OK so we were on here talking about draft modifications to a Napoleon 1400 series insert a week or go. Well I have a 1900p, and since new it seems to eat the firewood faster than it should. Don't get me wrong, it does really well, but I always felt that it had too much draft, even when shut the whole way down. I passed the blame onto my flue height (20' Dura-Vent class A), or the low moisture content in my wood at the time (16 to 18%). Anyway this year my wood has been moister than usual due to the extreme wet conditions we've had this past year in central PA. It has still been eating the wood. So that post about the modification got me thinking maybe that was MY problem too. So yesterday afternoon, the fire was low and I decided to pull the ash pan out and look up underneath the unit where the draft control is, and I couldn't believe what I saw!! The front metal retainer that holds the draft rod tight to the bottom of the unit was loose as hell! Basically it was gaping open enough act as if it were set on 2 or 3 even though it was shut down! And no, it didn't vibrate loose, it had never been properly installed by the factory to begin with. So I tightened the two 1/4" sheetmetal screws that hold it in place (they were barely into the metal to begin with) and it made an AMAZING difference in the burn. Burnt at least a third less wood last evening and woke up to more hot coals than ever....so the moral of the story is look look LOOK LOOK at your entire stove to make sure it was properly assembled at the factory or dealer, because it may not have been! Think of the wood I wasted over the past 4 years on that stove!
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That must feel pretty good, knowing that you made the right decision, not to replace the stove, and that you'll be in good shape from here on out.
Dan you're right. We really like that stove, and I am really happy with it but I always felt it wasn't as efficient as it could be. It will be interesting to see how much wood I save from here on. Hopefully others can learn from my oversight. Once again, this forum and its awesome members opened up my eyes and helped out! I love Hearth.com!DanCorcoran said:
Good catch on that problem. You knew something wasn't right, and investigated. An easy fix is always nice. I bet is feels really good the find and fix that problem.
(About the 2nd week into using my Regency, still getting the feel for it a little, I thought I'd fool around with the draft control position during a nice hot full load burn. That supplied me with a wealth of information on the behavior of that stove. For example, I shut the control down completely during a blazing fire with a roaring secondary burn. Watching what happened in the next few minutes gave me information that I needed to know when burning while asleep/night-time, and away from home. And I continue to learn from there....)
Anyway, I imagine that you tooled with your stove in a similar manner. But, you just knew something wasn't right. No matter what you did.
This website is a great wealth of information. Every stove is the same except for the differences.
Cheers
(About the 2nd week into using my Regency, still getting the feel for it a little, I thought I'd fool around with the draft control position during a nice hot full load burn. That supplied me with a wealth of information on the behavior of that stove. For example, I shut the control down completely during a blazing fire with a roaring secondary burn. Watching what happened in the next few minutes gave me information that I needed to know when burning while asleep/night-time, and away from home. And I continue to learn from there....)
Anyway, I imagine that you tooled with your stove in a similar manner. But, you just knew something wasn't right. No matter what you did.
This website is a great wealth of information. Every stove is the same except for the differences.
Cheers
Man, glad you found that. Amazes me how many times one finds things f-ed up from the factory.
pen
pen
Pen, ain't that the truth? I don't think (at least in my particular situation) it was a hazard, but if my flue was 6' higher, it could have been....you just never know, so that's why I wanted to post this. To give others the 'heads-up', so to speak. I have a feeling I'm going to save quite a bit of wood over the years, all because of a pair of loose screws.......pen said:
Ash, yes this site is as important to the modern woodburner as having the fuel for the fire....a treasure trove of information. I've had this particular stove for 4 years, and we born 24/7 from late October till late April. And still, to this day, find ways to make it more efficient!Ash_403 said:Good catch on that problem. You new something wasn't right, and investigated. An easy fix is always nice. I bet is feels really good the find and fix that problem.
(About the 2nd week into using my Regency, still getting the feel for it a little, I thought I'd fool around with the draft control position during a nice hot full load burn. That supplied me with a wealth of information on the behavior of that stove. For example, I shut the control down completely during a blazing fire with a roaring secondary burn. Watching what happened in the next few minutes gave me information that I needed to know when burning while asleep/night-time, and away from home. And I continue to learn from there....)
