Pacific Energy Neo 1.6

[Crimchuck]

Hi, just found these forums online. I have a Neo 1.6 stove that was installed back in November 2013. I think I was one of the first people in the country to have one. The stove has performed great all the winter and into this fall. There are two things though that I'm just starting to find out. The glass door seems to be getting dark around the edge where the handle is. It seems to me that the door is not shutting completely tight and some air is leaking in there. Also when I hooked up my combustion air intake late last winter I found out the following morning that cold air was leaking in from the front of the stove. The cold exterior air instead of going into the file box and up the flow was coming out the front of my stove. After contacting the manufacturer a number of times they finally said they're starting to realize that the air chamber is not completely airtight and they don't think there's much they can do. I know this is a new stove but I figured I would try and see if anyone else that has one might've had these issues.
Thank you

 

[begreen]

Welcome to the forums. Several stoves outside air can leak into the room through the stove. The regular PE stoves just dump it in the ashpan area. This will be more noticeable if the OAK intake is on the windward side of the house.

 

[CLVTCH]

I have the Neo 2.5 and notice that the bottom left corner of the glass also gets pretty dark from time to time. A hot fire will clean most of mine up and I have tested for leaks and found none. So it may just be the design of the air wash system.

 

[Crimchuck]

How did you test for the leaks ? Have you brought outside combustion air into the stove ?
Thanks

 

[CLVTCH]

Slip a dollar (five dollar in Canada) bill in between the door where you think there might be a leak and try to pull it out. You shouldn't be able to pull it out. There are other ways as well but this is what I did. No outside air kit on my stove. Mine does clean up on a hot fire once the whole unit is up to operating temperature, if you run your fire down to ash before you load it again it might not stay warm enough to clean the glass on these stoves. Not too sure why as my parent's Osburn keeps glass clean no matter what, just the way the air flows on this stove I guess. Other more seasoned guys here (there are lots) could give you more ideas on testing for leaks.

 

[firefighterjake]

Slip a dollar (five dollar in Canada) bill in between the door where you think there might be a leak and try to pull it out. You shouldn't be able to pull it out. There are other ways as well but this is what I did. No outside air kit on my stove. Mine does clean up on a hot fire once the whole unit is up to operating temperature, if you run your fire down to ash before you load it again it might not stay warm enough to clean the glass on these stoves. Not too sure why as my parent's Osburn keeps glass clean no matter what, just the way the air flows on this stove I guess. Other more seasoned guys here (there are lots) could give you more ideas on testing for leaks.

I guess using a Loonie or "Toonie" for the gasket check wouldn't work very well, huh?

 

[Crimchuck]

Hi,
It's taken me a while to get back to your recommendation. I did try the paper bill trick and indeed on the side with the latch where the glass gets a lot of soot buildup the bill does slip through. The top, bottom, and hinge side are tight. Is the recommendation to replace the gasket or rough it up.
Thanks

 

[begreen]

First try to fluff it up in that area.

 

[draughtdude]

Is there any warpage of the door or stove front? This is rather disconcerting for a brand new stove and a brand new design.

 

[Crimchuck]

I will put a straight edge on it and get back to you. I think it is the lever that locks the door shut. I feel it could pull it closed a little bit tighter. Other than that we really love the stove.

 

[Greta]

This is our second year with a Neo 1.6 free standing stove. We also have outside air intake and are having the same problem with cold air leaking into the house from the stove. The whole purpose of the outside air intake is worse than defeated because cold air is coming in even when the stove is not in operation. The air intake opens into the ash box area, and there are all kinds of gaps for air to leak in and out of. With our stove, most of the gaps are in the back of the stove. Is there a heat proof tape we can use to seal the gaps? They are between pieces of sheet metal. We are also thinking of adding some kind of easy to operate shut off valve into the outside air intake pipe under the stove. The pipe is actually dryer vent hose. Does anyone know of such a valve and the best way to install it?

 

[pvfjr]

Kapton tape is good for pretty high temperatures, like 500F or so. We use it all the time to hold things in place while we solder them. It would depend on where you're placing it, and how hot it gets there. I don't know if I'd leave it unattended this way long term, but it might suffice for experimentation.

 

[Grimlock13]

Anyway for all the NEO owners to put pressure on Pacific Energy to refund or credit us for these NEO stoves. I have the NEO 2.5 and it seems everyone has the same issues. Seems like a design fault that were stuck with. If it were a vehicle it seems there would be a recall. Doesn't seem right that were stuck with a stove that does not live up to expectations.

