Ideas on why I'm not getting enough heat

[HollyE]

Got a Buck Stove 74 insert installed a couple weeks ago. I'll first admit I"ve had a HUGE learning curve and do feel like I'm learning new things each day. I first realized I was dealing with green wood, so we solved that. Then realized the splits were too large around, so we solved that. But now with good dry splits, I cannot heat the house with it. I have propane wall heaters that I have to have on along with the wood stove or the house would be too cold. The wall heaters are definitely not running as often though.

Here are my questions as to why I'm not able to heat the house with the wood stove insert alone. This model is rated to heat up to 2600 sq ft. My house is 1700 sq ft but my main living space (and where the stove is) has a 25' vaulted ceiling. I do have a couple of ceiling fans spinning in reverse for winter. Second possibility, when it was installed (by a professional), he installed it flush with the wall. He said because there wasn't a hearth, that it would look odd stocking out especially with the blower on the bottom so he pushed it all the way back. Am I losing heat from this or is this how inserts are designed to work? Would I get more heat if it was sticking out from the wall?

And of course there is the 3rd possibility and it's that I"m still a newbie at this and things will get better and I'll get more heat?

 

[jetsam]

Does it have a block-off plate?

Take a peek at this thread.

 

[HollyE]

Does it have a block-off plate?

Take a peek at this thread.

I don't know if it does or not. I hired a company to do the installation. I'll have to ask about this.

All I know is that they ran a new triple wall chimney liner, and they are coming back to install a new chase cap.

 

[DougA]

I am not familiar with that model but a quick check on the specs tells me a lot. It's rated for 1,500 to 2,600 sq ft but only 2.6 cu ft firebox and 40,900 btu at max. All mfg overrate their stoves on how big a house they will heat. Your high ceilings effectively doubles your sq ft for that room. The stove will help with the heat but will struggle to hear your home in cold weather IMHO.
The good news is that once you learn how to use the stove effectively, it will do a much better job. Your ceiling fans should be on very low speed. All you want to do is keep the air from stratifying (hot air at the top) without feeling a breeze. Moving air will make people feel cooler than they really are.

 

[begreen]

Look up in the fireplace and see if you see a metal plate surrounding the liner at the old damper area. If you see nothing then that is a big part of the problem. Also, if possible pull the stove out as far onto the hearth as the liner will allow. Otherwise it's mostly heating the chimney cavity.

There may be 1700 sq ft, but what is more important here is the cubic footage. With 25 ft ceilings the cu ftg being heated is thrice that of a normal home. Try changing one of the ceiling fans to blow downward on low speed. That may help create a circular air flow and move some more heat down from the peak.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I have a Buck 94NC and I am still learning my stove. It does crank out the heat when you have a good fire going in it. The 94 has a larger firebox than the 74 but here are a few things I have discovered. Every stove is different so this may help a bit...be ready to experiment.
1) Load the wood North-South (ends front to back) and not East-West (ends left to right). It does not burn as well East-West.
2) Make sure you are putting enough wood in the stove. To get any amount of heat, we have to use at least 3 splits in the 94, unless there is a lot of charcoal in it. If we burn a just a piece or two, it looks pretty but does not make any sizable heat.
3) When you stack the wood in the firebox, not too tight and not too loose or it does not burn well. About 2" between pieces seems to be the sweet spot in terms of distance. The gaps allow air to circulate around the splits, helps it to ignite and burn, etc.
4) Before you start turning the air back, make sure the wood is burning well...."mostly engulfed" in flame (about 66%-ish), & then start dialing it back. We dial ours back about 1/4 way every 10-15 minutes or so.
5) Dial it back no more than 75%. If we dial it back more than 75%, it seems to be not enough air for the stove and the fire seems to "die down or go out."
We generally get about 5-7 hours of heat on a full load of mixed hardwoods. Hope this helps you a bit.

 

[westkywood]

As far as the size of the stove. I live in a old 1300 sq ft house. I had a Super 27 for 5 years and it was listed as covering 1200-2000 sq ft. I just got a PE Summit which is rated at 2000-3000 sq ft. My stove is at the end of my house. I have new windows, lots of insulation in the attic. I've studded out walls and insulated and I'm burning 4 year seasoned Red Oak. I have my furnace set to kick on at 68. If it's down in the lower teens I might get 7 hours out of my stove before the heat kicks on and by then, the back of my house is gettn pretty chili. These square footage ratings have so many variables, I don't know why they even list them. My Summit is rated to heat twice the area of my house.

