Insert is installed. A couple of questions

[Midway43]

I have had my insert for about 6 days now. It is the FPX large hybrid. It heats the house better than I thought. It really gets up to temp quick. So far I am happy.

I have a couple of beginner questions:

When I burn overnight, and the fire dies down, the glass starts to get black. It is just around the edges. The next day when I get a hot fire going, it cleans up. Is this normal? The wood has been split and stacked for about 15 months. I have not taken a moisture reading yet.

How do you know if you have draft issues? I think i am fine. If I crack the door for a minute, I do not get smoke in the room. When I do crack the door, the air must rush in. It sounds a little like a jet engine.

 

[jatoxico]

If the glass is blackening overnight you could feed just bit more air and it should burn a little cleaner of course at expense of burn time. If it clears up then it may be something you live with, just realize that you are probably dirtying up the flue too so don't neglect your sweeping. Especially until you get some sense of how its performing.

15 mo wood could be fine. It depends on species and conditions. Oak, hickory, hard maple take longer than other species like soft maple, cherry or pine. Smoke spillage is an indication of slow draft or a blockage. If the fire starts easily and draws decently at start-up that's a bonus. Some setups always need to be heated up a bit before they want to draft well others occasionally and some draft well in all conditions. Most units will draw well in "blast furnace" mode (door cracked) so not much of an indication of anything.

 

[countybrown]

The black you're getting on the glass is normal. Like jatoxico said, you could probably solve this by opening your air a bit more. As long as it's a very small amount on the glass and it gets cleared up by a good hot burn, you have nothing to worry about. Your air wash is working properly, just stay up on your cleaning.

Do you actually think you have a draft problem? Why do you ask? If you aren't having a problem getting the fire going and abnormally short burn times, I don't think you have anything to worry about. You said you crack the door for a bit and have no smoke. That's how you should be operating on reloads. Just crack the door for a few seconds and let the firebox clear of any smoke before you open the door all the way. And yes, it is normal that you get the jet engine sound when you crack the door. With a hot flue pulling a strong draft, that tiny little crack is like turning on a blower fan. Just try to limit this, since you can easily get your fire too hot and possibly cause damage if left too long.

 

[Midway43]

No I don't think I have any problem. Just trying to learn more.