New Castle Serenity and Noisy Fan

[Vand M]

Talegas just posted this video with sound of his first burn with the Serenity.

Talegas video

It is in this thread for reference.

TY Talegas .I was worried my flames were a little high at times ..The noise is exactly what I hear on mine .I am going to say ..TY to Deezl Smoke as well ! once again . V

 

[Vand M]

That's a good point about the rubber feet to keep harmonics isolated. I had not thought about that.

The joys of old house ownership Lots of fix-ups and insulating. My old house wasn't that old ... homework found in the wall when insulating was dated 1903. Something to keep in mind with future renos, balloon construction needs to have firestops installed between first and second floors.

Are there rubber feet on the legs of the stove? If not, something else that could help. How level is the stove ... variations in the floor or brick hearth could allow for vibrations.

YES I am thinking its just a norm for these .Maybe some design changes and location . . V

 

[rich2500]

There are fire-stops here .Someone did some .Murph has done some when he sees the opportunity . I still hate the thoughts of ever having a house fire for any reason
Which does bring me to my concerns . We have the second serentity installed and running .YEP Makes the same noises . Not quite as loud .All is running GREAT . The old ha new one with the new motor is now in the LR and we are cooking hot on 2 Its 82 in there now with out door temps at 26 with a breeze My ex a safety foreman for the masonry union . Laid a dry firebrick hearth for the floor .He just came Placed firebrick on one side wall .This stove is cornered at proper to the book clearances . except my one wall just is getting to hot . As is my sofa which he moved 3 .5 ft away and placed a metal fire shield .This all temporary . until I move the room around . At some point he still wants to install it in the chimney center of room .A point he made , which I agree on is the min clearances to any wood ,pellet or heating appliance should be 3ft or more Of Course I already knew this .I was part of and ran his business for 28 years .Also am a former wood burner .He suggested not placing anything combustible even behind the stove .In the case of any blowout fires, or mishaps of any kind .I always take his advice .he has been in the business 45 years .Some of the pics you see of the pellet stoves in general have rockers curtains baskets ect Ya all know .Way to close to them .Just a little for any newbies FYI .This stove seems to be hotter than the other on the same setting .We are thinking location .The kitchen is open to the parlor a side porch the dining room and set back into a full masonry hearth The living room is open to the foyer and a doorway to the dining room .I am actually getting heat upstairs now from the LR Install .Although I would like more to go up .The 2 coldest bedrooms are right above the Living room .. I will send a photo Im not great at that like Murphy is ..BTW Rich so sorry your camper got a tree .Hope all is ok V

Camper ended up being ok, me not so much, ended up with the flu and out of work yesterday, going to try going to work today.

 

[Talegas]

i'm now running the stove continuously. Last night was the first night, kept the house not cold (70 where the stove is, 65 the upper floor where we sleep, and that is a very comfortable sleeping temp..i get to use covers!).

Flame is yellow, not as pale as before, but yellow.. although through the ash/soot stained window it shows it orange (through the clean parts of the window you can see the yellow flame). The "howling" sound i take is the natural sound of the cylinder fan. Once i am done with the test burn (continue to burn through 2 more bags) i'll see if the fan spins freely or not. And to Lake Girl's point, i'll buy a level and figure out if the stove is leveled.

 

[Vand M]

Camper ended up being ok, me not so much, ended up with the flu and out of work yesterday, going to try going to work today.

We are glad the camper is ok ..As for the FLU ..REST and get better .Its going around again Thanks so much or allthe advice with the stobves .They seems to be doing good REST , FLUIDS ya know

 

[Jake86]

Does not sound like my Castle Serenity. I do get a minor "wine" when I go from high to low fan speed, but it kind of fades away. Sometimes a new stove gets quieter as it's broken in, but a constant "wine" without some cheese is going drive you nuts. Seriously, if it doesn't quiet down, exchange it. A good stove will only make white noise and you get use to it after awhile. Has kind of calming affect. Not yours.

 

[Vand M]

i'm now running the stove continuously. Last night was the first night, kept the house not cold (70 where the stove is, 65 the upper floor where we sleep, and that is a very comfortable sleeping temp..i get to use covers!).

Flame is yellow, not as pale as before, but yellow.. although through the ash/soot stained window it shows it orange (through the clean parts of the window you can see the yellow flame). The "howling" sound i take is the natural sound of the cylinder fan. Once i am done with the test burn (continue to burn through 2 more bags) i'll see if the fan spins freely or not. And to Lake Girl's point, i'll buy a level and figure out if the stove is leveled.

