Extracting the most heat from an insert

[Jotul_Rockland]

Hi Guys,

I have a 2500 Sq Feet house with moderate insulation and open floor plan. I have Jotul Rockland insert that I bought last year. It has been working good - I was going through the learning curve of using the insert. How do I get the maximum heat from the stove to heat the house. I have plenty of seasoned wood to burn this year.

The Jotul manual states to burn with the air level fully open and the blower on high will extract the highest heat from the inset.

I've heard that the closing the air level down to induce secondary burn is also good. What do I follow?

 

[joefrompa]

Also try to use 1+ fans to blow the COLD air in the house towards the insert.

 

[Pagey]

Secondary combustion is the goal of today's EPA certified stoves. You'll only run the stove with the air control fully open when you starting up from a cold start or briefly during a fresh charge of wood on an already established coal bed. The mechanics of secondary combustion extract heat from burning volatile gases that would have otherwise gone up the flue.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Do you want it to throw the max heat possible, or get as much heat from the wood into your house? They may not be the same thing, I think.

 

[Jotul_Rockland]

I want to throw the maximum amount of heat.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Leaving the air open, blower on max will do this but you run the very likely risk of overfiring. It will also burn through the load of wood really quickly.

 

[Jotul_Rockland]

Got it. Maybe I can do air open halfway and Blower on Medium/ high to kinda reach a agreeable compromise.

 

[vvvv]

considered overfiring damage to stove?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The blower left on high extracts the most heat, so leave it on high. The air is the variable to look at- full open, burns efficiently but fast. Closed- you have secondaries providing efficiency, but the load burns slower. Somewhere in between- you may or may not have the efficiency or power. A little air more than fully closed may give it a boost.

 

[oldspark]

The blower left on high extracts the most heat, so leave it on high. The air is the variable to look at- full open, burns efficiently but fast. Closed- you have secondaries providing efficiency, but the load burns slower. Somewhere in between- you may or may not have the efficiency or power. A little air more than fully closed may give it a boost.

To extract the most heat out of the unit yu need to have the secondaries working correct?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Oldspark- They will throw more heat per unit time with the primary air open. If I leave my primary open- it will overfire. When it's overfiring it definitely throws more heat (gets the house hotter) than when closed down and burning secondary flame (burns longer, and maybe puts more of the heat into the house).

That's why I asked if he wanted it throwing the most heat possible, or does he want the most heat (efficiency) out of the wood.

 

[Jotul_Rockland]

This has been very helpful. Question : If the air level is open a little bit( even half way) , why wouldn't the secondaries fire?

In other words, can I have some primary combustion ( by turning the level on to some extent) and some secondary combustion to get a good balance of heat/ efficiency. I'd like to be there.

 

[vvvv]

This has been very helpful. Question : If the air level is open a little bit( even half way) , why wouldn't the secondaries fire?

In other words, can I have some primary combustion ( by turning the level on to some extent) and some secondary combustion to get a good balance of heat/ efficiency. I'd like to be there.

pm me your fone# & i'll cal [free on my end] & detail the scenario of the factors & physics involved

 

[BrotherBart]

This has been very helpful. Question : If the air level is open a little bit( even half way) , why wouldn't the secondaries fire?

In other words, can I have some primary combustion ( by turning the level on to some extent) and some secondary combustion to get a good balance of heat/ efficiency. I'd like to be there.

pm me your fone# & i'll cal [free on my end] & detail the scenario of the factors & physics involved

Tell what you do when you burn in your EPA stove Blimp?

 

[Todd]

Take the heat blocking insert surround panels off.

 

[flyingpig]

Just another noobie 2 cents..

Amount of heat to the room = Blower air temp x Amount of heated air

Blower air temp = stove temp => adjust burn rate by primary control. Too hot can over fire, too low can stop secondary burn-->smoke

Amount of heated air = Blower speed adjust. Too low/no blower MAY overheat the stove with high input primary control. Too much can cool down the stove --> can not sustain secondary burn on low/very low throttle.


So I think that first, adjust the blower to the level you like, then lower primary air control to control the burn rate (and output air temp), but high enough to sustain the secondary burn.

I'll try that myself this year too.

 

[oldspark]

This has been very helpful. Question : If the air level is open a little bit( even half way) , why wouldn't the secondaries fire?

In other words, can I have some primary combustion ( by turning the level on to some extent) and some secondary combustion to get a good balance of heat/ efficiency. I'd like to be there.

Depending on how cold it is you load the stove and run it at a safe flue temp cutting back primary air and yu will have the secondaries kicking ass if the load of wood is big enough. I am new at the EPA thing also but am learning a lot on this forum. but it is kinda like having sex, until yu do it you are not any good at it.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

The chimney is sucking at a certain level, and the air it sucks comes from the path of least resistance. If the primary is open then that's where the air enters and it may not suck enough air through the secondary tubes to support combustion.

 

[oldspark]

The chimney is sucking at a certain level, and the air it sucks comes from the path of least resistance. If the primary is open then that's where the air enters and it may not suck enough air through the secondary tubes to support combustion.

Right and with the small fires this time of year the secondaries are not that impressive.