Having trouble heating whole house

[440rick]

Ok i have a us stove co model 6039 multi fuel stove ive been burning somerset wood pellets and clean the machine once a week i have noticed that right after cleaning for the first couple days it seems to burn hotter but not a real big difference anyway my house is an older home with decent insulation and is right around 1350 sq feet my problem is when its 20 deg or below outside i have to have the stove on atleast 7 or 8 just to keep it 68+ in the same room as the stove and will be around 65-66 in the rest of the house ive looked on here and see people are heating larger homes with stove similer in size and i cant see how burning 2 bags of pellets a day is a really good deal on heat but this is just me venting. the stove is installed correctly with a oak installed and i consider my self fairly novice with it but its just frustrating thanks Rick

any help or ideas will be helpful

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

There are several things that you may not understand when it comes to heating a whole house instead of just the room the stove is in.

The stove has to be able to generate enough BTUs to overcome the heat loss of your house (every house is different and more than just insulation is involved in heat loss).

Then you have to get that heat evenly distributed to all rooms in the house (stoves generally have problems in this area due to blower air flow ratings and the need for time for the air to become heated).

Let's talk about heat loss both of your house and of the stove.

First the stove, you have to keep the heat produced by the fire in the stoves heat exchanger long enough to heat the air the room (convection) blower is pushing through the heat exchanger. This requires just the correct combustion air to burn the fuel and no more, it is possible with an incorrect damper setting to send a pile of your heat right up the flue.

Then you have to maintain (as close as practically possible) an ash free combustion side of the heat exchanger (ash is an extremely good insulter and the very last thing you want on either side of the heat exchanger).

Now that the heat is being exchanged you have to have a convection blower that can remove the heat on the room side of the exchanger and disperse it into the rest of the house.

Heat loss in the house is via conduction, radiation, and convection. Conduction heat loss can be slowed down by insulation, convection heat loss by air sealing (but there is a limit), radiation heat loss by reflective films.

Just because you think your house is well insulated doesn't mean its heat loss is low frequently the single biggest heat loss in a house is air infiltration or convection (pressure differences and leaks) based. In essence you are continually heating outside air drawn into the house. This can take place at a rate that surprises people.

Then we come to windows which are very poor insulators and not all that poor at being radiation loss sources.

Take some time and play around with the heat loss calculator on www.builditsolar.com .

 

[KINGOFTHENORTH]

This year I sealed all the windows except the big picture window with 3M window kits(the ones you stick on 2 sided tape then shrink them a bit with a hairdryer).It has made a big difference to my house.The windows are 15 years old and need replacing. I dont know if I read it here somewhere but I heard that most houses have airleaks equivalent to one open window.

 

[jtakeman]

The above is very important. I will add in pellet selection. If your stove is b@lls out and no room at the top for more. You might need to shop around for a higher heat/BTU output pellet. Some of the members here constantly discuss the heat certain pellet produce. We'll also chat about the pellets that just don't cut it!

Some brands aren't dense enough or have excessive length/size to offer max heat output the stove can offer. You'll need to play around with some brands to see what cranks the most heat in your area/region. This will give you max heat for the cold weather and might even allow the stove to be turned down a notch. look for the skinny bags of fuel in your travels. They will be the ones with the most bulk density. Should also have small pellet size in them which will allow more volume of fuel to the fire. Somersets and Hamers are just a couple I look for in my area.

Just my 2 on how to get the heat out of the stove. I'll also second the damper possition. If you have it open to far, Your wasting heat up/out the vent. Adjust it with suttle movements to get past the lazy flame. Don't over do it in the cold. It may require more cleaning on your part. But you'll be warmer in the long run. Let the stove extract all the heat it can.

 

[mrjohneel]

Do all stoves have dampers? I don't think my Harman insert does. Does adjusitng the distribution blower setting have any affect? Thank you.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do all stoves have dampers? I don't think my Harman insert does. Does adjusitng the distribution blower setting have any affect? Thank you.

Not all stoves have dampers, mine doesn't it also has a trim setting only on the lowest firing rate. The combustion blower controls the combustion airflow in my stove. Your stove also varies the combustion blower as well for air control. Some stoves have a fixed combustion blower air flow rate because they run flat out, some stoves have both means of controlling combustion air flow (the damper being a course adjustment and the controller acting as a trimmer.

