Regency firebox

[bigd7270]

Good afternoon,
I am new to the forum, I hope this is posted in the right location.

I have a few questions about my firebox. I have a Regency standalone firebox. The only information I can find on the unit itself is that it is a Regency Medium Freestanding, I believe the model number is WH313982. I found a date on it which i think is the build date, August 1992. The only other information I found on it is R3/R9. I am not sure what that means. A previous owner installed it. I used it last year with little problems, but I didn't trust it so I only burned while my wife or I were home. I would like to trust it a little bit more but since i didn't install it I am a little leery. My first question, the room I have it in gets very warm, duh that is the idea, right . I would like to look for a fan that i can install on the back of the unit, to push the heat throughout the rest of my house. It looks like there are mounting points for the a fan on the back of the unit. Anyone know what I would want to get for this? Second question is, what is the optimal operating temperature with the unit? I have a temperature gauge about 2 feet above the box on the chimney. I typically run the box at 350-400 degrees, but a friend says I should run at 500 degrees. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[MovingOffGrid]

First thing (assuming you are new to wood bunring - apologies if you are not) is never run a stove without first thoroughly inspecting the chimney. Once that is proven good, clean and A-ok, then make sure all vent pipe connecting to the chimney is secure and in good order. 6" steel all the way? Masonry Chimney"? Check it out thoroughly with a professional if needed.

Stove questions:
Does it have a baffle inside at the top? I think if it does, those early EPA Regency stoves had a brick baffle that can be replaced (when needed) with their newer vermiculite baffle. The baffle enables the secondary burn so you want to make sure it works well. A 1992 stove is likely to need some attention there, if it was run regularly and saw some steady use over the years.

Do you have a local Regency dealer? If not, and no one here can perfectly identify your stove, start a dialogue with Regency Stoves via email - send them pictures and they'll know.

Clean Chimney temps, when taken at 18" off stove on single wall pipe, are anywhere from 280F to 550F, so you are in the range of clean burn (as long as your wood is dry enough). Low end of range for smaller fires and higher end of range for bigger fires is perfect. Of course, if you're only burning very little fires during shoulder season, your temps may not get into the sweet spot to start the secondary burn so you won't be in the perfect range during those times.

Once you know your stove model, Regency has fans that will fit - there may even be aftermarket ones available elsewhere, so nailing the model with Regency is step 1b. Step 1a, is making sure the chimney is 100%.

Hope this helps

 

[Retreadsme]

Model R3/R9 was as you described a medium freestanding Regency stove. The WH313982 is the serial number, I THINK! (then again everytime I try thinking I get in trouble) In my opinion you are wise to maintain a fire in it around 350-400 deg F. The only thing I can say about that unit is there were baffle problems in them apparently - warpage after extended firing and the EPA certification on that model expired 30 Jun 90.
My suggestion would be to speak with FPI directly (Fireplace Products International) to discuss specific issues that could be expected.