Regency I2400 combustion air problem

[taf]

I have a regency I2400 that is slow to start. It is about 12 years old, but new to me. Once I getting it going pretty good (flames on all of the wood loaded and flue at about 500F), I can close the draft control and in about 5 min all of the flame is gone. It is my understanding that new stoves should have a minimum amount of air even in the closed position so this can't happen. It has a 6" flue that is about 15ft tall and it is clean. I checked the holes for the glass air wash and the one primary air hole which looks to be just one ~1/4 hole and they are clear. Is there really just one 1/4 hole for the primary air on this thing or am I missing something? I can't get to the air control valve to inspect it to see if it is dirty. Any suggestions of why am not getting enough combustion air or what to check? Thanks.

 

[begreen]

Greetings. This is most frequently an issue of draft or wood seasoning or both. What is the outside temperature? When was the wood split and stacked? Is it hardwood?

 

[kennyp2339]

Once I getting it going pretty good (flames on all of the wood loaded and flue at about 500F), I can close the draft control and in about 5 min all of the flame is gone

Check your wood moisture levels -

 

[taf]

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to say that I am burning eucalyptus and the moisture level is about 16% measured with a probe stuck in the wood. I split the dry wood to make the moisture measurement on the inside. It was stacked in the sun for about 9months, and it is a very dry climate with 100F+ days in the summer. So I am pretty sure it is dry enough.

The outside temperature is about 50F.

I just called the regency rep and he talked me though most of the issues he could think of and did not come to a reason for it other than it might work with different wood or loading of the wood. I am surprised by this because, prior to using this stove I used a R14 for about 8 years and I never had this problem (burning the same kind of wood).

The difference in size of the primary combustion air holes are drastically different between the R14 and the 2400 and it seems this might be a hint. Could it be the newer stoves are just more sensitive to the type of wood? I find that hard to believe, but I guess possible.

Are there any other reasons, even obscure ones, that I should consider?

I asked the rep if the air control valve could be clogged and he said that I can't really get to that to check and he did not think so. I did inspect what I could see, the combustion air holes and the air inlet area. I was thinking of putting some compressed air in the air holes to see if that clears anything out. Have you even seen a clogged air control valve? Any ideas of how to get to it to see it on a 2400?

Thanks.

 

[begreen]

My thought would be that the 2400 needs a bit stronger draft. If so, the stove should perform much better at 40F. If you find this the case then the solution is to add about 3 ft of chimney pipe.

 

[Woody Stover]

My thought would be that the 2400 needs a bit stronger draft. If so, the stove should perform much better at 40F. If you find this the case then the solution is to add about 3 ft of chimney pipe.

I got away with lighting the Buck today in the upper 50s (after burning newspaper to heat up the liner, and I could cut the air pretty low. That stove is on a 22'stack, though. You could take a cheap piece of vent pipe and put it up there temporarily as a test to see if adding 3' would work.

 

[taf]

This sounds like a good idea. Once it gets cold again I will try it. It is now in the mid 50's in the morning so I will have to wait. Once it hits 40 I will try closing it down again. I will also measure the draft to see how it changes with the outside temp. I have not really considered that effect before. Since I have to wait for it to get cold, I ran some calculations to see how big of an effect it is. I used basically the equations on :http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/natural-draught-ventilation-d_122.html and I have attached the result if you are interested.

At lower flue temperatures ~200F it is a 10% effect in mass flow rate of air going from OAT of 60F to 40F for example. It is about a 5% effect at the higher temperatures. That does not sound large, but the high flow rate increases the temperature and I have not modeled that, but it would increase the effect even more. So I am hopeful that this is the problem. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[cableman]

This is the inside of the primary air control on a hampton hi300 which is the same stove. It does not close off this hole when the lever is all the way in.
You could have rust chips that built up and clogged it causing it to only pull air through that 1/4" hole on the right side.
Shine a light in the 1/4" hole and you should see light when looking through the rectangle cut outs on same side. Open and close primary lever.

 

[taf]

Last night I made a fire even though is was 58F outside. I measured the draft and it was pretty good, 0.12" H2O. This was higher than I expected, so I am now thinking it is not a draft problem. Colder outside temperatures will help, but it seems unlikely given the good draft numbers I have.

cableman, this is exactly what I was hoping to see, an actual picture of the air control valve. It looks like you had to cut your way in to see it. So does that mean I can't get to it directly to clean it? What air channels does the aircontrol vale regulate? There are 3 that I know of: the 1/4 hole below the door on the inside, the glass air wash, and the secondary burn. Are there any other that I am missing?

The 1/4" hole that you suggest I shine light though is the one below the door on the inside? I don't know what you mean about the rectangular cut outs on the same side. The 1/4" hole is in the center. Can you explain a bit further? If I do find that it is clogged, how can I clean it. Since you have it apart and can see how it works do you have any suggestions? Does anyone have a mechanical drawing of the air channels?

Do you have any more pictures? What does the control valve that covers this hole look like? How is is guided? Any pictures of how the air channels are connected?
Thanks.

 

[cableman]

From what ive read the hampton hi300 which i have is the same firebox as the regency i2400, maybe im wrong with this.
The picture i posted is not my hi300 but one who installed the smart stove controller, after looking at that and inspecting mine i understood how it works.
Post a pic of that hole you are refering to, ill see if its the same as mine