Avalon AGP install questions

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begreen

Mooderator
Staff member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 18, 2005
107,098
South Puget Sound, WA
Will be installing an AGP, replacing a woodstove that is vented straight up into 6" Metalbestos chimney. I have a few questions about venting.

1) Is a connector required to go from the 3VP-TSB tee to the stove?
2) This is going to require an adjustable length of pellet pipe - 3VP-12adjB. How well do these adjustable lengths seal under the positive exhaust pressure? Is a bead of RTV recommended at the edge of the slip?
3) Any issues with the Selkirk adapter 3VP-A6 connecting to Metalbestos chimney? How does it securely attach to the chimney pipe?
 
That's a nice looking stove, Begreen. I like the features a lot (especially the air adjustment). Is this going to be the insert or the free standing stove?

1) Not familiar with Selkirk but looking at the literature, you will probably need the Pipe Connector, 3VP-PCB, so you need to account for that extra length. I looked for a tee to connect directly to the stove outlet, but couldn't find one.

(broken link removed to http://www.selkirkcorp.com/~/media/selkirk/reference-documents/common/file/product-literature/pellet-vent/vp-pellet-pipe/catalog-vp-pellet-pipe.pdf)

2) Hopefully it will not leak, but be ready to deal with it by using foil tape or silicone. Maybe you can to get the unpainted pipe and then paint it all at once when you have it all together and without leaks.

3) Not sure.

Hopefully some members familiar with Selkirk will stop by.
 
Freestanding stove. Suspect you are right about the appliance connector. I figured out #3, just need to know about sealing the adjustable length and it now looks like I am going to have to put in an offset to align with the chimney. Selkirk literature says the elbows are adjustable but may need silicone to seal the elbow joints? That's not going to be too attractive.
 
That's not going to be too attractive

Hopefully it will be tucked away from view? That positive pressure makes it tough to be leak free.

If I may ask, why are you turning to pellets from wood? Is it the AGP pellet stove that did it for you?
 
This installation is not for us. Helping someone else out.
 
Ha, I thought you had converted from those cool wood stoves you have to pellets. Silly me.
 
Ha, I thought you had converted from those cool wood stoves you have to pellets. Silly me.

Wouldn't be a bad idea. Our doug fir softwood pellets are under 200$ per ton!
 
I read the whole AGP brochure. Looks pretty cool without the dropping of pellets into the pot. I think you guys call that an underfeed? 80# hopper is nice.
 
Yeah, the 80 pound hopper (2 bags) is pretty nice. And the lowest burn rate gives is a really long burn time without refilling. Plus that ash pan looks pretty big and hefty.

I hope some user posts detailed reviews and pictures. I am interested.
 
Wouldn't be a bad idea. Our doug fir softwood pellets are under 200$ per ton!
Yes, thats a good price, but we already have the heat pump for backup and mild weather. It's quieter, cheaper, cleaner and most importantly it's paid for.
 
No one have an answer to the original questions?
 
I would go with the Selkirk DT Metal chimney conversion kit, besides the 10% gain in overall effeciency it keeps the stove so much cleaner! I installed one for a friend in his 25-PDVC and after 4 years of hard use it is the cleanest and in the best shape I have ever seen!

Here are pics of the very similar Selkirk DT Masonry conversion kit I did for my stove.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...sion-kit-to-masonary-or-metal-chimney.104406/
 
As far as the original question goes:
I use high temp foil tape on the adjustable pipe, then you can get it apart for cleaning if need be.
On the chimney adapter, I have used them to go into a masonry 6" hole and then use chimney cement around it to seal it. In the case of your metal chimney, you may have to use silicone and a few self tappers for a good physical connection.
The AGP - All Grade Pellet Stove when it first came out had some trouble with the cutting Auger that lets a certain amount of pellets into the auger chute so it does not choke with pellets. I heard the fix was a heavier auger motor! I would still recommend using 100% softwood pellets in that stove for better reliability. That design seems to be an improved double auger design used in the 25-PDV and PDVC Englander stoves. They also added the top auger to limit pellets into the bottom feed auger so it will not choke. Another interesting piece of the design is the exhaust blower mounting right against the back of the fire box like the very old Breckwell P24 FS stove and the old Englander 25-PDV stove with the 2 knob analog control panel. Unfortunately it has the thin sheet metal panels like the new Breckwell Stoves. Most stoves nowadays have the exhaust blower come straight back for better cooling and easier servicing. Also the knob controls on the control panel is a competitive copy with Harman's knob control panels. Just my 2 cents analogy.
Speaking of Harman, who made one of the best and toughest coal stokers, Did they consider a Harman?

I prefer Harmans and Blondie!
 

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I would go with the Selkirk DT Metal chimney conversion kit, besides the 10% gain in overall effeciency it keeps the stove so much cleaner! I installed one for a friend in his 25-PDVC and after 4 years of hard use it is the cleanest and in the best shape I have ever seen!

Here are pics of the very similar Selkirk DT Masonry conversion kit I did for my stove.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...sion-kit-to-masonary-or-metal-chimney.104406/
Thanks Don, I'm not following how this applies here. The stove is rear-vented down at the bottom. The diagrams shown are for a top vent stove. Metal tape on the outside of black pellet vent elbows is not an option. This will be highly visible.

The owner has already purchased the stove. They have had another pellet stove for about 10 yrs. so they are not buying without previous knowledge
 
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Thanks Don, I'm not following how this applies here. The stove is rear-vented down at the bottom. The diagrams shown are for a top vent stove. Metal tape on the outside of black pellet vent elbows is not an option. This will be highly visible.

Putting a cleanout T on the back of the stove will make the venting go straight up.
Does the existing venting go thru the roof?
 
A tee needs to go on it regardless of how it's piped, but there is no smoke pipe, just the class A termination at the cathedral support box. The Selkirk directions say it needs to go up the smoke pipe, presumably for heat shielding. As noted, there will need to be an offset near the ceiling. The pipe can't go straight up without moving the stove about 18" into the room.

[Hearth.com] Avalon AGP install questions
 
The reason the Selkirk goes through the class A pipe is so it can bring in fresh air to the air inlet pipe on the back of the stove. The air is pulled in thru a special vertical cap that sits on top of the class A pipe on the roof. Pulling in the fresh air in this way warms and dries the air so there is a lot less caked ash in the burn pot from damp wet outside air.
If you have no class A pipe coming down from the cathedral box then you can pipe up to it with the Selkirk DT pipe. Then use a 4 inch liner thru the Cathedral box to the top of the chimney where the special Selkirk termination cap goes. There is also a special Selkirk adapter that connencts the 4" liner coming down from the cathedral box to the Selkirk DT pipe. I installed this system in Reading MA on an Englander 25-PDVC and after 4 years of every day seasonal use the stove was the best looking 4 year old stove I have ever seen. I mean the inside was clean and not rusty at all because no damp air was in it!!
I agree you need to pull the stove away from the wall more but the outer wall of the Selkirk DT pipe does not get very hot so 3" away from the wall is fine.

I like the nice optional vacuum cleanout cap the you can unscrew and suck the ash out of the venting. See in 1st pic below.
 

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Thanks. I'll mention it to them, though I think they want to try it with no OAK first.
 
Thanks. I'll mention it to them, though I think they want to try it with no OAK first.
No OAK means sending money up the chimney I.E. room air that you paid to heat going in the air inlet pipe in the back of the stove and up the chimney. :)
 
Thanks, good to know.
 
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