Regency 2400 flue question (new Pictures Added)

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baspinall

Member
Oct 16, 2010
48
S. E. PA
Ok, so I built my hearth, installed my stove and did one real burn. Paint smell is finally gone. My question is this. Seems that I can't get a fire going without leaving the door cracked for a while. then once I have a bed of coals I can't get a good burn (door closed) unless I have the flue wide open. Shouldn't I be able to burn decent with the flue half way or so? I am about as new to this as you can get but couldn't really find what I needed using the search feature.
 

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You mentioned that you need to run with the flue wide open.....you are talking about the primary air intake, correct? Not a damper in the actual flue/chimney, right?

Tell us more about the chimney stack.
Also, when was the house built? Is is super tight/well insulated?
 
Yes, the primary flue. I have no damper in the chimney pipe. The chimney right elbows out my wall and goes straight up 12 feet or so. My house is a cape cod, 1800 sq. ft., block construction. I would not say that it is the tightest around by any means.
 
Got you.

An easy/inexpensive first test would be to pick up a package of grocery store wood. It's typically kiln dried so it should burn nice and hot. Use some small splits/kindling to build a small fire/establish some coals. On top of that lay 4-6 pieces of the kiln dried wood on top. You should have a roaring fire in 15-25 minutes and stove top temps over 500 within an hour. You can begin backing off on the primary air once your stove top hits 450 or so....move it to half way. Leave it there for another for 10 min or so and back it down to maybe 1/4 open. If the fire continues to roll after another 5-10 minutes you can shut down the primary air.

If you find that you still can't maintian a good fire, even with the kiln dried wood, you may need to think about bringnig in out side air to the stove or take another look at the chimney set up. Your stack might not be high enough.
 
I'll give it a shot, what the heck. So are you saying I should be able to burn with my primary flue all the way closed? I know if its open all the way I'll rip through a cord of wood in no time.
 
That's exactly what I'm saying. Once you establish good secondary combustion you should be able to start backing off on the air.

After 30-50 minutes I have my primary air fully closed on my Castine......I get the secondary lightshow for another couple hours after that. Again, the primary air is fully closed after 45 min or so.
 
Ok, I have been burning for about three hours now. I have been backing the primary down slowly, still have flickering flames. I just now closed it all the way. No more flickering flames, just glowing logs. Not sure what the secondary burn is? Should I leave it closed and see if it eventually flames up again? I need a section for dummies on this forum.
 
I think I do have an issue with this chimney. When I close the flue all the way, not only does it kill the flames, after a bit I start getting smoke coming out the fittings on the elbow inside my house. I open it up at least half way, my flames come back and no more smoke. Don't think I should be getting smoke inside even with the flue all the way closed. By the way, the chimney & stove where installed by a company not myself.
 
Whats the pipe config? Is that a 90 I see in the pic.
 
yeah I'm betting the chimney's not tall enough to draft well especially considering the 90 degree and horizontal run, and if the house isn't well sealed (especially in the ceiling and attic) that will aggravate the problem further. See about extending that chimney at least a few feet.
 
The config is 2 90's. One elbow that you see in the picture going outside then a elbow going straight up. I think the guy installed three sections. I would think I would have to convince the installation guy that there is a problem to warrant him coming back out and adding a section. He seemed to think I had well over what I would need in height before he left. The house is a cape cod. The second floor has to converted bedrooms with 3-4 foot knee walls.
 
How much pipe is above the peak of your roof? If you are getting smoke from the joints its not drafting good... That 2400 is an awesome stove. I have no complaints after 3 years.
 
I have to go out and get a good look at it tomorrow and take some measurements. I have am pretty sure I am not above my peak. The install guy assured that I would be fine, you know how that goes though. I'll post up some pictures tomorrow of the outside.
 
Here is the chimney from the outside. It looks to be a couple feet lower than the peak. Maybe one more section would help but we have some serious wicked winds hear.
 

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The cheap/easy things to try are the wood and increasing the air available to the stove.

If neither of those help, you might try adding another 3 or 4' section of pipe.
 
I will try the dry (kiln) wood idea. As far as increasing air available, how would I do this? Its to warm to try either at the moment but I am sure the cold weather is around the corner.

Thanks for your help.

Brian
 
Oh, just by cracking the window near the stove. If you find that the stove preforms better with a bit more airflow in the room you might benefit from an outside air supply.
 
Next time I fire it up. I'll give those ideas a try. I'll post back with results.
 
I believe the minimum height measurement your chimney is suppose to be is 2 ft above the height of the roof 10 ft away from the chimney.
chim.jpg

Looks like you have close to that, but not "well over what you need" as the installer told you.
Frankly it looks tall enough for normal usage, but sometimes in the wind you can get problems with the wind turbulence created off the roof, that's why they want you to be a certain height away and above it to minimize that effect. But your flue looks plenty high enough, for calm conditions.
Do you have a stove thermometer? You really want to get the stove hot before turning down the damper, and unless you have really dry wood you might not be able to close the air off completely. A moisture meter comes in handy for checking your wood.
BTW I have the same stove is you, works great.
 
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