Hearthstone Clydesdale

[hamsey]

Thinking about replacing my Rockland with the Clydesdale and I have a couple of question for you Clydesdale owners.

Is there anyway to remove the surround to get more heat from the insert if you lose power? On my Rockland the surround just lift up and it slides right off. Looking at the instructions the surround is screwed on. Anyway to use it without the screws? Fabricate a bracket or something.

Anyone install a manual fan switch? Again the Rockland has a manual/auto switch. Sometimes if the ash is too thick the auto does not kick on for hours. Getting better at clearing it but there is always that time you forget. It is nice to be able to switch it on manually just in case.

Thanks!

 

[Woody Stover]

How come you're switching?

 

[Grisu]

With an interior fireplace and a proper block-off plate removing the surround will not give you any more heat. Any hot air "trapped' in the fireplace warms the fireplace walls which will release the heat into the room over time. It may take a bit longer to get the heat into the room but when you keep the insert running full time, it won't matter. Your fireplace will serve as a large masonry heater.
Likewise, a more radiant insert will only feel like you are getting more heat when you are close to it. But practically the amount of heat you get from a given load of wood will be the same. What you gain in radiant heat you will loose in convective heat.

Knowing your other thread: Have you taken a look at the Clydesdale to check whether you can get a significant higher amount of wood in there? Since the Rockland already struggles in the 30ies, I think you need to be able to fit in at least 50% more wood in a new insert or you will only see a minimal improvement. You really should look at inserts with a 3 cu ft firebox or larger or I fear you will be disappointed again especially after spending all that money.

 

[terpsucka]

I saw your other thread on this subject and was going to post there, but I'll do it here since this one is more recent. I have owned both the Clydesdale and the 550-- I had the Clydesdale for 3 years at my old house, which we sold, and bought a 550 for this house after we moved in and have used it for 2 seasons. That house had a huge fireplace and hearth, perfect for the Clydesdale, while at this house, the fireplace is in a tiny little family room, so I need it to be flush just to fit in the room. The houses are roughly the same size; the biggest difference being the dynamics of getting the heat moved around the house. The Clydesdale seemed to put out a little more heat, but I would not say a lot more-- certainly not enough that I would replace my 550 with it. Also, my burn times were longer with the Clydesdale, as I could squeeze more wood in there. I got up to the fan still on about 1/2 the time, whereas I never do with the 550. It's always hot enough to easily get the thing going again, though.

My biggest problem with the Clydesdale was that it really wasn't good for my lifestyle... I mostly burn on evenings and weekends, and the Clydesdale was horrible for that. It would take forever to warm up. The 550 I can have up and running full blast in no time at all.

One thing I liked better about the Clydesdale was the primary air control-- it was under the firebox, and the slider for it never got hot. On the 550 I have to use my stove gloves or burn my hand off.

One thing I like MUCH better about the 550 is the ease of cleaning the chimney. The Clydesdale is virtually impossible to take apart and put back together.

The Clydesdale definitely did seem to have more usable space in the firebox, but with the 550 I've learned to be more creative with my loading. Right now I have 2 large splits with 2 skinny splits on top e-w, and three medium splits n-s on the right side. Also, I often load it past the andirons and have suffered no ill-effects. I never even thought of doing that with the Clydesdale though.

 

[terpsucka]

Oh and to actually answer your questions-- yes, you can take off the surround. It's way heavier than the 550's though. And as I recall, it's auto on/off is more sensitive than the 550's, though I don't have as much trouble with the 550's as some other people here have.

 

[JohnJohn]

I have had my Clydesdale since last season. I'm heating 2600 sq.ft. No problem. I run it hot and blower on high.

The surround is heavy but comes off. I didn't notice much heat gain this way without the blower. The fan comes on at farley low temp, I've never had to wait long and it stays on long too, stove is under 200 but still blowing heat.

Good luck I love mine.

