Summit has not blasted me out of the house

[GeneralBill]

Been burning the new Summit for a few weeks now (lows in teens and twenties F). When I was shopping, the stove dealer really did not want to sell me the Summit. Said it was too large and would toast me out of the house. I talked him into it after a few discussions.

I have a 2500 sqft single level that was well heated by an old, large, Earth stove. I often put 24" pieces and packed it full to get a solid 12 hour burn. The Summit has just kept the main room in the 70's during this cold snap. I've kept it loaded.

Maybe the install was not efficient for heating. He used 8' of double-wall straight up to the ceiling. The old install had about 4' of single wall angled into a false wall. I remember the stovepipe providing quite a bit of heat, but the new one is almost touchable.

Guess I might have to invest in a fan. It just doesn't seem like I'm getting much heat from the unit. The draft might be too good as it is 21' (measured from the floor) straight up. But I've tried choking it down.

I've also noticed that when she's blazing away on fresh logs, there seems to be lots of strong secondary burn flames rounding up the top-front curve and just heading up the chimney -- like I don't really recoup the heat from these flames.

Appreciate any thoughts. Maybe I'm just expecting too much, but it doesn't seem like the installer's prediction was right.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Hogwildz]

Been burning the new Summit for a few weeks now (lows in teens and twenties F). When I was shopping, the stove dealer really did not want to sell me the Summit. Said it was too large and would toast me out of the house. I talked him into it after a few discussions.

I have a 2500 sqft single level that was well heated by an old, large, Earth stove. I often put 24" pieces and packed it full to get a solid 12 hour burn. The Summit has just kept the main room in the 70's during this cold snap. I've kept it loaded.

Maybe the install was not efficient for heating. He used 8' of double-wall straight up to the ceiling. The old install had about 4' of single wall angled into a false wall. I remember the stovepipe providing quite a bit of heat, but the new one is almost touchable.

Guess I might have to invest in a fan. It just doesn't seem like I'm getting much heat from the unit. The draft might be too good as it is 21' (measured from the floor) straight up. But I've tried choking it down.

I've also noticed that when she's blazing away on fresh logs, there seems to be lots of strong secondary burn flames rounding up the top-front curve and just heading up the chimney -- like I don't really recoup the heat from these flames.

Appreciate any thoughts. Maybe I'm just expecting too much, but it doesn't seem like the installer's prediction was right.

Thanks,

Bill

Straight up is the best way to go when possible.
Fan will help alot.
too"good" a draft will make it run hotter & burn faster. Not slow it down.
What temps are you cutting the air back, cruising along at etc?
Your going to have to relearn using a newer EPA stove. That thing should out out just as good of heat with less wood consumption.
Not saying this is your case, but MANY burners think their wood is dry and ready, when in reality, it is not.
Your not going to lose as much heat up the top as you think, once you have it up to temp and cut the air back.
Where is the thermo placed on the stove?
You are in the learning curve, experiment some to find the best burns for your situation. Try letting it run a lil hotter before cutting the air back.
May have to leave the air lever a tad open and experiment with that also.

 

[GeneralBill]

Straight up is the best way to go when possible.
Fan will help alot.
too"good" a draft will make it run hotter & burn faster. Not slow it down.
What temps are you cutting the air back, cruising along at etc?
Your going to have to relearn using a newer EPA stove. That thing should out out just as good of heat with less wood consumption.
Not saying this is your case, but MANY burners think their wood is dry and ready, when in reality, it is not.
Your not going to lose as much heat up the top as you think, once you have it up to temp and cut the air back.
Where is the thermo placed on the stove?
You are in the learning curve, experiment some to find the best burns for your situation. Try letting it run a lil hotter before cutting the air back.
May have to leave the air lever a tad open and experiment with that also.

I agree I'm still learning, so I'll not be too quick to judge. My wood is very dry, cut many years ago then covered. There has been a nice thread on woodsheds lately. I mean to take a pic and join in. My main shed is made of poly material and getting some sun in is helpful.

I place the thermo on the top, kind of halfway from edge to pipe. It will hit 700 degrees, but I've noticed from 300 up depending on wood/coal situation. Control is not something I understand well yet. I'll try some greater air. I guess I was just surprised that the house isn't super hot as the installer thought. I said "70's" but really meant low 70's for the temperature in the stove room (1200 sqft, 7' to 20' ceiling, the installer relented partially due to the large room). I plan to get another thermo.

Thanks!

Bill

 

[snowtime]

That is one big room and if the 7' to 20' ceiling is correct and you do not have a ceiling fan then I would suggest one in that 20' section.