Does not sound like my Castle Serenity. I do get a minor "wine" when I go from high to low fan speed, but it kind of fades away. Sometimes a new stove gets quieter as it's broken in, but a constant "wine" without some cheese is going drive you nuts. Seriously, if it doesn't quiet down, exchange it. A good stove will only make white noise and you get use to it after awhile. Has kind of calming affect. Not yours.

 

[Vand M]

This is what we are noticing .Its less and less .Changes in fan speed . Not anywhere like they were .The new motor in the first one is working awesome .We can tell the difference from the area of location.These were both purchased at the same time .One is the LR now with a new motor ;Much Much less wine . However on a much different hearth and a bit of a different hook up done by Castles recommendations .Both have OAK's .We are thinking we will change the hook up in the 2nd newbie in the kitchen .We think this may be an issue .It had 2 elbows instead of one based on the hook up we had for the TSC90 Pelpro .> We talked about this today . Castle recommends 4inch pipe with 2 elbows .SO we are going to Change the hook up . Also may be why we are getting superb heat out of the LR Castle installation. Its again 81 in there on low 1 LOL Last night we hit a low of 17 with wind BOTH stoves on 1-2 we had 75-80 degree 61-65 upstairs .Any suggestions on getting more heat up stairs would help.We have read allot here and in other areas . Without cutting holes all over the place . Would love to get that heat up the staircase .No we dont have forced air downstairs the old boiler and ductwork , we removed Horrible mess that was . V

 

[Talegas]

For whatever is worth:
- Using iphone6 with otterbox defender case
- phone was horizontal to the ground, with base pointed towards stove
- about 2 feet from the front of the stove
- about a foot above the height of the stove
- using the app: Decibel 10th
- Stall 1, exhaust V 80, no changes to the blowing fan so it was default.


it recorded an average of 62 dBs

Now I am back to my desk and placed the phone on the desk without any other noise other than the CPU fan (running Diablo 3 so it is active) the dBs measured was 50.

 

[Lake Girl]

For whatever is worth:
- Using iphone6 with otterbox defender case
- phone was horizontal to the ground, with base pointed towards stove
- about 2 feet from the front of the stove
- about a foot above the height of the stove
- using the app: Decibel 10th
- Stall 1, exhaust V 80, no changes to the blowing fan so it was default.


it recorded an average of 62 dBs

Now I am back to my desk and placed the phone on the desk without any other noise other than the CPU fan (running Diablo 3 so it is active) the dBs measured was 50.

To be fair to the CPU fan, you need to be two feet away! Get your point though

Always surprised on initial Fall start-up at how loud they seem. Doesn't take long before you tune it out and it becomes that "white noise".

Getting air flow upstairs ... you may want to set up a cold air return on the second floor so the cold air can drop to the kitchen and/or living room. We used our old forced air ducts as a large cold air return flowing to our living room near the stove using in-line fans. A ceiling fan in the main hall upstairs can draw up the air. Can test movement by taping flagging tape or similar light material to walls/ceiling to get an idea of the current convection loop. Use painter tape so you don't mess up the paint job!

 

[Talegas]

To be fair to the CPU fan, you need to be two feet away! Get your point though
!

Phone was 2.5 ft from the CPU, and about 2ft higher up (the location of the phone on the desk). That said, my CPU fan has always been loud. The app compares the dBs to a "normal conversation".

 

[Lake Girl]

Interesting app...

 

[Tails1]

For what it's worth when I first installed my englander I found the fans noisier at first and now that the stove has some mileage on it I find it is much quieter now that it is broken in. Some of that observation is subjective however as now I am used to the noise but still it is quieter.

 

[Vand M]

Castle serenity throwing sparks out of the vent pipe. Not bad but still doing it. Also a clunking sound now and then from the auger. Any ideas? Other stove not doing it. Just one.

Sent from my A621BL using Tapatalk

 

[rich2500]

gotta back down the intake air a bit more by either closing the air gate a little or backing the voltage off a little on the exhaust blower and that should solve the spark issue, the auger clunk is more then likely the auger breaking a pellet every so often or a real small piece gets stuck and spit back out.both are normal

 

[Vand M]

I have the voltage on the lowest setting and the damper closed as far as it will go and the flame is still touching the top of the stove. Doesn't stay that way but still does it often.

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[Vand M]

Is that normal??

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[Talegas]

Is that normal??

