Napoleon stove max wood size?

[Sprinter]

I've been checking out the Napoleon line of freestanding stoves, and the model 1100 here: (broken link removed to http://napoleonfireplaces.com/products/1100-pedestal/) says that max wood length is 12". Why would they have such a severe limitation? The manual says that model's firebox size is 13-1/2 deep, 18 wide and 12 high (1.7 cf). I can see that 12" would be max for N-S loading, but many stoves have those dimensions and certainly can be loaded E-W with larger than 12" They specifically say "maximum wood length 12".

 

[stovelark]

Hi Sprinter- yeah think thats a misprint. The Lil 1100 will do nicely up to about 1000 Sqft, 16-18 inch wood loaded E-W Napoleon used to be very good value for money spent, think exch rate has hurt it the past few seasons. Good luck

Stovelark
Enviro 1700 Kodiak FS
Enviro EF3 pellet FS
Enviro Empress FPI

 

[Sprinter]

Hi Sprinter- yeah think thats a misprint. The Lil 1100 will do nicely up to about 1000 Sqft, 16-18 inch wood loaded E-W Napoleon used to be very good value for money spent, think exch rate has hurt it the past few seasons. Good luck

Stovelark
Enviro 1700 Kodiak FS
Enviro EF3 pellet FS
Enviro Empress FPI

I would think E-W would be okay also, but I see on the installation manual that it says "ideal length" is also 12". I just read a few older threads here and I'm getting the impression that people are having trouble with wood rolling out of the door or up against the glass, damaging it. Maybe that's the reason. Or maybe they just feel that smaller pieces are more efficient. I did leave an email with Obediah's (sp?), a Napoleon dealer and sponsor here to get their take.

 

[begreen]

That is the N/S dimension of the firebox. They recommend loading this way so that logs don't roll up against the glass.

 

[Sprinter]

That is the N/S dimension of the firebox. They recommend loading this way so that logs don't roll up against the glass.

That's what I figured, but is seems a bit severe to actually specify 12" maximum. I've not seen any other maker do that for models with similar dimensions. Is the problem that severe with this model? Maybe there is not much depth below the door?

 

[n3pro]

Catching up, I was on vacation.

Napoleon 1100 from floor to top of burn tubes, About 10 1/2 inches.



East / West or left right is barely 18, best is 16, 17 1/2 is the most to give a little wiggle room.



North / South or front to back is 12 inches but again unless it's a perfectly straight cut I stuck with 10 - 11 inches.




The floor is not too deep, the bottom of the firebrick floor to the air inlet is only two inches and to the top of the lip is close to 3 inches.

 

[Sprinter]

View attachment 71693 Catching up, I was on vacation.

Napoleon 1100 from floor to top of burn tubes, About 10 1/2 inches.

View attachment 71687

East / West or left right is barely 18, best is 16, 17 1/2 is the most to give a little wiggle room.

View attachment 71688

North / South or front to back is 12 inches but again unless it's a perfectly straight cut I stuck with 10 - 11 inches.
View attachment 71689

View attachment 71690

The floor is not too deep, the bottom of the firebrick floor to the air inlet is only two inches and to the top of the lip is close to 3 inches. View attachment 71693

View attachment 71694

Other than limited burn times, did you experience problems with E-W burning in a small space, like logs falling out, glass damage from logs against it, cleaning ash out, etc? I get the impression that there is little depth to it at the door to keep the wood and ash from spilling.

 

[dafattkidd]

Hey Sprinter, I had the Napoleon 1101 insert (same firebox as the 1100). I had a lot of success getting pretty good burn times by loading EW on the bottom and NS on top of that jamming it as full as I could. I used to cut to about 12" for NS, and 16"-17" for EW. Cutting to 12" was a little annoying at times, but not a big deal. It was very reasonably priced, a good unit, just undersized for my house. Hope that helps.

Being able to load longer splits NS is very convenient. You may want to factor that into your decision.

 

[Sprinter]

Hey Sprinter, I had the Napoleon 1101 insert (same firebox as the 1100). I had a lot of success getting pretty good burn times by loading EW on the bottom and NS on top of that jamming it as full as I could. I used to cut to about 12" for NS, and 16"-17" for EW. Cutting to 12" was a little annoying at times, but not a big deal. It was very reasonably priced, a good unit, just undersized for my house. Hope that helps.

Being able to load longer splits NS is very convenient. You may want to factor that into your decision.

This is something I've been struggling with a little. I need to keep the whole installation from getting too far into the room as possible given space constraints, and yet I recognize the value of N-S and I have a lot of cuts >16". As I understand it, it's not just convenience, but supposedly the burning is better also. The more I think about it, I guess an additional 4" or so of depth shouldn't be a deal breaker as long as I can get short back clearance if the day to day operation is enhanced. I think I'm going to concentrate on good N-S capacity and short back clearances now. I'm in the 2 cf range now as well. I thought I could get away with a smaller stove, and maybe I still could, but I think 2 cf would be a more useful size and not excessively large to operate.

 

[firecracker_77]

This is something I've been struggling with a little. I need to keep the whole installation from getting too far into the room as possible given space constraints, and yet I recognize the value of N-S and I have a lot of cuts >16". As I understand it, it's not just convenience, but supposedly the burning is better also. The more I think about it, I guess an additional 4" or so of depth shouldn't be a deal breaker as long as I can get short back clearance if the day to day operation is enhanced. I think I'm going to concentrate on good N-S capacity and short back clearances now. I'm in the 2 cf range now as well. I thought I could get away with a smaller stove, and maybe I still could, but I think 2 cf would be a more useful size and not excessively large to operate.

