A bit disappointed - Maybe my expectations were too high - any options?

[DriftWood]

"The chimney is in the center of the house and not on an outside wall," I'm jealous. Most wood burners would love that set up.

Two words celling fan. This will get the hot air off the ceiling and down to where you live.

Use welders gloves so you don't really become "ONE WITH YOUR STOVE"

Get as much insulation into your Attic as possible. seal off the window drafts and door leaks.

Heating is not just a stove thing in winter.
'

 

[hfjeff]

Funny you mention the ceiling fan as I was just talking about that last night with the bro-in-law who has the Quad. He has ceiling fans and I do not have one in the large living room with the stove so the only air movement in that room is from the insert blower. The house is drafty so I will try to button things up. Also I know I do need more insulation in the attic. It is blown in but could use another thick layer.

 

[burntime]

Burn it hot then cut back the air. The unit will build heat. I know cause I had the same experience with my hampton. It took a month to figure it out...and I have used an insert for 25 years! Blower on high when it is going also is a must if it is cold outside. Once you figure it out your wood usage will go down. I know this sounds counter-intuative but it only gets better. Definitely insulate the attic asap. Good luck.

 

[Bill]

Jeff I am from WI. also, I was burning all weekend, and didn't have the draft I normally have. It wasn't cold enough and I wonder how humidity, wind speed, and barometric pressure effect draft. I had to watch when I cut the draft down, the flames were going out. I have a straight chimney, in the house, and aged wood. So your not the only one having to tweak the stove the last few day. When it's very cold, my draft is much better. So colder and better days are a coming.;

 

[hfjeff]

Thanks Smokey for the reassurance. It may have been a culmination of things this past week: my mom has been in the hospital for over a month, job has been super busy so working late and traveling out of state, kids in a sport nearly every night, helping with homework, eating dinner at 9pm, and trying to find time to get home improvements and repairs done including this insert, only to find I was not getting the results I was hoping for right out of the box. At least I have some suggestions for improvement starting with a ceiling fan.

 

[Mike Wilson]

Not to be a bummer, but in my opinion, you have a small stove in a less than efficient setting, running in a less than efficient manner.

I think the stove size is minimal, at best. That said, it is workable. You must install a block off plate, and you must stop running the fan on high... it cools off the firebox too much. Once you do this, you must learn how to use your stove... as mentioned above, you're new to this, and it, and therefore must get the feel. Not to worry, it comes in time. By the end of the season you should be running pretty well. A larger insert would have allowed for a larger margin of error... as it stands, you're stretching it pretty thin.

Good luck,

-- Mike