Proper burning techniques

I am the owner of a new Regency i3100l stove insert. I have been having some issues getting quality burns out of the unit both in terms of duration and heat output. I need the unit to heat my entire living area. This is about 2600 sq. ft. The last week I have been using mildly seasoned ash/oak/cherry mix. I was told it was seasoned 2 years when I bought it but this cannot be true. Now, because it is not well seasoned, I was getting a lot of sparking and sizzling, as the moisture evaporated. Only getting 2-3 hour burns max, and sometimes need to leave the air control completely open to maintain the presence of a flame. So I went out and found some well seasoned wood and this is what I did next...

I took some well-seasoned ash (split & stacked 3-4 years) and I wanted to see what kind of burn a large load would result in. I need to figure out how to get the longest overnight burns possible. So, I started by adding 3 small splits to the fire. These were consumed within 1 hour. 3 more logs, again maybe 1.5 hours. Then I decided to load it up and see what I could do. So, I placed two large splits left to right, on top of the remains of the previous, semi-solid burned splits, and then 4 more smaller splits front to back. I shut the door and opened the air flow control, until the fire seemed very hot. However after about 3 minutes of this, one of the combustion air tubed began to turn dark to mildly bright red. So, I closed off the air. It seems strange this would happen as it should not have overfired so quickly. For about 15 minutes the fire burned hot with the air flow closed off, and in only one corner of my box was there secondary combustion. Then, after 1/2 hour, there is no secondary combustion, but evenly distributed light flames (with a bluer tone than I previously remember). 1/2 hour after that and the flames are dying down and the splits are more glowing orange than burning with flames. The flames flicker only inches above some of the orange glowing splits and there is definitely no secondary combustion.

I have not been able to get burns of more than 3 hours from the insert, no matter what I do. I have literally sat for days in front of this thing, staring at it and adjusting the air control this way and that, trying to understand the most efficient way to operate it. Good thing I like to watch fires! Keep in mind my firebox is relatively large, being 3 cubic ft. Perhaps someone might point out what I am doing wrong or what I should be doing? Is there a special way to place the splits in the firebox? Should I not be placing a large split directly in front of the glass door (will this block off the fresh air coming down and over the hot embers??). Should the unit always have secondary combustion, and if so, how does one go about maintaining this without manually adjusting the flow control every 15 minutes...I need more sleep than that

Also, how important is the heat of the ash base? If the ash base was created by the mildly seasoned wood I have been burning for a week, could this adversely effect the burns of even well-seasoned wood?


Thanks.

north of 60 said:

Fill the rest of the members in on your chimney. Length? Is it lined? Insulated? Interior or exterior? Is there a block off plate above the insert? Since you have been burning wet wood have you checked your chimney before trying the dry wood? Does it have a screened cap? Answer these and the light will shine from the hearth heavens. Good luck and welcome aboard.

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Thanks for your input/encouragement everyone---

To answer the questions above, I'll start by saying that I am normally a DIY kind of guy---but I contracted a chimney sweep to install both a 25 ft insulated liner and make all of the stove connections, including the block off plate. He made a couple of short 15 degree connections to get from the smoke chamber to the actual insert. My chimney is all internal, except for about 2ft at the roof apex. This is approx. in the middle of the house. The chimney is the higher than anything else. The natural gas furnace / water heater have a separate flue next to the one for the insert. The chimney sweep cleaned the flue/smoke chamber first, prior to installing the liner. My chimney "corkscrews", and turns a few times, so coupled with snow on the roof, this would not have been a good idea for me to do myself. I have been making every attempt to burn the most seasoned wood I have. Most of it hasn't been "wet", I don't think, however I do not have a moisture meter (yet). In general, if a piece seems heavier than it should feel, I have been setting it aside. I had to change out the baffles since the original ones that came with the unit were cracked---and I took a peek up into the liner and didn't see any alarming creosote buildup. However I have noticed my rain cap (unscreened) seems to have been blackening. I didn't get out the binoculars, yet.

He also stuffed the old ash pit opening with insulation to prevent air flow there. I dont know how well they sealed the block off plate. I am assuming they put insulation there as well to make a "seal".

Does that answer all the questions?


Thanks!

I am curious how you guys measure temps on these inserts. Right now I am just using a kitchen therm. right below the door on the ledge above the blowers. I have been using that to gauge my operating temp in lieu of have nothing at all.

Where does one place a stove thermometer on an insert such as mine? There is a shelf above and below the door, but I doubt this is reflecting internal temps very well.

Just an hour ago I split some logs down to pretty small pieces---I laid 2 longer pieces E-W, and 4 shorter pieces across N-S. Then I placed three small splits E-W on top of that. It lit up immediately very bright & hot. Turned down the air to about half, and after 1/2 hour, there were no flames, just charred splits. None of the wood I put in this thing seems to be burning completely through---even the coals, when I move them, have dark black centers and do not burn completely. My pile of unburnt coals keeps growing, and my fires keep getting worse and worse. The wood I am burning now is 3-4 year old ash/cherry that had been split and stacked the entire time. The wood is light, and produces a good knock. Seems that no matter what I do, if I have the air control down below 1/2, the flames completely go out. I have tried allowing air flow under the logs, etc. to no avail. Out of ideas. Next, I think I'll get a good moisture meter. Beyond that, I am just not sure what else to try. Just about all the advice I am hearing sounds much like what I am trying to do, albeit with different results. The only thing I am perhaps not doing is raking the coals to the front, because there are so many left over after every load!

Never thought this would be so difficult, but I am not surprised. I could use the N.G. furnace, but it produces an uncomfortable, drafty heat. My worst MCF usage last year was 38 MCF in Feb. When the insert is hot, it does heat up the area nicely--even if I am trying to heat a large area with old windows, etc. However even with my poor burns I am able to keep a range of 70-74 degrees. Even this varies quite a bit though. It is definitely never constant. Outside I noticed that when the air was wide open, I had a decent amount of smoke. With it mostly closed, I could not see any smoke but could smell it.

Pondman said:

You've essentially made your own lump charcoal.

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Great---at least I am doing something well! Thanks for the comments, that helps.

UPDATE:

I have a friend who has a Regency also, only the smaller model, and he visited with me tonight to do a burn with his well-seasoned wood in my insert. Turns out, I was simply not getting the temps high enough for the initial burn. He was very surprised at how long it took for the temps to rise to appropriate levels (40+ minutes from barely warm to 650F). I had purchased a magnetic therm. but didn't know exactly how to correlate its numbers to the actual flue temps. So, my friend did the tests for me and the temp at the front left above the door is about 50F lower than at the flue. I had only been letting this temp get to about 400 or 425 max. Simply put, I was not letting the fire get hot enough before starting to push down the air supply! We started this burn at 9:15 and now, at 12:30, it is still hot @ 300F. Not only that, but the house was noticeably hotter during the course of the burn, due to the higher temps. He showed me it was safe to let the temps hit 600-650F.

Also, on the Regency I3100, there is an air inlet in the front of the stove which needs to be cleared away of ash and debris before loading. This was pretty much plugged on mine with old ash and unburnt coals, and I am sure this was limiting the fresh air getting into the burn. So we cleared it out.

Some of the other advice on this thread suggested to pull the hot coals to the front, before next loading. Not sure if that is best for the Regency as that would definitely block those inlets---but for all I know, the inlets might be in the same place for all of these stoves. I'd be interested to know, and to know the reasoning for bringing the hot coals forward and if it really does still apply with my Regency I3100 given that I understand its design better now.