New Osburn 2400I

[tarr4133]

Just got a brand new Osburn 2400 installed in my house on Wed. I have never used an insert before. I grew up with a wood boiler unit. I have been cutting firewood for other people for the past 2 years so I figured it was time to put an insert into the ol fireplace. Now I just need a good way to get the heat circulated through my 1500 sq ft house since my stove is in the dining room/ office.

 

[tarr4133]

Any advice or tips would be helpful. I even picked me up a IR thermo tonight too.

 

[dafattkidd]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the insert. I have the same unit and love it. Give us some details on your layout and insert location and we can better assist you in getting the heat to flow. Also feel free to ask any specific questions about the 2400i. I love this unit. Its a beast of a heater. How's your wood supply?

 

[Swedishchef]

Welcome to the forum!

As kidd said, it would be useful to have a description of the house, layout, etc.

A

 

[tarr4133]

Wood supply is your normal up here in the Northwest. Dry Alder, Maple, and Fir. My house was built in 57. It is a ranch style house with a 2 car garage. The dining room/office is where the insert is and the chimney goes up through the center of the house with the backside of the chimney bricks exposed to the living room area with the kicthen to the back of the living room. then the 3 bedrooms are to the west of the living room. I will try and draw it up cause I know pictures help.

I fired the stove the other night and loaded it down and got it all burning. Wish I would have had my IR gun then cause it seemed like it got pretty hot. It seems like I cant shut down the airflow enough. I had the damper closed all the way down and it seemed to keep getting hotter but I didnt have an ir at the time so I dont know the specifics.

 

[Huntindog1]

Might get the input air shut down a little quicker to keep control of it bettter. You will have to get a feel for it.

 

[Swedishchef]

A picture will certainly help. I am sure with a few well placed fans the air will circulate perfectly!

How much wood did you put in it? stuff it full? Was it your first burn?

You may have an overdraft situation. What height is your stack?? As hunting said, it make take a little getting used to. I know that I finally know how to operate my 2300 but took me a little over a year. I pretty much have to stay near the stove for 30 minutes after re-loading.

A

 

[tarr4133]

Maybe this will help.

 

[tarr4133]

It was the 4th time I fired it up and it was a reload. I did stuff her pretty full with some dry maple and alder. And the stack is right around 15ft tall. I had my local dealer do the install on this stove. I may be calling them already as my blower is already making a bunch of rattling noises.

 

[begreen]

EPA stoves don't close off the air completely. The fire may build in intensity after the air is closed off. As the air control is shut down, the fire should change in that it will burn less at the base of the wood and more at the top of the firebox in a lazier, wafting flame. There often is a vivid amount of jetting coming out of the secondary manifold during this latter phase as air is injected at the top of the firebox into the unburnt wood gases.

Split size can dramatically affect outgassing of the wood. Several small splits will have a lot more surface area for the wood gases to escape from than a couple larger splits.

You have a large stove in a medium sized house in a milder climate. It will be idling until we get into the 30's.Temps here are still in the low 50s at night so it will get hot in the house with anything but a small fire. We're not burning yet, but probably will in a few weeks. These will be chill chasers and not anywhere near full stove fires. In this weather we start a fire with a few splits, maybe add another as the fire burns down, then let it go out.

 

[begreen]

For more even heat in the house put a table or box fan at the far end of the hallway, on the floor, pointing toward the woodstove. Run it on low speed. It will blow the cooler air down low, toward the woodstove. This air will be replaced with lighter warm air from the stove room. Running this way you should notice at least a 5F increase in the hallway temp after about 30 minutes running.

 

[corey21]

Welcome and congrats on the insert.

Most EPA units have a unregulated secondary air inlet to burn the smoke. It takes getting used too i know it took me a while.

 

[Swedishchef]

Begreen has answered most questions that I could answer...and the answers are the same! Make sure the splits are bigger than they are smaller and take your time to learn the burning curve

There is, however, a chance that you have too much draft and a key would be required for the pipe...

Andrew

 

[tarr4133]

I think I am starting to figure it out a little more I have burnt it all day today and kept it under 300 all day since it is still pretty mild out

 

[dafattkidd]

I think I am starting to figure it out a little more I have burnt it all day today and kept it under 300 all day since it is still pretty mild out

When burning properly you should see no smoke coming out of your chimney. Burning below 300* sounds a little low, but as long as you see no smoke your burning properly.

 

[corey21]

I think I am starting to figure it out a little more I have burnt it all day today and kept it under 300 all day since it is still pretty mild out

That bit cool for stove top temp more then a bit.

 

[tarr4133]

Where do yall shoot the IR gun for a heat reading. I seem to get 450 off the top and 550 0ff the glass

 

[jjs777_fzr]

As for the blower rattling noise - pretty much comes with the stove as a 'feature'.
One trick is to wedge something below the fan outer housing in the front - to pry it up a bit - and that may help reduce vibration noises.
There's been other threads on this topic from what I recall.

Don't think I saw it mentioned yet - but the fan on the stove itself can and will have a drastic effect on the overall outer stove jacket temps - so once you get more accustomed to running the unit - you'll be able to play with the blower fan to maintain desired stove temps.

 

[etiger2007]

Where do yall shoot the IR gun for a heat reading. I seem to get 450 off the top and 550 0ff the glass

I shoot mine on the stove top by where the hot air comes out. As fas as air control and I know Dafattkid agrees, obviously start the fire with the air control wide open then when you have an established fire started start to close the air in increments vs all at once, go from wide open to around half open wait a few minutes for the fire to adjust then take it down to about 10% open. I am new to this stove as well but found I get a better burn if i do this. I leave it about 10% open so my fire burns more effiecently. You know your burning clean if there is no smoke coming from the chimney and you have a good secondary flame show at the top of your fire box. Good luck please post pics of it burning and please share your burn times and experiences with the stove.

 

[Iembalm4aLiving]

I have an Osburn 2200 and love it. Last year was my first with an EPA stove (insert) and here's a few things I've learned:

1. Never try to start a fire with the kitchen hood going. (Once a fire's going well, this issue goes away)

2. The fan will rattle occasionally. A nudge to the blower cover will make it go away.

3. Super Cedars will eliminate the need for newspaper and kindling.

4. PUT YOUR IR THERMOMETER AWAY! I know many of the experts here love constantly monitoring all parts of the stove and stack and try to keep all temps in a certain range.....but.......Really, burning wood should be a simple pleasure. I find that many here make it harder and more complicated than it needs to be.

I have no thermometer. I burned last winter using only good wood and common sense. My chimney sweep gave me an "atta boy" when he cleaned my liner this fall. No problems.

With good wood, these stoves make proper wood burning easy. Keep your air control open 'till you get a good fire going, then ease it down in steps. Once you get it settled with the air control down, lay back and enjoy the show (and the awesome heat output!)

Once you've burned down to coals, repeat.

It doesn't have to be so hard.

My 2 cents.