Valcourt FP15 Waterloo Arched finally arrived and installed.

[AlaskaNorth]

After waiting several months we got our Valcourt Waterloo Arched zero clearance installed. Did a few break in fires. I have it central in a 2200 sq ft single story home. Needless to say, this is the first time I've struggled to keep a fireplace from burning too hot! First full fire our house was 79 degrees and it was 15 degrees and windy outside. I didn't sleep well lol. I have no need to run my natural gas forced air heat in the last three days since we got it. We'll see how it does in -20 but so far it's outstanding! Looking forward to getting the hearth finished which I'll be doing over the winter. I hadn't considered the blower kit but I am now debating it before I close up the wall. It could be tied into my forced air system, or I'll run it to my garage. Either way I forsee the need to offload some BTU's to another location given it's output.

 

[Vg3200p]

Excited to see your finished hearth looks like it has lots of potential

 

[begreen]

That's a big boy. If the far corners of the house are all heating well, then it makes sense to warm up the garage. It'll make those -20º morning starts a lot easier.

 

[stoveliker]

Nice! Fire pics, and heat in AK.

 

[AlaskaNorth]

That's a big boy. If the far corners of the house are all heating well, then it makes sense to warm up the garage. It'll make those -20º morning starts a lot easier.

The other rooms are doing well. It's 6 degrees tonight and 76 in here. Haven't run the forced air since the install. The garage does have in floor radiant which I have set to 50. This is our first winter in the house. I'm actually quite surprised the garage temp hasnt dropped below 54 this far. I can attribute that only to the fact the utilities are in the garage. Hot water boiler, heater etc. There must be enough passive heat to maintain. House is also insulated extremely well including the garage. It's a fairly large (4 car) attached garage so I am impressed It hasn't dropped below 50° . I may see if I can get the blower kit and at least install the duct hose before I button the wall up. I have a great crawl space that I can almost stand up in. Basements are not common in Alaska. The only issue with running it to the garage is it will be right on the cusp of the maximum 50 ft, as well as the fact I would have to get through block to do it. I could run it through the ceiling but I think it would lose a lot of heat up there as it's not a true attic, and near the temp of the outside air.

 

[AlaskaNorth]

Excited to see your finished hearth looks like it has lots of potential

Me too! A lot to do. Materials are hard to come by. I'll probably have to pour concrete slabs myself to do the pedestal extension. I also need a non-combustible mantle which isn't going to be cheap. Should turn out great though.

 

[Fredjmillard]

@AlaskaNorth how has the Waterloo been performing this winter? really considering this fireplace and there aren’t many reviews,
Did you install the OAK out of the bottom of the fireplace or off the side? Do you have any cold air intrusion?
Does the glass stay fairly clean?

 

[AlaskaNorth]

@AlaskaNorth how has the Waterloo been performing this winter? really considering this fireplace and there aren’t many reviews,
Did you install the OAK out of the bottom of the fireplace or off the side? Do you have any cold air intrusion?
Does the glass stay fairly clean?

Absolutely love the unit. Best wood burning device I have ever owned. I do have the OAK. Comes out of the side, down through the floor and out. My installer used existing hard pipe which I changed to flex pipe with a trap per the manual. My installer also did not install a blocker plate that's supposed to be used with the OAK, so yes, we noticed air intrusion the other day which lead me to figure this out. So, after the blocker plate is in I imagine it will be good. Also, I blocked the OAK for the time being and it really helps get longer night time burns. So, with that I am ordering the OAK damper register. Glass stays clean for a burn or two and then I have to give it a quick clean. However, I'm not burning it full blast often, it really puts out heat and overwhelms my fairly large open area it's in. I installed the blower forced air kit (I modified it wish I didn't by the SBI kit). I blow the excess into my garage. Thing is a beast.

