Trying to figure this out

[etiger2007]

I have a Dutch West DW2500X2 wood insert it has a 1.3 cf fire box and has an effiecency rating of 64%; I just loader her up at 7:15pm with three four inch ash splits and two four inch red oak splits (shes full) laying diagonally across the three ash spilts. Im sure the fire will reach 620 degrees door temp over 1,000 degrees fire box temp. Problem is it will only give out great heat for about an hour and a half, then the temp will start to drop to 400 where it will stay for another hour or so. So i will not touch it for three hours over that shes starting her downward sprial to no heat. Is this common for a small fire box and low effieciency rating. Would I do better with a small fire box and Higher effiecency rating. I think with the load l mentioned above i should get six hours burn time and heat, they advertise this model to get eight hours of burn time; ive never ever seen that not even close. Im thinking of every reason why Im not getting the burn time but maybe its really the size im working with.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I have a Dutch West DW2500X2 wood insert it has a 1.3 cf fire box and has an effiecency rating of 64%; I just loader her up at 7:15pm with three four inch ash splits and two four inch red oak splits (shes full) laying diagonally across the three ash spilts. Im sure the fire will reach 620 degrees door temp over 1,000 degrees fire box temp. Problem is it will only give out great heat for about an hour and a half, then the temp will start to drop to 400 where it will stay for another hour or so. So i will not touch it for three hours over that shes starting her downward sprial to no heat. Is this common for a small fire box and low effieciency rating. Would I do better with a small fire box and Higher effiecency rating. I think with the load l mentioned above i should get six hours burn time and heat, they advertise this model to get eight hours of burn time; ive never ever seen that not even close. Im thinking of every reason why Im not getting the burn time but maybe its really the size im working with.

You can only cram so many BTUs into a small firebox. Sure, some stoves are more efficient. But, when you are dealing with a small firebox, short burn times are normal for the most part. Four inch spits are small splits to most burners. Maybe smallish-to-medium at best. The Intrepid I used for two seasons had about the same size firebox, but it had a higher efficiency rating. I would get 2-ish hours of good heat and another two hours of lower temp heat.

Also, you are confusing 'burn time' with 'heat production.' Two different things. For the most manufacturers, a burn time is from the start of the fire to the point in which the last coal dies.

 

[BrowningBAR]

I notied the 'for now' in your signature.

How long have you had the stove?

How much of your home does it heat?

How much wood do you burn in a season?

Can you do a free standing stove?

What would your budget be if you bought a new stove?

Is your current stove using a 6" liner?

 

[n3pro]

Yes, that's about normal, I also have a small firebox. Warm start from the wood beginning to catch to coals or roughly 200 stove top to 200 stove top I can get roughly 5 - 6 hours - meaningful heat 400 - 700 Stove top, more like 3 hours.

 

[etiger2007]

I have been heating the house for about one heatng season jan last year till now. It does heat my 1700 sq ft house main living area (1200sqft) to 75 (30+ degrees outside) upstairs is cooler. Would it be worth the $1700 to go to a ( i want) osburn 2000 which has a 2.3 cubic ft box and is 77% effiecent. I truley want to load it up go to bed and its still warm in the morning. I burn oak and ash. The house is remodeledand insulated well with a basement.

 

[etiger2007]

It is hooked up to 6 inch ss liner its hard to say what i go through in wood because this has been a real mild winter. I would say this year probably five cords of wood measured 8 feet long 20 inches wide by 4 ft tall

 

[Wood Duck]

So five splits of hard wood (medium splits by my standards) gives three to four hours of heat, then you have coals that slowly burn up as the stove cools? That seems about right. I don't think the efficiency rating of the stove makes much difference, that is to say if you bought a stove with a 75% efficiency rating in stead of your current 64% I don't think you see much if any difference.

You have burned about 5 face cords of wood this winter. That seems about normal.

 

[etiger2007]

Well i did figure something out today. I get about two hours more burn time by not running the blower at all. It still heats the house to 72 degrees on a 32 degree outside day. I loaded her up with five small splits and left the blower off my stove stayed hot for alot longer. My stove top temp was over 400 degrees never seen that before. I have never not ran the blower its always been on high and since it sticks out on the hearth it radiates heat really well. Im gonna try and load up some bigger splits of black locust tonight and see what happens the splits will be about six to seven inches thick.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Well i did figure something out today. I get about two hours more burn time by not running the blower at all. It still heats the house to 72 degrees on a 32 degree outside day. I loaded her up with five small splits and left the blower off my stove stayed hot for alot longer. My stove top temp was over 400 degrees never seen that before. I have never not ran the blower its always been on high and since it sticks out on the hearth it radiates heat really well. Im gonna try and load up some bigger splits of black locust tonight and see what happens the splits will be about six to seven inches thick.

