First burn and a few questions

[Ham351]

Hello,

I had been thinking of installing a wood stove in my basement because of the seemingly endless ash trees I cut and sell off my property every year. The cost was just too much, even with free firewood. I was looking at more than 20' of outside pipe, not including what I would have to run down to the basement. It wouldn't have been worth it.

I was turned on to pellet stoves shortly after, did some quick homework and got a pp130 and the Selkirk vp pipe all at Menard's on the last day of their 11% off sale.

I installed everything yesterday and had my first burn.



I burned Easy Heat pellets from Family Farm and Home. $165 a ton (I only got three bags so I can test them out, although I'm not positive what I am looking for.) I also picked up a bag of Somerset at Menards. ($185 a ton) I'm burning the Somersets today.

These pics were after yesterday's Easy Heat burn.



Is this much ash inside the firebox and on the glass normal? I burned an entire bag. I burned it on the high setting to try to heat my basement and help out the rest of the house. My geo heat is a little on the fritz, had some problems with it this weekend. The extra pellet heat helped out. I have a 1500 sq ft basement that I plan on finishing, it will be smaller than that when it is finished. I have a 2400 sq ft house. I can adjust my continuous fan setting on my geo furnace to ramp it up when I'm burning pellets. I have air returns in the basement and the warm air gets pushed around the house. I kicked off the geo last night when the house thermostat reached 68 degrees F. It held at that temperature for several hours with just the pellet stove running. Impressive but it was a balmy 34 degrees outside, we'll see how things go this week when it gets cold.

Anyway a few questions:

Easy Heat vs Somerset. Any favorites? I see a lot of good things about Somerset. The $20 difference per ton isn't a big deal if the Somersets are better.

I have a slight leak in my elbow before the pipe (4") exits the basement. It got knocked around a bit when I was putting everything together, I should have been more careful. It's not leaking at the joint, but around the 90 where the metal seams are. It is not an adjustable 90, just a standard one. I noticed a little smoke coming off it upon ignition yesterday. I put chimney caulk (2000 degree) on the seams right away. When I fired it up this morning there was still a tiny bit of smoke, so little I wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't looking. What's the best way to remedy this problem short of replacing the elbow. I don't care how it looks, it will be hidden when I finish out the basement.

I'm new at this pellet thing, but I understand the maintenance involved. I have my carbon monoxide detector hooked up. I plan on buying a ton of pellets this week when I decide what I want. I think the only other store in my area that sells pellets is TSC, but I haven't priced them.

Does anyone tape their joints with foil tape? If so, what is a good brand. I have a joint that is inside my thimble at the basement window. I thought of taping it for peace of mind since its the only joint I really won't be able to see.

So far the experience has been good, I'm impressed how much heat the pp130 puts out. It heated my basement from 58 degrees to 68 degrees in two or three hours. Impressive when all the concrete walls are cold and bare. I'll get driven out of there when I insulate the walls and finish it.

Any help with my questions will be helpful.

Thanks.

 

[zrock]

I did all my joints with height heat silicone the stuff meant for stoves. Lots of people use the foil tape as well.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

 

[Tonyray]

Unfortunately, you picked one of the worst pellets to sail your maiden voyage...
easy heats are horrible, mountains off ash. reason why they sell so cheap..
as far as instalation pipeing, others here will chime in....

 

[ohbix]

Welcome Ham. Which Menards/town did you purchase from? I have been debating trying the pelpro stove in the cellar, but keep hesitating due to the control dial issue. Love to hear how the stove works for you as the reviews from people w/out the dial issue like it.

 

[Ham351]

Welcome Ham. Which Menards/town did you purchase from? I have been debating trying the pelpro stove in the cellar, but keep hesitating due to the control dial issue. Love to hear how the stove works for you as the reviews from people w/out the dial issue like it.

Oregon, Ohio. My control dial seems to work okay, but it seems like the hood switch might be finicky. I had to mess with it a bit before the auger would start working.