 

[Fredjmillard]

Absolutely love the unit. Best wood burning device I have ever owned. I do have the OAK. Comes out of the side, down through the floor and out. My installer used existing hard pipe which I changed to flex pipe with a trap per the manual. My installer also did not install a blocker plate that's supposed to be used with the OAK, so yes, we noticed air intrusion the other day which lead me to figure this out. So, after the blocker plate is in I imagine it will be good. Also, I blocked the OAK for the time being and it really helps get longer night time burns. So, with that I am ordering the OAK damper register. Glass stays clean for a burn or two and then I have to give it a quick clean. However, I'm not burning it full blast often, it really puts out heat and overwhelms my fairly large open area it's in. I installed the blower forced air kit (I modified it wish I didn't by the SBI kit). I blow the excess into my garage. Thing is a beast.

I was wondering if i use the hookup under the fireplace with the OAK and have that terminate a foot or two below if I could get away with out having a P-Trap. Good to hear on choking down the OAK helps with burn times. I seem to remember Pacific Energy FP30 owners getting much better burn times closing off a portion of the OAK.

Have you started your hearth? Are you planning on using steel framing members per the manual? The 84" up framed in steel studs might be an issue for me. Not the height, but the steel studs, since my exterior walls are 6 5/8" SIP panels, which is 5 3/4" EPS foam between two 7/16" OSB. I would cut the RO in removed some foam to then put 2x6 jack and header studs in. I could cover those in some non combustible material but would prefer to keep with the wood as the framing member. I might see if i can get some guidance from SBI on that. Like would I have to remove the OSB up to 84" or could I cover it with non combustible and be good.

Appreciate the feedback as there are very few real world users for these fireplaces.

Fred

 

[AlaskaNorth]

I was wondering if i use the hookup under the fireplace with the OAK and have that terminate a foot or two below if I could get away with out having a P-Trap. Good to hear on choking down the OAK helps with burn times. I seem to remember Pacific Energy FP30 owners getting much better burn times closing off a portion of the OAK.

Have you started your hearth? Are you planning on using steel framing members per the manual? The 84" up framed in steel studs might be an issue for me. Not the height, but the steel studs, since my exterior walls are 6 5/8" SIP panels, which is 5 3/4" EPS foam between two 7/16" OSB. I would cut the RO in removed some foam to then put 2x6 jack and header studs in. I could cover those in some non combustible material but would prefer to keep with the wood as the framing member. I might see if i can get some guidance from SBI on that. Like would I have to remove the OSB up to 84" or could I cover it with non combustible and be good.

Appreciate the feedback as there are very few real world users for these fireplaces.

Fred

I only did the trap because I had the space and I had to use 10ft in a 5 foot run. They recommend a minimum of 10ft to avoid condensation. When it was just the metal pipe run 4 feet down and 4 feet to the outside, I got ice on the metal piece where it went into the unit.

I didn't start the hearth yet. I went down the rabbit hole of the blower kit and basically turned this unit into a second heating source. I tied the blower kit to a custom set of zone dampers with home automation. So if the fireplace is on, and at temp, it tells my Nest to turn my Gas Forced air system off. Then, with basic temp sensors in the rooms they can call for heat from the Valcourt unit. Working very well. If the Fireplace is burning, my house is heated.

It is a bit frustrating the specs on the hearth restrictions. I am fortunate in that it's on an interior wall and the front wall for the Hearth is not load bearing. So I can get away with basic steels studs to hang cement board. I also really don't want to shell out for a non combustible mantel. I will be building wood storage inlays on each side as well. I did also elect to get the vent louver kit It claims to reclaim some of the heat from the cavity but i wanted ventilation in that wall with the OAK coming etc... Figured why not.

I am not advocating for not following their safety recommendations but even when I have this thing cranking I cannot see how 60 inches up something would become hot enough to combust. I realize this isn't a very scientific testbed.

 

[Fredjmillard]

That is awesome with the smart control tied into your forced air system. I have spancrete for the floor of my garage so I have a full 2.5 car shop in my basement that isnt heat, that I have through to put my heat dump into. Warm shop and warmer garage floors being the idea.

I 100% agree with your frustrations on some of the specs. I am leaning towards this fireplace now mainly because of the restrictions on chimneys for the quadra-fire Pioneer III. It doesn't make any sense not to spec out a size and spec the chimney needs to pass such as 8" UL103HT, used the proper anchor plate and follow the distances for combustibles and supports. The only sense it makes is to make sure dealers get both the sale of the chimney and the stove or in some cases the Stove and Chimney are made by the same company. Next thing they are gonna do is have their own proprietary non combustibles you have to install with.

