My First Pellet Stove: Harman XXV: Any first timer advice you can give...?

[lightyear]

did tons of research (lots of perusing, and late night googling, youtubing hearth.com etc.) and went to a store atleast 3 times just to ask questions. I originally couldn't decide on a free standing, or a fireplace insert. We ultimately opted for the freestanding (in case we move we can keep it, and I didn't want to pay $1000 for install-plus have to find a way to get rid of my old gas FP). I was shocked at the price of the "new" hearth pads that were offered at $429! I went to lowe's and bought plywood, tile and finished laying it today. Hope to grout around 11 and have it ready for delivery tomorrow.


What can you recommend for my self install tomorrow? Putting it in a corner sitting cady-corner. Do I just go right outside, or do I go out and up a few feet. Going by looks I would like to just go right out and not up, but I think the out and up is better for air flow right?

any other words of advice for first firing up would be great too!

Thanks for all your help...!

 

[doublewide]

did tons of research (lots of perusing, and late night googling, youtubing hearth.com etc.) and went to a store atleast 3 times just to ask questions. I originally couldn't decide on a free standing, or a fireplace insert. We ultimately opted for the freestanding (in case we move we can keep it, and I didn't want to pay $1000 for install-plus have to find a way to get rid of my old gas FP). I was shocked at the price of the "new" hearth pads that were offered at $429! I went to lowe's and bought plywood, tile and finished laying it today. Hope to grout around 11 and have it ready for delivery tomorrow.


What can you recommend for my self install tomorrow? Putting it in a corner sitting cady-corner. Do I just go right outside, or do I go out and up a few feet. Going by looks I would like to just go right out and not up, but I think the out and up is better for air flow right?

any other words of advice for first firing up would be great too!

Thanks for all your help...!

I would go out and up about 3-4 foot and make sure you use an oak. There is a lot of debate on this forum about oaks, but as long as you rough it in, it is there. If for some reason you don't like it you can always unhook it from the stove (if the manual allows it.)

You will probably need a 45* pipe due to the fact that it is a corner install, so you might be looking at 4" pipe for a good EVL.

Good Luck.

 

[chris288]

Installed our new XXV in November, straight through with no vertical piping, made my own hearth pad, and also a corner installation. Need to be 6.25 inches away from combustibles at each corner. Stove ran great right out of the box. Only real hint I can give is to buy some thrmostat wire and extend the one that comes with the stove, I moved mine about 20ft from the stove, gave us better consistancy on the heat and keeps the blower from cycling so much. Had a whitfield for 14 years without an OAK, the XXV seems to be a bit more draftier so i'm planning to install an oak this weekend. I like the fully automatic features of the XXV, So far were extremely happy with it good luck.

 

[lightyear]

what is an "oak"?

Some type of finish on the end of the piping?

 

[chris288]

what is an "oak"?

Some type of finish on the end of the piping?

Outside Air Kit ( OAK ) draws cool air from outside the house to feed the combustion fan. If you don't use an oak, it will draw air from inside the house and send air you already heated out the vent.

If you use the Harman pass-through wall thimble it has the option for an oak built in, otheriwise your going to need to drill 2 holes in your house.

 

[jtakeman]

what is an "oak"?

Some type of finish on the end of the piping?

hehe!

No, It stands for Outside Air Kit and allows the stove to breath outside air. Otherwise your stove would breath room(heated) air and send it out the vent. It also helps in drafty homes

 

[lightyear]

got it...outside air kit...I will definitely do one.

what type of difference will I get peformance wise of just going directly out with the OAK vs. going up 3-4 feet and doing OAK. (either way I will be doing oak).

 

[slclem]

Mine is a corner install, installation by Harman dealer. Vent pipe has 45 deg. ell, through OAK to tee on outside and turns up 4 to 5 feet to vent cap. Mine was installed in January so I am new to this for sure. I am very satisfied with the performance so far. If I knew then what I know now I might have positioned the stove 6" further from the wall for better access to removing rear panels and cleaning inside the stove (vent pipe, etc.) from the rear. I can still move the stove out some but I would be getting closer to the front edge of my hearth. Keep in mind it weighs 375 lbs.

 

[DAKSY]

got it...outside air kit...I will definitely do one.

what type of difference will I get peformance wise of just going directly out with the OAK vs. going up 3-4 feet and doing OAK. (either way I will be doing oak).

I doubt you'll notice any difference in performance. The rise in your pipe will:
1. Give you a natural draft should the power fail & potentially keep smoke from entering your home...
2. Give you more pipe to run the brush thru when it's cleaning time...

 

[defield]

Mine is a corner install, installation by Harman dealer. Vent pipe has 45 deg. ell, through OAK to tee on outside and turns up 4 to 5 feet to vent cap. Mine was installed in January so I am new to this for sure. I am very satisfied with the performance so far. If I knew then what I know now I might have positioned the stove 6†further from the wall for better access to removing rear panels and cleaning inside the stove (vent pipe, etc.) from the rear. I can still move the stove out some but I would be getting closer to the front edge of my hearth. Keep in mind it weighs 375 lbs.

Slclem's install is what I would recommend. Vertical rise on the outside to a cap for natural venting to get rid of smoke if the power fails and an OAK.

Also, purchase properly stored ( inside), premium, or super premium pellets ( Check j-takeman's testing results against what is available in your area. Search the results on this forum. ), and keep your stove CLEAN.

Best wishes and please post pictures of the install.

Regards,

Ranger

 

[lightyear]

I went to set up my OAK and found that the fresh air flex pipe is 3 inches, and it looks like the component on the harman xxv is set up for a 3.5 or more.
I don't have the "harman" oak, can I get around using that, or do I need it?

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I was shocked at the price of the “new†hearth pads that were offered at $429!

Yes, that is such a high price to pay with few choices in the color and type of tile!

I built a raised hearth with a 900 watt 220 volt kick space heater (See Black Grill in Front) and red rope light.
The raised hearth is a great safety feature, because it keeps people from bumping into the hot glass!!

Then I tiled the wall in back and made a tiled Mantle and put Amber Rope light and 2 candles for only $600 !!

Hope you can post some nice pics when it is ready??

 

[rickwa]

what is the purpose of kick plate heater? Also 3 inch pipe is fine for the install bieng proposed

 

[Don2222]

Hello

A KickSpace heater was first used in Kitchens. When more cabinets were installed for storage there was not enough room for long Heating elements and baseboard used in a central heating system. So they invented a small coil with a fan behind it to mount under the kitchen cabinet in the "Toe Kick" area hence the name "KickSpace"

These units can be Hydronic as in the 1st pic for Forced Hot Water (FHW) sytems or Electric. The fan actually makes them very efficient while they take up alot less space. The 1st pic shows the KickSpace Heater installed and ready for hearth construction. The fins and metal baseboard housing was removed and the copper pipe insulated with foam to insure efficiency.

If a fireplace or a wood pellet stove is installed in front of the FHW baseboard it decreases the heating system efficiency by blocking the air flow needed to heat a room.

So what I did and recommend is a "KickSpace" heater in a raised Hearth so when the central heating system is used, it is more efficient, not less efficient by installing another heating appliance such as a pellet stove ... etc.

See Electric KickSpace heater in 2nd pic.

Please let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks for asking.

Hope to see pics of your install soon.