Hello all! This is my first post. Just purchased an Englander 17-VL. It was installed two days ago and I'm really having trouble getting a fire started. The only way it seems I can get it started is to leave the door cracked to create a better draft. Needless to say, I get smoke in my home. If I close the door tight before about 10-15 minutes, the fire immediately goes out. Once the fire is roaring, I can close the door and it will stay lit. I have the damper per se open (pushed all the way in). The stove is on the main floor and has 6 inch duravent double wall pipe to the ceiling where I go to triple wall out through the roof. There is two 45 degree bends in the pipe to get around a ceiling joist. Total run length is about 16 feet. The chimney is about three feet above the ridge of my home. Does anyone have any ideas?
Draft issues Englander 17-vl
- Thread starter Stan R
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saskwoodburner
Feeling the Heat
I have the same stove, with a shorter pipe/chimney than you have. A lot more pokey to get going with warmer outside temps. I start mine with the door between 1/8 or 1/4" open and let it get going, however long that takes. When it's ready to keep itself going, I can shut the door. Even with dry wood, I can't just light it and close the door. How's the temp in Spokane? The 45's might impair your draft somewhat as well. Any tall trees near your house?
Thank you. Was beginning to think I lost my touch. The stove is definitely fickle. There are a few tall trees near my house. Temps in 40s during day and going down to about freezing at night.
It could still be a draft issue. Local topography can influence this as well as negative pressure in the house. To check out the latter, open up a nearby window a 1/2" and see if the stove is more responsive.
What is being used for kindling to start the fire? How thick are the splits and when was the wood split and stacked?
What is being used for kindling to start the fire? How thick are the splits and when was the wood split and stacked?
saskwoodburner
Feeling the Heat
I forgot to ask about the baffles. Bottom one to the rear of stove, upper one to the front? Not sure if you installed or someone else did, but this is how they sit, and the bottom one may move around in transport.
In any event, the pros here will get you figured out. I think it's a much steeper learning curve without this site.
In any event, the pros here will get you figured out. I think it's a much steeper learning curve without this site.
hardwaregrrl
Member
I just installed the 17 VL and the chimney is on the short side at 13'. Took me a few tries to get it, but after 3 break in fires I'm good to go. I've been burning it all day. I started building fires using the top down method and leaving the door cracked for about 15 mins....attended of course. Like begreen said, try cracking a window in the room of the stove to see if your house is "tight".
I always did best with a "tunnel-of-love" type start (vs top down) and always had to leave the door cracked on cold starts. I never did have trouble with smoke spillage. I would check to make sure the baffles are in correctly.
Thank you all. I should have paid a little more attention to the "required reading" here at the beginning of this forum. That would have helped. Thanks for reinforcing the need of a learning curve. The stove fired right up this morning when I started looking at the situation a little different (door cracked). HUGE difference!!
Stan (or anyone with 17VL experience),
I'm considering the Englander 17 VL myself, it would be installed in a great room, cathedral ceiling, 15' chimney straight run right through the ceiling. Only for occasional fires, not as a primary heat source. I'll probably take a pass on the OAK but it will be professionally installed and I will get their opinion. My question relates to smoke spillage. Given the smaller firebox it seems like this might be a bit more of a concern with this model and I have seen it referenced a couple of times on a home depot user review forum.
It sounds like you were able to solve that problem, by "looking at the situation a little different". Could you elaborate? You reference leaving the door cracked but based on your original post it seems like you were doing that from the get go. What did you change? or is the smoke issue, still an issue?
Thanks
T
saskwoodburner
Feeling the Heat
I'm a total cheerleader for these little stoves. I guess in a nutshell, the quick answer is, if your draft is good, and your wood is decent, and you burn with proper technique, you shouldn't dump any significant amount of smoke into your home. It is possible, but then it's more user error than stove design flaw.
If you crack the door open too wide before draft is established, or forget to open the air control before opening the door wide open, you may get smoke in the room.
Edit to add. If you close the door too soon and stall your fire, you'll get lots of smoke if you crack the door wide open.
The best thing to do is let the stove run in cycles, then you have really no chance of smoke leaving the stove. Once it's burning good, it shouldn't need to be opened until reload time.
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I just bought a 17-VL and had an issue with draft. For me, the problem was the upper refractory baffle, the 1/2" thick one (#14 in the parts diagram). It was not secured in its proper location but had fallen down and was sitting on the thicker one (the one that sits on the air tubes). Returning it to its exact proper location made a world of difference...you can see in this pic from another thread, there needs to be a space between the two upper bricks...
![[Hearth.com] Draft issues Englander 17-vl](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/168/168767-7ad0af791707183fdda7187331553159.jpg?hash=Z-9spoOevH "[Hearth.com] Draft issues Englander 17-vl")
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axeman628
New Member
This sounds familiar. New stove owner here with similar issues. I'll tell you what I've found that works for me. If I'm not careful I get some smoke spillage at start up but once going I have no issues.
The faster you get heat into the chimney the better. If you can get a knot of newspaper really close to the flue pipe it could do the trick. I've found that even shoving it on top of the secondary baffle works great. I'll stick a piece of newspaper up there and you can even see the draft reverse, the smoke will hesitate and then start right up the chimney. Make sure the newspaper isn't too tight, you want it to go up fast and hot. I also found that leaving a window cracked for a few minutes at start up helps.
The faster you get heat into the chimney the better. If you can get a knot of newspaper really close to the flue pipe it could do the trick. I've found that even shoving it on top of the secondary baffle works great. I'll stick a piece of newspaper up there and you can even see the draft reverse, the smoke will hesitate and then start right up the chimney. Make sure the newspaper isn't too tight, you want it to go up fast and hot. I also found that leaving a window cracked for a few minutes at start up helps.
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