PE Summit Insert Series-B and experiences in operation?

[begreen]

Me too at first. It helps a lot when the stove is in the signature.

 

[juneau10]

Ok, is it an insert or free standing stove. I thought you corrected and said it was a free standing. Only the insert has a "shroud". And you should not be insulating around the stove or insert itself. I suppose it would be fine to insulate the old fireplace inner walls. You should install a block off plate where the liner goes through the old fireplace damper(if you have not already done so). this keeps the heat from going up and getting absorbed by the masonry chimney, and being released to the outside. You can roxul the top of the block of plate if you want. Insulating around either the stove or insert, whichever it is, will only keep the heat inside the stove, rather the release it out to the home.
Pictures would be really helpful in understanding what you got going on.

Ah... sorry for the confusion. Yes, this is the insert, not free-standing. Like I said, I talked with PE tech support and they said that while it's not OK to insulate the shroud directly, it is OK to insulate the fireplace box. My installation was a little tight, so I had to get creative with the attachment of the Roxul to the wall to make sure it stayed on the wall, not on the stove. I added insulation to the thickness necessary to keep the "fireplace" dimensions to what the install manual said. Something like 1/4" gap around the shroud IIRC.

From what I read on www.chimneysweeponline.com (who is active on here, right?) and from talking with him before purchasing, the Summit Insert is supposed to be pretty good about getting heat *without* the fan since the side ones don't block the natural convection. I figured that for shoulder-season firing when it'd be good hold very low heat for a very long time, insulating and not running the fan should allow for slower heat transfer to the room via unforced convection. That, and the EBT won't have to open as far to keep the firebox hot enough. That's why I got really interested in the Rev-B EBT version.

I'll post some photos of the install in a bit.

 

[juneau10]

I'll post some photos of the install in a bit.

 

[begreen]

I'd hate to see this firebox insulation bite you later on if there is an issue.Did you get a signed copy from the tech with his name clearly visible on the statement? If so, send a copy to the dealer to have on file. It should work fine, but watch for overfiring.

 

[Hogwildz]

Nice stonework.
Is that a prefab fireplace the Summit sits in? No wood or other combustibles behind?

 

[juneau10]

Nice stonework.
Is that a prefab fireplace the Summit sits in? No wood or other combustibles behind?

Thanks. The fireplace is a built-in-place masonry with firebricks behind where I put the Roxul. I don't think it was ever fired as a fireplace, as it had an insert (slammer) in it when we bought the house. The whole masonry faux-stone (they're actually cement... flat on the backside) structure is external to the house and goes up to the exterior chimney. The inside face of that is flush with the wall and what you see. Thus the desire to insulate it so the exterior masonry doesn't suck the heat outside. Unfortunately, that foil-backed area directly above the stove is only 1/2" thick since that's all the space there is.

After a little more playing with the stove in the past few days of colder weather, it definitely seems as though the Series-B with its "Secondary Air control" operates differently than how I expected the EBT to act. Looking at the pictures posted previously, it appears that the "boost-secondary" air is allowed in only after sufficient draft is available. My experience seems similar... there isn't much secondary flame until it "turns-on," and then it really lights up. That tipping point is not related to firebox temp as much as I'd expect a thermostatic one to be. Building a fire hotter, I've had it mid-range on the thermometer... 450-ish above the door as well as measured with an IR-gun pointing at the stovepipe in the gap between the top of the stove and shroud. Even at that fairly hot temp, I can't necessarily turn the primary air all the way down without the secondaries going out. Oppositely, staring from a hot fire, shutting down the primary all the way and it won't really even throttle it down to that level. Secondaries stay raging pretty much no matter what.

Interesting, anyway... lots to learn on how best to load and operate this best.