Quadrafire 4300- Where the heck is all the heat going???

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FarmBoy74

New Member
Dec 18, 2010
2
New England
Hi! New member here. We heat a 1400 sqft house in central New Hampshire with a Quadrafire 4300 Steptop. We purchased it used 2 years ago. This is the model with no automatic controls. The stove is in perfect condition. The 2 control levers are properly adjusted. Chimney is clean as a whistle. House if fairly well insulated, but not tight.

I have heated with wood my whole life. I have never encountered a stove that puts less heat into the room per load of wood. We are burning hard maple, hickory, ash and red oak. Very well seasoned. The woodstove burns like a champ. We consistently run it around 700 degrees. At full throttle, I can lay my hand on the side of the stove and keep it there indefinitely. Heat radiates through the glass and the top, but if you think of the stove as a cube, only 2 out of 6 sides radiate heat (33%). I am amazed at the inability of this stove to radiate. My whole life I have had "lesser" stoves that you couldn't come within 5 feet of when they were ripping along. I have a double 55-gallon drum stove in my shop that puts the 4300 to shame with scrap wood. I feel I am burning three times as much wood to be not quite as comfortable as I have been in the past. What gives? Please...any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
I think it's just a frustration of owning a jacketed convection stove. Adding a blower to our jacketed Endeavor made a big difference in heat dispersal.
 
I thinking you may not have a blower on your stove? That would surely help.

Burning 700 should do it...holy cow here I thought I burned hot. Even without the blower on that should be throwing off heat. In the meantime I would suggest you try and set up some circulation...maybe a floor fan in an adjacent room blowing cooler air at the stove will draw more usable heat off the stove.

imo that stove should be golden for 1400sf over here @ 3ksf we're under-stoved but we try and make the best of it.

PS like you we're long time wood heaters and I was befuddled at first with our 4300st that's why I came here looking for some answers.
 
Starting my second winter with the same stove, and I agee with your viewpoint 100%.

So I bought a $17 box fan. From 8 feet away and angled upward slightly, it blows cool air at the front door.

Works great.
 
My Summit is a convection stove and there is no way you could put your hand on the side of the stove at a much lower temp than you are talking about, that does seem odd, the stove should not be that cool IMHO.
 
Something doesn't sound right. I have the same stove (but about 10 years old) and as I type my stovetop temp is about 500F (lower level, as I have a step-top) and I cannot touch the sides of the stove for even a fraction of a second. I am only burning about 3 splits of oak. The sides of the stove are currently at about 220F according to my trusty Pyrex oven thermometer pressed against the side of the stove! Also, both air controls are closed all the way. It sounds like you are getting too much air through the stove and the heat is going up the pipe. Are you getting a good secondary burn? My stove throws the most heat after I cut back the air or, most of the time, close the air. Good Luck
 
Wow. I heated a 1600 sq ft home with a 4300 st and it worked great. This is in central Wisconsin so we do have real winters too.

Ours was in a living room with a vaulted ceiling and a ceiling fan. We ran the ceiling fan non-stop all winter. Temperatures in the stove room would be in the 80s while the far end of the house was 69.

We did not have a blower on it either. It was painful to stand in front of the stove when it got cranking. But we bought the stove for the express purpose of it's very tight corner fit. We could not find another stove that would squeeze into the corner as well, and that was because of the outer steel surround.

I don't recall the outer steel being cool enough to touch though.
 
agz124 said:
Something doesn't sound right. I have the same stove (but about 10 years old) and as I type my stovetop temp is about 500F (lower level, as I have a step-top) and I cannot touch the sides of the stove for even a fraction of a second. I am only burning about 3 splits of oak. The sides of the stove are currently at about 220F according to my trusty Pyrex oven thermometer pressed against the side of the stove! Also, both air controls are closed all the way. It sounds like you are getting too much air through the stove and the heat is going up the pipe. Are you getting a good secondary burn? My stove throws the most heat after I cut back the air or, most of the time, close the air. Good Luck
Click to expand...

I have a thermometer on the pipe. Currently its at 600. Hand on the side: One mississipi, two mississippi, three...nine mississippi. What gives? The stove burns clean as can be. It is lined with firebrick, but that looks to be "factory". Thanks for the advice. I am certain the heat is going up the chimney. My buddy's tiny rectangular stove feels like a flamethrower compared to this. I do run it with the start lever closed and the secondary lever about 1/2 way unless I'm banking overnight and I close it down tight. It holds coals for the morning no problem. I have noticed that the gasket on the door is a little worn. I can see a sliver of light along the handle side edge when closed.
 
Are you by chance turning down the air? Or do you leave it wide open? How tall is the chimney? If the air isnt turned down most of the heat is going up the flue.
 
FarmBoy74 said:
agz124 said:
Something doesn't sound right. I have the same stove (but about 10 years old) and as I type my stovetop temp is about 500F (lower level, as I have a step-top) and I cannot touch the sides of the stove for even a fraction of a second. I am only burning about 3 splits of oak. The sides of the stove are currently at about 220F according to my trusty Pyrex oven thermometer pressed against the side of the stove! Also, both air controls are closed all the way. It sounds like you are getting too much air through the stove and the heat is going up the pipe. Are you getting a good secondary burn? My stove throws the most heat after I cut back the air or, most of the time, close the air. Good Luck
Click to expand...

I have a thermometer on the pipe. Currently its at 600. Hand on the side: One mississipi, two mississippi, three...nine mississippi. What gives? The stove burns clean as can be. It is lined with firebrick, but that looks to be "factory". Thanks for the advice. I am certain the heat is going up the chimney. My buddy's tiny rectangular stove feels like a flamethrower compared to this. I do run it with the start lever closed and the secondary lever about 1/2 way unless I'm banking overnight and I close it down tight. It holds coals for the morning no problem. I have noticed that the gasket on the door is a little worn. I can see a sliver of light along the handle side edge when closed.
Click to expand...

Dang Burnit. I just left a patch of skin on the Fireview before I hit the first Missipi! :ahhh:
 
Fix the door gasket.

Then maybe you will heat up more.
 
agz124 said:
It sounds like you are getting too much air through the stove and the heat is going up the pipe.
Click to expand...

x2

When you say you run it at 700F, are you talking flue? If so, what is your stove top temp? Running with flue at 600-700F external is too hot - you should be cruising around half that. If closing down the air doesn't bring it down, I'd guess the stove has a leak, gasket or otherwise. At the least, maybe you can get a pipe damper on it?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
1999 Quadrafire 4300 Step Top
Replies
8
Views
2K
QuadraFire
Grizzly Gamon
G
T
R Value- Floor- All Nighter
Replies
2
Views
398
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
Tradhomestead
T
J
Quadrafire isle royale maintenance
Replies
6
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
begreen
begreen
Krock
Blaze King vs other brands?
Replies
17
Views
2K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
AsylumResident
AsylumResident
C
Advice for new stove
Replies
2
Views
1K
The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces
kborndale
K
Top Bottom
Back