Can you put the blower on a lower setting?

 

[etiger2007]

yes I can run it on low; My air intakes are righ below the top of the stove where if i had my blower running the hot air would come out. I cant believe the difference. A 1.3 cf box heating a house 1700 sq to 72 degrees the unit is only rated for 1500 sqft the bedrooms upstairs are cooler but comfy. I will get a bigger stove anyways but this is a good trick with an insert that sticks out on the hearth.

 

[BrowningBAR]

yes I can run it on low; My air intakes are righ below the top of the stove where if i had my blower running the hot air would come out. I cant believe the difference. A 1.3 cf box heating a house 1700 sq to 72 degrees the unit is only rated for 1500 sqft the bedrooms upstairs are cooler but comfy. I will get a bigger stove anyways but this is a good trick with an insert that sticks out on the hearth.

Good to hear you are getting more heat from the stove. I think you'll be happy with a 2.3 cu ft stove. Your house is obviously easy to heat, and the added firebox size will give you longer burns and more flexibility during colder weather.

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey etiger,

I have a similar story. I had a Napoleon 1101 (1.7cf) and I was looking to upgrade to a 2.25 insert. For $200 more I upgraded to a 3.2 cf Osburn 2400i. It was a great move for us. We are very happy with the decision. The heat output is incredible compared to our smaller insert.

I heat about 1700sf of a very drafty house. The bigger firebox is a lot less work due to less frequent reloads and I can fit much larger splits in the box so it's less cutting.

Hope that helps. I found a great deal at www.dynamitebuys.com

 

[etiger2007]

Thanks Fatt kidd then you know how much work my 1.3 is lol.

 

[dafattkidd]

Yeah you must be working that thing pretty hard to get that kind of performance. Sounds like you've got am pretty good system.

The larger firebox will give you added heat and less work. I think you'll be very pleased.

 

[dafattkidd]

I started this thread when I was burning in the smaller insert. We all found this to be very helpful. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/63883/

 

[Backwoods Savage]

etiger2007, you might do best to just forget about those efficiency ratings along with burn-times. Most of that information is really meaningless for the homeowner. If you want and need more heat, then by all means get something with a larger firebox. That is probably the key you should lock in on. Remember that marketing people love to throw figures around. Take burn time. What is that? From the strike of a match to when there are just enough coals to start the next load? Or is is for useable heat. That is, enough heat to keep your home comfortable.

Also I can't leave this thread without mentioning the fuel you burn. If one gets 2-3 years ahead on their wood supply, they will be amazed at the difference in how that stove operates and throws heat. Good dry wood will give more heat than marginal wood until we figure out how to burn water. So don't settle for "seasoned" wood. Make sure you have dry wood. Know what kind of wood you are burning too because there is a big difference in different trees.

 

[etiger2007]

Thanks savage for the helpful tips, My red oak was cut down In Dec 2010 and I split it in March 2011 it sat stacked for nine months before I started burning it. I started burning it because my moisture meter read the wood at 15 to 20 % moisture so I am good right? I am focusing more on the fire box, Im looking at an Osburn 2000 insert with a2.3 cf box. I should be able to load that up good.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Sounds okay by the MM but the proof is how it burns. Over in our neck of the woods, we leave oak 3 years after split before burning it. We have burned some in 2 years but 3 is much better. I also do not have a MM but have burned long enough to pretty much know when the wood is ready. We also have an overabundance of wood so there are no worries about moisture. I think we have enough wood on hand for 6-8 years right now.

 

[etiger2007]

Im burning some red oak right now and please keep in mind I split my wood small 5 inches is a bigger split for me so it should dry out fairley quick; my insert is burning at 650 (door temp) degrees on three small splits. Savage I really appriciate someone with 50 + years of burning experience taking time to help us newbies. In my first year I cut enough wood for about three years of burning. I have ash, red oak, black walnut, black locust, hickory, and cherry. This summer Im going to seperate my wood bigger splits and small stuff. I hope by next heating season I can get that bigger stove for the over night burns.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Splitting small definitely has a good effect when it comes to drying the wood. That really is a great mix of woody you have put up too and I congratulate you on that. You also certainly did the right thing by putting up 3 years that first time. The first is the hardest. After that all you have to do is maintain. I would be doing that right now if it weren't for the fact that all the ash are dead and I'd like to get them all cut before they rot. Thankfully, ash rots very slowly so we'll have plenty of wood for years with this.

Because you are getting a larger stove, I would advise to make some of your splits a bit larger as this will help you a lot for the overnight fires. Good luck.