Non-Cat EPA. How Long?

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Bigg_Redd said:
CodyWayne718 said:
Hope this is in the right place. I know most of everyone on here burns "seasoned wood", so I am wondering, how long does it take once you reload for your non-cat EPA stoves to get back up to lets say 550 degrees? Seems like if I let my temp drop to about 250 or 300 before reload it takes it forever to not only get up to temp but even to take off with flames. Jus wondering what others experiances have been.

No idea. Never timed it. Hope this helps.

11 months on this site, knew there had to be one somewhere. Usually doesnt take this long for them to be seen.
 
Cody,

I have a small insert also. Sounds like your splits may be too big. How big are your splits? I had the same problem. I had to re-split a lot of my wood specifically for start ups, and it worked great. I also cut down a bunch of my splits to 12" to make for better burns.

To re-split the wood I used the tire method. It worked great for this.
 
Cody, I have the same stove, with a much shorter chimney and experience some of the same issues. Some things I have tried are, On a reload lets say the morning, i turn off the blower. This allows the firebox to get back up to a good temp. after about 15-20 min. i turn it back on. I agree with loading n/s in this stove. Due to its relative size more wood with better airspace around the splits works well. in particular with packing it up for the night. Also one thing i noticed it the shelf in front of the stove where the primary air comes in can get ash packed in there, next time your fire burns down enough try and clean this area out. I notice much better temps and faster flame-ups on reloads when I do this. Also theres no real good area for a thermometer on this stove. before i installed the surround I tested the flue pipe, when i place it on the corner of the door, I see temps often 200 deg. less. Hope this helps.
 
CodyWayne718 said:
Den said:
CodyWayne718 said:
. . .chimney is about 28' tall, 6'' dura flex SS liner, no block off and insulated at the top plate. Seems to draft fine to me, but I am new to all this. Thanks for all the replys!!
If your chimney is on the exterior of the house, your insert is probably losing a lot of heat to the masonry. This could have something to do with what you are experiencing. Fix = install block-off plate and insulation behind the insert.
Insulate behind the insert or insulate the whole chimney? Guy said he insulated the top of the chimney since there wasnt a block off plate so the liner would stay warm from the stove its self.
Insulate with mineral wool on the walls of the fireplace behind the insert. This may not be your main issue, but there are many threads on getting better performance by insulating inserts.
 
On a reload I get flames within seconds . . . back up to cruising speed within 10-30 minutes.

A lot of good suggestions here . . . I tend to use at least one smaller split . . . often of a less dense wood to help give the fire a little bit of help.
 
I mix stuff in with that hedge, usually sycamore on the bottom an hedge on top I was jus stating how dry the hedge was! :) I'll look into the insulation, that seems to make sense. Thanks for all the replys, except that one.
 
Havent insulated behind the firebox yet but I did insulate around my liner where the damper for the chimney was, guess it acts as a block off plate. Gets back up to temp a lot lot faster. Cant wait to insulate to whole fire place. Thanks a lot fellow hearth members
 
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