Anyway, I imagine that you tooled with your stove in a similar manner. But, you just knew something wasn't right. No matter what you did.
This website is a great wealth of information. Every stove is the same except for the differences.
Cheers
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
That locust you love so much ought to really burn a long time now. You might get some of those week long burns like those Blaze King owners. LOL
That's what I'm hoping for, Locust! Now if we would only get some real winter weather! :cheese:Locust Post said:
No problem, BeGreen....if it wasn't for the guys here on the Hearth, I would probably never even looked at that draft. I hope others look over their stoves as it definately paid off for me.BeGreen said:
HA
Scott im over here in eastern Pa and Im burning the napoleaon 1402 insert. Since reading your post im going to look to see whats up. It's been about four yrs since I've had the insert and its always on my mined if its burning the why it should. Since this winter is so warm Im going to take the inserrt out and flip the insert to see.whats going on,.The air intake control are on the bottom of the insert If I remember right there two holes with one control handle. I would really love to no witch one is the primary air vursus/secondary air. My wife is going to kill me for doing this but I need to find out whats going on. It's time to rebuild the inners (Bricks) I have four or five cracked so its time.
Thanks for your post. Ill try to keep up dated.
Scott im over here in eastern Pa and Im burning the napoleaon 1402 insert. Since reading your post im going to look to see whats up. It's been about four yrs since I've had the insert and its always on my mined if its burning the why it should. Since this winter is so warm Im going to take the inserrt out and flip the insert to see.whats going on,.The air intake control are on the bottom of the insert If I remember right there two holes with one control handle. I would really love to no witch one is the primary air vursus/secondary air. My wife is going to kill me for doing this but I need to find out whats going on. It's time to rebuild the inners (Bricks) I have four or five cracked so its time.
Thanks for your post. Ill try to keep up dated.
Burd, are you sure you have to remove.the insert to get at the draft? Is there an access panel or ash pan on the front of the insert? Anyway, both the primaries and secondary air is controlled by the single rod, the front hole is your primary air and the rear hole is the secondary, if I'm not mistaken. I replaced all the bricks in mine this year as well as installing the new style one-piece baffles and noticed a big difference from those! There is a thread about another hearth member who modified his draft (made it so be could close it off more), maybe you can look into doing that to yours as well. Here's a link to that thread. Keep me posted on how you make out!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/88752/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/88752/
Scotty I wish I had the ash pan it sure would be nice. The 1402p insert is a flush mount/zero clearence. So the control rob is about 1 inch off the ground. When I installed the unit I think I put it up on bricks but that ant going to help get to them air ways. Thanks for the trend (forum) Ill look at it when I get the chance
Ha how did you get the one peace baffle in there with out removing the tube.
Ha how did you get the one peace baffle in there with out removing the tube.
actually there are two baffles. One for each side, as opposed to the old style where they had two pieces for each side. Plus the new baffles are twice as thick. Keep me posted on your outcome.Burd said:
Well it has been a couple of days and even though it has not been very cold out (mid 30s average), the draft fix has made an amazing difference in the burn. I have burnt a third less wood in the past several days as I would burn on a similar temp day before the draft was fixed. totally unbelievable. Not to mention the coals are burning down a lot better, haven't had to take any ash out of the stove since Sunday. So that said, I now am patiently waiting for some sub freezing (heck i'd take a week or two of sub zero) weather to see how it will perform in the real cold. Also a windy day would be good to test it as the stove seems to really eat the wood on high wind days....
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
It's good to hear you're efforts paid off Scotty. Just like anything else that gets used regularly they need a little tune up now and then. My old girl's burnin better than she ever did after some tlc this season. I hear you on that cold stuff wouldn't mind a little myself. The stoves are just more fun when you can get'em crankin. Raining here and has warmed up from 35 to 46. Took a couple days off and thought I might get out and cut some. Not happenin'
Yeah locust, it is downright depressing here. Pouring down rain, temp at 34 deg. right now, climbing to the mid forties by the middle of next week. Oh well, nothing I can do about it but deal with it. We have some cutting to do on Sunday (a tall pine and some smaller stuff). Rain, snow sleet or hail, I'm cutting.
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
Be careful if cutting in the elements. I've done it before and may have went today in the drizzle but don't think I can get the truck in where I want to go. That's why we learn to get ahead.
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