not quite the heat output I expected

douwe said:

I just installed a BIS Panorama (wood burning zero clearance stove) with gravity kit on an outside wall inside a chase. When we fired it up today with 6 logs of pine we didn't feel like we got the heat out that we were expecting. When we opened the door the flames really shot up, as if the air intake was too restricted, even with the air intake fully open.

We're only trying to heat up a space of about 1000 sq ft, but it doesn't seem capable of that at the current rate. We didn't quite get that "wow, now that is putting out a lot of heat" feeling when we had it fired up. Are our expectations out of line and/or how can we evaluate that everything is working properly?

Thanks for your input.

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With the ability to heat 2000 square feet and a firebox at 3.6 cubic feet my first guess is your wood is wet. You said you threw in 'logs'. Were they split logs or full rounds?

BrowningBAR said:

douwe said:

I just installed a BIS Panorama (wood burning zero clearance stove) with gravity kit on an outside wall inside a chase. When we fired it up today with 6 logs of pine we didn't feel like we got the heat out that we were expecting. When we opened the door the flames really shot up, as if the air intake was too restricted, even with the air intake fully open.

We're only trying to heat up a space of about 1000 sq ft, but it doesn't seem capable of that at the current rate. We didn't quite get that "wow, now that is putting out a lot of heat" feeling when we had it fired up. Are our expectations out of line and/or how can we evaluate that everything is working properly?

Thanks for your input.

Click to expand...

With the ability to heat 2000 square feet and a firebox at 3.6 cubic feet my first guess is your wood is wet. You said you threw in 'logs'. Were they split logs or full rounds?

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agreed. your wood is suspect.
that or you have a restricted air flow as you hypothesized.
i have a enviro venice 1700 in a ZC fireplace. it is rated to 1500 SQ ft, and i heat my 3000 SQ foot home with it, in all but the coldest wisconsin weather(above 15 Fahrenheit outside and i can keep the house at 65 or warmer)

+1 on wet wood.

Something ain't right there. That size stove should cook you out of 1000 sq ft. I'd check your wood as mentioned above. Also you mentioned a chase. What exactly is in that chase, from the stove to the top? How tall a chimney. How tight is your house? I'm not sure what a gravity kit is but does it have a blower? It the space insulated - below grade or above?

You dont have a blower?

If douwe is using the local beetle-kill pine, it should be more than dry enough to blaze. Sounds like an air control issue to me. (Be careful, when your air is figured out, it will want to rocket off- 300-900 in five min. easy)

staplebox said:

I'm not sure what a gravity kit is but does it have a blower?

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A gravity kit is a B vent that works only by convection, no fan.

I'm guessing here ...

But I've never heard of a "gravity" system for distributing heat. And BIS does offer another system of "Forced Air", which is how most inserts distribute heat. Is the "gravity" system simply without the blower?

Any flush insert needs a blower to distribute the heat. I suspect this is your problem. You don't have a blower or "forced air", and are simply relying on radiated heat through the glass and a little heat through the "gravity" system" which is not what you expected.


You need an electrically powered blower.

But I'm just guessing

My ground floor is 1200 sq ft open concept and my 3.1 cu ft stove can keep it warm in -40 weather with a power outage without any gravity vent. A gravity vent takes advantage of convection to move air. It is not as efficient as a blower but a whole lot quieter. In milder weather I leave my blower off simply because it would get too hot with it on.

douwe said:

The only blower that they offer for this fireplace if the forced air kit which is not EPA approved. I figured (maybe mistakenly) that the gravity kit would induce enough convection to get the heat into the room. The stove certainly doesn't need a blower for safe operation. If it is a combustion air problem, is there a way of identifying that specifically?

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What is the temp of the stove getting to? Are you getting decent secondary combustion?

douwe,

Once you get the fire really going with a good bed of coals, and everything burning, turn the air all the way DOWN. this will keep the heat in the firebox longer and cause temps to rise. The heated air doesn't shoot straight up the flue. The flames will be smaller and lazy, secondaries should be burning too if your stove has them.

Good luck,
Garett

sounds like wet wood..1000 square feet you should feel like a finlander in the sowna!'' sauna'' if your not a yooper!

Is this the insert you have ? Did you buy it from a speciality fire place store or a big box store? If you did buy from a big box store, the general problem is good price bad information.
What about your elevation were you live? could be an issue?

If you are getting a big flame when you open the door your air intake sounds suspect. Or your control of it.

Not to confuse you on flame size but...when you are getting the stove going from scratch you need to run it hot/high for a bit to get the stove up to temp (400+) and establish a good bed of hot coals. Then you can add some larger splits and once they get going you can start to dial the stove down /reduce air ( as mention above - to keep the heat in and to get the secondaries working). If you decrease the air too fast you'll end up with a smoldering fire with low flame that puts a lot of smoke out of your chimney. It could look similar to a stove running with the air down and nice lazy flames but it will be much colder. Check by buying a cheap stove thermometer and sticking it on the stove somewhere - it's not exact but it'll help you. Also 400-600 feels a lot hotter than 100-300 degrees.

If you have a hot stove that has burned through the secondaries and you open the door nothing much will happen. If you have an air starved smoldering fire and you open the door it is likely to flame up. If you have your air wide open and it is smoldering (and flames up when you open or crack the door) then your air intake is restricted somehow. You could also have the air wide open and a smoldering fire if the wood is too wet to burn. Cracking the door may help get it going. If you have different wood try mixing it up.

Good luck. You'll know when you get it.

Before you waste a lot of time and energy, get some wood that you're sure is seasoned (dry; <20% moisture). You can't properly diagnose your problem until you're sure you are burning good fuel. I'm not sure, but I think the $5 bundles they sell in the supermarket are dry.

99% of all problems that new burner guys have is wet wood
doesnt matter what stove or insert it is ...it can be the difference between opening up all the windows to release the excess heat ... or huddled up over the stove shaking while rubbing your hands over it for warmth

douwe said:

I measured on the split logs without splitting them again...

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You're wasting your time if you don't resplit them and measure it on a freshly exposed face.