 

[hamsey]

Terps and JJ,

Thank you for the input. A couple more questions if you do not mind:

How is your draft? I have good draft but am concerned about the stove going cold and getting it back up running. My initial plans last year when we got the stove was some nights and weekends. Started up the stove mid October and have been burning daily ever since. Get up around 5 get it going with some small splits wide open and load it up around 6. Wait until I get it burning how I want it and go to work. Get home around 4:30 and repeat. Some mornings there are coals others no. Not sure if the Clydesdale would be good for this type of burning. Read that cold starts can be a problem with Hearthstones stoves and if this applies to inserts or more to their freestanding stoves. Thinking more to their freestanding stoves due to more mass. I will be burning 24/7 as best I can. If I am home there will be a fire going.

Did either of you play around with the snap stat? I did bend my 550's so it is closer to the fire and comes on quicker.

Baffle looks like it would be more work to remove. I just had the chimney swept and talked to the sweep. He is familiar with Hearthstone and they remove the baffle when they sweep so I am not sure if that would be an issue. Do not know if I will try sweeping myself.

What lengths splits do you load?

Any other tips for running the Clydesdale?

Have you had any problems with the Clydesdale? I gave up trying to phone Hearthstone and talk to them. I talked to the dealer and explained what I wanted to do and was told no problem. Of course they are trying to make a sale.

I do not think I will be removing the surround based on your replies. I will have to wire it to the generator though.

Sorry for all the questions tough decision. I am still up in the air. WAF will not go for a PE Summit. Will stick too far out in the room. Clydesdale is as far out of a projection we compromised on.

Thanks!

 

[Huntindog1]

Here you go a hybrid stove 3.0 cu ft with a 12 hour burn and fits your dimensions

You reported your dimensions as:
My fireplace dimensions are 37" Front, 22" Deep at the bottom and 21" deep at the top, 22 1/2" at the back and 27" Tall.

(broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/product-detail.aspx?model=422#inst-tab)

(broken image removed)

 

[hamsey]

That looks interesting. Not sure if I meet the front hearth requirements though. Says base must be 1" above combustibles for 18" hearth and 16" if raised 2". I am flush. Funny thing is they show it being flush. Guess a trip to the dealer to get clarification.

 

[Huntindog1]

The pics of your room there in the other post you made looks to be a tight area except for the high ceilings.
The Hybrid Fyre stove having the best of both worlds can operate like a Secondary air tube stove or as a CAT stove as
it has both features. With the cat you can lower the stoves operation down to a low level and the cat kicks in and you wont
be running your self out of your room there. Plus the cat allows the nice 12 hour operation so you will have most steady
constant heat which is a plus and helps keep the house at the others ends heated better as its the constant heat that helps that.
Having the hybrid design and the higher efficiency means you get more heat out of the wood and this stove is the larger 3.0 cu ft
firebox which gives you more heating power also. So hopefully those specifications turn out to be a fit for you. Seems like a good
option for you since there is limited options in inserts.
I read that you can get custom surrounds made for this insert and the surround comes off easily as the surround just lifts off some tabs.

 

[hamsey]

All Travis Hybrid inserts need to be raised. Too bad because I like that one.

 

[Huntindog1]

All Travis Hybrid inserts need to be raised. Too bad because I like that one.

What Kind of floor do you have? and Do your have anything protecting the floor out in front of the stove currently.

Edit : Whats in this picture of your insert door in front of the stove and how far does it come out from the fireplace?

Just a thought:
Per the specification you need 18" hearth out front with a 1" raise of insert , your fireplace opening is 27" high (you only need 23.5), so you have plenty of head room , basically lay down another fireplace floor layer of brick and set the stove on the brick gets you another 2" raise of the insert. And the Specification is with a 2" raise you can have a smaller 16" Hearth. The Surrounds can be custom made for this insert.

 

[Huntindog1]

Ok I just looked at the manual on this stove and this Hybrid Fyre might be a 3.0 cu ft stove but the firebox geometry is a little challenging.

Looks like the box is 9 " Deep but will take 24" Splits with side to side loading (East/West Loading).