Sent from my A621BL using Tapatalk

I have mine set up to "thermostat" so once it goes to Stall5, which is the highest "burn" the flame does reach for the ceiling of the stove for a while (while all the thrown at pellets are being burn). Remember that at that stage, the auger is feeding the firepot larger quantities per minute than in lower stalls.

That said, if you have it manual and always go for stall 4-5 then you will most likely be looking at flames that high constantly. It is intriguing that you can have such combustion power with almost a closed air vent and exhaust fan (i hope is the exhaust blower) at wattages of 80 for each stall.

when setting the exhaust fan.. do you hear it going off at different levels when setting the voltage in the menu? it is a way to figure out if in fact the motor is doing less rpms ..maybe is stuck?

 

[Vand M]

I have mine set up to "thermostat" so once it goes to Stall5, which is the highest "burn" the flame does reach for the ceiling of the stove for a while (while all the thrown at pellets are being burn). Remember that at that stage, the auger is feeding the firepot larger quantities per minute than in lower stalls.

That said, if you have it manual and always go for stall 4-5 then you will most likely be looking at flames that high constantly. It is intriguing that you can have such combustion power with almost a closed air vent and exhaust fan (i hope is the exhaust blower) at wattages of 80 for each stall.

when setting the exhaust fan.. do you hear it going off at different levels when setting the voltage in the menu? it is a way to figure out if in fact the motor is doing less rpms ..maybe is stuck?

Murphy will have to reply to whats exactly going on now . Its very odd to have the dampers almost shut now .Yet still seethe stoves with flames like this . I know I sure was not happy last night to see flame embers blowing out of the pipe .All had just been cleaned , the pellets we use are very low ash and fines low .the stove in the kitchen the new one . Is on a extremely windy area . This is how I am seeing it ..WIND is the word on this hill on that side end of the house .Last night we had gusts over 30 and steady winds 15-20 . He should be back shortly .Working now TY for your reply.We do have OAKs installed on both . Dont know if we are getting to much air ..This is a drafty old house lol

 

[Talegas]

why not trying without OAK if the house is too drafty? that should remove the windy conditions.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Murphy will have to reply to whats exactly going on now . Its very odd to have the dampers almost shut now .Yet still seethe stoves with flames like this . I know I sure was not happy last night to see flame embers blowing out of the pipe .All had just been cleaned , the pellets we use are very low ash and fines low .the stove in the kitchen the new one . Is on a extremely windy area . This is how I am seeing it ..WIND is the word on this hill on that side end of the house .Last night we had gusts over 30 and steady winds 15-20 . He should be back shortly .Working now TY for your reply.We do have OAKs installed on both . Dont know if we are getting to much air ..This is a drafty old house lol

I'll try to take a picture and post in a bit. But in the mean time, I'll do my best to describe something to you. When you clean the stove, the ash pan has two flaps that are swung up and hung by that little peg while you take out the ash pan. When you put the ash pan back in, and drop those flaps, try to position the ash pan so it is perfectly centered. There is some allowance side to side and a little bit front to back. I push the ash pan all the way toward the hopper, and position it as close to center side to side as I can. Then drop the flaps and by hand, move the flaps so they cover as much of any gaps as possible. I know it is not perfect, but as best you can, try to cover as much of any gap between the fire box walls and the burn area.

If you have to compromise, get the gaps closed up on the left as you face the stove as you can. That is where the piping is to the exhaust fan. The more time you force an ember to stay in the chamber, the further it will burn out before going thru the exhaust fan. There is room for improvement in this area, and I plan to make those improvements sometime soon.

Give that a try for now. Otherwise it sounds like you have some variations in your pellets. That is not uncommon as pellet manufacturing is not yet an exact science. Wood is not grown specifically for pellet production........yet. So bring raw product in from various sources and all times of the year will cause some pellet variation.

 

[Vand M]

Update from Murphy, Both stoves running again! No sparks blowing out the vent pipe anymore. Thanks to everyone for the advice!! I will try and see if the oak is needed in this drafty place. The wind here does make the flame pickup a lot. Will keep you posted on what happens. Thanks again!! Sorry for taking so long to reply. Was working on the porch that is in very dire need of some love lol . I guarantee it will be standing longer then my lifetime lol. Still have a ways to go but got a good start today.

Sent from my A621BL using Tapatalk

 

[Vand M]

I'll try to take a picture and post in a bit. But in the mean time, I'll do my best to describe something to you. When you clean the stove, the ash pan has two flaps that are swung up and hung by that little peg while you take out the ash pan. When you put the ash pan back in, and drop those flaps, try to position the ash pan so it is perfectly centered. There is some allowance side to side and a little bit front to back. I push the ash pan all the way toward the hopper, and position it as close to center side to side as I can. Then drop the flaps and by hand, move the flaps so they cover as much of any gaps as possible. I know it is not perfect, but as best you can, try to cover as much of any gap between the fire box walls and the burn area.

