And it only took a little over two seasons! As a way of giving back to this site, here's a summary of my journey.
First year: Typical new guy mistakes. Poorly seasoned wood, damping the fire down too quickly. No real biggie, though--I still saved about 400 gallons of heating oil.
Second year: Better wood, but not enough of it. I also made the mistake of cutting up a lot of basswood. I did add a box fan to my repertoire to blow cold air toward the insert though, with excellent results. For new guys--the fan sounds crazy but it works. I saved nearly 600 gallons of oil.
Third year: Laid in a supply of seasoned wood in May and added to that in August. Split the delivered splits into sizes my insert likes--small is better for me to allow me to fill it right up. I also found a source of pallets so the wood is off the driveway. Up to this year, I typically ran the blower on high and the box fan on low. I heated OK but my burn times were fairly short with a pretty good amount of coal build up which I'd need to burn off at least once a day during 24/7 burning season.
As a result of an earlier thread about blower speeds, I decided to experiment with running the blower on low. This worked great as my insert temps were hotter and seemed to give off heat longer. I will normally get the air damped down to all the way closed or open to a half inch or less every burn. (It turns out this is how the instructions say to run it...) The breakthrough was when I set the box fan to medium instead of low. This produces the most consistent heat I've seen yet.
I am heating about 2000 sq feet of drafty 1870s Federal style home. There's a central entry way and stairs going up with living room on right (w/ insert) and dining room/kitchen on left. The box fan is placed where the dining room meets the entry way pointed toward the living room. I have probably 24' of 6" stainless inside a masonry chimney with no draft problems whatsoever.
Currently sitting on a 7/8ths full oil tank (filled in October and we heat water with oil) and couldn't be happier. If the weather continues to be mild I may not need a February fill up.
First year: Typical new guy mistakes. Poorly seasoned wood, damping the fire down too quickly. No real biggie, though--I still saved about 400 gallons of heating oil.
Second year: Better wood, but not enough of it. I also made the mistake of cutting up a lot of basswood. I did add a box fan to my repertoire to blow cold air toward the insert though, with excellent results. For new guys--the fan sounds crazy but it works. I saved nearly 600 gallons of oil.
Third year: Laid in a supply of seasoned wood in May and added to that in August. Split the delivered splits into sizes my insert likes--small is better for me to allow me to fill it right up. I also found a source of pallets so the wood is off the driveway. Up to this year, I typically ran the blower on high and the box fan on low. I heated OK but my burn times were fairly short with a pretty good amount of coal build up which I'd need to burn off at least once a day during 24/7 burning season.
As a result of an earlier thread about blower speeds, I decided to experiment with running the blower on low. This worked great as my insert temps were hotter and seemed to give off heat longer. I will normally get the air damped down to all the way closed or open to a half inch or less every burn. (It turns out this is how the instructions say to run it...) The breakthrough was when I set the box fan to medium instead of low. This produces the most consistent heat I've seen yet.
I am heating about 2000 sq feet of drafty 1870s Federal style home. There's a central entry way and stairs going up with living room on right (w/ insert) and dining room/kitchen on left. The box fan is placed where the dining room meets the entry way pointed toward the living room. I have probably 24' of 6" stainless inside a masonry chimney with no draft problems whatsoever.
Currently sitting on a 7/8ths full oil tank (filled in October and we heat water with oil) and couldn't be happier. If the weather continues to be mild I may not need a February fill up.