I have a question into SBI on the installation of this unit in my SIP wall and wondering if they want me to cut a hole at least 84" tall and put in steel studs or if i can cut the hole for the fireplace and run a continuous sheetmetal barrier over the header (similar to what they have you do for a raised hearth) and up over the OSB and then cover the wall with non combustible up the 84".

Thanks
Fred

 

[AlaskaNorth]

That is awesome with the smart control tied into your forced air system. I have spancrete for the floor of my garage so I have a full 2.5 car shop in my basement that isnt heat, that I have through to put my heat dump into. Warm shop and warmer garage floors being the idea.

I 100% agree with your frustrations on some of the specs. I am leaning towards this fireplace now mainly because of the restrictions on chimneys for the quadra-fire Pioneer III. It doesn't make any sense not to spec out a size and spec the chimney needs to pass such as 8" UL103HT, used the proper anchor plate and follow the distances for combustibles and supports. The only sense it makes is to make sure dealers get both the sale of the chimney and the stove or in some cases the Stove and Chimney are made by the same company. Next thing they are gonna do is have their own proprietary non combustibles you have to install with.

I have a question into SBI on the installation of this unit in my SIP wall and wondering if they want me to cut a hole at least 84" tall and put in steel studs or if i can cut the hole for the fireplace and run a continuous sheetmetal barrier over the header (similar to what they have you do for a raised hearth) and up over the OSB and then cover the wall with non combustible up the 84".

Thanks
Fred

I highly recommend at least piping the Forced Air kit. So glad I didn't finish the hearth and wonder. Now, I ended up replacing the supplied blower fan with something different, quitter and better, for 1/6 of the original price. The forced air kit is incredibly overpriced for what you get. The blower supplied is a standard blower that costs around $150 from anywhere else. Then, all you get that really need is the collar to place the flex duct on to the stove. Otherwise there is a blower speed knob. I would say the parts cost them 200-25 and they charge 750 for it. Could have pieced it together myself for less than 200. However, if you run flex pipe to your garage and get it to floor level you'll be happy. My garage is technically a 4 car. It has in floor radiant that I never use. It stays about 50-52 degrees in the winter with the mechanical systems being in the garage. The ambient water heater and gas boiler heat keeps it decent. When it drops below zero it will drop below 50. With the blower dumping heat in the garage it easily get's up to 56-57 within an hour or two.

 

[Stanger12GT]

I highly recommend at least piping the Forced Air kit. So glad I didn't finish the hearth and wonder. Now, I ended up replacing the supplied blower fan with something different, quitter and better, for 1/6 of the original price. The forced air kit is incredibly overpriced for what you get. The blower supplied is a standard blower that costs around $150 from anywhere else. Then, all you get that really need is the collar to place the flex duct on to the stove. Otherwise there is a blower speed knob. I would say the parts cost them 200-25 and they charge 750 for it. Could have pieced it together myself for less than 200. However, if you run flex pipe to your garage and get it to floor level you'll be happy. My garage is technically a 4 car. It has in floor radiant that I never use. It stays about 50-52 degrees in the winter with the mechanical systems being in the garage. The ambient water heater and gas boiler heat keeps it decent. When it drops below zero it will drop below 50. With the blower dumping heat in the garage it easily get's up to 56-57 within an hour or two.

Hi AlaskaNorth! I’m glad to see a review on the Valcourt Waterloo I had my heart set on that one and had one on order last year and waited for 12 weeks only to be told it was going to be another year! I didn’t love the install restrictions either on its one of the few that specs a noncombustible mantle. I’m glad you are happy with it and it is exceeding your expectations! It sounds like you have it set up very nicely. I ended up going with a PE FP30 mainly due to the reviews on here and also it was available in stock last summer. I will say it is one heck of a heater and is a real beast and I am very happy with it. Heated my house which is an old farmhouse not fully insulated 1,900sq ft plus another 900sq ft in the basement and has been heating the whole house all winter very comfortably. The coldest day we had was 24 hours below 0 with a low of -19.3 that day! Not as cold here as Alaska and it’s been a warm winter for us but overall I’m very pleased with the heat and burn time of the FP 30. I have two hot air fans on mine ducted to my ductwork. I did go with AC Infinity Cloudline T6 fans and after getting my chase enclosed and it is pulling all the hot air off of the fireplace and exceeding what the fans are rated for which is 140 I’m looking for another option.

