hello, i am fairly new to the wood world, i have a hampton hi200 insert....i'm just curious how other owners operate it, specifically the draft control...i have learned a lot about how to operate the unit but still have questions....basically i have been getting it up to speed (with seasoned wood) and then run the blower on high and the draft on full open....with the small firebox it seems that i am not even close to overfiring the unit....in fact the manual says to run the draft at least half open with the blower on....i have played around quite a bit but am curious as to what other owners have found....does closing it half or more increase the heat output? i know it does on stoves and such but a small insert (1.4 cubic feet)? burn times? i assume the goal is to have active flame and the secondary combustion taking place but i am trying to maximize heat and wood life! thanks!
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It will depend on your chimney set up. If you have an insulated chimney (I do) and dry wood I routinely choke mine all the way down with the fan on hi. ZBefore I insulated the chimney I had to leave the draft open an inch and a half or so. The more you close it the greater the heat output once you have a fire going and asuming you have good wood. You will be lucky to get 6 hours of usable heat with hardwood and a 1.4cu ft firebox. 4 may be more the norm. Hope this helps.
If I choke it all the way down should there still be some flame? No flames? I have a unlined brick chimney with a 6 inch steel flue all the way up....I assume that is uninsulated? Thxs
You are uninsulated. You should still see a flame after you get the wood going. They will be a lazy slow flame. You are keeping the heat in the firebox and burning the gasses, that is why the heat builds...
Clearblue...
I have a regency 3000I which is the larger cousin of your unit ... I think if you read the instructions carefully it will say that you need to have the damper open at least 1/2 inch from the closed position - not 1/2 way. I found this confusing on my instructions also - I think you will find that you get better heat output and much longer burn times if you choke the air back to 1/2" AFTER you have a well established fire going - after a reload with decent coals I burn 10 min at full air - 10 min at 1/2 way then damp down to 1/2 " from closed.
I have a regency 3000I which is the larger cousin of your unit ... I think if you read the instructions carefully it will say that you need to have the damper open at least 1/2 inch from the closed position - not 1/2 way. I found this confusing on my instructions also - I think you will find that you get better heat output and much longer burn times if you choke the air back to 1/2" AFTER you have a well established fire going - after a reload with decent coals I burn 10 min at full air - 10 min at 1/2 way then damp down to 1/2 " from closed.
I've got the Hampton HI300, and upon reload I'll leave the door cracked for a few minutes to get it going, close the door with the draft open for about 5 minutes, then choke it down to about 1/2" open like cg711 said. I have an exterior chimney, blockoff plate, and I consider my chimney somewhat insulated because it was "relined" with poured masonry to 10" diameter, which I then dropped my 6" ss 316ti liner thru.
thanks for all the good info! So when you choke it down to 1/2 " what goes on in the firebox? Continuous flame? On and off flame? Just flame in the top for the secondary burn? Thxs!
If the wood is nice and charred and the firebox is heated sufficiently then I just get nice secondaries rolling toward the glass for awhile, then it burns down to a nice big pile of red coals.
pulldownclaw, that is what I get also. Crack the door at first, then close door, and have draft open 1/2 inch. I have often wondered if I could close the draft down all the way and have fan on, even tho manual says to keep open 1/2 inch. I only get about 4-5 burns. Rarely do I get 6 hour burns. Hoping next year I will have better wood, and do a little better.
Hi guys
Glad I found this forum before purchasing an insert. I have just looked at Hampton and A Vermont Montpelier. Hampton seem interesting.
I have many questions:
1) Size of unit. HI300 or HI200: I need to heat ca. 650 sq feet with 8 ft ceiling.(living room and adjoining dining room). Windows are all new, so it fairly draft free. Staircase is open and descends into the living room, about 4 ft from the fireplace, so I will loose/gain a lot of heat upstairs (which is OK). My fireplace is 30 " front (24" back) and 27.4 " high, and 20" deep, so would easily fit the HI200 and snugly fit the HI300. The dealer (Dreifuss in NE Philadelphia) wants to sell me the HI300 for $2400 + $1500 for liner and installation. I think the the HI200 is about $500 cheaper. Is the HI300 overkill for this space?
2) Is there much noise from the blower? I read on another thread on this site, that the Vermont Montpeliers blower is noisy.
3) Does the glass front fog up. Users of the Montpelier have posted that this is a problem.
4) Liner installation. The dealer said it will need a 5" liner. I want to line all the way up (two floors). The throat of the flue is about 24 " X 8" across (if the damper is removed). I can see the opening of the flu (looks wide than 5" but difficult to measure). But the big unknown, is whether my chimney will allow an unobstructed insertion of a 5" liner through its entire length?. The dealer said they'd only be able to find out during the install. Thats scary to me. He claimed there was no way to know in advance!! Is that true? I'm somewhat skeptical myself. I'd obviously like to know before I purchase the unit, if the installation of the liner will be complicated. They don't come out and inspect/measure before purchase.
5) Can anyone recommend a good dealer in the SE PA area?
6) I'm not necessarily sold on the Hampton. It just happens to be one of two inserts I saw at the dealer. The only negative I could see with the Hampton was that it might be difficult to clean in between the fire bricks. Otherwise it seemed to have a larger chamber than the Vermont Montpelier ,which had a nice ceramic lining that seemed easier to clear . However the Montpelier seems to have some significant design issues (week hinges and a noisy blower...at least according to another thread on this site) As a third option, I just took a look at the web site for the Jotul C 350 Winterport. Seems that this would fit my fireplace easily, and should have enough BTU to heat the downstairs area (650 sq ft). Jotul sys is should heat 1300 sq ft. Anyone have any experience with this model.
