Am I babying my insert too much?

ADK_XJ · Jan 4, 2015

Put in a Regency i2400 this Fall and, with lots of good knowledge from this forum, have learned the ins and outs of starting and sustaining a strong, secondary burn for efficiency. I'm confident in the age / MC of my wood, regularly get the actual stove body up to temp (400ish) before fully closing the air and burn full cycles of 4-6 splits of a mix of oak, birch and maple. But that's about it with this relatively tame winter so far - no crazy big loads of wood blasting us out of our living room. Just a nice 72 or so in the lower half of the house.

So, here's my question: with this bitter cold coming, have I been babying this thing a bit too much?

I haven't loaded much more than 6 medium sized pieces at any one time and haven't measured ANY part of the stove over 500 yet. Should I feel comfortable packing this baby full of oak and maple and going up to full bore burn when -10 and below temps hit this week?

Or am I already sort of at the operational peak of my insert vs a freestanding stove?

Hogwildz · Jan 4, 2015

You're burning as your needs dictate.
When the polar vortex lowers in, load it full, and don't fear burning it over 500.
You are doing just fine, burn as you need.
If you're not loading it full, and burning at 400ish, you have not reached peak, and have more punch to run it with, when the temps drop.

begreen · Jan 4, 2015

Sounds like you are doing fine. You may find yourself packing in more fuel for heat in the upcoming cold spell. That's pretty common.

ADK_XJ · Jan 4, 2015

Ok, good to hear - I assumed as much but sometimes you need to run it by someone other than the wife.

May use this opportunity to try some of the top-down lighting techniques and a true 24/7 burn.

Ram 1500 with an axe... · Jan 4, 2015

I don't think your babying it either, 6 splits should be good with room for more, my first year I was doing 2-3, now that my wood is dryer and I fill it more, heating is going much better. I might add if you are cold starting every day and your losing heat that may add to the feeling of babying it as opposed to burning longer periods like for a few days and really heating up the house, when you get the house really warm, you can always back off a bit....
You may struggle as the weather turns, let us know how it goes......

ADK_XJ · Jan 4, 2015

Ram 1500 with an axe... said:
I might add if you are cold starting every day and your losing heat that may add to the feeling of babying it as opposed to burning longer periods like for a few days and really heating up the house, when you get the house really warm, you can always back off a bit....

Interesting point that I hadn't considered but was sort of kicking around in the back of my head. You are correct, I have been mostly doing "incomplete" burn-to-cold cycles, letting it die out overnight. I had been holding off on a multi-day approach because the temps hadn't really required it and, truth be told, I was a but anxious about going straight to burning all day while I'm gone with my new stove...but I think I feel confident enough in my approach and safety to see what kind of heat I can build up over the week!

Grisu · Jan 4, 2015

Where do take the temperature? Since it is an insert, the temp you measure may also be off from the actual stovetop temp. You may have had the insert hotter than you think depending on the location of the thermometer. Having the blower running will also change the stovetop temperature.

Hogwildz · Jan 5, 2015

Load that pup full, cut the air back after a good char, and head to work.
The house will still be standing there when you get home. And warm to boot.
And a bed of coals waiting for a new load.
24/7 burning is truly the lease labor intensive. And for me, there is nothing like walking in the door and feeling the warmth that wood burning supplies. My forced air furnace could never give the inner bone warming heat the wood burner does.
We all been there, it will pass.

Renjilj · Jan 5, 2015

On the warmer days (45F+) I make 1 smaller fire in the AM to take the chill out and gets the house up into the low-mid 70's for the day. Wont relight until next morning. Bummer is a cold restart...

On the medium-cold days (25-45F) I tend to make 2 large fires - 1 in the AM and one early night (about 12 hrs apart). These keep temps in house around the same mid-70's. 12 hr cycle, still coals left for a slow but hot restart, stove temp about 170-200

On the cold days (5-25F) I make 3 full box fires about 8 hrs apart. Lots of hot coals left for restart and stove temps still 250+. Keeps house mid-upper 70's.

Like Ram mentioned, I also found that keeping the stove and house "warmer" helps to stabilize temps and reduces the temp swings you feel. Seems more efficient too? Felt hot in the beginning, now my tribe starts complaining noisy when it drops below 73.. We run about 73-78 all the time and havent looked back!

Dont baby it at all. I run it to 550 before cutting off and it loves it (even the smaller fires). Sometime continues to run to 600-700'ish after shut down for a little bit. Chimney checked every month so far and not a bit of creo in the pipe

Hogz right, nothing like a face full of wood heat when you walk in!

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

Grisu said:
Where do take the temperature? Since it is an insert, the temp you measure may also be off from the actual stovetop temp. You may have had the insert hotter than you think depending on the location of the thermometer. Having the blower running will also change the stovetop temperature.

