Hearthstone Clydesdale dilemma

mawtaow · Feb 10, 2009

After reading quite a bit on this site, I decided to buy a Hearthstone Clydesdale. I know there are some very smart and experienced people on this site, so I'll give you as many details as I can.

I live in a Cape Code style house, just north of Boston, MA, about 1400 sf., and it was installed professionally on 12/2/08 in the existing fireplace on the main floor. The fireplace is on an exterior wall with a chimney height of about 17'. The house was built in 1952, not very well insulated.

My dilemma is that I'm only getting about 4 hours of meaningful heat out of the thing. I know it comes down to the draft, the wood quality, or the firebox size.

Well, I filled up the firebox with Thermalogs and still only 4 hours of heat. The door passed the dollar bill test on the sides and bottom, but it's a little loose on top. I can't see that making a lot of difference. I put some incense near the top and I really didn't see it getting sucked in. Besides, I can put the fire out by turning the air control all the way down.

I just can't figure out what, if anything, is wrong. I was thinking of getting rid of the Clydesdale and switching to a freestanding stove, a big one, like a Pacific Summit, and put it in front of the fireplace.

I burn nights and 24/7 on weekends, and I would really love to continue doing so. Once you catch the wood stove bug, you really don't want to stop, as so many of you all know! Thanks!

edthedawg · Feb 10, 2009

Full liner to the top of the chimney? Liner is blocked off or insulated around the top of the fireplace, above the insert? Or running unlined / direct-vented?

What is your wood situation? Recently cut/split? or some good, dry, seasoned hardwood you have had for awhile?

What is your burn process like? How long do you run it / hot do you get it before backing down the primary?

Thermalogs sound a lot like the EcoFirelogs that I use to supplement my wood supply. I would not expect good results burning just the Eco's - they would disappear too quickly for me to be happy. I can't speak to how Thermalogs compare directly density-wise, but I did compare Eco's to Smartlogs, and felt the Smarts were definitely less dense, and I was not as pleased w/ them.

Also pls clarify if you are trying to get good heat on first burn from cold stove? Soapstone is a bit more temperamental than that, and you'll have to expect, esp as a newbie like us, that it'll be the 2nd+ load(s) that really starts to move good heat.

Clyde is plenty big enough to heat your space. Don't bash the Clyde!

Good luck, looking fwd to your responses, and welcome to the Hearth!

mawtaow · Feb 10, 2009

Yes, liner is to the top of the chimney. The liner is insulated around the top of the insert.
(I read lots of well written posts before I bought!)

Wood situation is not so good. I did have some 2 year seasoned dry wood in December, but again, the burn time wasn't much better, I don't think.

My burn process goes like this:
5:00 PM: come home, start fire cold with door open an inch or so for 10-15 minutes, packing it full

5:40 PM: with good wood, fan comes on with temps (thermometer on top of Clydesdale) at about 200 degrees, back down primary to 50%

heat now builds to 350-400 degrees and it does put out serious heat, back down primary 75% closed

7:00PM flames are gone, heat diminishing

8:30PM coals left, thermometer down to 200 degrees, need to re-load

Yes, of course I try to get good heat from the first burn on a cold stove, but I guess that's not possible with the Clydesdale, right?

Maybe, a freestanding non-soapstone stove would be better in my situation, since I can't burn 24/7 during the week and I want quicker heat?

SteveT · Feb 10, 2009

A 2.4 cubic foot firebox certainly is big enough to get burns well beyond what you are experiencing. And since the insert is not running too hot (over fire range) it seems the that air leaks or overdrafting isn't the issue.

I'm not familiar with the Thermalog... is it a 100% wood product or is there some sort of a binder? If there is a binder (wax or something like that) the whole problem could very well be what you are burning, not how you are burning.

I am getting several more hours of heat than you with BioBricks. A fill of 8 bricks or so (16 pounds of compressed wood product) will still be throwing some heat about 8 hours after the fill. When the insert has been running for awhile and I have established a good beds of coals the bricks take off almost immediately. I leave the airflow at 1/2 for 5 minutes or so and then shut it all of the way down and get immediate secondaries filling the firebox.

