Regency R14

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I am a new member here my name is Rick and would like to introduce myself to all of you. I recently purchased a Regency R14 insert for $450.00 that was only burnt at the most 5 times she said(the older woman did not like that it did not look like a real fireplace) so she had it professionally removed a month after buying it and it sat on a bench for years and all she wanted was 450 bucks to get it out of her garage. It really is like brand new its amazing and I just put in a full liner with blockoff plate but my question is I have a 1600 sq/ft bilevel home with the fireplace in the basement and that is where this insert is going to go.
Last winter my wife and I put the heat on downstairs to 72 degrees(electric baseboard) which in turn heated the living room upstairs to about 67 degrees and some of the kitchen. I just put in all new energy efficient Harvey Windows and new insulation. I am wondering if do you guys think this will continue to heat my upstairs or even more if I burn it 24/7 and get the floor warm without putting registers in. When we turned on the electric downstairs last year we only did it for the day I was going to be down in my man cave so it wasn't really on that long and did have a positive affect on the upstairs. I was hoping if I was able to get the downstairs to 80 degrees to see what the upstairs could be at.
My friend has the same type of house and heats his entire house by a woodstove in the basement and he has old windows and poor insulation. What do you guys think, will I be able to achieve my goal, thanks for your time.
 
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That's an older Regency unit & if it's rated like the newer models, it should be at about 75K BTU input.
The newer models are 77% efficient, so you'd get 57,750 BTU of usable heat into your home.
If you've got average insulation - 2x4 walls @ R13, you'll need about 40 BTU/SF so 1600 x 40 =64K
You'll be a little short on oomph, & you won't really get that much to the farthest rooms from the insert,
but you should be warm. I'd try it for a winter to see how she performs before doing any mods to the house.
Hope your stash of firewood was CS&S by the middle of May so it's dry enough to burn this winter.
Sounds like you got a great deal...
 
Thanks for the reply, ya my wood has been cut, split and stacked for about 10 months now so I think I am good. Mostly I have ash but also some oak. Like I said I am hoping to heat some of my upstairs with this insert since I have new windows and insulation in the house but was wondering as far as ceiling fans go. My insert is in the downstairs part of the bi-level and I have a fan upstairs in my living room in which I would hope to get some heat up there, what direction do I run the fan. Also what do you guys think the estimated temperature difference would be downstairs to upstairs with the insert running, I have a Regency R14 or you can call it the 2400.......exactly the same, built like a tank.
 
Hey hummer..i have been running a R14 for about 2 yrs now. You should be pretty pleased with how it performs. I have a 2400 sq ft house that is not open at all...its all chopped up...i can usually get the fam room insert is in up to 80-82...rest of first floor up to 72-74...upstairs bedrooms prob 68. Your house is set up perfectly for heating. Try putting a fan in hallway of uppermost floor blowing down the stairs...this wii create a convection loop where the cooler air coming down the steps will displace the hotter air and push it upstairs. my operating temps...can usually get her up to 500-550...get a nice secondary burn. I put my thermometer left hand upper face just off the door...i'll try to post a pic....any ?'s let me know
 
Hey hummer here is a pic...i painted mine dark brown
 

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Wow very nice insert, cute little girl you have there, I have a little baby on the way but my wife and I can't find out till October and its driving us nuts to see if its a boy or a girl but anyway, thank you for the response, I really appreciate it. Its funny because my insert is like brand new (manuf. in 1991)and bought it off a lady who never really used it and just wanted to get rid of it for 450 bucks so I said sold. I put a 6 inch full liner in and I have big expectations for this insert. I have the gold door and trim which I am not too crazy about, I wish it was all black like yours, I will get a pic soon. I bought a thermostat for it as well and put it on the same place you did so we will see. Do you burn 24/7 and also how long are your burn times with the R14........any luck with overnight burns?
 
over night burns....there are some hot coals by am to restart, but I cant get good heat in the early am hours..so my furnace kicks in a bit in early am. You may have better luck since your house is way better for heating...not so cut up. Get a hand sander with super fine grit...sand off all the brass color..then steel wool...paint with stove paint....it was pretty easy.
 
R14, Has nothing to do with the post but it struck me your brick is exactly the same as mine. You can see it in my Avatar. Great picture, more because of your beautiful daughter though.
 
Yeah I have a full liner....i have a raincap that pops on and off really easily for cleaning. I got it from a guy in kentucky who is on hearth.com alot...excellent product n service. I am working on getting my block-off plate in. I replaced my blower motor with a variable speed blower...i love it..if i'm watching tv I can dial it down some to hear the tv better.
 
My R14 came with a variable speed blower which I can see already can really move the warm air around. I just finished my block-off plate today, I used the original cast iron damper that was in the chimney, took it off, cut a 6.5 inch hole where the liner fits through and put 1 inch thick kaewool behind it. I don't think its air tight but it should help at least keep some of the air in the room, I guess its better than nothing at all. I am really excited about this insert and if it wasn't for this website I would probably be divorced..........My wife told me she is sick of hearing about the heat this upcoming winter and about the insert, I told her you will care when its 15 degrees outside and its 80 degrees in here without using our electric heat. I still can't figure out why more people won't convert to wood, I know it is some money up front even though I was lucky, $450.00 for the insert never really used, $150.00 for the 25 foot liner and cap(used 1 prior season then guy converted to propane so I bought it), all my chords of wood were free which I cut, split and stacked myself. So I am in the hole about $600.00. I think I should be able to make that money back in one season with a house that is going to be much warmer than if I was using my electric heat only.
 
Yeah hummer, my wife was a little unsure about it too..until our first ripping fire and she is watching tv sitting in front of the hearth. She loves it now. She loves being warm now. We both love the huge glass for viewing the fire. On the sanding of the brass....i used a hand electric sander..worked great. I got my insert for about 550...same thing some older lady didnt use it much and some guy bought it but it didnt fir in his fireplace.
 
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