I'm taking my go-to temp reading with an IR sensor on the actual stove body in the upper left corner above the door. From what I read on here, that is part of the actual body versus the unit top which is not truly the "stove top."

I also take a reading on the upper and bottom lip of the door just for shits and g's so I can see how hot the air coming out of the blower is but my overall reading is based on that front, upper left spot.

Is that about right for an insert like the i2400?

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

Hogwildz said:
Load that pup full, cut the air back after a good char, and head to work.
The house will still be standing there when you get home. And warm to boot.
And a bed of coals waiting for a new load.
24/7 burning is truly the lease labor intensive. And for me, there is nothing like walking in the door and feeling the warmth that wood burning supplies. My forced air furnace could never give the inner bone warming heat the wood burner does.
We all been there, it will pass.

Makes sense and thanks for the input! I feel much more comfortable running it while I'm gone now that I've had a couple months to "get acquainted" with the stove...

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

Renjilj said:
Like Ram mentioned, I also found that keeping the stove and house "warmer" helps to stabilize temps and reduces the temp swings you feel. Seems more efficient too? Felt hot in the beginning, now my tribe starts complaining noisy when it drops below 73.. We run about 73-78 all the time and havent looked back!

Dont baby it at all. I run it to 550 before cutting off and it loves it (even the smaller fires). Sometime continues to run to 600-700'ish after shut down for a little bit. Chimney checked every month so far and not a bit of creo in the pipe

Hogz right, nothing like a face full of wood heat when you walk in!

Nice description and very clear, thanks! Yes, my better half is very liberal in throwing around the word "freezing" anytime it's under 70 in our living room now. She's also coming straight off 3 North Carolina "winters" but we both grew up in New England and should know better! Ha.

bens_igloo · Jan 5, 2015

ADK_XJ said:
my go-to temp reading with an IR sensor on the actual stove body in the upper left corner above the door. From what I read on here, that is part of the actual body versus the unit top which is not truly the "stove top."
I also take a reading on the up

Sounds about right. I have a thermometer in the top right cover above the door. The fan always kicks on when the thermometer reads 300F +/- 50F so I think it's decently accurate. Here's what I do, which always seems to work well:
- Let the stove burn to 300F, cut down the air 1/4
- Let it get to 400F, cut down to half
- Wait a little while, it gets to around 450-500, then I cut it down to 1/4 open and leave it there. From there it will coast at 500 to 550 for a while, rarely ever higher.

That's with very dry wood and a good draft. I find that if it I close it down all the way I lose flame, so I got in the habit of leaving it a quarter open.

Hope that helps.

velvetfoot · Jan 5, 2015

My manual says not to fully close the air when the fan is on. I do, but then open it up some after a while. I also open it up more after several hours to burn down the lumps more. Also, if you want heat, put the fan on "high" as well.

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

bens_igloo said:
Sounds about right. I have a thermometer in the top right cover above the door. The fan always kicks on when the thermometer reads 300F +/- 50F so I think it's decently accurate. Here's what I do, which always seems to work well:
- Let the stove burn to 300F, cut down the air 1/4
- Let it get to 400F, cut down to half
- Wait a little while, it gets to around 450-500, then I cut it down to 1/4 open and leave it there. From there it will coast at 500 to 550 for a while, rarely ever higher.

That's with very dry wood and a good draft. I find that if it I close it down all the way I lose flame, so I got in the habit of leaving it a quarter open.

Hope that helps.

Yup, the good wood really is the ticket I (and everyone else on this forum) have found. Like you, I haven't closed down much past 1/4 yet but a really full load may change that.

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

velvetfoot said:
My manual says not to fully close the air when the fan is on. I do, but then open it up some after a while.

My manual says the same and I've been following that advice so far. It also says to shut down the blower after reload for 30 minutes but the few times I've added wood mid-cycle I tend to get strong flames right away so I just fire that air back on.

Any reason not to do that in your experience?

Woody Stover · Jan 5, 2015

ADK_XJ said:
It also says to shut down the blower after reload for 30 minutes but the few times I've added wood mid-cycle I tend to get strong flames right away so I just fire that air back on.

Any reason not to do that in your experience?

I think that's mainly to get strong secondaries earlier by keeping the stove heat up but once you're getting a strong re-burn, fire up the blower. The only thing to watch when loading full is that the load doesn't take off too much. With more fuel gassing early in the burn, it may be harder to rein it back in than when you only have a partial load.

velvetfoot · Jan 5, 2015

ADK_XJ said:
My manual says the same and I've been following that advice so far. It also says to shut down the blower after reload for 30 minutes but the few times I've added wood mid-cycle I tend to get strong flames right away so I just fire that air back on.

Any reason not to do that in your experience?