If you have to compromise, get the gaps closed up on the left as you face the stove as you can. That is where the piping is to the exhaust fan. The more time you force an ember to stay in the chamber, the further it will burn out before going thru the exhaust fan. There is room for improvement in this area, and I plan to make those improvements sometime soon.

Give that a try for now. Otherwise it sounds like you have some variations in your pellets. That is not uncommon as pellet manufacturing is not yet an exact science. Wood is not grown specifically for pellet production........yet. So bring raw product in from various sources and all times of the year will cause some pellet variation.

Deezl V here .what is your feeling on not using the OAK on the kitchen stove ? It is very windy at this side of the house and of course more drafty. We just are at a loss .No matter how much we do air still gets thru somewhere .Since the house was built around 1847 . Tjank you very much .Right now we are using Kingdom Biofuel pellets( Local pellet mill) out of the same batch .Light in color , burn slowly and Really pretty clean. We have added some Hammers on the very cold nights > Yet they didnt do this before ( also the same batch).Murphy did exactly as you said .He also did another thourough cleanung .He is going to do another ) THANKS SO MUCH ALL OF YOU

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Deezl V here .what is your feeling on not using the OAK on the kitchen stove ? It is very windy at this side of the house and of course more drafty. We just are at a loss .No matter how much we do air still gets thru somewhere .Since the house was built around 1847 . Tjank you very much .Right now we are using Kingdom Biofuel pellets( Local pellet mill) out of the same batch .Light in color , burn slowly and Really pretty clean. We have added some Hammers on the very cold nights > Yet they didnt do this before ( also the same batch).Murphy did exactly as you said .He also did another thourough cleanung .He is going to do another ) THANKS SO MUCH ALL OF YOU

My OPINION, heavy on the O, in a drafty house (like mine) an oak is not needed, especially if you have or plan to have an APU hooked up for a power outage situation. I do not run OAKs on my stoves as my house, though a week or two newer than yours, is very old and has no wall insulation. It's been added on to a few times and all that sorta stuff.

I was home when we had a power outage and my stove had enough draw in the chimney to pull all the smoke out. I have just a few feet (I think 6') of vertical pellet type double wall chimney. It was warm enough that when the power went off, and the fans stopped, the fire pot smoldered and the chimney pulled that smoke out instead of coming back thru the air inlet and into the house. So that is a risk of not running a OAK.

But there are several threads on this site listing issues with burn quality in windy situations. It makes sense when the oak is right on the outside wall and the pressure changes with each gust. Think of it like standing outside in a windy snow storm. If you turn your back to the wind, the snow will pull up at your face as there is a lower pressure area in front of you. If you turn into the wind, though you will feel directly the force of the wind, less snow will make contact with your face.So when the wind blows by your OAK, one time it will push air into it, next time it can pull air away from it. If you do prefer to run an OAK, and it is just the one stove that is giving you fits, see if you can put some sort of temporary wind box around it and see how it works. It does'nt take much. Anything you have sitting there like a couple stack of flower pots etc. just to break the velocity of the wind right next to the OAK inlet.

IMO.

 

[Vand M]

To be fair to the CPU fan, you need to be two feet away! Get your point though

Always surprised on initial Fall start-up at how loud they seem. Doesn't take long before you tune it out and it becomes that "white noise".

Getting air flow upstairs ... you may want to set up a cold air return on the second floor so the cold air can drop to the kitchen and/or living room. We used our old forced air ducts as a large cold air return flowing to our living room near the stove using in-line fans. A ceiling fan in the main hall upstairs can draw up the air. Can test movement by taping flagging tape or similar light material to walls/ceiling to get an idea of the current convection loop. Use painter tape so you don't mess up the paint job!

Thanks Lake Girl . We have been talking about this .Since the house is so old .The upstairs has no old duct work .Just the attic installed ( we did ) ac/heat pump .There is a cold air return to it for the upstairs new duct work only .at the top of the staircase inside of the hall about 6 inches ..Dont know if we could safely turn on just the circulating fan with this .If we could ..It would heat upstairs .There has always been talk about from others ( not here to be careful doing this .However the cold air return is far enough away from the stoves .Yet near enough to the one in the living room .where we have heat rising but just hanging or dissipating . Your thoughts ?