Mt Vernon AE Insert -- need more heat.

I know it's been in the single digits the last few days here in Central Mass, but I am a (negatively) surprised at the performance of my stove. This is my first season with the appliance (started burning in mid-Nov '12), so I just want to check I am doing everything I can. My home was built in 2003, It's 2400 sq ft. The fireplace is in the family room, cathedral ceiling with fan running. Laser thermo gun confirms warm air is not pooling in up high.

I have been burning Okies since the start. I calibrated the flame height per the manual and found that -4 worked best. The stove is perfect when the temps are > 20F. I only use it on manual mode, but I can set it to 3, 4 or 5 as I need to based out outside temps. In these days the family room would get into the low 70s and the kitchen, where the controller is, high 60s eventually hitting the set point of 71F if it is warmer outside.

Now with the frigid temps I have the stove on 5 Manual. In the morning the family room is 66 and the kitchen 63. I can't understand this. I thought at least the family room would stay warm. I switched to Blazers after a good clean down of the stove and these render +2 degree benefit in the family room.

I have read about all kinds of settings e.g. -5 Corn. Has it really come to this, I am thinking?

I would appreciate any thoughts folks might have.

Perhaps my expectations were simply too high and need to turn on the oil.

Thanks.

Greg

Some misc stuff:

• We're good about cleaning it. We clean every two days with ash vac.
• We have OAK
• We did the baffle after the first ton, per the manual.
• In total we've burned 1 ton + 20 bags.
• The controller is about 20 feet from the stove, but I have an 'stat for the oil in family room, which is where I take my reading. I have check it agreed with thermo.
• The opening from family room is about 12 x 8.

-4 your starving the stove bump it up way up at least +2 i was running like you i thought i was good but not enough heat
and if you really want some heat go to sunflower setting

But wouldn't the flame height go over the top? It already peaks over the top of the diamond in -4. I'll try it now though.

no way can you be crying about heat with oakies bump it up man im on sunflower right now +2 which is alot i cant hold my hand in front of the stove for a second

we discussed the flame height in this thread http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/a-couple-of-mt-vernon-ae-questions.103106/page-2

what fuel setting you using?

OMV do you keep it on that setting all winter or just for these cold snaps? I have to check to see how I'm burning, but I really have to complaints.

I am on softwood. I am also on start of the 2nd of 3 bags of Blazers which I got to try. I am on +2 now. The flame height didn't change. and if anything is more steady and lower than -4. I am very confused.

just this week im asking ALOT out of the stove and its complying with swallowing pellets

the flame will fluctuate but you will notice a more fuller fire in the pot. play with the flame height i usually run on softwood too. dont be scared to bump it even more then +2 you will see the difference quick with those oakies for sure

i havent tried blazers but hear they are great and real hot so you have 2 great pellets

OK, 30 mins on +2 and already feels warmer. I am worried the flame height as I thought it could damage the stove. Here are two pics of the height at the min / max. It only stays at the higher for a short time.

Flame height low

Flame height high

like i said earlier i was in the same position as you, running - for a whole season before i started to run +. like i always say you want more heat gonna cost more pellets
as far as damaging the stove there are safteys in place to worry about that I was concerned as you are and thats why i never got the heat i have today lol

I find that on single digits I need to bump the stove to manual 5 as well. I was having issues similar to yours until I bumped my flame height from -1 to 2 and I find I can bump the stove down to 4 on manual. I have found that you may need to monkey with the flame height with the temp. The quality of pellets make a difference.

I've had mine since oct of 2012. Still learning as well. Good thread. Hopefully more veteran quad owners will chime in.

As a side note, what is so special about the sunflower mode? I use softwood but I'm seeing more and more people recommend it on cold days.

sunflower is like being a bad boy and being sent to sit in hell LOL its just HOT and sucks up the pellets with this setting i would show a little concern about overfiring the stove, not saying it will as i dont know for a fact just makes sense your using pellets when the setting says you should use sunflower seeds
But i wouldnt fear +5 on softwood setting

just for the record im no Pro im playing around just like you all

Even at a flame height of 2 I can get the tips of the flame to lick the top of the baffle. But I'm always up for experimenting!

Well I personally appreciate your help today. I'll keep watching what happens. I have not gone to sunflower settings yet.

i was concerned with the actual height of the flame thats why i was always running on - forget about that imo go after the heat

when you dont need that much heat can lower the flame height accordingly to save on pellets all your doing is controlling the pellet feed

OMV I am 72 in the family room now. 67 in the kitchen. So net +3 degrees in one hour. I am happy. Slight plastic smell, but I am guessing that the stove just hasn't been this hot since new.

So going forward, which is the best way to control the heat? Go from 5 to 4, or use flame height adjust?

Likely a combination of the two because the flame height only adjusts the amount of pellets the auger dumps, while upping the stove to 5 increases auger operation as well as the combustion and distributor blower.

thats something you have to figure out what works best for you and more efficient considering pellet consumption. i usually run on auto, but over shoot the stat by 5
but 2 is the norm

I live in southern Mass the last three mornings have been 10, 4, and 11. Normally I run in automatic mode when the outside temp rises during the day into the 40’s or higher.
When it stays below freezing I switch manual mode. During this cold snap I’m running manual 3 flame -5 blower quiet and softwood. Using Freedom Fuel mostly and added in a few bags of Green Team Platinum. Heating about 2K sq ft. the first floor is 73 and the second is 70-71.
My unit is a fire place insert build 2009.

This stove is the reason for Global Warming. I did not read the other posts so I am shooting from the hip.

1.) turn that flame height up. +4 works great. Remember fire is hot.
2.) put it in auto mode and set the programming to the time and temp you want.
3.) after one ton have you removed the combustion blower and cleaned in there?
4.) sent it on hardwood pellets and leave it unless you change fuel.

Question, how many bags a day are you burning? If you tell me 1/2 a bag drop and give me 25, NOW!
You will not get the heat you want doing that. I do but I also have a wood stove,, yes it is a Quad.

Eric

Bwwwaaaahhhhh! Are you serious?

I keep my house a bit cooler than many on this forum, 65 at night and 68 - 70 during the day. My Mt Vernon has kept up with the work load without a problem. I have been monitoring the convection air temperature, just out of curiosity. With the insert running in manual and flame height set to 4, burning Greene Team's, the air temperature has varied from 230 to 260 deg F. At the end of an autoclean (just restarting), the air temperature was at 156 deg F.
It has been consuming about 2.5 bags a day during this cold spell. That's only about 28000 BTU per hour delivered. The chimney sweep will be here tomorrow (I don't do roofs anymore). We'll see what the output is after that. To produce the full capacity of this stove pellet consumption would have to be over four bags a day.

OMV I'm glad to see that you're a beliver now.