Head room is a question mark. But must be some head room to get 3.0 cu ft box.

Once again to take advantage of this stove cutting 24" logs to have 24" splits will have to be done.

This stove is a CAT stove so should be able to get longer burns out of smaller loads of wood. (As If your not loading 24" splits)

 

[Huntindog1]

Here is a pic to get a feel for the head room for anyone following this post.
I know the OP has seen the manual.

 

[hamsey]

Front hearth is 20" from face of field stone. I know when they installed (different installer) my Jotul they were complaining about how tight it was above the stove. At least that is the reason they gave me why they would not install the block off plate. Need to go down with my measurements and see what they say.

 

[begreen]

That looks interesting. Not sure if I meet the front hearth requirements though. Says base must be 1" above combustibles for 18" hearth and 16" if raised 2". I am flush. Funny thing is they show it being flush. Guess a trip to the dealer to get clarification.

It is flush, but flush with a raised hearth which effectively isolates the heat from the floor in front of the insert. For continued ember protection a hearth pad extension can be placed at floor level. This can be removed during the non-heating season.

 

[terpsucka]

Terps and JJ,

What lengths splits do you load?

Have you had any problems with the Clydesdale? I gave up trying to phone Hearthstone and talk to them. I talked to the dealer and explained what I wanted to do and was told no problem. Of course they are trying to make a sale.

My lengths are whatever I can get... I get all my wood free from tree services, so I can't really be picky about what I get. I like longer splits, because they're easier to stack, so if I had my choice I'd take all 23"ish. Currently most of my splits are around 16", which is the absolute worst for the 550 as they don't come close to filling it E-W, and don't fit N-S. Next year's pile is roughly 60% 16" and 40% 12", which is good for mixed loads.

My biggest problem with the Clydesdale was that I could never get the door to seal tightly, even after replacing the gasket. It took me a pretty long time to discover that this was happening, though, and I decided to move out of that house not too long after discovering it. I tried repeatedly to contact Hearthstone and could not ever get anyone to call me or email me back. I've not heard of other owners having the seal problem, so I doubt it's a typical Clydesdale issue. The inability to get anyone from the manufacturer to call me back was the bigger problem, IMO.

 

[velvetfoot]

Our last stove was loaded e/w. Our current stove is n/s. We love the n/s. I would go to great lengths to make sure a standard 16" split could be loaded n/s.

 

[begreen]

Likewise. I like a big squarish firebox much more, but that is not always an option for an insert.

 

[hamsey]

Well we ended up with a Clydesdale. Got a price I could not refuse. Was installed on Wednesday. Did 3 break in fires and boy it stink up the place. Struggled to keep a fire going in this thing the first few days. I did bring in a new load of wood and think that is part of the problem. Other wood was dry. I did a fresh split and read 18 on the MM. Need to find the temperature correction chart, I have a feeling it is higher. I also think it takes some time to warm it up. Got I nice fire going now and it warms the house much better than the Rockland.

There is one issue I am have with it. When we leave for the day after it is running the way it should. I come home and the fan is still running but blowing cold air into the house. There are some coals left but the firebox temps are around 140. Again it could be that the mass was not up to temps yet. Fan come on quick much quicker that the Rockland. Rockland turned off quicker though. Going to push the ash away from the snap stat and see if that helps.

Going to take some time to learn how to burn this one. Rockland wanted to overfire all the time. This one wants to go out all the time. Good thing I am a black/white kinda person.

 

[velvetfoot]

It is flush, but flush with a raised hearth which effectively isolates the heat from the floor in front of the insert. For continued ember protection a hearth pad extension can be placed at floor level. This can be removed during the non-heating season.

That firebox looks to be 19" deep.

