No burn time with my Quadra Fire 5700

[Don Z]

Very frustrated,
I don't get the burn time out of my Quadra Fire 5700 like I was told and what the brochure states. How can a company state 21 hours of burn time and not be able to achieve. I'm lucky to get 6 hours and not drop below 200 degrees on stack temp. I had a Double Eagle Baker, made in the 70s and never had complaint in the 23 years I've used that stove. I use my stove 24/7 not for looks but to heat my house. The only I reason I decided on Quadra Fire 5700 is for the "size" and "Burn Time". I am not getting.
I understand how to use the draft controls but found I burn wood faster. Mean while my coals build up 5 to 6 inches deep. So than I have to set the burn controls to burn off the left over coals. That time period of burning, the stove is burning under 200 degrees which is not enough to continue to heat my house.
Is there a wood stove out there that delivers what they state in their brochures. Love to here some responses.
Thanks
Don

 

[claydogg84]

If you're realistically looking for those kind of "burn" times you should look into a cat stove. The coaling stage is considered part of the burn time as well. People seem to love Blaze King stoves on this site.

 

[DAKSY]

From the Quad 5700 Brochure:

Up to 21 hours of burn time from each load of wood†

†For wood-burning appliances: Actual burn times will vary based on how the appliance is operated, load size, moisture content and type of wood used, and installation.

I guess "UP TO" would be the operative words here.
You would have to EXACTLY duplicate the test conditions in order to achieve the same results.
Unfortunately, in the real world, every house & every installation is different.
Your results reflect that perfectly.
You have a good stove there. Keep working with it & tweaking it until you get the best results you can.

 

[Michael6268]

There is no stove on earth that is going to "burn" anywhere near close to that time! There is only so much burnable fuel/energy in a piece of wood. You could "smolder it" that long but your not going to get any heat out of it. Put that together with todays EPA stoves that "introduce" even more air to burn clean and you are going to get relatively short burn times (flames) stage.I burn coal and average 24 hours of flames @ 550-600 degs. I could never get anywhere close to that with wood.

 

[bholler]

here is no stove on earth that is going to "burn" anywhere near close to that time! There is only so much burnable fuel/energy in a piece of wood. You could "smolder it" that long but your not going to get any heat out of it. Put that together with todays EPA stoves that "introduce" even more air to burn clean and you are going to get relatively short burn times (flames) stage.I burn coal and average 24 hours of flames @ 550-600 degs. I could never get anywhere close to that with wood.

Not true at all there are lots of cat stoves that easily burn that long and no new stoves do not have relatively short burn times when compared to a comparable sized old stove. Do a little research before you start making statements like that. Now not cat stoves i agree that i doubt you will get that long of a burn time but it is totally possible with a cat.

 

[Michael6268]

Yes should have stated EPA non cat stoves. Although I still stand by my comment thete is just so much energy/fuel In a piece of wood and you arent going to get 21 hrs or more of "intense" heat out of it for that long.. And yes I would say imho, that equally sized non epa air tight stoves give you a longer burn time than todays stoves.

 

[bholler]

es should have stated EPA non cat stoves. Although I still stand by my comment thete is just so much energy/fuel In a piece of wood and you arent going to get 21 hrs or more of "intense" heat out of it for that long.. And yes I would say imho, that equally sized non epa air tight stoves give you a longer burn time than todays stoves.

I am sorry but you are totally wrong on both counts and that is not just my opinion. Just ask all of the blaze king owners how long their stoves put off good heat

 

[bholler]

Sorry i didnt mean to get off topic but to get back most manufacturers burn time ratings are a joke. The only one that is even close to accurate is blaze kings because they give you times for several different btu outputs.

 

[Michael6268]

Yes I second that Blaze King are probably one of the best stoves out there. I have to say though, my neighbor has one and goes through 5 cords of wood a season. If he was getting 20+ hrs (I believe ive seen BK claims of 40 on low) if you do the math he wouldnt be using 5 cords. Ive burnt both types and personally think non epas throw more heat longer as OP'r stated was their experience also.
anyhow, you can try a manual damper to slow the burn down and hold more heat in. You also may have some luck blocking off some of the secondary air with foil tape or similar at the inlet if accessible.

 

[bholler]

You also may have some luck blocking off some of the secondary air with foil tape or similar at the inlet if accessible.

