Insert not heating room or house

[joescho]

The insert does have a blower.i leave it on automatic so that it will automatically come on after a certain time and temp has been reached. I have been able toget the stove to 500+ degrees but the thermometer is showing that that's too hot for stove so I try not to get it that high. Will burning at 500 be ok? Also should I split wood up more or leave them how they are already split. Won't that make ten burn faster? How would. I go about an insulated damper block off plate? Why couldn't you just throw some insulation up the chimney? Anything at this point will help

Not sure if the blower control/thermometer you speak of is the same for my stove the Jotul C550, but if it is its not reliable and I do not use it. Instead I leave the blower on all the time and use a regular lamp timer to shut it off.

I think the only difference between your insert and the C550 I have is the size. That thing should be cranking the heat. If you're getting it upwards of 550, then I would try leaving the blower on all the time and use a fan like others have said.

I also must admit, the wood I use is absolutely not the best in the wet/seasoned department too.

Even if your home is poorly insulated that thing should make the room where the stove is prety warm. Then use a cheap box fan to blow cold air from other rooms into the room where the stove is to echange the hot/cold air.

 

[Holiday]

I have a freestanding stove but because of the design I also have the thermometer on the door above the glass. When I have it burning properly on a full load of wood it's generally around 550 -600 with the thermometer I have. It throws substantially more heat running there than say even running it at 450.

 

[Jags]

I hope so too.. What does the damper block off plate consist of? How do I go about getting hotter temps ? More smaller logs? How would you recommend burning? If it were ur stove lets say

A blockoff plate can be made from light gauge tin. Easy to work with when you need to bend the edges, cut hole, etc.
BG covered the wood issue.
If it were MY stove...The first thing I would do is get rid of the fiberglass ins. It should not be used for this application. Second thing would be to build the appropriate blockoff plate and insulate above that. Fasten the blockoff in place and then seal the edges of the plate. Third - I would rock that stove without exceeding ~600F and run the blower at a midrange setting. I would let the stove complete one burn cycle and then load it up again (from the hot coals ~300F). THEN evaluate the heat output.

 

[Bulldogmoose]

A blockoff plate can be made from light gauge tin. Easy to work with when you need to bend the edges, cut hole, etc.
BG covered the wood issue.
If it were MY stove...The first thing I would do is get rid of the fiberglass ins. It should not be used for this application. Second thing would be to build the appropriate blockoff plate and insulate above that. Fasten the blockoff in place and then seal the edges of the plate. Third - I would rock that stove without exceeding ~600F and run the blower at a midrange setting. I would let the stove complete one burn cycle and then load it up again. THEN evaluate the heat output.

Any particular gauge? How do you fasten and seal it off

 

[Bulldogmoose]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/why-damper-seal-is-needed/

Drier wood is often the key to hotter fires. Try resplitting a couple loads of wood and set them aside in a box for a week in the house. This will help them dry out faster. After a week or so try burning this wood. If you have a much hotter fire the solution will be to get the wood drier quicker or to buy some kiln dried wood or a quality compressed fuel product.

PS: Regular fiberglass is not ok, particularly if it is in contact with the flue pipe. If so, get it out and replace it with a mineral wool insulation like Roxul.

The insulation is only around the stoves firebox sandwiched in between the original masonry firebox.. You're saying I should replace that with roxul wool insulation?

 

[Grisu]

To get an idea how stove top temp corresponds to temp at the front door maybe buy or borrow a second thermometer. Pull of the surround and remove the top air jacket if the Jotul has one to expose the stove top. Place one thermometer at the top and a second one at the front. Run the insert a few days with the blower off and compare both temps during the burn cycle. Then you can put the air jacket and the surround back on knowing when it says 500 F at the front that means x F stovetop.