Your manual says that because we have essentially the same unit!
Yes, I tend to keep the fan on, although wanting to run the pellet boiler some, I've taken to letting the insert get a little cool, even to the point where the fan turns off. I usually let the fan come back on by itself when it gets warm enough but I watch things. I let things get too hot too quick once and I noticed the top glow. I don't want to let that happen again.

I've noticed that the air control usually provides good control-more so than my old Quad, but if things do take off, remember that you have the high speed on the blower too.

Colorado Boy · Jan 5, 2015

Hogwildz said:
You're burning as your needs dictate.
When the polar vortex lowers in, load it full, and don't fear burning it over 500.
You are doing just fine, burn as you need.
If you're not loading it full, and burning at 400ish, you have not reached peak, and have more punch to run it with, when the temps drop.

I have the osburn 2400 insert and it cranks the heat. If I load a bunch of splits and want to reload in 4 to 5 hours there is a bunch of coals. So I have to open the air for an hour or 2 before the next reload. I've been only loading 4 to five splits at a time now. All the coals are frustrating. Can I run the air more open?

Andy S. · Jan 5, 2015

ADK_XJ said:
have I been babying this thing a bit too much?

I say load that bad boy up and take it for a spin. I have the smaller HI200 and fill that thing up to the point I need a fire-rated shoehorn for the last piece. My IR has a max of 600* and I routinely peg it on the center of the door. Upper left gets to the low to mid 5's and the upper right (hinge side) is about 500*. I'm not looking forward to the cold snap at all. This unit does great down to about 30* but it is simply overmatched much below that.

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

Colorado Boy said:
I have the osburn 2400 insert and it cranks the heat. If I load a bunch of splits and want to reload in 4 to 5 hours there is a bunch of coals. So I have to open the air for an hour or 2 before the next reload. I've been only loading 4 to five splits at a time now. All the coals are frustrating. Can I run the air more open?

In my (albeit limited) experience I've only gotten too many, unburned coals when I a) used not completely dry wood b) didn't get the stove hot enough to begin with before damping down the air control c) reloaded too soon.

But even in a more normal cycle I have opened back up the air at the coal stage to burn them a bit more.

Colorado Boy · Jan 5, 2015

ADK_XJ said:
In my (albeit limited) experience I've only gotten too many, unburned coals when I a) used not completely dry wood b) didn't get the stove hot enough to begin with before damping down the air control c) reloaded too soon.

But even in a more normal cycle I have opened back up the air at the coal stage to burn them a bit more.

I usually run it around 550 to 650 and the wood is super dry softwood. I just had to do smaller loads for my loading schedule unless I plan on not loading it all day I don't fill it up.

Typ0 · Jan 5, 2015

I always think like this ... if I'm scared I'm good to go because I will pay attention to what's going on. It's when I get comfortable the real mistakes happen.

Sledhead00 · Jan 5, 2015

Renjilj said:
On the warmer days (45F+) I make 1 smaller fire in the AM to take the chill out and gets the house up into the low-mid 70's for the day. Wont relight until next morning. Bummer is a cold restart...

On the medium-cold days (25-45F) I tend to make 2 large fires - 1 in the AM and one early night (about 12 hrs apart). These keep temps in house around the same mid-70's. 12 hr cycle, still coals left for a slow but hot restart, stove temp about 170-200

On the cold days (5-25F) I make 3 full box fires about 8 hrs apart. Lots of hot coals left for restart and stove temps still 250+. Keeps house mid-upper 70's.

Like Ram mentioned, I also found that keeping the stove and house "warmer" helps to stabilize temps and reduces the temp swings you feel. Seems more efficient too? Felt hot in the beginning, now my tribe starts complaining noisy when it drops below 73.. We run about 73-78 all the time and havent looked back!

Dont baby it at all. I run it to 550 before cutting off and it loves it (even the smaller fires). Sometime continues to run to 600-700'ish after shut down for a little bit. Chimney checked every month so far and not a bit of creo in the pipe

Hogz right, nothing like a face full of wood heat when you walk in!

I don't want to be a big meanie and I know Im going to do horrible at getting my point across but I'm always a bit hesitant when I see these claims of constant 70+ temps.. I guess if you were to be available all the time to reload it as soon as you detect the heat output to fall below what's needed to keep the temp constant or raising that's one thing, but Im just skeptical when people say its 0 out and there on 10-12 reload cycles yet somehow the house is never below tropical temps...
Then again i dont know the entire situation and maybe the stoves being used in these situations are twice the size for the application and it's packed full of primo oak or locust everytime.
Edit- It's also worth noting that if you guys can keep 70+ all the time then consider me envious, I would love that ability..

ADK_XJ · Jan 5, 2015

Typ0 said:
I always think like this ... if I'm scared I'm good to go because I will pay attention to what's going on. It's when I get comfortable the real mistakes happen.

Second that. Comfortable = lazy = something gets broken / someone gets hurt.

Am I babying my insert too much?

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