Electric goes out with a full stove..what do you do?

Would smoke pour into your room if you opened the door threw ice on the logs? I have a free stander so I've never had that happen.

None of that sounded very fun to me.
With the stove set up ya got, dont set yourself up for that again. Chit can always happen.
Stay warm and safe for the Holidays.
Cheers

Wouldn't just shutting down the air control all the way limit the fire enough? I don't know about putting any moisture into a stove to cool it off. Then, you could have steam issues or worse yet, shattered glass. I like Gold Rush too, but I really like that Moonshiners show.

Are you running your stove in some mode dependent on electricity, or does it require electricity to run (I'm not familiar with that model)? Mine has a blower, but I rarely use it - my stove choice was directly influenced by the criteria that it work during a blackout.

First thing we do is switch our eating habits to the perishables in the fridge, so in the event that the blackout lasts more than a day, the food is taken care of.
Really, that's it for me. The fish tank is close enough to the fireplace that, while I'm sure they're a little uncomfortable, they're not in the danger zone for cold nor heat. I unplug the computer to keep any zings from getting at it while the power company fixes the lines, and I get a lot of reading done.

Adabiviak said:

Are you running your stove in some mode dependent on electricity, or does it require electricity to run (I'm not familiar with that model)? Mine has a blower, but I rarely use it - my stove choice was directly influenced by the criteria that it work during a blackout.

First thing we do is switch our eating habits to the perishables in the fridge, so in the event that the blackout lasts more than a day, the food is taken care of.
Really, that's it for me. The fish tank is close enough to the fireplace that, while I'm sure they're a little uncomfortable, they're not in the danger zone for cold nor heat. I unplug the computer to keep any zings from getting at it while the power company fixes the lines, and I get a lot of reading done.

Click to expand...

A INSERT can get really hot without a blower running to dissipate the heat.
But you would think it would not go nuclear...dunno.

For overnight burns, I turn down the stove and often turn off the blower unless it is really cold out. I've had my insert cranked for hours in a power failure and never worried about overheating but then my stove has a bi-metal thermostatic air control so it regulates itself.

Most inserts are designed for a blower as an option. The fire box is made to handle much more than a full load. The safety margin is good. The blower is usually to help you heat your home, not as a device to save your stove from a melt down. It is a big help but not a safety device...

I run a regency insert they recommend not running the fan with the air shutdown all the way I rarely do that, I run low fan on most overnight burns and runs nicely. Having gone 9 days without power after the Holloween storm here in nnj Pull the fan off and let the air naturally draft unobstructed this will also prevent the fan motor from overheating with no air flowing over it

Ah, an insert. I didn't think they'd operate much differently than a woodstove? I've never dealt with one.

I cut my air all the way as low as the lever will go during regular everyday/night burning. Never have overheating issues.
The purpose other than cheap heat, is to also have heat during a power outage, which had several here so far. 3 days the last stretch. Heated better than I expected without the blower, but never overfired.
You might want to see if you can cut the air lever all the way down and see how it burns. That way if your not around and the power goes out, it won't be overfiring with the added air entering.

Hogwildz said:

I cut my air all the way as low as the lever will go during regular everyday/night burning. Never have overheating issues.
The purpose other than cheap heat, is to also have heat during a power outage, which had several here so far. 3 days the last stretch. Heated better than I expected without the blower, but never overfired.
You might want to see if you can cut the air lever all the way down and see how it burns. That way if your not around and the power goes out, it won't be overfiring with the added air entering.

Click to expand...

Hog, are you burning in the 30 yet?

Try getting it hot without the blower on when you do have power, then see what you can do about cooling it off. That way you can run the blower if you need to, kind of a controlled situation. Some have success cooling off an almost overfire by opening the door and sending excess heat up the flue.

Skimmed the manual on your insert....

I have an insert also, in a masonry fireplace, and I just took the surround off (it was ugly anyway). Lot's of folks here have done that, and it makes the unit operate a lot more like a freestanding.

Of course, your surround is nice looking, and you paid extra for it. You can however, pull the whole insert + surround forward ~0.5" to vent the space around the stove for free additional peace of mind, and call it a day.

Myself, if the insert was in a masonry fireplace, I wouldn't sweat it--just shut down the air. The stove will get hotter than 'normal', because it will have to heat up more to drive the output heat into the masonry, and to drive the natural convection through the shell w/o the blower. Every stove at a new record temp will give off an odor signal that can be alarming, but isn't necessarily. Putting a gap on the surround can reduce this temp increment, but is prob optional.

IF the stove is in a zero-clearance, I would be more careful. In that case I would def gap the surround.

So, is the fireplace a ZC? Is it on an outside wall? Do you have any insulation in there between the stove and fireplace wall?

EDIT: just saw your install thread. Nice. I would think with the venting built into your fireplace, you'd be fine as is.

Was the exhaust pipe really glowing red? Using pressed wood it is much easier to get to an overfire (by overloading).... was it stuffed?

Chettt said:

Would smoke pour into your room if you opened the door threw ice on the logs? I have a free stander so I've never had that happen.

Click to expand...

Joke-right throw Ice ( dry-ice) :lol:

Just plan for the outage. A deep cycle battery and inverter will run the fan. I wouldn't worry about middle of the night scenario as the burn should be tailing off and cooling down on it's own. As for cooling off quick, open th damper fully and the the door and it will cool quickf rom the cold air being pull in. Just make sure to stand there and watch it.

Throw in an unseasoned split. Chokes it right down. Especially a nice cold frozen one from the fresh split stack.

Hook up a UPS to your fan, for blips like this in power they work great, I recommend getting a 1500va+ model for short power outages, for anything longer get familiar with how to remove your surround and hopefully you have a power generator you can hook up.

This is a good model UPS: http://www.upsforless.com/powercomblackknightpro1500vatowerupsnewbnt-1500ap.aspx

Pharmsaler, as you know, I have this same insert and in my setup it runs really hot, especially with a full load. Try taking your surround off if this happens again. I don't know how hard that would be with the cast surround you have, but it's pretty easy on mine.

Some stoves if you open the door all he way the fire will slow...watch for flying embers though.

DaFattKidd said:

Hogwildz said:

I cut my air all the way as low as the lever will go during regular everyday/night burning. Never have overheating issues.
The purpose other than cheap heat, is to also have heat during a power outage, which had several here so far. 3 days the last stretch. Heated better than I expected without the blower, but never overfired.
You might want to see if you can cut the air lever all the way down and see how it burns. That way if your not around and the power goes out, it won't be overfiring with the added air entering.

Click to expand...

Hog, are you burning in the 30 yet?

Click to expand...

Nope, still working on the addition. The 30 will be one of the last things hooked up> Sadly, funds are low, and I also lose motivation to work on it in the winter.
The 30 prolly has a 1/2" of dust on it now. Shame....

Lose the insulation around the insert. That is your problem right there.

Hogwildz said:

Lose the insulation around the insert. That is your problem right there.

Click to expand...

+1. If the chimney is exterior, it would be good to insulate the firebox, but leave an airspace around the insert.