Not getting the heat expected

[BucksCounty]

Installed the stove yesterday. Enjoying it but it is not getting the room to a temp we had thought. Only getting to 67 degrees in the room. The 2 rooms are just under 500 square feet total. Those rooms lead to the upstairs where there are only 3 rooms. The stove is rated at 38,800 BTUs at 72% efficiency. I have not been packing the stove full of wood (seasoned oak). Can anyone tell me if it should be warmer in here? Should I be packing the stove? I don't have thermometer yet so unsure how hot the stove is getting?

 

[begreen]

Getting a thermometer is a great start. It will provide feedback on the heat output of the stove. Could be that it needs to be pushed a bit harder. What make/model stove and how large is the house?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

also if you have the info , degree of insulation and floor plan , helps to know what we are looking at

 

[jotul8e2]

What kind of stove? What kind of venting (flue)?

A stove rated for 38,000 btu should be capable of making it so hot in a space that size that you have to go outside to look at it through the window.

BUT! If the flue is too restrictive (too many bends, wrong size, too short), the wood is not dry, the stove is not being allowed to get up to operating temperature (which can be a real learning experience with a new stove), the building is too drafty, the heat is going upstairs and through a ceiling with too little insulation, the building is too tight to allow a good draft, you failed to remove packing material from the air inlet, or, well, you get the idea.

There are experts here that can help you work through this but you are going to have to be forthcomming with all the information you can, for the possiblilities are almost endless.

Mark

 

[BucksCounty]

Stove is a Hampton H200 non catalytic. The layout of the house is living room to open dining room and two doorways leading to ktichen. These 3 rooms are about 500 square feet. Thermostat is located in living room. Stairs leading to 3 bedrooms upstairs. Den downstairs. House is 1400sqft. Built in 1957. I know insallation in the walls is not very thick.

 

[BucksCounty]

Rear exiting. DVL connected to chimney pipe to Tee. Stack is 15 feet high. All duratech. So, one 90 degree turn.

I did reinsulate the entire attic two years ago with R-19.

 

[jpl1nh]

And yes, since baby it's cold outside, don't be afraid to go ahead and pack it. It won't hurt the stove, that's what it's made for and you'll get more heat.

 

[myzamboni]

Do you have a blockoff plate installed?

 

[njtomatoguy]

(broken link removed)

It looks like your stove may be undersized for what you are asking it to do. This
site says heats a small room.

 

[jotul8e2]

When I said that some experts could help you, I was not including myself - I am not an hvac installer, wood stove installer, or chimney sweep - at least not for hire! However, if you have a total of 15' of flue with a 90 deg bend you may very well have a draft issue. Your installation manual may say how many feet of flue they want. Others can likely advise you better than I.

I also want to retract what I said above about capacity. That is a fairly small stove, and in a drafty, poorly insulated house such as you describe, and in your climate, you may have to run it pretty hard to get results.

First, dry wood is a must. Dry. Really dry. Not the-firewood-guy-said-it-was-seasoned dry, but cut, split, and stacked for NOT LESS THAN A YEAR dry; and two years is much better. Are you getting and maintaining secondary burn? Without it you simply will not be able to get the stove operating efficiently. If so, do you know what kind of stove top temperatures you are getting? And finally, are you keeping her well fed with fairly small splits? As noted above, you will need to stuff that firebox full, and with one that size, every couple of hours I should guess.

Even if the stove is running hard it can take many, many hours to warm up a cold space with a small stove, especially with the temperatures you have been having there. When I let the temperature drop in my house my stove, which is undersized for my space, will take two or three hours to add even one degree to the off-family room areas when it really gets cold. Once I get the house up to temperature, however, I can keep it there easily.

Mark

 

[Chettt]

Try this as it works well for me. Line the bottom of the fire box with full sized splits and on top lots of scrap wood. Light the scrap and let it burn hot for sometime before closing the primary air down. Once the scrap would has burned up and the bottom splits are burning fully, load it up with splits on top. The scrap wood gets everything hot and the new splits really heat up the house.

Most new owners have to find what works best.

Good luck.

 

[Jags]

First, you are working with a stove that has a fire box of 1.34 cu ft. That is a small stove. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it, just that you are dealing with a small heating appliance.

