vistaflame vf55 install complete

[corkman]

thanks to our fellow member nailer for all his help with my install thru the roof.took about 5 hours from start to finish.

 

[smoke show]

Sweet. vertical installs are sexy!

No oak?

 

[DexterDay]

Very nice.....

Love it. I love the M-55 Cast. But I would prefer the M-55 steel. Because of the bigger hopper, bigger ash pan, and the looks would better fit my home.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Very Nice!

 

[jtakeman]

Wow, You guys rock! What a nice neat install! Looks like the doggies like it a lot too!

How do you like it so far?

 

[smoke show]

Your heat loss will be substantially less with the door closed.

 

[nailed_nailer]

Looking Good Cork.

Glad it worked out well.
Pup looks happy, lol

Any roof leaks?
Thanks for a fun day.

---Nailer---

 

[corkman]

i installed the oak later in the evening after nailer left.took about an hour or so to do.
we had the stove up and running when nailer was there.i hadnt had a chance to do the burn off before the install so the door and all windows were open.
we are dry as a bone still .thanks again nailer for a great install.
i have another thread going explaining some of the difficulties i am having trying to set the draft and getting a good burn.just cant seem to get it dialed in and its burning real dirty.big black streak across the glass after burning only a bag or so .cant seem to get the active flame and flame is very low.
magna gauge is telling me i have too much draft but no matter what i do i cannot get it below .21 and that is with the draft slider pushed all the way in.
i have it set with the draft half open for the next fire but when i do that the magna maxises out.
not getting great heat at all.what say you all

 

[smoke show]

Are you sure your gauge is accurate?

 

[DexterDay]

Are you sure your gauge is accurate?

I would think the same thing? If your way over and the damper is shut, then something is wrong?

My bet would be the gauge or point of measurement.

Where and how are you measuring? (Maybe I should look at the other thread?)

 

[Woody1911a1]

if it comes down to needing another gauge to double check , you'd be welcome to borrow my new dywer which measures from 0 - 1.0 . i'm gathering that yours is the dwyer that measures 0 - .25 . however you'd have to meet me half way as i don't go into boston . say the lynnway .

cheers Woody

 

[corkman]

im leaning toward the magna gauge too.nothing adds up here with the reading i get and the draft being closed in all the way.
hi Dex.there is a 1/8" hole located on the right side of the stove just above the height of the ashpan.thats where i am taking the reading from.funny thing is the manual says that the reading should be taken from a1/8" hole on the left side of the stove but there is none on that side.
Woody,thanks for the offer of borrowing the magna gauge.we are on opposite sides of the city so i will try to track one down around here.your generosity is much appreciated.

 

[corkman]

i got my hands on another magna gauge over the weekend and fired up the stove to test.i am getting same reading as before.i removed the innards of the stove to expose the exhaust path and all is clear.with the damper plate pushed all the ways in there is still an opening of 1 1/4" to the exhaust path.
so this is what the stove is currently set to and i am still getting a dirty burn and black glass with less than a bag
damper in as far as it goes and combustion trim at 1 , feed trim at 3 , running on heat level 3 and set to premium pellet.
all testing for draft done on heat level 5 and still getting a reading of .20 with above settings.
not sure what to do next.did the dollar bill test on ash bin and door .door gasket is a little suspect on the right side from just above the door handle upwards and accross the top.
running on heat level 1 or 2 and glass is black in short time.any suggestions ?

 

[Delta-T]

just keep in mind that you are measuring the level of suction in the machine, not the rate of draft up the chimney, related in a round about way, but not the same thing.

 

[DexterDay]

If your draft is closed? Your gonna have a dirty burn.

Delta makes a good point. The more you close the damper, the more vacuum your pulling on the firebox.

Have you done the level 5 burn with the damper open? Then closed it slowly? What's the reading when damper is Wide open?

Regardless of what the gauge says. Damper closed. Bad burn.

Open the damper and judge by your eye. A good burn will be lively and active. It will produce a light colored grey/white ash.

 

[corkman]

i totally understand that damper closed = bad burn.i know the damper needs to be pulled open more but when i do that the magna gauge max's out.with the damper pushed all the way in i get a reading of .20 - .21 and as i adjust it open the reading gets higher.
i will try burning with damper wide open to start and see what i get for reading and adjust from there.thanks again for the feedback guys

 

[Delta-T]

what you are experiencing could be the result of restriction caused by the OAK....just for fun, check what the mag guage says if you remove the OAK. Opening the damper removes restriction from the positive side of the exhaust, but you are still limited by the size of the OAK, or the air intake at any rate.

You can test this theory by placing your hand over the air intake..watch guage go up, remove hand, what guage go down. Its wacky, and a somewhat counter intuative process IMO.

 

[papa bears stove]

What kind and what brand pellets are you burning?

 

[corkman]

i have trebio softwood in there right now and have used maine woods and green team also.
stove is running now at the following settings.
heat level 5
comb trim and feed trim 3
damper open half way and oak disconnected gets me a reading of .23 on the magna gauge.as soon as i connect the oak the gauge jumps to over .25

 

[corkman]

Dexter.i set damper wide open with all same settings as mentioned above and with no oak i get .25 on the nose .thats the highest reading on my gauge.as soon as i connect the oak it will max out again.
Delta,i did place my hand over the oak while running ad this stove sucks a massive amount of air compared to my old enviro meridian.covering it with my hand caused fire to realy die down as expected.

 

[nailed_nailer]

OMV,
I'm available to help you punch holes in the sidewall anytime.
Might have to eyeball your stash while there, lol.
Hey look at that over there ------->
........As a few extra bags fall into the bed of my truck.
Let me know if you need a hand
---Nailer---

 

[corkman]

like i said before,Nailer rocks.i would be careful OMV,he has a sweet ride that can haul a lot of pellets and an even sweeter stove that would just eat up those somersets.