New...

[JohnnyG]

to the site and pellet stoves. I am so glad I found my way here.

I purchased a Mt Vernon AE Insert. When I purchased the stove, I purchased a ton of Hamer pellets.

I live near Philadelphia in a 30 year old house that is not that well insulated. The house is 2,900 square feet but I am only trying to heat 3 rooms. The 3 rooms across the back of the house and are about 1,200 square feet.

I have the heater turned down to 50 and it is set to the circ setting. The family room has a peak ceiling and it is where the stove is. It will get to 71 degrees with the thermostat set to 75. The kitchen is close to the same temp. The master bedroom is around 58 degrees. I can't seem to get the rooms any hotter than that. Any thought?

The stove was installed about a week ago and I've used about 12 bags of pellets so far. This past week has been between 20 and 32 degrees. Does that sound about average usage?

In this area, the installers do not install using an OAK. My installer says he has sold and installed hundreds of stoves over the years and he never installs an OAK. How would I know if I needed an OAK?

Thank in advance.
John

 

[CT Pellet]

Yo Johnny Babe...You're doing it right man.
First, your stove....there are about thirty something stove manufacturers out there. I truly believe that Quadra Fire and Harman stand far above the rest (lets not turn this into a "what stove is best thread!") and as for which of those two is better, well it's virtually a coin toss. Secondly, you are burning awesome pellets. A combo of a great stove and great pellets is a winning hand!
Now, your stove is a monster stove, designed to put out some serious heat. That stove, in those temps, should be able to keep your home "Balls-Johnson" hot but not without eating up a decent amount of pellets. 12 bags in a week is not alarming and you can actually count on about two bags a day. If there was a "doin-it-rite" award, I'd give you one. But there is no such thing as a doin-it-rite award.

 

[Mr. Spock]

Hi John, welcome aboard! Your going to hear a lot of advice in short order. I will start with insulation is probably the biggest improvement you can make to keep those btu's in the house next to finding drafts and sealing those up. An oak will help stop the stove pulling the cold air into the living space you are trying to heat. It's really all about identifying where your loosing your btu and seal it up. Start with the biggest losses first.

 

[CT Pellet]

How would I know if I needed an OAK?​

Best way to tell if you need an OAK is to look around the house and see if there is a pellet stove installed somewhere. If you see one of them little darlings, get her an OAK. Both you and the stove deserve it. Tell your installer to install one, and when he says "he has never done that before" tell him "tomorrow, you won't be saying that!"

 

[john193]

I'm close to your neck of the woods, where did you get your hamers, and how much? The dealer I found in my area (boyertown) wants 285 for them. And welcome.

On a side note, I second Mr. Spock. Insulation is a must. My house is about 50 years old and when we moved in the attic had R13 . First order of business was taking care of that. My walls have insulation, but not up to todays standard.

 

[john193]

Your installer would have installed an OAK if your house was "tight", i.e., relatively new. By having one, you are theoretically upping the efficiency of your stove, but the Mt Vernon does not have a sealed intake, and even with an OAK, still draws room air.

 

[boo boo]

Welcome
Just a heads up some people here will bust your nuts for not posting a pic of your stove (with fire) its a you dont have a stove until you prove it i have been there and done that
but welcome

 

[will711]

Hey Johnny welcome to the forum tons of great info here, lots of fun too. Do you drink Beer so we can turn this into another beer thread [ inside joke Mr. Spock]

All kidding aside plenty of great folks here to help you .

 

[will711]

Welcome
Just a heads up some people here will bust your nuts for not posting a pic of your stove (with fire) its a you dont have a stove until you prove it i have been there and done that
but welcome

No pic's and it never happened

 

[jtakeman]

I truly believe that Quadra Fire and Harman stand far above the rest (lets not turn this into a "what stove is best thread!").....

To late you already did!


Welcome aboard johnny, Pay no never mind to Scott. He's high on pellets! Smells em all day and he gets a lil whacked!

What no picture? Hmmmm, Isn't there a rule or something about dat?

 

[DexterDay]

To late you already did!


Welcome aboard johnny, Pay no never mind to Scott. He's high on pellets! Smells em all day and he gets a lil whacked!

What no picture? Hmmmm, Isn't there a rule or something about dat?

Yep... Pics or it never happened

As for the OAK, I have one on ALL my units (yep, I have a few BTU creators) If its gonna use air for combustion? Then that air MUST BE REPLACED! That air sent up the vent (warm and you paid to heat it) will be replaced with Cold air thought the leaky and drafts places (windows, doors, etc) or you can install an OAK and keep the warm air you paid to heat and use outside air for combustion?

Welcome to the Forum. Still waitin for pics

 

[tsmith]

Welcome, and yes, I have an OAK on both my Quad AE and my Harman Accentra, made a big difference for me.

 

[imacman]

No pic's and it never happened

x2

 

[Hoot23]

Installed my OAK last week and its made a great difference in the stoves performance. Heat seems to be more even through the house, no more draft, and a bag of pellets is lasting a little longer. My dealer also said that an OAK wasn't needed, so I didn't get one because I was saving a few bucks. Wish I would've gotten it with the install so I could have it going out through the thimble with the vent pipe. Oh well, live and learn.

 

[JohnnyG]

Welcome
Just a heads up some people here will bust your nuts for not posting a pic of your stove (with fire) its a you dont have a stove until you prove it i have been there and done that
but welcome

That's easy!

 

[JohnnyG]

Installed my OAK last week and its made a great difference in the stoves performance. Heat seems to be more even through the house, no more draft, and a bag of pellets is lasting a little longer. My dealer also said that an OAK wasn't needed, so I didn't get one because I was saving a few bucks. Wish I would've gotten it with the install so I could have it going out through the thimble with the vent pipe. Oh well, live and learn.

I can install one but it will have to go up the chimney with the 3" exhaust. Did any of you make your own piece that would connect the outside air tube to the unit? I do not need all of the part that comes with the OAK.....

I should also also add that when I installed the electric in the fireplace, I drilled two 1.5 inch holes down into the craw space. I figured that it could pull air in from down there. What I didn't figure on is that it is probably pulling cold air from down there to through out into the room. Fixing that would be easy too.

 

[JohnnyG]

I'm close to your neck of the woods, where did you get your hamers, and how much? The dealer I found in my area (boyertown) wants 285 for them.

I gave $285 for them at The Back Yard Fun Store in Bear, DE.

A good friend of mine has been using pellets from Home Depot. He feels that do a good job and are a fair amount cheaper. I may pick up a few bags just to see.

Do you all get a lot of ash in the bottom of the stove? I am not talking about the drawer, I'm talking about the bottom of the fire box where the logs sit. I sweep that out at least once a day.

John

 

[john193]

I gave $285 for them at The Back Yard Fun Store in Bear, DE.

A good friend of mine has been using pellets from Home Depot. He feels that do a good job and are a fair amount cheaper. I may pick up a few bags just to see.

Do you all get a lot of ash in the bottom of the stove? I am not talking about the drawer, I'm talking about the bottom of the fire box where the logs sit. I sweep that out at least once a day.

John

I'm not burning hamers this year as I just found out recently they were available in my area. I'm burning green label lignetics this year...they are ok.

I do get a good amount of ash near the fire pot, i'm attaching a picture below. You dont need to sweep it out that often, I sweep mine weekly, infact i'm due for a cleaning today. Better pellets usually equal less ash buildup, but it sounds like you are already burning premium pellets.