer heat 1500 basement installation

[rad3110]

About 3 weeks ago I installed the above listed stove in my basement. I used one appliance adapter hooked up to a clean out t 3067 hooked that to five one foot sections of pipe 3012 and another 3090 elbow another 3012 pipe horizontilly placed thought the wall to another 3067 clean out t. on the clean out t I have one 3012 verically placed one 3090 elbow and lastly a vent cap. upon ignition im getting a slight smoke smell comming from the elbow region. I even went as far as switching the elbows with the same problem re-occuring. If you look at the AC-3000 kit box installation instructions its a fairly simple install. The s tove works fine heats well and doesnt set off smoke or C02 detector. However my install of the same stove om my main floor is flawless. I must say on my main floor my stove isa through wall installation with most of the pipe on the exterior. Sorry for this wordy thread any ideas before I go and buy foil tape and place on elbow seams. With the exception of slight smell on ignition it rocks but safet 1st.

 

[jtakeman]

One thing is the EVL is going to be off the scale. A 3" vent set up should only Have an EVL of 15. So you should have 1 tee and 1 elbow. You may have draft issues with this setup.

Elbow or Tee is 5 each. With 2 elbows and 2 tee's you have 20 EVL right there. Add the pipe sections(1 foot of pipe is .5) you have 23 total EVL.


The problem with the older Pellet vent is the seals at the joints/seems of the pipe and elbows. Dim the lights and start the stove. Use a flash light or drop light to inspect on start up. You will see the smoke leaks. Use high temp silicon(I used Ultra black from permatex) where it leaks to seal it. Might be able to use the high heat aluminum tape.

 

[rad3110]

Thanks for the advise. I would have upgraded to 4 inch had I known better. Im going to do the drop light/flash light test and try and seal it. How do you feel about sealing it from inside out for cosmetic reasons? If that doesnt work ill try the hi-temp tape. Once the fire is up and running there are no issue's. As a matter of fact it kicks A##. I could eleminate one 1ft section of vertical pipe on the outside but then I would only be about 1 1/2 ft off the ground. Wouldnt regain much EVL either. The burn season is just about over here on Long Island so Ill play with it a bit. I did consult with a pro before doing this, wish he would have mentioned the 4 inch pipe. Who know between the sealant and the tape i may get lucky. I JUST WANTIT TO BE SAFE. Very bad diagram below



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[imacman]

......I did consult with a pro before doing this, wish he would have mentioned the 4 inch pipe......

I would suggest that you NOT use that "pro" again. If they knew anything about pellet exhaust systems, they would have never let you install that without going to 4" pipe.

Also, as well as it might seem to work now, I have a feeling that if you leave it as is and don't clean it out OFTEN next winter, after it gets some ash buildup inside you may experience flow issues....lazy flame, poor burn, etc.

If you can't get rid of at least one of those 90's, you might consider replacing all of it with 4" pipe, and sell your 3" on ebay or CL between now and winter.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[rad3110]

I kinda learned as I went along Englander recomended the Dura Vent AC-3000. Not knocking Englander they have been great. If I leave my 3 inch appliance adapter conected to my 3inch clean out t #3067 which has 5 #3012 pipes connected to a 90 degree elbow and another #3012 pipe which is where it exits the basement, if I upgrade from there to a 4 inch clean out T one ft 4 inch pipe and an a exaust hood will my evl be more in line. or should I dump the whole thing for a four inch system?

 

[dac122]

This is all deja vu for me.

Last fall I did a basement install with the same pipe and stove, and ran into the same issue. After many trials, many calls to Duravent, calls to Englander and research into alternate pipe and sizes, I gave up and went with ICC Excel pipe - pipe I had used successfully. I could go on if you like. Search on my user id and you can follow this adventure.

IMHO, I think you started off on the wrong foot with the PelletVent pipe as I think it (not Pro line) is an obsolete product. If you can take it back I would and start over. Before you commit to 4" go check out the other brands: PelletVent Pro, Excel and Selkirk. Hold them in your hand, inspect the joints, and seams, compare how they will hold up down the road.

If you cannot take that pipe back then get some foil tape and silicone and try to get it sealed up. Its worth a try.

Best luck and feel free to PM me or post on this thread if you need help.

 

[jtakeman]

I kinda learned as I went along Englander recomended the Dura Vent AC-3000. Not knocking Englander they have been great. If I leave my 3 inch appliance adapter conected to my 3inch clean out t #3067 which has 5 #3012 pipes connected to a 90 degree elbow and another #3012 pipe which is where it exits the basement, if I upgrade from there to a 4 inch clean out T one ft 4 inch pipe and an a exaust hood will my evl be more in line. or should I dump the whole thing for a four inch system?

I have the 3 to 4 inch system. Not by my choice all together. I started with 3" and had to add to it because my inspector wanted more vertical rise(I should have checked with the zoning and local code before install). So I added to my system with the 3 to 4 inch increaser tee on the outside and the required pipe to pass inspection.

Anyway If I was to do this again. I would go 4 inch all the way. I think I would have a much better draft. My inside EVL is 13 which is very close to the max(same as yours)! Anything added after that only hurts the draft IMO. Might just be for the best to start fresh. I think I would also go with the Selkirk Direct-Temp system or the ICC setup. Nice systems! But cost is a bit more though!