What fan did you end up going with? What kind of duct temperature are you seeing? I’m going to have to go with something different and hope to find something that can be a 6” in-line duct fan to ease the installation. If not I’ll need something all metal that can take the heat. I do have the ones from the PE kit that are meant to install in a wall but the reviews on them are not the best. I like the hot air fans going as it directs the heat to main forced air plenum and I have even heat in the house to the rooms I want by shutting off dampers to the rooms I don’t need heat in and not over heating the living room where the fireplace is.

 

[AlaskaNorth]

Sorry for such a late reply. I use the cloud line. Highest I have is around 140. Seems to be doing fine. I ended up running flex duct and tying I to the existing ductwork at select rooms..I setup a system of electronic damoers to control it. Direct into my plenum did not work well. I didn't get enough static pressure and it barely moved air to my vents. Now, this was with the original blower so I wonder if the cloud line would do better. I'm not sure what you could get that's better than the cloud line in terms of noise, static pressure, cost. I do understand your unit is exceeding the 140 rating.

 

[Stanger12GT]

Sorry for such a late reply. I use the cloud line. Highest I have is around 140. Seems to be doing fine. I ended up running flex duct and tying I to the existing ductwork at select rooms..I setup a system of electronic damoers to control it. Direct into my plenum did not work well. I didn't get enough static pressure and it barely moved air to my vents. Now, this was with the original blower so I wonder if the cloud line would do better. I'm not sure what you could get that's better than the cloud line in terms of noise, static pressure, cost. I do understand your unit is exceeding the 140 rating.

No worries at all! I’m glad the Cloudline fan is working out for you they are great fans and love the Bluetooth capability on them. How far away do you have it from the fireplace?

I tried the Vortex VTX 600 which is also only rated at 140 and with my FP30 closed up now it just pumps out too much heat. The Vortex builds more static pressure than the Cloudline but is noisier especially on slower speeds and I didn’t like that. I’m seeing temps up to 200 and my fan is about 14 duct feet away. I’m using the original PE fan now which doesn’t pull much air off of it but can take the higher temps it’s all made of metal. I’m just dumping one in the basement right now and may join one fan to one or two rooms that are furthest away. If I move the Cloudline further away from the fireplace it might work out.

I still may try the fan that SBI uses on the Waterloo I like how that uses a 6” duct to keep it simple we will see. Not a big deal for me with my open floor plan the FP30 heats the whole living space comfortably just want the option to dump excess heat out of the living area when needed.

It’s been really warm this year so far and no snow in NY. Hopefully we get some colder weather soon!

 

[AlaskaNorth]

The cloud line is about 18-20 feet away. Down through the crawl space under the living area. I'm impressed you're getting 200 that's crazy. I'm getting 140 at the outlet in the garage so I'm sure it's a little higher hitting the fan. Can't beat having a unit like these with the headroom.

It was -17 and -20 all night last night. Unit kept my main living area at 75 and got to 78 when I loaded the box for the night. Chilly in the other rooms, like 60 in my office but that's why I have the blower distribution system. I may explore direct plenum again.

 

[Stanger12GT]

The cloud line is about 18-20 feet away. Down through the crawl space under the living area. I'm impressed you're getting 200 that's crazy. I'm getting 140 at the outlet in the garage so I'm sure it's a little higher hitting the fan. Can't beat having a unit like these with the headroom.

It was -17 and -20 all night last night. Unit kept my main living area at 75 and got to 78 when I loaded the box for the night. Chilly in the other rooms, like 60 in my office but that's why I have the blower distribution system. I may explore direct plenum again.

Man that is crazy cold!! We haven’t even had single digits yet this season ! El Niño is giving us another warm winter with no snow so far when we typically average around 100” it’s been quiet so far. We still have 2/3’s winter left and that can change.

