Installing Arrow 1800 over forced air vents/ near vinyl window ??

[Carissa]

We purchased a used Arrow 1800 from friends who removed it from a mobile where the stove was installed using the homes forced air duct for its air inlet.. I cant find any reference to this installation technique in the owners manual or here?? Is this efficiant??Pros/Cons?? Aslo my ideal location woud be centered in front of two vinyl windows. The windows are 6 inches apart so there would obviously be a strip of bare wall between the windows and the ledges are wood composite(?) does this strip of wall and the wall below the windows need brick or some heat barrier and is the vinyl of the windows safe that close to the stove..Instruction manual only states a hearth pad is required, not one for the wall so I gues im mostly concerned with the vinyl windows and how the heat may affect them?? Any advice is much appreciated!!

 

[jharkin]

I dont know that model stove but I would not recommend placing a stove near anything vinyl. Vinyl has very poor heat stibility and will expand and contract quite significantly with the temperature swings from the stove (this is why vinyl siding and PVC trim has to be installed with gaps for heat expansion that wood does not require). I suspect the windows might swell enough to get stuck shut, or even break the seals and leak if exposed to the heat of a stove.

Also PVC starts to shed the chloride part of its chemical mix at temperatures as low as 160F.

 

[Carissa]

Thanks Jeremy, I cant find any info on this stove at all, except for a manual from a member here on this site and its given me quite a lot of info about installation requirements but of course the manual makes no reference to installing in front of windows. I investigated it a little more and it appears the previous owner disconnected the blower from the stove and cut a hole through the hearth pad where a floor vent is and positioned the fan behind the stove actually over the vent to blow heated air into the vent.. I dont know but that doesnt seem like it would be very effective thers a lot of duct work for one little fan to force air through???