 

[Greta]

I found a good, simple and inexpensive solution for fixing the cold outside air leaking from our Neo 1.6 stove.
Rutland 600-Degree RTV Silicone Seal Cartridge is black, heat-proof and available from Amazon for about $17. I used it to seal the ash box and the connection of the intake pipe to the stove. It is low odor and easy to use. We have fired the stove several times, and it is holding up just fine. Shining a light into the ashbox area with the ash drawer removed helped to see the leaks from the back of the stove. Then reversed the light to shine on the back of the stove and looked in from the front. There didn't seem to be much air leaking from the front when the ash drawer was in place. Took awhile to find all of the spots. It was worth it. Our passive solar home is again warming up with the sun. Now wonder why PE couldn't do the sealing in the factory. Or at least send a tube of the caulk with the stove and tell the installer to do the sealing. We are now totally happy with the stove. The flame is beautiful, and it is easy to load.

 

[Grimlock13]

Can you kindly post some pics of the caulking fix, thanks.

 

[jetsam]

I would suggest (broken link removed) over silicone for hot areas of the stove. 600 degrees is a fairly cold firebox.

 

[Grimlock13]

I would suggest (broken link removed) over silicone for hot areas of the stove. 600 degrees is a fairly cold firebox.

I don't believe the fix requires the silicone in the firebox. The silicone seems to be primarily used in the ash box areas to seal up any drafts from the OAK. Furnace cement wouldnt work in these areas as it's very messy and these areas are a little hard to reach.

 

[Woody Stover]

I have the NEO 2.5 and it seems everyone has the same issues.

If you read here a lot, pretty much every stove seems to have some issue or another. As long as it's not major, and is pretty easy to fix, I say just roll with it. Looks like Greta has come up with the answer on this one.

 

[Grimlock13]

If you read here a lot, pretty much every stove seems to have some issue or another. As long as it's not major, and is pretty easy to fix, I say just roll with it. Looks like Greta has come up with the answer on this one.

With that mentality stove makers would never be motivated to make a stove correctly. What if Honda put out vehicle and you still had to make repairs so they ran they way they were supposed too? Most of these stoves seem to have corners cut where if improvements were made or corrected , we wouldn't have these issues.

 

[Woody Stover]

Anyway for all the NEO owners to put pressure on Pacific Energy to refund or credit us for these NEO stoves. I have the NEO 2.5 and it seems everyone has the same issues. Seems like a design fault that were stuck with. If it were a vehicle it seems there would be a recall. Doesn't seem right that were stuck with a stove that does not live up to expectations....With that mentality stove makers would never be motivated to make a stove correctly. What if Honda put out vehicle and you still had to make repairs so they ran they way they were supposed too? Most of these stoves seem to have corners cut where if improvements were made or corrected , we wouldn't have these issues.

If you want those kind of assurances, you should do more research before you buy. If "everyone has the same issues," you should make yourself aware of those by reading up. Your stove has a warranty, maybe your issues are covered by it? Not everyone is going to use the OAK, and if they do, maybe air infiltration isn't a problem most of the time, I don't know. If a problem arises in your particular application you have to figure it out or call the dealer. The usefulness of dealer and manufacturer support varies quite a bit though. That's just the way it is. Making improvements increases the cost of the stove. It's the same way with cars; You have to pay for higher quality and better execution. If you want a cheap car, it's gonna have some corners cut. Sometimes, even spending a lot on a stove or car is no guarantee. Mechanics know that certain makes/models are prone to certain problems. In most cases they are not gonna go back and re-engineer a car or stove model; Too expensive. Woodstock has stepped up to the plate a couple times on their new models and re-engineered a couple parts, which they upgraded at no cost. Regency modified a part for one of their stoves, but that one was pretty cheap to upgrade. Recalls for cars are mostly to address safety issues, not to give you a flawless car. You're spending at least ten times as much on a car, so maybe the makers can be held to a higher standard than stove makers. Really, these don't seem to be major issues to me. Seal up the base or if you're mechanically inclined, rig up a positive air shut-off. Dirty glass? You may or may not be able to blame that on the stove, but some stoves are just more prone to it than others.

 

[Grimlock13]

Very good, Woody.

 

[Woody Stover]

Very good, Woody.

Darn, I was hoping we'd have more discussion; I'm getting bored with these once-a-day loads. That's OK, it'll be back in the low 40s tomorrow, and dropping more over the next couple days. I guess I could be working on some of the issues I'm having with my stoves. Stoves and computers....it's always something with the damn things.

 

[Greta]

I agree that I shouldn't have had to do the sealing. At the very least, I should have been told this would be needed if when the outside air intake was used. Also a lot of the problem was due to the installation. The installers did not seal the pipe connections and the connection to the stove was crooked. The stove is still icy cold on cold days when there is no fire. So still think we need to add the cut off to block the air off when not needed. Uploaded the photos of the silicone sealant on the stove. Pretty messy. It was hard to get a bulky caulk gun between the stove and the wall. Much had to be done with applying the sealant with a popsicle stick. Many of the small spots are actually covering small holes. And this is all on the ash box. It did not get hot to the touch when the stove was burning. First 3 photos are from the back of the stove. The last photo is from the underside. There was a gap between the bottom of the stove and the leg. Am going to have to add some sealant to the front as well.

