Fireplace put out more heat then insert ?

First off.... are you filling the stove with well seasoned wood ( under 20%moisture ) and getting it good and hot then shutting the air down? Seems this to be the only method for you without a blower. If you leave the air open too much all the heat goes right up the chimney.

There is no draft seating on that stove. You can only regulate the air intake. If you want to try how the stove would work on real dry wood.... buy a bundle of kiln dried from the supermarket or convenience store. Unseasoned wood will barely burn on anti g less than full air.

Get a bundle as suggested. Does the insert have a Stainless Steel liner connected to it? Is there some reason that you opted for no blower? It's kinda the lungs behind the operation, it will make all the difference.

The real question is how much wood did it take for the open fireplace to do the job compared to the insert? I'll bet that fireplace ate wood much faster than the insert consumes it. Get the insert going with dry wood and you should see a real difference in consumption.

I don't even know why they offer inserts with the blower as an option. It should be a stock part of the setup.

ryanm51981 said:

The wood isnt seasoned that well...That was one of the factors I was thinking about . Also Ive Im gonna try that method of shutting the draft half way and seeing if that makes a difference.

Click to expand...

TT nailed it.

1) Make sure you are burning well seasoned wood. These newer stoves need well seasoned wood.

2) Like a fireplace if you leave the air control all the way open a good amount of the heat is going right up the chimney . . . if you get the fire going strong and then slowly cut back on the air control less heat will go up the chimney and if the wood and fire temps are good you should be rewarded with a nice treat with an EPA secondary burning woodstove (heat PLUS a visual show).

Combine these two things and I think you will see a big difference in the heat output . . . many folks make the mistake of thinking the EPA woodstoves work like the old woodstoves and fireplaces (i.e. they can use not as well seasoned wood and more air equals more heat when the opposite is what works.)

TTigano said:

There is no draft seating on that stove. You can only regulate the air intake. If you want to try how the stove would work on real dry wood.... buy a bundle of kiln dried from the supermarket or convenience store. Unseasoned wood will barely burn on anti g less than full air.

Click to expand...

I never knew there was a difference! The draft setting is the air intake. Perhaps you are thinking of a damper?

I didn't realize that any insert needed extra head room if you added a blower. I'm not real familiar with regency, but that's a first for me.

An insert with a blower and an insert without a blower are two entirely different animals. A freestanding stove has 6 sides to radiate heat to the room, an insert only 1. Add a blower though and watch out.

That is odd that adding a blower would add to the dimensions of the stove. What is your opening size?

ryanm51981 said:

View attachment 82722View attachment 82723

Click to expand...

I can't add anything to this becasue I am new to burning myself and I have a stove rather than an insert. Only thing I can say is nice looking house!!

A 1.4 cu ft flush mount insert with no blower and really tall ceilings is going to be really hard to work with.

When operating the stove, the air controls should be closed or close to closed while maintaining high temps. Otherwise you will be feeding that stove every hour and all the heat will be going up the chimney/pipe.

ryanm51981 said:

Would using a tower fan next to the stove help out at all? Like by blowing some of the radiant heat away faster?

Click to expand...

First, figure out how to measure temperatures on that insert. Next, get a thermometer on it so you know what you are burning out. You need to get it at a high temp (what ever the manufacturer recommends as a high) with the air controls nearly closed.

Then you need to see what type of heat the stove throws.

Your best bet would be to blow air at the stove to circulate the air in the room.

An insert without a blower makes a huge difference in heating, add not so seasoned wood and your climbing an uphill battle. Some good seasoned wood and a fan blowing at the stove may help mix things up. Do you have insulation and a block off plate? That will help keep quite a bit more heat in the house instead of up the flue, also if thats an outside wall your losing some heat from the bricks absorbing heat and radiating outside, you can remedy this by insulating behind the insert.

I have tried to run my insert without the blower, i get very little heat from it. i would suggest, as others did above, you point a fan at it, you might notice one signifigant difference there, not as much as dry wood of course.

I bet that your TV only see's half of it's life expectancy being so close to the insert. Plasmas are heaters in themselves and need to cool off, it can't do that with all that extra heat a few feet away. I've heard this has been a big problem lately, TV's aren't lasting very long because everyone wants one above the fireplace. Good Luck.

webby3650 said:

I bet that your TV only see's half of it's life expectancy being so close to the insert. Plasmas are heaters in themselves and need to cool off, it can't do that with all that extra heat a few feet away. I've heard this has been a big problem lately, TV's aren't lasting very long because everyone wants one above the fireplace. Good Luck.

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing about the massive amount of heat that goes up. That high above my insert after burning 24/7 for a few days my bricks up there are over 100F right abouve the stove there 120ish i think maybe hotter, warm to the touch..

I think your wood is the main problem.