Is this a normal burn for Pacific Energy?

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drewmo

Feeling the Heat
Nov 20, 2006
360
Topsham, ME
I'm linking a 10-second clip to a burn in progress for our Pacific Energy insert below. I love the stove and it puts off a great amount of heat for us, especially during this Northeast cold snap. Being new to Pacific Energy (installed late Oct. 2012), I'm wondering if this burn rate is normal for PE? It's dampered down to as low as it can go. I put three good size splits in about 1.5 hrs. prior to filming and never adjusted the damper from it's lowest setting. I feel there might be too much flame and I've never been able to achieve a good secondary burn that I used to enjoy from Jotul F100 at a former residence. Our chimney is a good 30-35 feet. For my overnight burns, I go about 9 hours. In the morning, there is still some good coals in the far back of the firebox, so getting a fire going in the morning is never an issue. Maybe everything is normal and I'm just looking for reassurance. But if this is not normal, I'm wondering why? My three ideas are:

1. Too much draft due to the height of the chimney.
2. Improper installation.
3. Me being a big dummy by not operating the stove properly.

Any PE owners out there that can chime in?

 
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Looks fine to me. Secondaries will only be going while the splits are off gassing the nasties. If it is up to a good temp and heating then house as it should, all is well.
On a full load, you will see secondaries for a longer duration.
 
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Looks fine to me. Secondaries will only be going while the splits are off gassing the nasties. If it is up to a good temp and heating then house as it should, all is well.
On a full load, you will see secondaries for a longer duration.

+1
 
Looks fine to me. Secondaries will only be going while the splits are off gassing the nasties. If it is up to a good temp and heating then house as it should, all is well.
On a full load, you will see secondaries for a longer duration.
+2 Your burn looks the same (good) as my Summit (same stove concept) did with a small load.
Like Hogwildz said more wood, bigger, better, longer secondaries. Good draft is better than not enough as long as temps are good.

Todd2
 
I saw this when we went from the fountains of fire with the F400 to the billowing wraiths of flame in the T6. Secondaries in the PE will be nothing like the F100. Looks like you're doing fine.
 
Great, thanks for the reassurance. I figured the stove was working as it should given the heat output and the decent burn time. But I was a little mystified by the volume of flame. On a closer look, there is good secondary action nearer the baffle.
 
That looks great! I've seen much better burns this year with smaller splits and dryer wood. Last year, I used mostly large chunks of wood that were not as dry as they should've been.
 
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Looks normal to me as well.. PE's don't have that gas burner look that many think all secondary burn stoves have..

Ray
 
perfect, looks like my summit! Tim
 
Nice sound effects!;)
 
Drewmo, I can relate. I was flumoxed about the "secondaries" thing, until I physically got down on the floor and looked into the box when the fire was fresh, and saw what looked to me simply air jetting from the top baffle. I just assumed it was natural convection, not burning smoke. Now I know what secondaries are, oh, well.

Sometimes my loads will burn hot and bright almost the whole time, other times I feel like it burned down awfully fast. It all depends upon the wood, and as long as it is seasoned, it is all good. It is a crapshoot as to how the splits will behave sometimes; the past three nights I have been able to load and forget it, other times I have to rake the coals closer to the front. I think as long as your insert a) keeps you warm, b) doesn't overfire, and c) stays at a reasonable temperature over a reasonable period of time, you are doing it right!
 
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I'm linking a 10-second clip to a burn in progress for our Pacific Energy insert below. I love the stove and it puts off a great amount of heat for us, especially during this Northeast cold snap. Being new to Pacific Energy (installed late Oct. 2012), I'm wondering if this burn rate is normal for PE? It's dampered down to as low as it can go. I put three good size splits in about 1.5 hrs. prior to filming and never adjusted the damper from it's lowest setting. I feel there might be too much flame and I've never been able to achieve a good secondary burn that I used to enjoy from Jotul F100 at a former residence. Our chimney is a good 30-35 feet. For my overnight burns, I go about 9 hours. In the morning, there is still some good coals in the far back of the firebox, so getting a fire going in the morning is never an issue. Maybe everything is normal and I'm just looking for reassurance. But if this is not normal, I'm wondering why? My three ideas are:

1. Too much draft due to the height of the chimney.
2. Improper installation.
3. Me being a big dummy by not operating the stove properly.

Any PE owners out there that can chime in?


Looks like a nice burn at least to me it does,I can get something similar with my stove set at 2.5,I'd be happy if I ever went to a non -cat a PE would be my choice especially since my friend own a PE distributorship near Kidron Ohio. Nice burning.
 
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Nice sound effects!;)

I've got a blind eye, or in this case, a deaf ear to those sounds. If it gets to be too much, I watch this video I took of porpoises swimming in Panama a couple weeks ago while on a fishing trip with my old man and brother. Serenity.

 
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