Hampton HI300. Can I close the draft completely and use fan?

[woodsie8]

The manual states to use the fan, I have to leave the draft open 1/2 inch. When I close it down completely, I still have plenty of air flow to keep fire going. Why is it important to keep draft open, if the fire is still burning? I would like the heat to come into the livingroom, not up the chimney.

 

[begreen]

Draft is going to vary depending on the flue. If you have a tall interior flue, it could be pulling hard. In that case, it may work fine with the air control closed. For peace of mind, check that the stove doors are sealing well and that the fire is not getting air from a gasket leak. If not, and it works well with the air control all the way closed, then so be it.

 

[woodsie8]

So, is there a way to find out if the door is sealing well? It is a fairly new stove.

 

[begreen]

Yes, you can take a dollar bill and close the door on it. It should pull out with moderate tension. Test all around the door gasket to assert that it is evenly sealing. If it pulls out with no tension at all, the gasket may be leaking at that location.

 

[LLigetfa]

I would like the heat to come into the livingroom, not up the chimney.

The chimney requires heat to stay clean.

A fire feeds on itself, meaning that it uses some of the heat to make more heat. When you draw away too much of the heat with a fan, you lower its efficiency, especially EPA stoves that need the heat for afterburn. There are many anecdotal posts here about how overuse of a fan lowered the overall amount of heat they get from the stove. You need to strike a balance of how much heat you leave in the stove, how much you let go up the chimney, and how much you extract with the fan.

 

[rphurley]

The manual states to use the fan, I have to leave the draft open 1/2 inch. When I close it down completely, I still have plenty of air flow to keep fire going. Why is it important to keep draft open, if the fire is still burning? I would like the heat to come into the livingroom, not up the chimney.

I have a Regency I3100, which is the same stove with different dressing. My manual states not to use the fan with the draft closed, but I do it all the time. The fire still burns plenty hot so I get great heat throughout the night. I only run the fan on low when the draft is closed so the stove doesn't cool down too much when the flames die. I don't think that there is anything wrong with your gasket, because the stove is designed to draw a good amount of air with the draft closed. That is how it keeps the wood from smoldering, which keeps the emissions down and your chimney clean. I'm not an expert, but that's my understanding of it. I hope somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[burntime]

I have great draft with a shorter chimney. I choke it down all the time with the fan on high. The better the seasoned wood the easier it is to do. If the wood got rained on it has to be open a little. Hope that helps. Every install is different and you will learn by trial and error. Hopefully less error and more trial :lol:

 

[stejus]

The manual reads leave the draft half open when using blower, not 1/2" open. I can use my blower beyond the half closed point as well. I may be wrong, but the blower has nothing to do with the air intake of the stove. I believe the manual reads this way because the stove will cool down faster with the blower moving cold air through the heat chamber, thus reducing the stove temp and shortening the long burn cycle.

 

[LLigetfa]

There are two separate points WRT efficiency. One is the efficiency in combustion and the other, how much heat is extracted and how much services the chimney. I like to compare of the combustion efficiency to critical mass in an equilibrium fission reaction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_mass

If the stove is cooled too much, the combustion efficiency suffers. If not enough heat is left to service the chimney, draft and safety suffers.

 

[burntime]

"The fan is to be operated only with the draft control rod pulled out at least 1/2" from the fully closed position. " This is right from the manual. Its a 1/2 inch from closed. Of course that is the generic and it depends on your install.

 

[begreen]

The problem is that we can't see the fire to judge how hot the stove is burning. If the insert is run too cool, then there is a good chance that it will start to gunk up the flue with creosote.

Is there a thermometer on the stove? That's a good guide. If the stove temp is above 400 with the damper all the way closed and fan blowing, then it probably is fine. However, if the stove temp drops to 250 with these settings, then it would be better to open up the air control a bit. Also, what fuel are you burning now, wood or bio-bricks? Bio-bricks are going to burn cleaner and might get away with a bit less air supply once they are burning well.

 

[stejus]

The manual reads leave the draft half open when using blower, not 1/2" open. I can use my blower beyond the half closed point as well. I may be wrong, but the blower has nothing to do with the air intake of the stove. I believe the manual reads this way because the stove will cool down faster with the blower moving cold air through the heat chamber, thus reducing the stove temp and shortening the long burn cycle.

I stand corrected. That's, I went back to manny and read. It is a 1/2" from closed and not 1/2 closed. So much for what dealers tell ya!

 

[woodsie8]

thanks everyone! I do have a thermometer. It gets hotter, if I close down the draft. I will continue to play around with it. I really do think the biggest barrier this year was the cruddy wood we ended up getting. One guy swore...... swore that the 4 cords that we got, had sat out for over a year stacked and only had surface wet. We can still squeeze it out like a sponge! What a learning curve, this year and still learning.
The green wood that we bought, did us better than that 4 cords of wet sponge.