Top down start, break in fire

[USMC80]

heres a pic before bed, you can see it was loosely packed and not close to full

 

[DAKSY]

Had what I hope will be my final break in last night, fired her up around 9pm fan kicked on at around 10, think I have to check that snap disk because it took too long and I had it cranking. Woke up at 615, whole house around 78 degrees except for our bedroom because door was shut. Fan was still on and had a nice bed of coals still. This was all on five small splits of sassafrass that i loaded before bed at around 1030. Fan was still pumping out useable heat when i left the house at 645. Was very happy with the results

I wouldn't worry too much about the thermo (snap) disk. They generally take a little while before they close for the first time, almost like they, too, need a break in fire. After a couple of cycles, it'll start to operate the fan in 15 - 20 minutes & will stay that way til it fails, which usually takes years. BTW, The Hampton was always my favorite woodburning insert, when I was in the trade. Love those secondaries, too!

 

[USMC80]

Thanks for the advice Daksy, I won't mess with it then. I was really suprised how much heat this thing put out without the fan even running. Pretty sure it would heat the whole upstairs without the fan until the freezing temps kick in