 

[Bluezx636]

Well we ended up with a Clydesdale. Got a price I could not refuse. Was installed on Wednesday. Did 3 break in fires and boy it stink up the place. Struggled to keep a fire going in this thing the first few days. I did bring in a new load of wood and think that is part of the problem. Other wood was dry. I did a fresh split and read 18 on the MM. Need to find the temperature correction chart, I have a feeling it is higher. I also think it takes some time to warm it up. Got I nice fire going now and it warms the house much better than the Rockland.

There is one issue I am have with it. When we leave for the day after it is running the way it should. I come home and the fan is still running but blowing cold air into the house. There are some coals left but the firebox temps are around 140. Again it could be that the mass was not up to temps yet. Fan come on quick much quicker that the Rockland. Rockland turned off quicker though. Going to push the ash away from the snap stat and see if that helps.

Going to take some time to learn how to burn this one. Rockland wanted to overfire all the time. This one wants to go out all the time. Good thing I am a black/white kinda person.

That's normal. I've noticed the blowers come on around 350* from a cold start and turn off around 100*

 

[hamsey]

Blue,

Does your Clydesdale run cold in the back? I am getting major black coals in the back of mine. Not sure if it is the wood or something else.

Edit: What are the signs of burning above 20 MC wood? Beginning to think my wood is above 20% based on the temp correction charts and the amount of coals and the big chunks of charcoal I am getting. Front glass stays pretty clear. Only black in the lower corners.

 

[Huntindog1]

Hamsey,

Can you get more wood loaded in this firebox? I am just curious as these inserts have odd shapes of fire boxes.

You might split some of you wood to like 2 or 3 inch thick splits and load big stuff and small stuff both for a fast heatup or find you a good source of kindling.

Are you leaving the door cracked to get the fire heated up?

As thats one thing that can help.

You might detail us on your start up procedures and we can tell if there are any things that can help you.

Could just be a different wood your using now compared to your other stove.

 

[hamsey]

HD1,

Yes I can get more wood into the firebox. This one is deeper by a few inches so I can load bigger pieces.

Most of my wood is in the 2-4 inch ranger. I have some bigger splits that I save for the all day/ all night burns.

Sometimes I leave the door open to get the fire going other times I do not need to. Depends what is going on. Wood does usually take right off.

I did check a split with my MM and IR and did the temperature correction. Split measured 20% at 50*. Using the correction table my wood is at 22% MC. This was the highest MC split I have checked. Others were in the 16% to 19% range. So using the correction table they would be around 18% to 21%. Could be better. Working on that for next year. Might put a box fan on the stack in the garage and see if I can lower it.

Clydesdale does put out more heat and cannot wait until my wood is better. I am attaching a couple of photos so you can see how the fire burns. Looks cold. In the second photo fire is going nice except for the back split (have to look hard). Talked to Hearthstone and Ray said maybe I have too much draft and it is cooling off the firebox and was concerned about my short burn times (3 to 5 hours). I would think I would get longer burn times with my wood at 22%. If you look at the coals off to the side you can see what I mean. They looking like they are cooling off right next to the burning split. If I have an overdraft issue that could explain why the Jotul just took off. Dealer said it is a wood issue. When I spoke to Hearthstone before purchasing the Clyd. the gentleman mentioned about my chimney length might be on the long side. Going to borrow a draft meter over the weekend and see if that could be an issue or not. At least rule it out. My glass does stay pretty clean except for the lower corners. Similar with the Jotul.

Changed my startup procedure. I get it going either with kindling or small splits then add a couple more small splits and let them burn down to coals with full air to heat everything up nice then I will add 4 or 5 splits. This is where I might be getting into trouble. Manual says to let it burn full air for 20 to 30 minutes then shut it down for a overnight burn. Dealer told me to shut it down earlier and more to get better burn times. When I do this it looks like the fire is going out. Sometimes I get secondaries sometimes not. This AM i let it burn for about 10 minutes before shutting it down. Had nice secondaries when I left will see what I have when I get home.


.

Edit: First picture the air is open all the way. Is there a chance that it is not getting enough air? Negative pressure? I know my wife as commented about our bathroom fan not being as strong when the stove fan is on. How can I test this theory?