I run two stoves at 2.0 cubic feet. It would be nice to have one of them at 3.0 cubic feet for overnight burn times. I always load east west. I guess it makes no difference, but east west is easier for me with a side door. Think about 3.0 cubic feet if you haven't committed. You can alway burn it a little slower if it's too much stove for the room.

 

[ScotO]

I have a Napoleon 1900P, and I love that stove. I had some issues with it for a while, until I figured out what to do to fix them (draft rod was improperly installed FROM THE FACTORY) thanks to some great members here, I found it and fixed it. Saved me a lot of wood over the past year with that simple repair. If I were you, I would consider getting a slightly bigger stove than you think you need, like the 1400 or 1900. I can load my stove up with 20" wood, N/S or E/W, and it makes for nice overnight burns. I like the way it burns loaded straight into the stove, though. Makes those secondaries swirl very nicely.....

 

[firecracker_77]

I have a Napoleon 1900P, and I love that stove. I had some issues with it for a while, until I figured out what to do to fix them (draft rod was improperly installed FROM THE FACTORY) thanks to some great members here, I found it and fixed it. Saved me a lot of wood over the past year with that simple repair. If I were you, I would consider getting a slightly bigger stove than you think you need, like the 1400 or 1900. I can load my stove up with 20" wood, N/S or E/W, and it makes for nice overnight burns. I like the way it burns loaded straight into the stove, though. Makes those secondaries swirl very nicely.....

I agree 100% with Scotty. A "little" bigger is never regretted. When it's really cold and blowing or when you wake up and there's a nice coal bed, you will be happier.

 

[begreen]

In general that can be true, but not always. Bigger can be regretted, especially when put in too small an area or a mild climate. We see a few returns every year here. And a good 2 cu ft stove can easily hold an overnight burn with good coals for a restart in the morning.

In Sprinter's case they have a 1750 sq ft home in Western WA. We rarely get into the teens here. They would be fine with a 2 cu ft stove here, IMO. I stand by recommending a PE Super 27 or Napoleon 1400/1450.

 

[firecracker_77]

In general that can be true, but not always. Bigger can be regretted, especially when put in too small an area or a mild climate. We see a few returns every year here. And a good 2 cu ft stove can easily hold an overnight burn with good coals for a restart in the morning.

In Sprinter's case they have a 1750 sq ft home in Western WA. We rarely get into the teens here. They would be fine with a 2 cu ft stove here, IMO. I stand by recommending a PE Super 27 or Napoleon 1400/1450.

That makes sense. It's considerably colder in my area.

 

[begreen]

And windier! I would be bumping up to a 3 cu ft recommendation for Illinois unless it was a superinsulated house. .

 

[firecracker_77]

And windier! I would be bumping up to a 3 cu ft recommendation for Illinois unless it was a superinsulated house. .

My house and my Woodstock gas are in Illinois. My office and the 2 woodstoves are over the border in Indiana. Both areas are similar climates, but Indiana is slightly snowier.

 

[dafattkidd]

In general that can be true, but not always. Bigger can be regretted, especially when put in too small an area or a mild climate. We see a few returns every year here. And a good 2 cu ft stove can easily hold an overnight burn with good coals for a restart in the morning.

In Sprinter's case they have a 1750 sq ft home in Western WA. We rarely get into the teens here. They would be fine with a 2 cu ft stove here, IMO. I stand by recommending a PE Super 27 or Napoleon 1400/1450.

I agree. I heat just about the same area, but a colder windy climate (I'm on a hill by the water), and my house is really drafty so I opted for the larger 3.2 cf firebox, which I rarely pack full. 2 cf firebox will do the job here.

 

[ScotO]

my house is 2800 sq. feet. I have two large Napoleons (1900p and NZ3000), maybe overkill a little, but I also have 19 of these special thermostats in my house.......they come in all shapes and sizes, and when it gets too warm you walk over and slide a couple of those thermostats open as far as you need it to be....

 

[firecracker_77]

my house is 2800 sq. feet. I have two large Napoleons (1900p and NZ3000), maybe overkill a little, but I also have 19 of these special thermostats in my house.......they come in all shapes and sizes, and when it gets too warm you walk over and slide a couple of those thermostats open as far as you need it to be....

I use those advanced thermostats during shoulder season when I have to have a fire and it's not quite cold enough. I do like the sensation of a wall of radiant heat coming at me from one side and a cool breeze from the outside coming in from the other side.

 

[Sprinter]

my house is 2800 sq. feet. I have two large Napoleons (1900p and NZ3000), maybe overkill a little, but I also have 19 of these special thermostats in my house.......they come in all shapes and sizes, and when it gets too warm you walk over and slide a couple of those thermostats open as far as you need it to be....

Funny. A marketer might call them a manually operated thermo-ventilation regulator with high optical transmission.

 

[n3pro]

Other than limited burn times, did you experience problems with E-W burning in a small space, like logs falling out, glass damage from logs against it, cleaning ash out, etc? I get the impression that there is little depth to it at the door to keep the wood and ash from spilling.

I was on a business trip so behind again. Surprisingly no problems. First year I was really freaked out when a split hit the glass, each year later little less. The only downfall was the cast iron design on the door front center turned white but that's all as far as damage. I would shovel the ash that would build up along the front firebrick every load and the ash lip often had ash on it but that's all. The only problem with wood falling out was the first year when I was in the "OH $H!T" phase every time something happened. A split hit the glass, in panic I opened the door, of course it fell out, grabbing the tool to put it back in, of course it fell right back out. I learned after that on here, let it go.