A few options for your wood:
- mix in 1 or 2 manufactured logs like Biobricks or Enviro-logs with your not so good wood. That will bring down the overall moisture content.
- Get lumber scraps or cut up pallets (usually found for free at big box stores). Those are usually pretty dry.
- Ask your coworker if he is several winters ahead in seasoning his wood supply. Offer him to have 3 cords of green wood delivered to his house for two cords of seasoned wood. Of course, help with the stacking.
In any case, clean your chimney often. This one works well and takes not much time: http://gardusinc.com/sooteater.html

 

[begreen]

The insulation is only around the stoves firebox sandwiched in between the original masonry firebox.. You're saying I should replace that with roxul wool insulation?

If it's away from the flue collar and liner and if it is raw, unfaced fiberglass it's probably ok. If it is paper faced, yes replace it.

 

[Jags]

Any particular gauge? How do you fasten and seal it off

20-22ga - whatever. There is almost no force on it, so it can really be a light ga. Tapcons - masonry nails, etc. Seal with hi temp silicon around the outside edges.
If you search here for blockoff plates it will provide reading material till the cows come home.

 

[weatherguy]

The insulation is only around the stoves firebox sandwiched in between the original masonry firebox.. You're saying I should replace that with roxul wool insulation?

Yes, go to Lowes and get a package of the Roxul Begreen recommended, he also provided a link on how to make a block off plate, I got my tin at Home Depot, it was under $10 a sheet.

 

[Grisu]

The insulation is only around the stoves firebox sandwiched in between the original masonry firebox.. You're saying I should replace that with roxul wool insulation?

Yes, fiberglass contains glue and other stuff that can outgas at the high temps of a stove. Roxul is the appropriate insulation for that application.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I currently have fiberglass insulation surrounding stove now except for on top. I was told that regular fiberglass insulation was ok to do so with. I believe it is r30 where would I get a stove top temp therm And where would I put it. I understand it is a small insert but my house is not very big and it's not even heating my room that much

Something is wrong here if the stove wont even heat the room its in,no matter how small the stove. Try measuring the warm air temps coming out from the fans and compare with other members here. I suspect a wood problem. Less than ideal wood in a too small insert is a recipe for a cold house.

 

[begreen]

20-22ga - whatever. There is almost no force on it, so it can really be a light ga. Tapcons - masonry nails, etc. Seal with hi temp silicon around the outside edges.
If you search here for blockoff plates it will provide reading material till the cows come home.

26 ga is much easier to work with and totally sufficient.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/why-damper-seal-is-needed/

 

[begreen]

Something is wrong here if the stove wont even heat the room its in,no matter how small the stove. Try measuring the warm air temps coming out from the fans and compare with other members here. I suspect a wood problem. Less than ideal wood in a too small insert is a recipe for a cold house.

Are there any open attic vents in the upstairs ceiling? Are there a lot of unsealed recessed ceiling lights?

 

[Bulldogmoose]

Are there any open attic vents in the upstairs ceiling? Are there a lot of unsealed recessed ceiling lights?

The room my stove is in is my living room I'd say 12x20 first floor the stairs are ff that room that lead up to second floor.. I don't have lights in that room an there are no vents .. The place I bought stove from said its definitely my wood.. But I do have some stuff that's seasoned and I can't get my room or house past 60 degrees

 

[begreen]

The heat is going somewhere. Maybe temporarily hang some plastic to block off the stairway and see if that makes a major difference.

Look for any window leaks upstairs. A neighbor had this same problem and we finally traced it down to his attic door. The gap at the bottom of the door was about 1/2". At .5 x 36" that turned out to be an 18 sq in hole.

 

[Bulldogmoose]

The heat is going somewhere. Maybe temporarily hang some plastic to block off the stairway and see if that makes a major difference.

Look for any window leaks upstairs. A neighbor had this same problem and we finally traced it down to his attic door. The gap at the bottom of the door was about 1/2".

