I bought this fireplace insert about 5 years ago. I forget the manufacturer and I cannot seem to locate the manufacture name anywhere on the insert. Can anyone identify the manufacturer and model?
I have a 2600sf house - open floor plan - multi level - open space. I bought this insert thinking it would heat my house and save energy costs. It has not done either. It burns 1 large seasoned hardwood log every 20 minutes or so. I was told this insert could burn for 10 hours on 1 log. I was told it burns wood and burns some of the fuel in the smoke with efficiency. It doesn't seem to do either. Sure, it will burn 10 hours or more, but it will consume half a cord of wood in the process. That doesn't seem efficient to me. The blower blows room temperature air for the first 1-2 hours before it begins to blow hot air. Even when it blows hot air, it's hotter just to keep the door open (and quieter). It burns fine whether door is open or closed. Sometimes it burns better when the door is closed.
I took pictures of the unit disassembled. I tried switching the fan connections and the fan blows strong. It turns the same direction no matter how I connect the leads. The fan blows into the channel under the insert and splits air flow two directions to either side of the insert. The air comes out the rear vent opening (approximately 1"x4" horizontal rectangular) up the sides of the insert and out of the screen vent openings on either side in front. This explains why it takes so long for the air to heat up. The air doesn't get hot until the bricks are hot enough (2" thick) to heat the air under the insert and on the sides.
The baffle tubes that are above the fire at the top of the inside of the insert are connected to an assembly of pipes that go through the bottom of the insert. I cannot tell whether the tubes in this assembly connect with the channel that directs the air blowing from the fan but I suspect not. There is another vent on side towards the front approximately 1" x 2" horizontal rectangular but it doesn't seem to channel any air flow.
The air that is blowing under the insert and up the sides and out the front is being blown through a separate channel from the air that may (or may not) be flowing from the front side vents that contains the heated air. It doesn't appear that the air in the baffles is blowing through the system when the fan is on. The two channels of air, (1) that contains air blowing from the fan and (2) air that is not moving from the heated baffles, are separated by a divide on the side attachments. Is this correct? Shouldn't the air be blowing through the baffles too?
There is a front vented opening that opens and closes with a lever inside the fire box. It appears this vent is connected to the channels that contains the heated air. When the fan is turned on, I do not see air blowing or being sucked into this front vent inside. the opening and closing of this vent doesn't seem to do anything at all actually.
The chimney is lined with a 6" diameter stainless steel liner that goes up the full length of the chimney over 2 stories high. There is approximately 6" air gap between chimney walls and liner. There is a damper from before the time this insert was installed that has not been removed. As a result, the liner is constricted to about 2-3" x 6-8" oval cross section at the damper. The fireplace does not fill the house with smoke ever.
What is wrong? Is this how the insert is supposed to perform?
YOUTUBE:
I have a 2600sf house - open floor plan - multi level - open space. I bought this insert thinking it would heat my house and save energy costs. It has not done either. It burns 1 large seasoned hardwood log every 20 minutes or so. I was told this insert could burn for 10 hours on 1 log. I was told it burns wood and burns some of the fuel in the smoke with efficiency. It doesn't seem to do either. Sure, it will burn 10 hours or more, but it will consume half a cord of wood in the process. That doesn't seem efficient to me. The blower blows room temperature air for the first 1-2 hours before it begins to blow hot air. Even when it blows hot air, it's hotter just to keep the door open (and quieter). It burns fine whether door is open or closed. Sometimes it burns better when the door is closed.
I took pictures of the unit disassembled. I tried switching the fan connections and the fan blows strong. It turns the same direction no matter how I connect the leads. The fan blows into the channel under the insert and splits air flow two directions to either side of the insert. The air comes out the rear vent opening (approximately 1"x4" horizontal rectangular) up the sides of the insert and out of the screen vent openings on either side in front. This explains why it takes so long for the air to heat up. The air doesn't get hot until the bricks are hot enough (2" thick) to heat the air under the insert and on the sides.
The baffle tubes that are above the fire at the top of the inside of the insert are connected to an assembly of pipes that go through the bottom of the insert. I cannot tell whether the tubes in this assembly connect with the channel that directs the air blowing from the fan but I suspect not. There is another vent on side towards the front approximately 1" x 2" horizontal rectangular but it doesn't seem to channel any air flow.
The air that is blowing under the insert and up the sides and out the front is being blown through a separate channel from the air that may (or may not) be flowing from the front side vents that contains the heated air. It doesn't appear that the air in the baffles is blowing through the system when the fan is on. The two channels of air, (1) that contains air blowing from the fan and (2) air that is not moving from the heated baffles, are separated by a divide on the side attachments. Is this correct? Shouldn't the air be blowing through the baffles too?
There is a front vented opening that opens and closes with a lever inside the fire box. It appears this vent is connected to the channels that contains the heated air. When the fan is turned on, I do not see air blowing or being sucked into this front vent inside. the opening and closing of this vent doesn't seem to do anything at all actually.
The chimney is lined with a 6" diameter stainless steel liner that goes up the full length of the chimney over 2 stories high. There is approximately 6" air gap between chimney walls and liner. There is a damper from before the time this insert was installed that has not been removed. As a result, the liner is constricted to about 2-3" x 6-8" oval cross section at the damper. The fireplace does not fill the house with smoke ever.
What is wrong? Is this how the insert is supposed to perform?
YOUTUBE:
