New install of Englander 17-vl with pics

[Ginger]

Thanks to hearth.com for all of the information and support!

We spent the weekend installing our well-researched Englander 17-vl with Metalbest double wall interior pipe, round support box, attic insulation shield, and class A up through the roof. Installation was surprisingly easy. We ended up with a 13.25 foot chimney from the top of the stove (they recommend 15 foot) but it's well above the ridgeline of the house and it seems to be burning fine.

Clearance is 8 inches from the back wall (as spec'ed by the manual), and we're a bit nervous that the wood wall might discolor; does anyone have experience with this?

Final of three break-in burns was completed this morning, and we can't wait to have it humming along. We're in west Texas -- it's cold in the winter here, and we're hoping to phase out the gas furnace.

Other than everything going normally, are there any tests we should run to see if all is installed correctly? We're super pleased with its performance so far (three fires!).

One other question: the chimney cap did not come with a spark arrestor. I'm assuming we should get one since we are in a dry area; is there any reason we would not want one?

Thanks to all.

 

[Jasper 83]

Im interested to know how that stove performs for you. Think Im gonna replace mine with a 13 but I looked at the 17 too cuz the sq. ft rating is closer to my house size and real cold weather is apparently a thing of the past here in va. How much space are you trying to heat with it? The install looks nice

 

[stoveguy2esw]

2 things,
first you do want a cap with a screen on the top of the flue.

secondly and much more important;
the installation looks beautiful however i see a MAJOR flaw! it appears this stove is sitting directly on a carpeted floor. if so this is not correct. the unit MUST have a floor protector with an "R" factor of 0.5 extending 8 inches from each side, and the rear , and at least 16 inches in front of the unit.

 

[Ginger]

The stove is sitting on concrete slab floor (may look like carpet in the photo but it is concrete). And the install pics do not show the chimney cap; there is a cap on the flue, just no spark arrestor screen. We will definitely add the screen.

The house is about 1100 sq. feet. Hoping we can heat the house with the little stove, but I anticipate using a small heater in the bathroom and study.

Question about the height of the chimney: Since we are a bit low on the height of the chimney (13.25 feet as opposed to 15 ft), how will we know if that is too short for our burn? Will it make a sluggish burn? Since we don't have a lot of experience, I'm not sure if we will know how to tell. We live in a very low humidity environment if that makes any difference. And of course, we can add a small length of pipe to the chimney since they sell it in 12 and 18 inch lengths.

 

[dorkweed]

Im interested to know how that stove performs for you. Think Im gonna replace mine with a 13 but I looked at the 17 too cuz the sq. ft rating is closer to my house size and real cold weather is apparently a thing of the past here in va. How much space are you trying to heat with it? The install looks nice

My 13NC is the "cats dupa". I love it. If you switch to the 13, just remember it requires a hearth with an R-value of 2 at least. My house is 1100sq.ft. and my furnace hasn't run at all yet! I'm in northern Illannoy also.

What year Dodge/Cummins you got??

 

[dorkweed]

Nice, tidy install Ginger

 

[stoveguy2esw]

The stove is sitting on concrete slab floor (may look like carpet in the photo but it is concrete). And the install pics do not show the chimney cap; there is a cap on the flue, just no spark arrestor screen. We will definitely add the screen.

The house is about 1100 sq. feet. Hoping we can heat the house with the little stove, but I anticipate using a small heater in the bathroom and study.

Question about the height of the chimney: Since we are a bit low on the height of the chimney (13.25 feet as opposed to 15 ft), how will we know if that is too short for our burn? Will it make a sluggish burn? Since we don't have a lot of experience, I'm not sure if we will know how to tell. We live in a very low humidity environment if that makes any difference. And of course, we can add a small length of pipe to the chimney since they sell it in 12 and 18 inch lengths.

ohh ok, geez, it looked like carpet had me fooled, in that case forget i mentioned it. as for the cap, didnt know if iot had one the pic's didnt show it (mea culpa on the floor protector, i honestly didnt think it was concrete looking at it)

 

[Jags]

I wouldn't be too concerned with the pipe length UNLESS you have draft issues. If it is burning nicely at proper operating temps - what more could you ask for?

Nice looking install and welcome to the forum.

Edit: be aware that adding a fine screen mesh (spark arrestor) is going to be something that you watch closely till you know how it reacts. The fine mesh can get plugged very fast if you do not keep a good, clean burn going.

