Napoleon 1100c questions

[DutchOven1911]

Hi folks. New member here. I read enough posts so I figured I might as well join. I have a Napoleon 1100c in my 1400 sq ft drafty old house. Installed 3 years ago. I burn mostly ash and maple seasons for 1+ years. There are a few questions I can't seem to get a solid answer to.

1st..my stove installer told me smaller hotter fires are better, but I'm constantly reloading my stove. Reading some posts here I see people load the stove as full as possible and get longer burns. I had a few runaway burns that made me a little gun shy, but I blame that on myself.

2nd..stove operating temp and secondary burn. The manual says around 450 if I remember correctly, but in the middle of winter my house will never heat up with my little stove. So at what temps and for how long can I expect the most from my secondaries? I mess with the air to try and fine tune it, but normally just end up sitting in front of it like a little kid at christmas.

3rd is the stove size. When it isnt super cold my stove will do a decent job heating the main portion of my downstairs. My house isn't an open floor plan, but instead room off of room. I have 8 ft ceilings, ceiling fan in the living room with stove and even a fan in an adjacent room to move the heat. I know the drafty windows don't help. The installer suggested the 1100c for my layout, but I'm starting to wish I went with the 1400. They said having smaller fires in the bigger stove for my house size will just lead to more creosote. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[bholler]

Hi folks. New member here. I read enough posts so I figured I might as well join. I have a Napoleon 1100c in my 1400 sq ft drafty old house. Installed 3 years ago. I burn mostly ash and maple seasons for 1+ years. There are a few questions I can't seem to get a solid answer to.

1st..my stove installer told me smaller hotter fires are better, but I'm constantly reloading my stove. Reading some posts here I see people load the stove as full as possible and get longer burns. I had a few runaway burns that made me a little gun shy, but I blame that on myself.

2nd..stove operating temp and secondary burn. The manual says around 450 if I remember correctly, but in the middle of winter my house will never heat up with my little stove. So at what temps and for how long can I expect the most from my secondaries? I mess with the air to try and fine tune it, but normally just end up sitting in front of it like a little kid at christmas.

3rd is the stove size. When it isnt super cold my stove will do a decent job heating the main portion of my downstairs. My house isn't an open floor plan, but instead room off of room. I have 8 ft ceilings, ceiling fan in the living room with stove and even a fan in an adjacent room to move the heat. I know the drafty windows don't help. The installer suggested the 1100c for my layout, but I'm starting to wish I went with the 1400. They said having smaller fires in the bigger stove for my house size will just lead to more creosote. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Yes for best heatoutput over the longest time you want as much heat as possible.

As far as temps how and where are you measuring temps?

 

[begreen]

The secret to keeping the chimney clean is to burn fully seasoned wood and keep the flue temps above 250º up top. Burning a few short hot fires during the day is ok for mild weather, but when it's cold out, load the stove up. Then, try to turn down the air as quickly as possible without killing the fire.

 

[DutchOven1911]

Here's my setup