High Valley 1500 Catalytic stove insert installation and review

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Yeah, you need to get the welded-seam elbow from the liner maker. That way, you don't have the worry of the cheap elbow possibly coming apart. This is a 15* but it's kinda hard to see how much it turns, from the angle of this pic. It doesn't turn a whole lot...
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AH i think I might need a 30 degree for mine, but yeah it's not that hard to change cause I am still in the process of fabing up my 2 piece block off plate.
 
AH i think I might need a 30 degree for mine, but yeah it's not that hard to change cause I am still in the process of fabing up my 2 piece block off plate.
With a protractor, you might be able to get a pretty good idea what angle you need.
 
So I'm going over the manual and it call for 16" clearance from the floor, my hearth is 17" but the stove sticks out so I only have like 9" from the front of the stove to the end of the hearth. My inspection is a month away so I'm thinking if I tile a 1 foot section of the floor where it meets the hearth would that be ok. Open for ideas
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Yes, maybe continue it with some black tile or dark slate at the floor level.
 
Would that do the trick
What is under the tile of the raised hearth, that the stove is sitting on? They require Type 2 protection. "FLOOR PROTECTION: Use UL 1618 Type 2, R = 0.45"
 
What is under the tile of the raised hearth, that the stove is sitting on? They require Type 2 protection. "FLOOR PROTECTION: Use UL 1618 Type 2, R = 0.45"

I have no idea, bought the house with the existing Fireplace, all I can say is its 18" off the floor
 
So last night I started a fire and noticed the fan would not come on, I usually wait till the fan comes on then ac tivate the cat, but when I went to look at the temp it was at 800 degrees cat temp and usually the fan would come on at 600. I flipped the switch to manual and it came on no problem, so after playing around with it came on on its own, this morning the fan was still running with the fire done and the stove warm to touch. Then the fan makes a little rattling noise which can be annoying but if I turn it down and back up the sound goes away temporarily.I called woodland direct where I bought the stove and they said high Valley handles their own warranty issues so he gave me their number. The I spoke with at high valley said he will have his Tech call me back. So they are still in business lol. I'll keep yall posted. Guy took my number and asked for my first name and was like oh I remember you I shipped out the unit to you lol.
 
So last night I started a fire and noticed the fan would not come on, I usually wait till the fan comes on then ac tivate the cat
On the Buck I keep the blower off to build heat in the stove. After I close the bypass, if I can see the cat probe temp rising to over 1000, or better yet if I can see the cat glowing, then I turn on the blower. You may see the cat probe drop a little bit with the blower on but once the cat is glowing you can be pretty sure it will sustain itself, and the cat won't quit burning.
 
That HV is close to the same as my Bay 52. With a good bed of ashes I had to turn fan on manually on cold starts (the ashes will block the heat from getting to the stat on the bottom of the firebox that will engage the fan, it will also take it longer to shut off due to residual heat), I would flip it to auto after about an hour into the burn.
 
That HV is close to the same as my Bay 52. With a good bed of ashes I had to turn fan on manually on cold starts (the ashes will block the heat from getting to the stat on the bottom of the firebox that will engage the fan, it will also take it longer to shut off due to residual heat), I would flip it to auto after about an hour into the burn.

something to think about, but in my case it was a fresh fire no ash just wood, maybe I'm over reacting a little bit and should give myself some more time to better familiarize myself with this new baby
 
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Yea, it is going to take some time, took me three seasons to work out the kinks and figure out the burn cycle in mine, then I go and sell it....

you sold it lol, I love mine so far compared to my old unit
 
So I just got off the phone with the high valley tech, its 8:30 pm thought he wasn't gonna call lol. Any way after explaining to him what I thought my issues were he was like, I'll put a new fan and thermo disc in the mail for you first thing tomorrow morning, that's what's up I give them a thumbs up for customer service, funny thing is I fired her up cause it was 65° in the house and the fan is quiet and came on at 600° like it normally does lol.
 
So I got a brand new fan and thermo disc from high valley, for some reason the fan has not been noisy since before I got the new one in the mail. I ordered a new adjustable thermo disc online and set it so the fan would come on at 1000° cat temp instead of 600°,works like a charm, gonna be a cold one tonight into tomorrow , will fill like low 20's with wind chill so I'm all loaded up lol. I went through my shed and came up with a wheel barrow load of under 20 moisture content smaller splits so I will loaded her up with only red oak.

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Started it at 4pm today
 
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I did end up picking me up a ton of liberty bricks20161107_174222.jpg
 
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5 and a half hours .This thing is impressive air closed almost fully but she purrs lIke a kitty lol
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Glad to see your happy with your high valley, I just ordered a 2500 series, should be in any day


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Yeah man I'm loving this unit, been going non stop since Friday rec room where stove is right now is 78° and the rest of the rooms at 69°, I've got really drafty windows I'm working on replacing but for now ill just wrap them with 3m window film, works pretty good. I'm sure you will have good results with this unit, this thing is a tank. Its kind of late to not have had it installed and fired up by now lol
 
Yeah man I'm loving this unit, been going non stop since Friday rec room where stove is right now is 78° and the rest of the rooms at 69°, I've got really drafty windows I'm working on replacing but for now ill just wrap them with 3m window film, works pretty good. I'm sure you will have good results with this unit, this thing is a tank. Its kind of late to not have had it installed and fired up by now lol
I agree. I went from just cleaning up my old Carolina insert to completely upgrading my whole thing to high valley Can't wait to have it cranked up!
 
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So the blower started making a rattling noise again, but I do have a brand new one the guys at high valley sent me, upon close inspection I realize that the mounting for the blower to the unit is a little weak to hold the weight of the fan, I can move the fan up and down even if it is bolted down pretty good. I stuck a bottle cap under the blower and that has solved the problem for now till I remove it completely to beef up the mounting brackets for it. Pic coming soon to show what I'm talking about.
 
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I think the screws get loose from heat generated from the unit
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You can see the bottle cap under, think I will take the fan off and weld a few tacks instead of the screws cause they keep coming loose.
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This the new blower they sent me, same design with screws on the mounting tabs, no good
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