 

[HollyE]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yesterday I insulated better around a few spots in the house that I noticed was letting in lots of cold air. (mostly around window air conditioners). Coincidence that the house felt very warm when I first woke up this morning? I usually wake up with a chill and take a while to adjust and feel comfortable but this morning it felt warm and cozy. Today the house has felt nice and warm, a few times too warm and the temps were the same as they've been for the past several days. Would just doing that normally make such a difference?

I've accepted the fact that I won't be able to use this wood stove as the only heat source, at least not in the dead of winter but at least the propane usage will be only a fraction of what it would be otherwise.

 

[DougA]

Air infiltration, better known as air leakage is actually the major cause of heat loss on most houses. Obviously much worse on a windy day. I think you will find all members here agree that stopping drafts and adding insulation is the very best way to save money on heating.
Since fuel is so cheap this winter, I'd suggest putting that savings into extra insulation this summer. You will be repaid many times over in the long run.

 

[blades]

A stove is an area heater not a furnace with forced air and hence your problem with cold rooms on the opposite side of the home.

 

[prezes13]

I use a fan in my living room with cathedral ceilings not as high as yours but still. I des covered that runing them in reverse "winter" mode does nothing. However runing it in a "sumer" mode helps a lot.

 

[HollyE]

I use a fan in my living room with cathedral ceilings not as high as yours but still. I des covered that runing them in reverse "winter" mode does nothing. However runing it in a "sumer" mode helps a lot.

I would have to disagree. Keep in mind we just moved in this house in October. It's a split level log cabin. The master bedroom is what is upstairs. Before running the fans in reverse, there were many cold spots downstairs and our upstairs bedroom would get very hot, much hotter than the rooms downstairs where the propane wall heaters are. We put the fans on reverse and instantly noticed how the heat felt much more uniform and the upstairs didn't get so hot anymore. We didn't have the fans running at all at the time so I can't compare it to running them in summer mode with the heat.

 

[mellow]

he installed it flush with the wall.

Flush mounts are notorious for not putting out heat as much as a hearth mount because they rely more on the blower to get the heat out, it gets all trapped in the fireplace, I would recommend figuring out a way to pull it out of the fireplace as much as you can so heat can radiate out into the living space.

I would also recommend insulating that fireplace along with a block off plate, especially if that is an exterior chimney.

Can you post some pictures of your setup?

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I am not familiar with that model but a quick check on the specs tells me a lot. It's rated for 1,500 to 2,600 sq ft but only 2.6 cu ft firebox and 40,900 btu at max. All mfg overrate their stoves on how big a house they will heat. Your high ceilings effectively doubles your sq ft for that room. The stove will help with the heat but will struggle to hear your home in cold weather IMHO.
The good news is that once you learn how to use the stove effectively, it will do a much better job. Your ceiling fans should be on very low speed. All you want to do is keep the air from stratifying (hot air at the top) without feeling a breeze. Moving air will make people feel cooler than they really are.

This is very true. We heat around 2200 square feet but have 10 foot ceilings through the entire one floor house. I keep our fans on the regular direction and low most of the time and it moves the heat from above just enough to make the room warmer. You can visibly see the change. If you go from no fans to fans when the stove has been going for several hours it will raise the thermostat temperature in the room 2-3 degrees in less than 5 minutes.

 

[gzecc]

Got a Buck Stove 74 insert installed a couple weeks ago. I'll first admit I"ve had a HUGE learning curve and do feel like I'm learning new things each day. I first realized I was dealing with green wood, so we solved that. Then realized the splits were too large around, so we solved that. But now with good dry splits, I cannot heat the house with it. I have propane wall heaters that I have to have on along with the wood stove or the house would be too cold. The wall heaters are definitely not running as often though.

Here are my questions as to why I'm not able to heat the house with the wood stove insert alone. This model is rated to heat up to 2600 sq ft. My house is 1700 sq ft but my main living space (and where the stove is) has a 25' vaulted ceiling. I do have a couple of ceiling fans spinning in reverse for winter. Second possibility, when it was installed (by a professional), he installed it flush with the wall. He said because there wasn't a hearth, that it would look odd stocking out especially with the blower on the bottom so he pushed it all the way back. Am I losing heat from this or is this how inserts are designed to work? Would I get more heat if it was sticking out from the wall?

And of course there is the 3rd possibility and it's that I"m still a newbie at this and things will get better and I'll get more heat?

Lets talk about your seasoned wood. How long has it been split and stacked off the ground? What species is it?