I’m glad the Waterloo is doing the job that sounds impressive in those crazy cold temps!! Moving the air around is key for sure and the remote fans def help. I have ceiling fans downstairs as well and they do a great job of moving the air around in the living space.

Yes now that I have the fireplace all closed up with durrock the remote fan temps are way higher than they were when I had it all open since it is pulling directly off the firebox and not so much room temperature air mixing in.

Happy Burning!!

 

[AlaskaNorth]

Man that is crazy cold!! We haven’t even had single digits yet this season ! El Niño is giving us another warm winter with no snow so far when we typically average around 100” it’s been quiet so far. We still have 2/3’s winter left and that can change.

I’m glad the Waterloo is doing the job that sounds impressive in those crazy cold temps!! Moving the air around is key for sure and the remote fans def help. I have ceiling fans downstairs as well and they do a great job of moving the air around in the living space.

Yes now that I have the fireplace all closed up with durrock the remote fan temps are way higher than they were when I had it all open since it is pulling directly off the firebox and not so much room temperature air mixing in.

Happy Burning!!

That's a good observation. I haven't got around to closing my wall up yet. Have some other custom hearth stuff to do. I may see higher temps once it's closed up.

 

[AlaskaNorth]

@Stanger12GT

How is it tied into your plenum? I just cut a 6 inch hole and added a duct collar in a free spot. In my 2100 sq ft home I barely got air movement in the vents. I suspect there was backward leakage to the truth side of the system as well as not enough pressure from the original factory blower kit..I'm curious if the ckoudkine could pull it off. How are you getting enough pressure into the plenum?

 

[Stanger12GT]

@Stanger12GT

How is it tied into your plenum? I just cut a 6 inch hole and added a duct collar in a free spot. In my 2100 sq ft home I barely got air movement in the vents. I suspect there was backward leakage to the truth side of the system as well as not enough pressure from the original factory blower kit..I'm curious if the ckoudkine could pull it off. How are you getting enough pressure into the plenum?

I used two top take off’s galvanized steel just had to cut a square hole in the main supply plenum downstream away from the furnace and closer to where the rooms 6” ducts come off the main supply trunk. I did install a backdraft damper before the takeoff so when the furnace kicks on or central air in the summer turns on it will not backdraft to the fireplace. Lowes part # 607657 and attached the insulated flex duct to that air the 6” backdraft damper in between the two.

With one fan and 3 dampers shut off that feed the main living area where the fireplace is located I didn’t get great airflow. With two fans it was much better. Problem was though anything over speed 7 on the Cloudline it was a bit noisy at the fireplace as you can hear the air being sucked off the fireplace.

Overall it was tough moving enough hot air through the plenum to get good results as my plenum/main trunk supply line is not insulated and neither are my 6” metal ducts. The basement stays around 50-55 depending on how cold it is outside. With heat going through the ducts just the radiant heat off the uninsulated ducts would bring it up to low 60’s so I’m losing a lot of heat down there.

I do feel you would get better results taking the flex duct closer to the room duct and tie into it there closer to your specific room you want to heat and not dump it in the main supply plenum .

I did get some back leakage my master bath line is right off the plenum right off the furnace and I would get heat out of that register upstairs. This is when I am tied in closer to the other end. That could also be impacting your results and why I would skip the main plenum idea.

 

[AlaskaNorth]

Well, took a long time to get things sorted out and finish it up but here's the results. Full outside air intake, blower fan, and distribution blower control from a z wave switch on the right of the unit. Went electronic damper and am very happy.

 

[begreen]

That's quite the dramatic setting. Only one thing missing ... FIRE

 

[AlaskaNorth]

Yep. Technically it's time...already..but this thing pumps out so much heat it gets way to warm in the house when it's 30's/40's. Gotta wait until sub 30

 

[gordjopling]

We have hair started using the Valcourt Waterloo. It’s a beast. We are concerned about the ability to slow down the burn rate. She RIPS through wood like there is no tomorrow.

What did you guys do to choke the OAK a bit. Maybe that would slow it down?

Our fear is when full loaded she just runs at an uncontrollable rate and with just a few pieces of wood she only last about 90 minutes.

 

[kborndale]

Have you checked your gaskets? How tall is your chimney, you may need a key damper or two.