I'd either buy some bio product that you know has no binders or some good dry wood (even if only a supermarket bundle for one fire) and see if that doesn't work out much better.

LeonMSPT · Feb 11, 2009

How much wood are you putting in there when you load it?

My firebox is relatively tiny on the VC insert I've got. I wedge wood into that sucker... I've had so much wood in it, I had a hard time to close the bypass plate. Are your splits all "large" or "small"? Is your wood cut to "fit", or is the wood two or three inches smaller on each end than the door/box dimensions?

I agree, should get more than 4 hours "serious heat" out of that beastie. You'll figure it out, don't give in or up, keep plugging.

mawtaow said:
Yes, liner is to the top of the chimney. The liner is insulated around the top of the insert.
(I read lots of well written posts before I bought!)

Wood situation is not so good. I did have some 2 year seasoned dry wood in December, but again, the burn time wasn't much better, I don't think.

My burn process goes like this:
5:00 PM: come home, start fire cold with door open an inch or so for 10-15 minutes, packing it full

5:40 PM: with good wood, fan comes on with temps (thermometer on top of Clydesdale) at about 200 degrees, back down primary to 50%

heat now builds to 350-400 degrees and it does put out serious heat, back down primary 75% closed

7:00PM flames are gone, heat diminishing

8:30PM coals left, thermometer down to 200 degrees, need to re-load

Yes, of course I try to get good heat from the first burn on a cold stove, but I guess that's not possible with the Clydesdale, right?

Maybe, a freestanding non-soapstone stove would be better in my situation, since I can't burn 24/7 during the week and I want quicker heat?

mawtaow · Feb 11, 2009

You're right, when I consider it filled, there is a lot of "wasted" space on the sides and top. My wood is not cut to fit. May I ask how much meaningful heat you get out of yours and please tell me how you define it?
Thanks!

LeonMSPT · Feb 12, 2009

First fire from cold start to 600 degrees on the bar between the two front doors is about two hours and most of the "wood", leaving a layer of hot coals about four inches thick on the bottom. Put two large splits and a medium one in on top. Let it burn until it's all ignited, then close the bypass damper and turn the blower fan on, and sit back in the recliner and relax.

I generally get about five hours of sitting in the recliner in my living room in a t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts, no socks. It heats an 1,700 ft single story apartment to 80 in the living room and 70 in the bedroom on the other end of the house. That's meaningful heat. You should be able to do that with your unit.

You can't cut wood to "just fit" but if it will take a 24 inch log I don't see a reason to cut wood to 16 or 18 inches. Cut to 16 inches, that's 30% less wood, and burn time, and heat.

Leon

mawtaow said:
You're right, when I consider it filled, there is a lot of "wasted" space on the sides and top. My wood is not cut to fit. May I ask how much meaningful heat you get out of yours and please tell me how you define it?
Thanks!

ssweb · Oct 2, 2009

All,

I would wonder if this might be part of the problem.

"not very well insulated"

I have the same you have 1960 cape with pretty much no insulation. Once I blew foam in the walls it kept the heat in the house.

I am now in the process of putting in a wood insert. This should help on the rest of the oil usage.

daryl · Oct 3, 2009

If its not your wood.I would ask your dealer to put a draft meter on your liner if your over .9 inchs of water column it needs to be dampered down.IMO

bren582 · Oct 3, 2009

It seems that totally filling a firebox is a science unto itself. I have various lengths of seasoned oak, locust, Cherry and Maple, 12" stove cut along with standard 18 to 19 inch stuff. With this mix I think i'm maybe in the 75 percent fill range and after the first reload I can go for 6 or 7 hours of heat from her.. Not flames for the total period, maybe 5 hours or 6 before the flames die down and another 2 or 3 hours beyond that before the insert cools down.

I would think a 100% fill with the bio-bricks would be much easier to make happen due to there consistent size. Much harder to get there with chunks of firewood cut every which way..

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