Conversion from Fireplace to Wood Burning Insert

[ronchable2]

I just wanted to introduce myself and share my excitement in finally utilizing the heat from burning wood in my fireplace - just converted over to a Travis Industries Medium Flush Wood Burning Insert (good deal since the EPA regs kick in next year).

Having a bit of trouble with the Blower short cycling when it's turned up past the low setting but we're going to try and change out the snap disc and see if that helps.

That being said - I'm having fun learning the ins and outs and reading the helpful information on this forum, still in the trial and error portion of learning but it's really not cold enough here yet to get much REAL insight. Can't wait to see what kind of offset I can get on my Energy Bills this summer!

So far I've learned:

• Wood type matters: We burn primarily Birch because of the smell (although minimal now that we have the insert) and it eminates a really cool blue flame and gives us decent burn time
• Dry wood matter: we have some really dry stuff that we burn to heat up the insert but when we move to greener (closer to 20% moisture content) it becomes a bit more difficult to maintain.
• Electronics get HOT over the insert - didn't even think about that so I'm working on a solution now

One question that is bothering me:

• I know this is a dumb question but I'm struggling to figure out the best way to "pack" the firebox with my split wood without having add shaped / sized pieces (think "Chunks") Because of the shape of the firebox and the location of the air inlet, makes me afraid to fill it too much and potentially block the inlet. Thoughts?

keep up all the good work and advice. Thank you!

Ryan

 

[DAKSY]

Try adjusting the snap disk before you buy a new one.
If there is ANY air gap between the disk & the stove body,
the higher blower speed could be moving air thru the gap,
causing the disk to cool slightly & open the circuit.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

Nice to hear your excitement about your wood heating! Sounds like you have good dry wood and that is a big part of it. Any combustible material (including electronics you mentioned) should not be hot. I would refer to your insert’s manual where they describe minimum clearances. If you don’t already have one, an IR thermometer can be a useful tool. You might take a reading off your combustible items, while keeping in mind that with larger loads of wood burnt for longer periods of times, the temperature of those combustible will rise compared to what you’re seeing now. That mantel is a bit low too. If those combustibles are too close that could be a problem. Your insert company may have an heat shield designed for this very situation. You sound like you’re really into the wood heating. Maybe consider moving the TV- you’re insert probably is getting center stage attention anyway!

 

[Beer Belly]

We have a Heat Shield on ours due to clearances however, our stove sticks out a bit. How does the Hearth measure out as far as clearance ?....looks to be pretty close, may want to consider something to save the wood floor at the very least.

 

[ronchable2]

I haven't had any issues yet, other than the speaker that was mounted in the worst place possible. I will be adding some more shielding under the mantle in the next week or so to help mitigate any other problems. Thanks for the suggestions!

I'm determined to have coals left in the AM to restart my insert and I'm inching my way closer... Any suggestions on the best method to pack in the wood? I know this sounds stupid but the firebox is that weird trapezoidal shape so it doesn't fit anything very square, I can only think that I need to find some wood "chunks" that I can through in there or something to fill in the open space (think 16" long logs cut in 4" sections split - aka "chunks").

Any helpful tips are welcome!

Ryan