Thanks!
Glad I found this forum before purchasing an insert. I have just looked at Hampton and A Vermont Montpelier. Hampton seem interesting.
I have many questions:
1) Size of unit. HI300 or HI200: I need to heat ca. 650 sq feet with 8 ft ceiling.(living room and adjoining dining room). Windows are all new, so it fairly draft free. Staircase is open and descends into the living room, about 4 ft from the fireplace, so I will loose/gain a lot of heat upstairs (which is OK). My fireplace is 30 " front (24" back) and 27.4 " high, and 20" deep, so would easily fit the HI200 and snugly fit the HI300. The dealer (Dreifuss in NE Philadelphia) wants to sell me the HI300 for $2400 + $1500 for liner and installation. I think the the HI200 is about $500 cheaper. Is the HI300 overkill for this space?
2) Is there much noise from the blower? I read on another thread on this site, that the Vermont Montpeliers blower is noisy.
3) Does the glass front fog up. Users of the Montpelier have posted that this is a problem.
4) Liner installation. The dealer said it will need a 5" liner. I want to line all the way up (two floors). The throat of the flue is about 24 " X 8" across (if the damper is removed). I can see the opening of the flu (looks wide than 5" but difficult to measure). But the big unknown, is whether my chimney will allow an unobstructed insertion of a 5" liner through its entire length?. The dealer said they'd only be able to find out during the install. Thats scary to me. He claimed there was no way to know in advance!! Is that true? I'm somewhat skeptical myself. I'd obviously like to know before I purchase the unit, if the installation of the liner will be complicated. They don't come out and inspect/measure before purchase.
5) Can anyone recommend a good dealer in the SE PA area?
6) I'm not necessarily sold on the Hampton. It just happens to be one of two inserts I saw at the dealer. The only negative I could see with the Hampton was that it might be difficult to clean in between the fire bricks. Otherwise it seemed to have a larger chamber than the Vermont Montpelier ,which had a nice ceramic lining that seemed easier to clear . However the Montpelier seems to have some significant design issues (week hinges and a noisy blower...at least according to another thread on this site) As a third option, I just took a look at the web site for the Jotul C 350 Winterport. Seems that this would fit my fireplace easily, and should have enough BTU to heat the downstairs area (650 sq ft). Jotul sys is should heat 1300 sq ft. Anyone have any experience with this model.
Thanks!
This might be a little too far SE PA. for you but these guys know there stuff.
http://www.chaddsfordfiresideshop.com/
You can talk with anyone there but Eric is the go to guy.
http://www.chaddsfordfiresideshop.com/
You can talk with anyone there but Eric is the go to guy.
BurningBrit said:
the jotul is a great insert, and the inside is constructed very solidly. this is especially important with the smaller inserts in the baffle, because the firebox is smaller, thus you bang alot of wood around inside against the surfaces. the vc insert has very good looking interior, but it is thin refractory material that will crack over time, and costs $ to replace. the only other thing to ask; what elese are you looking to do w/ this unit? are you going to burn it overnight? get more heat out to the rest of the house? if you are going to just use it while you are downstairs, and not looking to heat round the clock with any of the inserts mentioned (i have never run hamptons, but have seen a few of their freestanding stoves... seems solid enough kindof small in the fireboxes) then these should do you, but none really have more than a six usable firebox time.. they will retain some coals for @ 8 hrs but fire going on and all that tops out at 5-6. The VC has a fairly wide firebox back, if you can fit that in, i would suggest you look at the jotul c450... very soild stove with a larger box capacity for extended burns, and can adjust in and out about 4" to make many fireplace dimensions work w/ it
Hey Burning Brit,
I've got the Hampton HI300 and like it alot. My house is 2700sf and it does a nice job of supplying much of our heat down here in the frozen tundra of Richmond, Va ;-P .
1) I would suggest you go with the bigger unit, as you may find yourself wanting to heat more of your house than you are thinking now. Also, if your fireplace is on your bottom floor, it can crank away down there and let the heat rise up thru the rest of the house if you have good airflow.
2) The blower has a low and high setting. Neither are offensive to me, although we usually turn it on low when we are watching tv in the stove room.
3) Fogging the glass has a lot to do with how dry your wood is, that is one of the next lessons to learn! As a side note, if you're looking at buying a stove now, you need to be looking at buying/scrounging some wood NOW and it getting it split and stacked pronto. That will make your first burning season go alot smoother.
4) They may have to cut out your damper or ovalize the liner. Hopefully you can get a good installer and it will go smoothly, or DIY.
The other questions I'm not qualified for, hope some others chime in. Good luck on your search, and keep asking questions!
I've got the Hampton HI300 and like it alot. My house is 2700sf and it does a nice job of supplying much of our heat down here in the frozen tundra of Richmond, Va ;-P .
1) I would suggest you go with the bigger unit, as you may find yourself wanting to heat more of your house than you are thinking now. Also, if your fireplace is on your bottom floor, it can crank away down there and let the heat rise up thru the rest of the house if you have good airflow.
2) The blower has a low and high setting. Neither are offensive to me, although we usually turn it on low when we are watching tv in the stove room.
3) Fogging the glass has a lot to do with how dry your wood is, that is one of the next lessons to learn! As a side note, if you're looking at buying a stove now, you need to be looking at buying/scrounging some wood NOW and it getting it split and stacked pronto. That will make your first burning season go alot smoother.
4) They may have to cut out your damper or ovalize the liner. Hopefully you can get a good installer and it will go smoothly, or DIY.
The other questions I'm not qualified for, hope some others chime in. Good luck on your search, and keep asking questions!
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