 

[tlc1976]

Our FFH switched from Pro Pellets to 3 different kinds of others, including Easy Heats. The specs look the same as the Kirtlands I switched from (except those had a max length of over 2"), and wasn't happy with how those burned either. So thanks, Easy Heats are out. If the other 2 are similar then I'll get my Pro Pellets elsewhere. Specs say half the ash and nearly half the fines of Easy Heats. I'd try some if they have them in your area. But on this end I've never tried Somersets either.

I went over all my pipe joints with the black hi temp silicone. Every time it would find a way into the house. Then it started pulling betwen the manufactured pipe seams. So I went over all those plus the rivets. Once it was all sealed up, the stove choked after a few hours and dumped smoke into the house. Thought it was odd that changing the damper setting didn't change the flame at all, then I knew why. Added an outside air kit (OAK) to eliminate the negative pressure, and never looked back, ran amazing.

 

[mikkeeh]

Ive used a lot of both EZheat and Sets. The EZs due generate more ash, but Ive found to do fairly well. Sets generate less ash , but more heat. I’m ok with either. Been buying sets for $200 nearby.
Any quality foil tape is ok. Sounds like you’re off to a good start.

 

[nailed_nailer]

Welcome,
Few tips here but understand I'm not familiar with your stove.

Somerset pellets have been good quality over the years (I have not tried any this year so YMMV). If they were for sale here in New England they would sell for around $280 a ton. So you should be fine with them at that price.

High ash levels could be from lousy pellets or incorrect burning conditions. Did you set the stove up correctly? (Magnehelic gauge?) Or did you wing it and use seat of the pants settings? There are several You Tube videos of what a proper pellet stove burn looks like. Is the house too tight? Do you need an outside source of combustion air (OAK kit)? All of these can affect performance.

Sealing vent pipe is easiest with foil tape. Makes it a breeze to open up the pipe to clean it. The RTV can be a groan to loosen.
A good way of checking for leaks (besides your nose) is to use a bright flashlight while stove is burning to inspect the joint/pipe seams. Tape anyplace leaking. Also expect some "nice" smells while the stove paint cooks in.

It is hard to heat a house with a pellet stove from the basement. Ducting makes it better but it is still hard. You have to heat the thermal mass of the basement then it will radiate up into the rest of the house. Not impossible but understand you will burn a lot of pellets to get the basement up to temp.
Remember, a pellet stove is really a space heater. 2400 Sq Ft is asking a lot from the stove. Your basement will be toasty. Don't be surprised if you go thru 2-3 bags a day.

Good Luck, Great info here and lots of good folks that will help out if possible.
---Nailer---

 

[Ham351]

Welcome,
Few tips here but understand I'm not familiar with your stove.

Somerset pellets have been good quality over the years (I have not tried any this year so YMMV). If they were for sale here in New England they would sell for around $280 a ton. So you should be fine with them at that price.

High ash levels could be from lousy pellets or incorrect burning conditions. Did you set the stove up correctly? (Magnehelic gauge?) Or did you wing it and use seat of the pants settings? There are several You Tube videos of what a proper pellet stove burn looks like. Is the house too tight? Do you need an outside source of combustion air (OAK kit)? All of these can affect performance.

Sealing vent pipe is easiest with foil tape. Makes it a breeze to open up the pipe to clean it. The RTV can be a groan to loosen.
A good way of checking for leaks (besides your nose) is to use a bright flashlight while stove is burning to inspect the joint/pipe seams. Tape anyplace leaking. Also expect some "nice" smells while the stove paint cooks in.

It is hard to heat a house with a pellet stove from the basement. Ducting makes it better but it is still hard. You have to heat the thermal mass of the basement then it will radiate up into the rest of the house. Not impossible but understand you will burn a lot of pellets to get the basement up to temp.
Remember, a pellet stove is really a space heater. 2400 Sq Ft is asking a lot from the stove. Your basement will be toasty. Don't be surprised if you go thru 2-3 bags a day.