 

[daleeper]

As you have found out, what works in one house does not work in another. On the fans in the main living space, try all different configurations, up down, one on while other off, to find out what works best for you. If a log cabin with high ceiling, I would bet that there are a lot of windows in that room, which will also cause quite a bit of heat loss compared to insulated walls. We are assuming that the insert has fans, and you are using them. Play with the different speed settings for that fan, if it is variable speed.

The good news is it will get better as you work with the stove and fan settings, and you get control of any air leaks, and improve insulation as needed. You will also be gathering better firewood as you learn what works best for you.

 

[BigFir]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yesterday I insulated better around a few spots in the house that I noticed was letting in lots of cold air. (mostly around window air conditioners). Coincidence that the house felt very warm when I first woke up this morning? I usually wake up with a chill and take a while to adjust and feel comfortable but this morning it felt warm and cozy. Today the house has felt nice and warm, a few times too warm and the temps were the same as they've been for the past several days. Would just doing that normally make such a difference?

I've accepted the fact that I won't be able to use this wood stove as the only heat source, at least not in the dead of winter but at least the propane usage will be only a fraction of what it would be otherwise.

You should remove the window A/C units entirely for the winter, I just put mine in for june-September. I am sure closing the window will seal better then any make shift insulation would do?

 

[prezes13]

My house is a raised ranch and my flush insert is upstairs. What I found out was that running my fan rift above my insert brings all the cool air into the stove. All that cold air pushes hot air out. I have thermostat in a hallway in two three minutes I see at least 3 df change I also can feel the hot air go by towards the bedrooms. But I do agree that what works for some may not work for others.

 

[HollyE]

I called and spoke to my installer this morning and asked him about what I can do to maximize the heat output. He assured me that pulling it out more would not change anything. He said he has customers, including himself, who heat larger homes than mine with this same model. After talking a little more, we do think my wood is not seasoned quite enough. I'm burning oak and cherry. It was split last early summer, which is probably still not seasoned quite enough.

I may try my ceiling fans spinning in "summer" mode also to see if there is a difference.

 

[begreen]

Comparing to other homes could be irrelevant unless they are of identical construction, insulation, sealing, ceiling heights, etc..

Did you look up above the stove in the damper area to see if there is a metal block off plate or at least some insulation stuffed there?

Try reversing only one of the ceiling fans to summer mode. Leave the other in winter mode. This will help create a circular air flow.

 

[HollyE]

Comparing to other homes could be irrelevant unless they are of identical construction, insulation, sealing, ceiling heights, etc..

Did you look up above the stove in the damper area to see if there is a metal block off plate or at least some insulation stuffed there?

Try reversing only one of the ceiling fans to summer mode. Leave the other in winter mode. This will help create a circular air flow.

I don't see anything if I look at the top of the stove except for some metal looking panels. It's been running so I can't actually stick my head in it to try to see further.

And to answer a previous question, yes I have a blower on it and have been using it.

 

[begreen]

Damp wood will really reduce heat output. Try some store bought bundles of wood to see if that makes a great improvement.

If you get a chance, when the stove is cooler or off take a picture of the damper area and post it here. Could be there is a block off plate up there if you saw shiny metal surrounding the flue liner.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I called and spoke to my installer this morning and asked him about what I can do to maximize the heat output. He assured me that pulling it out more would not change anything. He said he has customers, including himself, who heat larger homes than mine with this same model. After talking a little more, we do think my wood is not seasoned quite enough. I'm burning oak and cherry. It was split last early summer, which is probably still not seasoned quite enough.

I may try my ceiling fans spinning in "summer" mode also to see if there is a difference.

Check it with a moisture meter. It very well could be seasoned enough. Like I've said in other posts, I single stack my wood, off the ground, uncovered, in the sun and wind from January-September and then move it into the wood shed. In one year I get moisture right around 20%. The 2-3 year thing is nice but you may not be burning the swill many say you are after only one season of drying. It is very condition/climate dependent.

 

[begreen]

Good suggestion, a properly used moisture meter will determine wood dampness. FWIW, we had perfect drying conditions this summer. Virtually no rain for 2 months, low humidity and dry months prior. These were Mediterranean conditions, droughtlike. Our late winter stacked madrona and cherry still are not dry unless it was split very thin. Dense hardwood needs time to dry out to the core. It needs to be in a kiln or a solar kiln or a very windy location to dry much faster than a year.

 

[prezes13]

Hey I had some maple which was sizzling after three years. It all depends.