Absolutly do not do this it will make the stove burn worse and will not increase heat output or burn time. And the foil will bunr off in no time anyway. A manual damper may help if there is excessive draft. I also have burnt lots of stoves and new stoves work better plain and simple i am sorry. I dont dislike old stoves at all but new ones work better

 

[Michael6268]

Foil tape on most inlets will work fine. Just partially blocking not the whole inlet.Common sense less air longer burn. Many do this and have improved burn times.. Brother Bart I believe blocked the air and even removed the doghouse on his stove. Experiment safely. You arent gonna hurt anything.

 

[bholler]

Foil tape on most inlets will work fine.

Yes but you said cover the holes in the tubes. And bart did it because he had excessive draft we have not heard that from the op in fact we have not heard much from them. I have partially blocked intake on stoves to but again that was due to excessive draft.

 

[bholler]

Ive burnt both types and personally think non epas throw more heat longer as OP'r stated was their experience also.

The op never siad that they just said they were dissaponted in the burn times because they did not meet the claims they never said their old stove burnt longer at all. They also say that they have lots of coals which can indicate wet wood which will really hurt preformance

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Yes but you said cover the holes in the tubes. And bart did it because he had excessive draft we have not heard that from the op in fact we have not heard much from them. I have partially blocked intake on stoves to but again that was due to excessive draft.

No, and you quoted him, he said block the air at the INLETS, not the holes in the tubes. I have mine blocked about 75% on my stove. It definitely improved my control of the stove. I bent up a couple aluminum "sliders" and hold them to the cast bottom of the stove with strong magnets. Works for me.

EDIT: I agree , really short, not hot burns with lots of coals.. We need the OP to talk to us about his wood supply.

 

[bholler]

Oops i just re read it i don't know where i got that. I know partially blocking the intake can help sometimes like i said i have done it plenty of times i apologize for the misunderstanding but i absolutely stand by all my other statements.

 

[aansorge]

How long has your wood been split and stacked? EPA stoves like dry wood.

The 5700 has a 3 cu.ft box. This should allow about 6 hours between loads on cold days and up to 12 for 'barely need heat' days. That is about what you'll get on a non-cat EPA of that size. Burn it with dry wood and you'll get great heat and an almost spotless chimney.

 

[Michael6268]

OP'r said he had "no complsints" with his old air tight stove. Now he "has" complaints with his new EPA stove. I would assume that would be inclusive of burn time!

Glad "Dakotas Dad" can read!! Hats off to you D dad!!

 

[bholler]

ok i mis read it i said i was sorry

 

[Tenn Dave]

Sorry i didnt mean to get off topic but to get back most manufacturers burn time ratings are a joke. The only one that is even close to accurate is blaze kings because they give you times for several different btu outputs.

I have no problem matching what Woodstock claims for the progress hybrid. I only burn well seasoned oak and hickory and have good draft. I burn the stove at a low setting and have plenty of heat for the Tennessee climate.

 

[bholler]

I have no problem matching what Woodstock claims for the progress hybrid.

Good there is another one i know there are others but the bks are the only ones i know meet it for sure

 

[Tenn Dave]

Good there is another one i know there are others but the bks are the only ones i know meet it for sure

From feedback on this forum, BKs for sure have very long burn times.

 

[weatherguy]

Most people that prefer the old stoves over the new stoves usually are not seasoning their wood long enough so the New stove can work as intended. I'm lucky I didn't have any experience with an old stove to cloud my judgement.

 

[BradleyW]

I think a lot of people out there, most of whom would never go on these forums, that old stoves burn hotter more easily. I don't think they get long burn times when they do it though. The old stoves tend to leave nothing but a little ash in the box. So you are constantly putting new wood in and maintaining a hot temp. But the cost is a reduced efficiency and nasty pollution.
Ultimately this is a zero sum game. Yes you can improve techniques to get a desired result, but ultimately like Michael6268 says, there's only so much heat in a piece of wood.
Anyone who sold you a stove and had you thinking you'd get 21 hours of usable heat from one load in a stove should be closed.

 

[bholler]

I agree with just about everything you said bradly yes you can get a ton of heat out of the old stoves and you can get decent burn times but you cant get both. And yes there absolutely are stoves that can produce good heat from one load for 20+ hours

 

[Tenn Dave]

I agree with just about everything you said bradly yes you can get a ton of heat out of the old stoves and you can get decent burn times but you cant get both. And yes there absolutely are stoves that can produce good heat from one load for 20+ hours

A lot depends on the size of the load.......