some updates...
1.) I have an energy audit scheduled for my home this monday. So I will get to see where/if my heat is going.
2.) I purchased some legit 1 1/2yr seasoned wood. All nice, big split hardwood.
So with the new/good wood I do notice that the heat output of the stove is definitely better. I am also getting longer burn times, but not much. I would say my burn times went from 4-5 hrs to 5-6hours (still no where near the 10hours PE claims on the website). So not much of a difference, however the stove temp remains higher for longer...which is good.
So while the seasoned wood made a difference, it wasn't a huge improvement to my situation.
Something I noticed about this insert that is bothering me is that it doesn't radiate heat AT ALL. Zero, none. Its so little that I never needed to move my TV (if you look in the pics in the post you can see where it is) which is only around 18" from my stove. In fact, the TV doesn't even get warm to the touch. Not even a little bit. I keep my ash bucket and fireplace tools on the hearth and they don't get warm at all (both are less than 1' away from stove). The stone is only slightly warm directly above the stove and cool 2' or more higher up. Unless you're standing directly in front of it and over 3' you don't even feel heat.
This is why I need to keep the blower on 24/7, which I think is causing the wood to burn faster and the temps in the box to drop. Im still scratching my head around the their genius idea of having the blower blow directly down across the front of the glass. All its doinig is heating up my hearth and floor. You cant even feel the air moving when you are more than 4' away. Such a dumb design.
Also - as of the end of October, Ive gone through 115 gallons of oil and Im probably around 4 cords of wood gone. Other than the first week of january where we had some really cold weather, its been mild too.
1.) I have an energy audit scheduled for my home this monday. So I will get to see where/if my heat is going.
2.) I purchased some legit 1 1/2yr seasoned wood. All nice, big split hardwood.
So with the new/good wood I do notice that the heat output of the stove is definitely better. I am also getting longer burn times, but not much. I would say my burn times went from 4-5 hrs to 5-6hours (still no where near the 10hours PE claims on the website). So not much of a difference, however the stove temp remains higher for longer...which is good.
So while the seasoned wood made a difference, it wasn't a huge improvement to my situation.
Something I noticed about this insert that is bothering me is that it doesn't radiate heat AT ALL. Zero, none. Its so little that I never needed to move my TV (if you look in the pics in the post you can see where it is) which is only around 18" from my stove. In fact, the TV doesn't even get warm to the touch. Not even a little bit. I keep my ash bucket and fireplace tools on the hearth and they don't get warm at all (both are less than 1' away from stove). The stone is only slightly warm directly above the stove and cool 2' or more higher up. Unless you're standing directly in front of it and over 3' you don't even feel heat.
This is why I need to keep the blower on 24/7, which I think is causing the wood to burn faster and the temps in the box to drop. Im still scratching my head around the their genius idea of having the blower blow directly down across the front of the glass. All its doinig is heating up my hearth and floor. You cant even feel the air moving when you are more than 4' away. Such a dumb design.
Also - as of the end of October, Ive gone through 115 gallons of oil and Im probably around 4 cords of wood gone. Other than the first week of january where we had some really cold weather, its been mild too.
Last edited: