New insert, no heat

[Akschnare]

Hello,

I just bought an insert and had it professionally installed, however, I'm barely getting any heat from it. I bought a Majestic Windsor WR2500X02. I know I bought an entry level model, but I was told that it would still heat the area. My house is at most 1100 sq ft. and at about 12ft away where the thermostat is, I struggle to keep the temperature at 20°C. I can only keep that temperature with the blower set to max and let me tell you, it's loud. The burn time I get out of a log is roughly two hours.

I went to the shop and they said to make sure that I'm burning dry seasoned hardwood. I am, however, when I call them back, I'd like to have at least a bit of knowledge as to what I'm talking about.

When the installers came, they had to break out the back of my fireplace because the flue wouldn't fit since it comes out of the back of the unit on a 45° angle. I've seen some threads here where people have plates and insulation around the flue, however when I took the surround off of the insert and stuck my phone back there to take pictures, There is just open chimney.

The guy at the store said that he couldn't see that being a problem, but I don't really buy it. Anyway, I'm just wondering what some of you folks think, or if you have any ideas as to why I get no heat. The installers said that with the (small) size of my house, it should get ridiculously hot in this room, but it just isn't the case.

I've uploaded some pictures for you to see what I'm talking about. If anyone has any ideas, it would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Jags]

You need an insulated block off plate. That alone will make a big difference in your heat getting into the room.

 

[macattack_ga]

How dry is your wood?

When we first got our stove we were burning unseasoned wood.
Getting the stove temps to almost 300F was a challange.

Now, w/ good seasoned wood, we're getting much more heat.

 

[Akschnare]

Not sure of the exact moisture content, however, I've been helping myself to my father in laws wood pile and he's had it split and stacked for two years. He uses it and gets great heat from it.

 

[mellow]

That is a huge hole for all that heat to go up in the back of that insert, as mentioned you need to install a block off plate.

What you are doing now is heating all that brick, I would insulate that entire firebox to trap the heat in so it can be blown out into the room.

 

[begreen]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/why-damper-seal-is-needed/

 

[Akschnare]

Ok, so the consensus is a block off plate. I suppose to seal in that whole area they will need to build up the back wall too. Thanks everyone. I just want to be able to come to them with something so I know some of what I'm talking about.

If a blocking plate is made, is sprayfoam a suitable way to insulate the gaps? Or is something like Roxul better?

 

[ozibit juice]

roxul is good, don't use spray foam it is flammable,

 

[Akschnare]

Sounds good. Thanks.

 

[ozibit juice]

from what i 've read on here, most people use a metal block off plate around the liner, and then on top of that they put roxul

 

[etiger2007]

I had the Dutch West model, 1.3 CF firebox. I sold it a year later because you cant put much wood in it, it did heat the house though.

 

[Nick Mystic]

If you are going back to the store/installers to request the block off plate installation you might find them offering to just stuff the open areas with insulation and telling you that is good enough. I wouldn't settle for that solution since a lot of heat will still seep through insulation if you don't have a solid block off plate reflecting the heat back into the room. I'm not sure about stuffing insulation, meaning Roxul type product around the insert since some inserts are designed to have an air envelope around them and not touching anything. I'd check further before doing this so that you don't run the risk of damaging the insert from over firing.

 

[Fonzy]

I'm having a similar issue, did they install the block off plate and if so, did it work?

Thanks

 

[HotCoals]

x10 on the plate.

 

[Charles1981]

I'd say almost certainly all your heat is going up the chimney for sure. As everyone has said: shove a ton of roxul up there, and install a block off plate. That liner isn't insulated either... Is your chimney on an outside wall of your house? If it is the block off plate will help, but draft and creosote can be a problem with an unlined liner you want basically insulation around the entire flex liner.

 

[blacktail]

The burn time I get out of a log is roughly two hours.

Are you burning one piece of wood at a time?

 

[Sully]

I didn't read rest of replies so if this was said. After one season of burning these guys are right. If the wood is not right either are the results. I have mixed wood. Some perfect some not. I can tell exactly which group I dug Into by the heat and the way the fire works. If everyone had seasoned wood I think a lot of people would be getting bored on hearth because there would be very few "problems" to solve! Lol

 

[PLAYS WITH FIRE]

If you can't fabricate a block off out of metal. Use roxul for the time being, it works great! Pile it up into the smoke chamber and then make a plate out of roxul. Its rigid enough to hold itself in place just cut it several inches larger than the area. Then when you have time make one out of thin sheet metal. I made a template out of cardboard then used that to make a metal one. The metal one is too thick, like 1/8" and it not very forgiving when working in low clearance. SO I used the metal one as a template for the roxul and its great. I've been using the roxul one for almost 2 years and it works so well I never made a metal one. Others may argue but it works better than nothing and works well for me and others I've done this for .

 

[etiger2007]

Im with Plays with Fire, I stuffed mine with Roxul and never saw the need to put up sheet metal.

 

[maverick06]

with my stove (different from this),
no blower = no heat. i removed the rheostat and put in a switch.

If you want heat without a fan, get a freestanding stove.

 

[blacktail]

Am I the only one that notices he's getting two hour burns "out of a log?"
If the stove is only being loaded with one chunk of wood at a time, then that's a large part of the problem.

 

[begreen]

At 1.4 cu ft this stove probably will be a challenge for a long burn, but it should put out some heat. Akschnare, tell us how you run the stove. For example, how much wood are you loading typically? Are you closing down the air control progressively as the fire gets burning hotter?Or are you running it with the air wide open?

 

[etiger2007]

My experience with this stove is after two hours my small logs would be reduced to coals and then you get coal heat for alittle while longer. Its the nature of the small stove. Also a stove that small will cool faster because it had very little mass , I think it weighs like 265 lbs. I had to push it hard to heat the place.

 

[tcassavaugh]

Am I the only one that notices he's getting two hour burns "out of a log?"
If the stove is only being loaded with one chunk of wood at a time, then that's a large part of the problem.

I was wondering the same thing.....if he's not filling it, that will be a contributing factor to lesser heat.

 

[Akschnare]

Once the fire is going, I get two to three logs going. Whatever I can fit, mostly. And no, I don't run it with the damper wide open, unless it's just starting up. Once it's burning, I put it down to around a third to a quarter open. When I go to bed, I stuff it as much as possible and once it's going, I close it completely.

So the service guys came and stuffed five sheets of Roxul back there. I was kind of annoyed because they didn't take the insert out and do it properly. I could have done that, but either way, it's in there now. They insisted that it's all they can do. When I asked why the chimney liner wasn't insulated, he said they only insulate it at the top.

So if it works, I'll leave it for now and fix it myself this summer. If not, I'll be taking it back I suppose. I just have to wait for a cold day. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's one in the forecast for a few weeks.