Englander 17-VL new installation, thank you all for the help

[Waxhaw Brad]

The DCC chimney connector arrived last night (purchased from dynamite buys) which was the last piece of the puzzle. The tile grout was cured so I set the stove, connected the pipe, and lit my first small fire. The manual says to keep it small for the first three fires to 'season' the metal and the paint, so that's what I'm trying to do.

Thanks to all for everything I've learned to get me this far. I have much to learn about wood burning, but for now the wife is happy, the new sunroom will be warm, and I'm on the hunt for dry wood. Here's a few pictures from last night...

 

[Rickb]

Looks awsome!

 

[firefighterjake]

Waxshaw . . . that room looks like it is The Place to be in the winter. Very cozy looking.

 

[Jags]

Nice. Keep in mind that every new peak temp will probably cause some off gassing of the paint. I just don't want you to be surprised by that.

 

[begreen]

Sweet looking installation. Well, with one exception. That outside air duct should not be routed on the sofa.

Enjoy the warmth!

 

[cgfromnc]

Howdy from LKN! Nice looking install. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Waxhaw Brad]

Thanks guys. Yeah, still working on that duct. 5" is hard to fit under there, the bends are large, may go with 4".

Way too much white for me, but my wife loves it. I see a lot of sweeping and vacuuming this area in the future.

 

[Grisu]

Awesome install. The stove looks like it was meant to be placed in there. Englander could take that picture and put it in their brochure. That will be a warm and cozy winter for you.

 

[MaintenanceMan]

Looks great! I'm sure you'll love your 17. I sure love mine.

Do you have the blower hooked up?

 

[Jags]

Looks great! I'm sure you'll love your 17. I sure love mine.

I know the young lad that designed it (and Englander) was proud as a new papa when that stove first came out.

 

[stayfitz]

The DCC chimney connector arrived last night (purchased from dynamite buys) which was the last piece of the puzzle. The tile grout was cured so I set the stove, connected the pipe, and lit my first small fire. The manual says to keep it small for the first three fires to 'season' the metal and the paint, so that's what I'm trying to do.

Thanks to all for everything I've learned to get me this far. I have much to learn about wood burning, but for now the wife is happy, the new sunroom will be warm, and I'm on the hunt for dry wood. Here's a few pictures from last night...

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Stove and space look great!

 

[Englishteacher]

Very smart looking, fits the decor beautifully. The Englander 17 has a look that is very versatile and looks good almost anywhere. I've had mine about a year now. Being an EPA stove you'll find it very efficient and you'll love the secondary burn show. There is a little bit of a learning curve, be patient and once you get the hang of it you'll love it and it's guaranteed to keep that nice room warm and toasty. The blower, which it looks like you've got, is a beast.
As far as cleanliness. this stove is cleaner than many. It does not have an ash drawer which often creates more of a mess than a benefit. The ash lip is quite adequate and the deep firebox contains the ash well and makes for pretty easy ash disposal without getting stuff everywhere. Congrats and enjoy!

BTW. Englander has very good customer service, email questions/concerns and you'll get personal, expert advice directly from the source.

 

[Waxhaw Brad]

I've been burning every day/night since the installation. The heat output is great on this small stove. I'd like to get opinions on my fires so I'll post some pictures.

This is the largest burn yet, a very hot bed of coals with the largest split I could fit in the door.
I was measuring 600f on the side wall right below the side air manifold, measured with a IR gun. Is this too hot? Is this over-firing?




This was about 2 hours later with another smaller split. It's burning very slowly and evenly.

I don't remember where I had the intake damper in these shots. I believe I had it open in the top shots because I was trying to film the secondary light show.

 

[begreen]

You are going to get much better fuel economy and secondary action by closing down the air control until the flames get lazy. Give it a few minutes after that and the flame will strengthen and the secondaries should fire strongly with a fresh charge of wood. With dry wood the only time you only will run with the air control wide-open is on startup or restart.

 

[Englishteacher]

Begreen's concise response is entirely accurate. Follow that advice and you'll get it all, burn efficiency, great secondaries and serious heat. I can get mine to 700 without working too hard, but the manual recomends 650 max and I agree- so do the markings on most of those magnetic themometers. Have you noticed the five bleed holes in the upper center in the rear of the firebox? They will often get involved in the secondary burn, too. Quite a show. Great stove.
Another thing I've learned from experience with this stove is don't interrupt the burn cycle. Load it up, get a good serious burn established, back off on the draft. Let it burn through its whole cycle. Even as it fades down to mere coals you'll see the stove temps are still kickin'-- wait until you're back below 400 then repeat. The burn cycle in these EPA stoves is a big part of their efficiency. It's tempting to open the door and throw another log on as the load dies down but you'll disrupt the cycle and lose a lot of heat and use more wood than you need. In older stoves you have to constantly feed the beast, not so much with these EPA ones. Enjoy.