Take that into consideration along with a 15ft stack that has a 90 deg bend (less than perfect draft scenario), walls with questionable insulation, and your not giving the stove a full fuel load,you are setting yourself up for a less than happy heating experience.

The stove may very well have the capability to heat your room, but your probably gonna need to push it fairly hard. And when pushing it, you need to monitor it, which means get a thermo for the top.

My guess is that you are really just experiencing the upward swing of the learning curve. Be one with the stove. :cheese:

Keep asking questions.

 

[oconnor]

Getting the stove and flue hot is the key - here is my link on getting mine hot

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/31393/

I did some research on heat output the otherday - it turns out that heat output of a hot item is calculated to the forth power of the temp difference ratio- which means that a stove that is twice as hot as another stove of the same conditions (300K vice 600K), gives of 16 times more heat. Practicallyspeaking, a change from 300F (422 Kelvin) to 550 F (588 Kelvin) is almost a 3.75 fold increase in temp output.

Like said above - thermometer is the only way to tell what the stove is doing if you aren't used to it yet. Insulation or not, the stove should still be able to get hot.

 

[Chettt]

That is good information Brent.

 

[BucksCounty]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, help, suggestions, etc. Running the stove harder, like people are suggesting. Top of stove is reading 320 degrees. Chimney pipe running through the thimble is reading 140 degrees. House is 69 degrees now. I am hoping I can get it a little warmer in here. Never had a stove before, so I guess maybe I just need to learn the proper loading of wood, damper, etc. Thanks for the suggestions. Will be asking about suggestions for putting stone up the wall behind the stove soon. First thing is first though...I need to get this thing to heat the house!

 

[bmwloco]

320 is a little low; my Resolute is at 650F now (about as hot as I ever get it) and the Stirling Engine Fan is pushing hot air into the dining room. I'll have fine ash in the morning; maybe not even enough to shovel out. Ceiling fan is lazy running in reverse, pushing the hot air back down. Thermometer in hallway, half way down the house is at 69F - comfortable for me, the wife, and the 16 year old chocolate lab.

You can probably push it a hotter. Have a manual? It's a good source of info about how hot you can run. Hang in there. The more time you spend with it, the more you'll know what it takes to heat the house.

 

[Valhalla]

Rev that stove up! Like many fine cars, it is made to run, not idle!

Enjoy your stove.

 

[bmwloco]

Very, very true words. I've owned old air cooled Porsches and now, near pauper, vintage VW air cooled and my beloved air cooled BMW motorcycles. Regardless, they love to run hot. I'm careful with the cars like I am the stoves, and hopefully with care, both will last and provide transportation and warmth for a long, long time.

 

[Valhalla]

bmwloco,

Hey, a VW and Porsche guy! They are in my blood from many years ago. Auch blau und weiß ist sehr schön.

Now we both still have an affection for hot air devices - wood stoves.

Enjoy

 

[jotul8e2]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, help, suggestions, etc. Running the stove harder, like people are suggesting. Top of stove is reading 320 degrees.

You need 400 -450 deg. stovetop measured near a corner, not the center. If you cannot get that then your problem is either air control, or insufficiently seasoned wood, or both. At 320 deg. you are not likely getting secondary burn, which is critical for heat output as well as efficiency in the newer EPA rated stoves. My Jotul will not usually kick in secondary burn much below 400, although it will maintian the burn down to 350, or a bit less, once established with a good char on the wood and a bed of coals.

Mark

 

[Connie]

I have a different problem and am not sure where to direct my question. We have an airtight insert and had a fan buit in under the firebox. The fan has burnt out twice in the last 7 years and each time you have to replace the whole thing.($300.00) Has anyone run into this and is there a better way?

 

[RonB]

Connie, You will get more attention and replies if you start a new topic thread about your blower problems. Go to the hearth room and hit the button "new topic".

 

[BucksCounty]

Thanks everyone for suggestions and tips. Finally got stove inspected yesterday and I am feeling a little more comfortable running the way everyone said to run it. Last night I was holding 71 degrees in the house, with heat off. Overnight, heat did have to kick on when temp dropped towards early morning hours, but I am happy with how it warmed the house last night, especially with temps in lower 20s.