Test burn a new stove before winter?

[mcgeo]

Hello,

First, if this topic has already been discussed, I apologize. I didn't know exactly what to search for and my initial attempts ended up with nothing.

I just picked my Harman XXV-TC. It is now in my shop waiting to be installed in our new house in 3-4 weeks. So, seasoned pellet stove owners, would it be a good idea to do a couple burns before I install it in the house? I was thinking this would keep the smell you get when first firing up a new stove, out of the house. Are there any negatives to this?

Tommy

 

[Overfireinthehole]

That’s a great idea. 2hrs on high should do the trick.

 

[Don2222]

Wow, that is a nice stove. I would like to burn it in my shop to play with the TC and get familiar with it. That way you will know how to turn it on and adjust it!

 

[Dataman]

I got new XXV last year in May. Ran it for couple of months (Sep-Oct). I could have used heat pump for cheaper heat. After 2 months screw on distribution fan started rubbing on the housing. Would create buzz that would go away. Then it was all the time. But YES run it and do the burn off. I got Floor Model and it had been burned in. Watch the video's on how to clean it. I got the Non TC Model. Parts are LOTS cheaper. I plan on stocking extra things when I can afford it. Igniter and Combustion fan. Already have Distribution fan. Initially I thought that part had bad bearings. Stove kept our house nice and warm and we used 4.1 Tons of Pellets.

Are you going to get backup power? I got 1250w Inverter and 100ah battery. It runs it 6 hours (real world test) on medium fan speed. AIMs Unit (broken link removed)

 

[mcgeo]

Thanks for your guys' input.

I've been a wood burner for over 30 years and I'm finally making the switch to a pellet stove. I usually cut my own wood but last year I bought some property and started building a house, so I had to buy most of my wood. I hated it. My wifed and I hem-hawed about what type of stove to put in our new house. Last year's experience sold us. The wood we bought was poor and dirty. The hearth was always filthy and I had to spend more time in the morning coaxing the fire. The thought of a clean hearth and "turning up the thermostat" in the morning became more and more appealing.

I do plan on getting some back-up power. That UPS of yours has some impressive stats.

 

[Dataman]

Pellets are somewhat cleaner. No Bugs or Debris with the stuff. But when you clean it ash escapes. I over cleaned mine last year and ash in the house. Heat Exchanger cleaning puts fine ash everywhere. I am only going to clean burn pot 2x weekly and heat exchanger about every 1 Ton. I plan on using brush hooked to vac to control dust. (broken link removed)

Yes that is pretty good UPS. You can get away cheaper, make sure it's Pure Sine Wave or you have to change setting on control board. that may require service visit $$$$. Battery is the key. I did some real world testing and feel good about 6 hour run time for 100AH battery. I only had 1 use last year. 4 hours without power. I hope to spend $$ for another 100ah battery. But have to get snow thrower for wife to use (ha ha) on Tractor we have. That's 2400 bucks. Can't hire people to be dependable to plow. Lots of NO SHOWS.

 

[Tonyray]

Pellets are somewhat cleaner. No Bugs or Debris with the stuff. But when you clean it ash escapes. I over cleaned mine last year and ash in the house. Heat Exchanger cleaning puts fine ash everywhere. I am only going to clean burn pot 2x weekly and heat exchanger about every 1 Ton. I plan on using brush hooked to vac to control dust. (broken link removed)

Yes that is pretty good UPS. You can get away cheaper, make sure it's Pure Sine Wave or you have to change setting on control board. that may require service visit $$$$. Battery is the key. I did some real world testing and feel good about 6 hour run time for 100AH battery. I only had 1 use last year. 4 hours without power. I hope to spend $$ for another 100ah battery. But have to get snow thrower for wife to use (ha ha) on Tractor we have. That's 2400 bucks. Can't hire people to be dependable to plow. Lots of NO SHOWS.

you could also turn your exhaust blower on while you brush the heat exchanger too keep dust from escaping the stove..
don't know if your stove has a test mode like Harman which kicks it on..

 

[alternativeheat]

If you clean the stove before the blower fully shuts down you get nearly no dust from the stove during that process. Or as Tony said run the blower in test mode. The dust I get in the house is from dumping the pellets in the hopper, shine a light in there sometime when filling the stove and you will see the dust too, regardless how clean you think your pellets are..

A cabinet style humidifier with filters goes a long way toward cleaning the air of that dust. Plan on tossing the filters monthly or so if you have pets as well as a pellet stove. Plus if your house is older and not overly tight it dumps gallons of water into the air a day as well.

 

[FTG-05]

Hello,

First, if this topic has already been discussed, I apologize. I didn't know exactly what to search for and my initial attempts ended up with nothing.

I just picked my Harman XXV-TC. It is now in my shop waiting to be installed in our new house in 3-4 weeks. So, seasoned pellet stove owners, would it be a good idea to do a couple burns before I install it in the house? I was thinking this would keep the smell you get when first firing up a new stove, out of the house. Are there any negatives to this?

Tommy

That's exactly what I did with my Englander 30-NC before I had it installed in my house. I put it on movable steel cart and then bought a 4' section of single wall from the local hardware.

When I was ready to fire it up, I moved the cart out of the shop, put the chimney section on, then fill it with wood. Performance sucked. It sucked so bad, I thought it was defective. No draft, the fire would go out with the door closed, even with the air control fully open. Total disgust; I paid +$650 for this thing plus $100 shipping and I felt like it would make a good 100 yard rifle target.

Fortunately, I called Englander and the nice guy on the Tech line assured me that everything was fine. He basically said that no EPA-rated stove is gonna work with a 4' chimney. Whew! Relief!

Had it installed - Works Great!

Oh by the way: The paint burning process worked great! My wife can smell ants in the house; she didn't smell any paint fumes the first couple days/weeks that we burned our new wood stove. I call that a success!

Good luck!

 

[tlc1976]

If you clean the stove before the blower fully shuts down you get nearly no dust from the stove during that process. Or as Tony said run the blower in test mode.

I wired a bypass switch onto my stove so I can force the blower on while cleaning. It sucks out nearly all the dust that would otherwise billow into the room.