Good Luck, Great info here and lots of good folks that will help out if possible.
---Nailer---

I did not check anything with a magnehelic guage. My house is extremely tight (needs to be for geo to be efficient). Yes I installed an OAK kit. I'm not sure what you mean by "seat of the pants setting". It all seemed cut and dry. I followed recommendations for setting up the vent pipe, hooked up the stove, and fired it up. I'll check out some YouTube videos.

I have no intention of heating my entire house with the pellet stove alone. I only hope to ease the wear and tear on my geo unit and the pumps (and to limit the aux heat coming on). My geo hasn't kicked on since I started my pellet stove earlier today (35 degrees outside), so it looks as though it is helping.

I looked the vent pipe up and down with a bright light and can't see anything, just on initial startup.

 

[bogieb]

I use self-sealing silicone tape on all 45* & 90* elbows as I've never used one that didn't leak even when new. When you want the tape off just peel back the end and unwrap - doesn't leave any residue at all. Very cheap at your local BBS, hardware store or online. I've used both (broken link removed)and X-treme. they both work well. The Nashua tape comes in a variety of colors - not sure about the X-treme.

 

[Ham351]

Welcome,
Few tips here but understand I'm not familiar with your stove.

Somerset pellets have been good quality over the years (I have not tried any this year so YMMV). If they were for sale here in New England they would sell for around $280 a ton. So you should be fine with them at that price.

High ash levels could be from lousy pellets or incorrect burning conditions. Did you set the stove up correctly? (Magnehelic gauge?) Or did you wing it and use seat of the pants settings? There are several You Tube videos of what a proper pellet stove burn looks like. Is the house too tight? Do you need an outside source of combustion air (OAK kit)? All of these can affect performance.

Sealing vent pipe is easiest with foil tape. Makes it a breeze to open up the pipe to clean it. The RTV can be a groan to loosen.
A good way of checking for leaks (besides your nose) is to use a bright flashlight while stove is burning to inspect the joint/pipe seams. Tape anyplace leaking. Also expect some "nice" smells while the stove paint cooks in.

It is hard to heat a house with a pellet stove from the basement. Ducting makes it better but it is still hard. You have to heat the thermal mass of the basement then it will radiate up into the rest of the house. Not impossible but understand you will burn a lot of pellets to get the basement up to temp.
Remember, a pellet stove is really a space heater. 2400 Sq Ft is asking a lot from the stove. Your basement will be toasty. Don't be surprised if you go thru 2-3 bags a day.

Good Luck, Great info here and lots of good folks that will help out if possible.
---Nailer---

Compared with the YouTube vids I checked out (good and bad flames), my flame looks pretty darn good. It seems as though these Somersets are burning a bit hotter than the Easy Heat's were.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Mt Bob]

I prefer foil tape,which is actual "duct"tape.Also,lots do not realize,these pipes are double layer,and people screw them together,with too long of screws,and actually damage the inner layer,which smoke can fill the inner layer in the whole pipe,then leak at any imperfection,rivet,etc.I like to see any sealer,on the outside of any joint,then wrapped with foil tape.Just a heads up,those stoves,with the "dial a fire" control,have had a lot of failures,if it does strange things,call pelpro,they will send you the newer control.

 

[Mnpellet]

I’ve been impressed with my pp130 so far. Over 100* temp rise a couple mornings ago. I’m only heating 1700 square feet but even at these temp 1 bag a day is all I’m using. I’m sure once you finish your basement that stove will heat more of the house than you think.

 

[bags]

Somersets are great hardwood pellets. I was a wood burner and switch to pellet stoves. Much easier.

 

[Tails1]

Took me about a season and trying many brands of pellets to really get to understand my stove. I also had smoke leaks at the factory joints and used Teflon tape to seal them all. Used a flashlight at night in the dark room to find the leaks. Extremely annoying as that pipe wasn't cheap so no reason it should do that. Felt I got ripped off.