 

[Two_Much_Stuff]

So, I am new to the forum. Have been reading about the NEO 1.6 "issues". Wish had seen this before my purchase.
Bought a stove, new old stock 1.6 at a good price. Having same issues as others.
OAK installed with stove all professionally done. First below freezing cold start up smoked up my house. The fire started initially with no back flow, then fire stalled then smoke started to leak out the ash tray area. Not cool... I was forced to open up the door...lots more smoke, and restart. Doors and windows now open coughing as I went. Next cold start up did some investamagating...lots of outside air leaking all around the ash box. Cold air flowing down the chimney into the stove. I now know this stove was going to be a pain to startup cold. I needed to figure out a way to force the smoke out. I did not want to preheat the chimney every time so needed a better idea so even my wife could have trouble free startups. I decided to use a duct blower fan to pressurize the ash pan area where combustion air is drawn from. I also decided to seal up the ash pan area as best as possible with silicone. I connected the 4" hose from the stove to the discharge of the blower and let the blower draw air from the room. The intake air from outside was connected to a 4" sliding gate valve. The discharge of the gate valve was located very close to the intake of the blower so the stove could draw that air when the valve was open. I have done air flow testing and have fixed the issue. Startups are now a breeze. Build your fire, close the door, start the blower and you are done. Once the fire is going a few minutes, enough to establish a good draft, I shut off the blower and let the stove draw air as required. The gate valve can be used when and if you want outside air. The valve serves as a shut off to outside air leaks when the stove is not running.

Added bonus...when you burn the stove down too far and the coals don't want to start the next piece of wood...start up the blower and wait. Fire gets forced lots more air and fans the coals for the needed heat for the restart.

Hope this helps anyone fighting with their stove.

The parts I used:
VIVOSUN 4 Inch 195 CFM Inline Duct Ventilation Fan Vent Blower for Grow Tent from Amazon.com $26.99

VIVOSUN Inline Duct Fan Speed Controller Vent Fan Speed Adjuster from Amazon.com $12.99

Taytools 4" Blast Gate Wall Mounting Bracket ABS 4" OD for Dust Collection Systems 46254 from Amazon.com $9.99

 

[bholler]

So, I am new to the forum. Have been reading about the NEO 1.6 "issues". Wish had seen this before my purchase.
Bought a stove, new old stock 1.6 at a good price. Having same issues as others.
OAK installed with stove all professionally done. First below freezing cold start up smoked up my house. The fire started initially with no back flow, then fire stalled then smoke started to leak out the ash tray area. Not cool... I was forced to open up the door...lots more smoke, and restart. Doors and windows now open coughing as I went. Next cold start up did some investamagating...lots of outside air leaking all around the ash box. Cold air flowing down the chimney into the stove. I now know this stove was going to be a pain to startup cold. I needed to figure out a way to force the smoke out. I did not want to preheat the chimney every time so needed a better idea so even my wife could have trouble free startups. I decided to use a duct blower fan to pressurize the ash pan area where combustion air is drawn from. I also decided to seal up the ash pan area as best as possible with silicone. I connected the 4" hose from the stove to the discharge of the blower and let the blower draw air from the room. The intake air from outside was connected to a 4" sliding gate valve. The discharge of the gate valve was located very close to the intake of the blower so the stove could draw that air when the valve was open. I have done air flow testing and have fixed the issue. Startups are now a breeze. Build your fire, close the door, start the blower and you are done. Once the fire is going a few minutes, enough to establish a good draft, I shut off the blower and let the stove draw air as required. The gate valve can be used when and if you want outside air. The valve serves as a shut off to outside air leaks when the stove is not running.

Added bonus...when you burn the stove down too far and the coals don't want to start the next piece of wood...start up the blower and wait. Fire gets forced lots more air and fans the coals for the needed heat for the restart.

Hope this helps anyone fighting with their stove.

The parts I used:
VIVOSUN 4 Inch 195 CFM Inline Duct Ventilation Fan Vent Blower for Grow Tent from Amazon.com $26.99

VIVOSUN Inline Duct Fan Speed Controller Vent Fan Speed Adjuster from Amazon.com $12.99

Taytools 4" Blast Gate Wall Mounting Bracket ABS 4" OD for Dust Collection Systems 46254 from Amazon.com $9.99

There is a very good chance you will destroy your stove using this setup.