The operation basics are the same the implementation details vary.

Changing your distribution blower setting has impacts on both the temperature in the house and the temperature going up the flue. In the case of a Harman the controller tries to maintain the proper flue temperatures. In other words your stove will somewhat override what you do.

On other stoves you have to pay attention to the interaction of the room blower and its effects on exhaust temperatures.

This is one area that can cause problems (at least two of which you don't want to deal with) usually the stoves are designed to operate fairly well within the adjustments you have any influence over (provided you follow the manual).

It is all a balancing act.

Remove too much heat via the heat exchanger and the flue gases cool below the condensation point for things like creosote, remove too little heat and the it goes up the flue instead of into your house (it can also cause your stove to shut down due to over firing).

 

[DexterDay]

This year I sealed all the windows except the big picture window with 3M window kits(the ones you stick on 2 sided tape then shrink them a bit with a hairdryer).It has made a big difference to my house.The windows are 15 years old and need replacing. I dont know if I read it here somewhere but I heard that most houses have airleaks equivalent to one open window.

Been using these kits for a few years and I have new windows.... Huge heat savings. IMO

 

[ironpony]

A very big factor, that I found was circulating the air with box fans set on the floor
blowing the cold air toawards the stove room

 

[Weird tolkienish figure]

Ok i have a us stove co model 6039 multi fuel stove ive been burning somerset wood pellets and clean the machine once a week i have noticed that right after cleaning for the first couple days it seems to burn hotter but not a real big difference anyway my house is an older home with decent insulation and is right around 1350 sq feet my problem is when its 20 deg or below outside i have to have the stove on atleast 7 or 8 just to keep it 68+ in the same room as the stove and will be around 65-66 in the rest of the house ive looked on here and see people are heating larger homes with stove similer in size and i cant see how burning 2 bags of pellets a day is a really good deal on heat but this is just me venting. the stove is installed correctly with a oak installed and i consider my self fairly novice with it but its just frustrating thanks Rick

any help or ideas will be helpful

Sounds to me like you might have to clean it every few days. It's an inherent part of burning any kind of wood, you're left with solid waste matter.

Or try different pellets? These seem ashy.

 

[DexterDay]

Producing heat is one thing... Moving the heat is another.

Producing enough heat to sustain heat loss is one thing... Producing enough to gain on the loss is another.

You say you could only get the stove room to 68°… How large is the room its in? And is it a fairly open floor plan?

How old is the house? Is it a Ranch, Split level, Cape, Etc? How old are the windows (how many)?

Lots of factors go into heating a home. Just becasue your burning 2-3 bags a day in pellets. Does not mean your getting all those BTU's. You may burn 4 lbs an hr (32,000 BTU) but thats input BTU's. Depending on how well the stove extracts the heat, depends on your output.

As Smokey stated, the exchanger and the rate in which the air flows through it, plays a big role in the heating and efficiency of the unit. Some models have much better exchange systems. Even though most are tubes, some just work better. Some drag the heat down the length of the tube. My Quad uses the exchange channel as an exhaust channel. The heat has to travel down the entire linear length of each tube. Where my Englander just has tubes at the top and the exhuat takes a different path. So it relies on just the hot air rising to that area.

Lots and lots of variables. All houses are different (windows, insulation, etc) and all stove set-ups are different (basement install, on one side of house, or in an ideal central location).

I heated my house solely with the Quadrafire until getting the Fahrenheit and the Wood stove installed this season. It did a great job and only used 2 bags a day on the coldest of days. Heating almost 2,200 sq ft to mid 70's. But is a newer home, with added insulation, newer windows (w/ kits), and Lots of caulking and general sealing up.

Insulation is a good place to start saving BTU's. IMO

 

[greythorn3]

you could put faced insulation in the windows from the inside and then screw some plywood over the inside of the windows to make them a wall like structure to retain more heat, at least on the windows you dont care to look out.

 

[jmart]

[screw some plywood over the inside of the windows ]

:ahhh:

 

[440rick]

Ok sorry didn't get back asap working alot of hrs antagonist I cleaned stove top to bitten even pulled fake fire brick out and cleaned ash in back seems little better I have some older windows that need plastic I will try that Saturday and play with the damper settings thanks alot for everybofys help you rick
got