 

[MaintenanceMan]

Your 17 looks right at home. I also use one to heat our home. Congrats! I love mine and am sure you will like yours too.

 

[Jasper 83]

My 13NC is the "cats dupa". I love it. If you switch to the 13, just remember it requires a hearth with an R-value of 2 at least. My house is 1100sq.ft. and my furnace hasn't run at all yet! I'm in northern Illannoy also.

What year Dodge/Cummins you got??

I think my hearth will be good to go. Its 6x6x2 concrete pavers on top of backer board. Im defitely gonna switch as long as I get the tax refund I expect this year. The Dodge was an 89 but I sold it a few months ago. Need to update my sig I guess

 

[begreen]

Sweet install of a sweet stove. Hope is does well for you. Burn dry wood and you folks should be very happy. It may work ok with the ~14' of chimney. Have you checked to assert that the chimney top is tall enough to be 2 ft higher than the nearest roof section? It's hard to see from the picture what's upslope of the chimney. If not, it will need some more pipe and a roof brace at the 5ft level.

 

[flyingpig]

The manual calls for 8 - 10 inch clearance on the back of the stove. Your picture looks like you have less than 6 inches to the wood wall....or I may be wrong....

Cheers......Som

 

[flyingpig]

The manual calls for 8 - 10 inch clearance on the back of the stove. Your picture looks like you have less than 6 inches to the wood wall....or I may be wrong....

Cheers......Som

Sorry I didn't see your original post for 8 inches clearance on the back. It looks a lot closer than 8 inch (with the stove depth = 12.5") in the picture.

I'd rather put something between the stove and the wall just in case. May be you can buy a hearth pad and put it against the wall on the back. Other members will probably have better suggestion than mine...

 

[BrotherBart]

I am a born and bred West Texas boy. With the constant wind there put a cap on that pipe and it will draft live a Hoover. 3/4" mesh screen is a good idea. Scrub brush burns hot and fast if you aren't in town. Saint Augustine not so much.

Beautiful install. Enjoy that stove when the ice lands upon ya this year.

 

[Hogwildz]

That is a sharp looking stove.
Congrats.
There was a storm collar installed around the pipe over the roof flashing I assume?

 

[Ginger]

Thanks for the responses. We went for this stove primarily for the looks -- it's a nice minimal clean almost European look, and with our small house it fits very well.

To speak to issues of the chimney pipe, we do indeed have a storm collar and a chimney cap. That west texas wind was blowing hard when we were on the roof, so we didn't get the final pics of glory. The pipe is indeed well above the ridge line, about 2.5 feet, so well-adhered to the 10-3-2 rule.

We have noticed a bit of choke on start up when the door is closed tight. I have read some people will let a bit of air in on start up, but I don't like doing it. Maybe with practice we can finesse it.

And we do have exactly 8 inch clearance on the back, which is allowed with double wall pipe. I am nervous about that wood wall... what should the max temperature be on the wall? We are armed with our new IR.

If there is any advice on how to load this firebox, I am open to suggestion. It's difficult to stack NS in it, but this being my first woodstove, I'm not entirely sure how to load it up.

 

[begreen]

If the wall temps stay below about 150F they are fine. This stove is definitely an E/W loader. For starting a fire, place a couple 2" x 10" sleeper logs on the floor of the firebox. Then proceed to load. E/W. The sleepers will allow air to get under the load for quick ignition.

 

[coolhandluke]

Does anyone know what type of roof flashing is being used in the install?

 

[begreen]

Not positive but it looks like it might be this:
(broken link removed to http://www.woodstovepro.com/store/Selkirk-MetalBest-6-Ultra-Temp-Dead-Soft-Base-Flashing-2-6-6T-AF6D-p18413.html)

 

[coolhandluke]

Thanks for the quick reply. That flashing does look pretty close. Just trying to decide which flashing is best for my new install going threw metal roof.

 

[begreen]

Depends the type of metal roof. Is it corrugated or standing seam?

 

[SOH]

Looks like you did a great job, and that's a sweet looking stove. Congratulations!

 

[coolhandluke]

Corrugated. I'm using duratech chimney pipe. I figure all the dsa flashing works about the same. I guess I should just use duratech flashing. It will probably fit my pipe better.

 

[begreen]

I like Duravent flashing, but have not worked with their DSA product. Duratech is good pipe.

 

[coolhandluke]

Whats an E/W loader?