Just replaced all windows in my house as well as exterior doors.. In my upstairs bedrooms there are two doors that lead to my crawl space .. .. We keep our bedroom door open so he can get into that room

 

[Grisu]

Check this thread out for proper burning technique. Lots of good advice in there:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/fireplace-insert-burn-techniques-best-practices.117055/
Think about getting a moisture meter. Lots of places to get one from (local hardware store, internet etc.). This one is cheap but does the job: http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-mini-moisture-meter-67143.html
If you suspect it is the wood get some bundles of kiln dried stuff from the grocery store and do a burn with those. See if that helps.

 

[Bulldogmoose]

Check this thread out for proper burning technique. Lots of good advice in there.
Think about getting a moisture meter. Lots of places to get one from (local hardware store, internet etc.). This one is cheap but does the job: http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-mini-moisture-meter-67143.html
If you suspect it is the wood get some bundles of kiln dried stuff from the grocery store and do a burn with those. See if that helps.

I tried that and guess what.. Nothing by hissing wood was definitely not dry

 

[Bulldogmoose]

I've gotten the stove up to the 550's and room still at 60 maybe 62 where would all the heat be going..

 

[Jags]

26 ga is much easier to work with and totally sufficient.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/why-damper-seal-is-needed/

Agreed - but you have seen how I build things.

 

[begreen]

LOL Welded structural block-off plate?

 

[dmmoss51]

The question of where is all that heat going:

1. Turning water into water vapor requires lots of heat and goes with the vapor up the chimney

2. Until the blockoff plate is installed you are heating a lot of chimney air which may make it draft nice but doesn't help your room out

3. New windows and doors are great but do you have gaps in your insulation around the windows and doors, outlets etc? If its poorly insulated you're doing a good job of heating the outdoors

4. Finally you have some heat going into the room. Remember radient heat does not heat the air as well as it heats the "stuff" it may take quite a while to get your room up to temperature and then it will be easier to maintain as the room does not cool until all the stuff cools. It would be interesting to see what kind of temps you could have once you have run the stove through several cycles over about 24 hours.

 

[Bulldogmoose]

The question of where is all that heat going:

1. Turning water into water vapor requires lots of heat and goes with the vapor up the chimney

2. Until the blockoff plate is installed you are heating a lot of chimney air which may make it draft nice but doesn't help your room out

3. New windows and doors are great but do you have gaps in your insulation around the windows and doors, outlets etc? If its poorly insulated you're doing a good job of heating the outdoors

4. Finally you have some heat going into the room. Remember radient heat does not heat the air as well as it heats the "stuff" it may take quite a while to get your room up to temperature and then it will be easier to maintain as the room does not cool until all the stuff cools. It would be interesting to see what kind of temps you could have once you have run the stove through several cycles over about 24 hours.

Doors and windows are all sealed and foam insulated . We are not home enough to get stoce burning 24 hrs a day and when we r both times it's been 50 degrees or so and house was able to get toasty then but cold weather has been difficult to get past 60

 

[dmmoss51]

I think that time factor is something to look at then. With a new appliance that you are still figuring out how to use I understand that leaving it unattended is not comfortable. With my fresstanding stove, I get a good fire going when I get home from work, load it up again before bed, and my aging dog needs to go out early enough in the morning that its also a good time to reload the stove (or maybe the dog is just cold) and finally I do a full load before I go to work.

I'm comfortable with my operation and not worried about the stove doing its thing when no one is home. Also the size of the loads I adjust so I can reload when I want to, not having to wait or try to reload on active flames.

If I only ran my stove fore three/four hours a night I would just start getting the temps I wanted and then it would be done.

 

[weatherguy]

4. Finally you have some heat going into the room. Remember radient heat does not heat the air as well as it heats the "stuff" it may take quite a while to get your room up to temperature and then it will be easier to maintain as the room does not cool until all the stuff cools. It would be interesting to see what kind of temps you could have once you have run the stove through several cycles over about 24 hours.

This is a good point, takes a good 24 hours of constantly running my stove for the house to be comfortable.