Room not warming up

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grimrot

grimrot

New Member
Nov 11, 2013
41
MA
Hi Everyone - So I have a brand new VC Defiant. I have it working smoothly now and it's settled into a stovetop temp of 650 with the catalytic engaged (with some help from this forum).

My issue is that our room is not warming up at all. Maybe one degree. It's about 28 F outside right now and 70 F inside the room I want to heat up. I was hoping that at 650 we could at least get to 75. Keep in mind I have the oil thermostat set at 69 so I am only getting a 1 degree bump from the stove.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
cathedral ceiling in this room? how big is the room? how old is the house? is it drafty?
 
Is this a freestanding stove or an insert in a fireplace? Sounds like a freestander; never mind.

How large is the room?

How well insulated is the house?

It sounds like you're operating it okay if you have stove top temps of 650. You're right, it should normally heat up a room within maybe an hour or so depending. How long have you given it so far?
 
Hi Oslo - Cathedral and a wall of glass opposite the stove. The room is about 800 square feet. House was built 1981. It's a contemporary style, so big glass all over.
 
grimrot said:
Hi Oslo - Cathedral and a wall of glass opposite the stove. The room is about 800 square feet. House was built 1981. It's a contemporary style, so big glass all over.
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Single pane or double? Do you have coverings over the glass?

You may be losing a lot of heat radiating out the windows.
 
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I'd have to say the windows and the cathedral are the biggest drawbacks I can see right now. Do you have ceiling fans that you could reverse the blades on? That may help
 
Hi Oslo - yes I have ceiling fans that I can reverse. I haven't got to that quite yet but it's on my list. I bought this thinking it was overkill for the room and it's not even making a dent. The specs say it's good for up to 2400 square feet.
 
grimrot said:
Hi Oslo - yes I have ceiling fans that I can reverse. I haven't got to that quite yet but it's on my list. I bought this thinking it was overkill for the room and it's not even making a dent. The specs say it's good for up to 2400 square feet.
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A wall of glass can be a deadstop to anything heating that room. Where is the thermostat located, anywhere near the glass?
 
Thermostat is about half way between the stove and the glass. I'm sitting about 5 feet from it right now and I feel some heat but nothing significant.

This is only the second time I've used it. It's brand new. I'm thinking maybe it has to do with the break in period?
 
grimrot said:
Thermostat is about half way between the stove and the glass. I'm sitting about 5 feet from it right now and I feel some heat but nothing significant.

This is only the second time I've used it. It's brand new. I'm thinking maybe it has to do with the break in period?
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If your getting temps on the stovetop in the 650's you are putting out some serious heat. My first floor has no cathedral ceilings and glass walls but 650 deg will get me 75 deg in about 1200 sq ft. I usually run mine at about 450-500, I get longer burns and better even heating.
 
Even with the cathedral ceiling, it should be a lot better than this. I have one and it still heats the house even without the fan on.

Back to the windows. How many square feet of windows and is it single or double pane glass? And are there curtains or drapes?

Built in the '80's the walls and ceiling should be pretty well insulated.
 
Sprinter said:
Even with the cathedral ceiling, it should be a lot better than this. I have one and it still heats the house even without the fan on.

Back to the windows. How many square feet of windows and is it single or double pane glass?

Built in the '80's the walls and ceiling should be pretty well insulated.
Click to expand...

The 80's may well not have had double paned windows and most likely wood framed casings and window frames. I think they are the main culprit in his situation. A fan blowing cool air towards the stove itself may help?
 
Hi Sprinter - The windows are huge. My estimate is 150 square feet. Double pane. No curtains.
 
I was gonna say something like that last time but didn't want his house to look funny with plastic sheating over his windows. I still have 2 old windows that I haven't replaced yet that I use the bubble hair dryer covers on.
 
Could be many reasons. Some overall photos might help us.
Stove venting into existing fireplace/chimney? If so, is it insulated/block off plate around pipe?
Aside from the glass and ceiling height mentioned already, there may be air leakage into the house. A home built in 1981 isn't likely to be airsealed very well. Recessed can lights in the ceiling, outlets in exterior walls, lack of insulation & air sealing behind window trim can all contribute.
 
Is the oil burner running and maintaining the 69 in the rest of the house?
 
Need some pictures to help. I know i was posting in your other thread the other night. My encore is in the basement next to a huge bay window about 50sq ft of glass with storm windows and a sliding glass door another 75sq feet (double pane). The basement is uninhabitable by me because i start sweating so much and it is constantly at ~85-87 (although my wife practically lives there because she thinks it is too cold upstairs). My upstairs has vaulted ceilings and its still 74 there.

Technically having a stove in the basement trying to heat 2000sq feet is asking a lot but my encore 2n1 is a bit smaller than your defiant. You have to be losing some massive amount of heat somewhere. I can't even imagine what 150 sq feet of window is like....but if they are double pane i wouldn't expect so much heat loss that it couldn't heat your room.

That being said I have a spiral stair case next to the stove and a ceiling fan directly above the stair case. If I don't have the fan on the heat doesn't get upstairs and it stays 7-8 degrees colder so your problem may also lie in air circulation. Start messing around with fans and attempting to direct heat where you want it to go.

That defiant at 650 stove top should be throwing a ton of heat out...because I can't even stand being in the same room as my encore at 550-600. And when it is time to reload I start sweating all over the hearth. My house was built in 1971.

Honestly I just want to see pictures of the room this stove is in. 150sq feet of glass and cathedral ceilings. This sounds like a room out of Versailles.
 
X2 elmoleaf. I think it could be piped up a chimney without a plate. Could be loosing every bit of heat there.
 
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