 

[thechimneysweep]

Sounds like your stove dealer might have given you false expectations. The Summit is rated to heat up to 3,000 sq.ft. As discussed at length in this forum and elsewhere, up to means just that. That 3,000 sq.ft. home would be very well insulated, have a normal amount of window area and 8' ceilings and would be located in Seattle, where the average January temperature is 41 degrees F.

Some quick math reveals that your 1200 sq.ft. main room has an average ceiling height of about 14 feet, or an area of about 16,800 cu.ft., which is the area of a 2100 sq.ft. house with 8' ceilings. You don't say what the ceiling height of your remaining 1300 sq.ft. might be, but even if the rest of your house has 8' ceilings, you're heating the equivalent of a 3400 sq.ft. house. Factor in outdoor temps in the teens and twenties, and your heating needs would strain any wood stove, even if your house has few windows and excellent insulation.

The Summit is an air convection heater, meaning it puts out most of its heat in the form of heated air. You've got a lot of air to heat, and that heated air is going to take a beeline to the peak of the ceiling, 20' above. By all means, consider a blower on the stove and a ceiling fan to pull the heated air down to where the humans live, and also help circulate it into the rest of the house.

 

[madison]

All I will add is the blower on my T6 made a really big difference on the heat output and circulation of air across the stove. I highly recommend the 5 min install and couple hundred bucks if you feel that the output needs boosting.

I have noticed that the stove top temperature will be up to 75-100 degrees hotter without the fan on, so I believe that should be considered when monitoring the stove.

 

[begreen]

Our local PE dealer thought I was nuts to put in the big T6. Said it would drive us out of the house. Fortunately Tom stepped in with a more pragmatic approach and his advice was correct.

Get the Summit and be happy. It will be just right for your location and house size. The stove is a flexible burner and super easy to start and run. If you get the plain model, skip the ashpan option. It's worthless. Put the money into a blower instead.

 

[cycloxer]

1. Get the blower. This will add 30-50% more heat output.

2. How long did your wood dry before you burnt it?

These EPA stoves work better with very dry wood. Otherwise you have to run them hot as all hell and they will throw a lot of heat still, but you will burn more wood.

 

[GeneralBill]

Sounds like your stove dealer might have given you false expectations. The Summit is rated to heat up to 3,000 sq.ft. As discussed at length in this forum and elsewhere, up to means just that. That 3,000 sq.ft. home would be very well insulated, have a normal amount of window area and 8' ceilings and would be located in Seattle, where the average January temperature is 41 degrees F.

Some quick math reveals that your 1200 sq.ft. main room has an average ceiling height of about 14 feet, or an area of about 16,800 cu.ft., which is the area of a 2100 sq.ft. house with 8' ceilings. You don't say what the ceiling height of your remaining 1300 sq.ft. might be, but even if the rest of your house has 8' ceilings, you're heating the equivalent of a 3400 sq.ft. house. Factor in outdoor temps in the teens and twenties, and your heating needs would strain any wood stove, even if your house has few windows and excellent insulation.

The Summit is an air convection heater, meaning it puts out most of its heat in the form of heated air. You've got a lot of air to heat, and that heated air is going to take a beeline to the peak of the ceiling, 20' above. By all means, consider a blower on the stove and a ceiling fan to pull the heated air down to where the humans live, and also help circulate it into the rest of the house.

Thanks, but you're embarrassing me with the equivalent square footage calculations -- why didn't I think of that! Also:
>The Summit is an air convection heater,
You said that right. The old Earth stove had great radiant heat. Last week, the Summit had been cooking away for half an hour while my wife and I were sitting in the stove area. We wondered why it wasn't warm, then she went up to the dining area (same room space, just up 3') and said "Hey, but it is warm here." About half an hour later we noticed that we weren't cold anymore -- in fact we were getting a bit warm. I guess, like you said, the air was warmed from the top first.

Advice much appreciated. I'll look into the fan, I'm just worried about when we don't use it, perhaps the motor or wiring will overheat.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[GeneralBill]

Thanks to All for the advice. For now, I'll be more patient and look into a blower.

Boy those flames can be watched for hours.

- Bill

 

[EatenByLimestone]

"I’ll look into the fan, I’m just worried about when we don’t use it, perhaps the motor or wiring will overheat."

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I have a fan and a few wires attached directly to the back of my woodstove and they've been fine for a few years now. I have heard of natural convection turning ceiling fans when they were turned off. I'd like to see that happen someday.

Matt