Question about HI300 burn times

[wizards8507]

Good morning! This is my first post. My wife and I are moving in a couple of weeks and we're planning on putting a wood-burning insert in our brick fireplace to supplement our oil heating. The house is approximately 2,100 square feet above ground and has three heating zones. We plan on setting them up as follows:

Heating zone 1 - Master bedroom (upstairs): Minimal heating. My wife and I like sleeping in cold (50-60 degrees with a down topper and comforter)

Heating zone 2 - Kids' bedrooms (upstairs): Some heat provided by insert, majority provided by separate thermostat zone. 60-70 degrees.

Heating zone 3 - Downstairs: Primary heat from fireplace insert, secondary heat provided by thermostat zone.

All of that is probably ancillary information to my main question. The unit we like the most is the Hampton HI300 in Timberline Brown enamel finish, but it only advertises an eight hour burn time. If we were to go to bed at 10:30 and wake up at 7:00, will the stove be completely cold and need to be relighted from scratch? My wife stays home during the day. She'll be comfortable adding wood to a burning fire, but I don't want to buy a unit that will require her to start a new fire each morning. Does that mean we should try to find something that advertises 10-12 hour burns, or are there enough coals left over after the advertised burn time to get something started back up by adding wood?

 

[begreen]

Burn times vary a lot. It could be very possible to have a bed of hot coals in the mIrning if burning good hardwood. Conversely in bitter winter weather you may be pushing the insert much harder and get shorter burn times.

 

[jophysx]

I have that stove and I love it. You should be able to dig up several old threads about HI-300 burn times. Here are a few
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/latest-and-last-mod-to-my-hampton-hi300-install.156517/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-hi300-block-off-plate-and-auxiliary-air-experience.136469/
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-pursuit-of-the-all-night-burn-hampton-hi-300.72960/

The HI300 can realistically stretch out to the 10:30pm-7:00am time frame (8.5hr) you mentioned and still be delivering heat, have the fan on auto, and easily get the fire going again by just tossing on a few splits and opening the air supply for a few minutes. However, you will have to be diligent in your burning habits and have a good install to make this happen. Here are the secrets IMHO

1. DRY wood, preferably hard wood. This means cut, split and stacked for at least one year - probably longer for hardwood. Get yourself a moisture meter to make sure your wood is ready to burn. Anything you buy from a firewood supplier will almost certainly NOT be dry enough to burn the same year. You will want to have some large, chunky splits when setting up for an overnight burn.
   
2. Install a block-off plate to prevent heat from escaping the firebox and going up into the masonry of your chimney. Many installers insist this is not necessary, but the consensus on hearth.com (and my personal experience) is that it makes a significant difference.
3. Line the firebox with Roxul before installing the insert. 2 and 3 will help reduce heat loss into the masonry and allow you to burn at a lower burn rate and still maintain efficient secondary combustion.
4. Make sure your door gasket seals tightly (by doing the "dollar bill test") so no uncontrolled air is introduced to the firebox.

If you do these things and dedicate a little time practicing and learning how to get the most out of your HI-300, you will be able to get your 8.5hr burn times pretty easily, and 10+ hrs is not out of the question.

That being said, you could get a stove with a larger firebox or a cat stove and get to 12hr burn times. I love my HI-300, but if I had to do it again I would go for a 3.0 or 3.5 cubic foot insert so that I could burn 2 loads per day and not have to be particularly diligent about it.

-Jim

 

[jophysx]

Oh . . . and welcome to the Forum! There are a lot of very helpful people here, and several Hampton HI-300 owners.

-Jim

 

[jscs.moore]

Good morning! This is my first post. My wife and I are moving in a couple of weeks and we're planning on putting a wood-burning insert in our brick fireplace to supplement our oil heating. The house is approximately 2,100 square feet above ground and has three heating zones. We plan on setting them up as follows:

Heating zone 1 - Master bedroom (upstairs): Minimal heating. My wife and I like sleeping in cold (50-60 degrees with a down topper and comforter)

Heating zone 2 - Kids' bedrooms (upstairs): Some heat provided by insert, majority provided by separate thermostat zone. 60-70 degrees.

Heating zone 3 - Downstairs: Primary heat from fireplace insert, secondary heat provided by thermostat zone.

All of that is probably ancillary information to my main question. The unit we like the most is the Hampton HI300 in Timberline Brown enamel finish, but it only advertises an eight hour burn time. If we were to go to bed at 10:30 and wake up at 7:00, will the stove be completely cold and need to be relighted from scratch? My wife stays home during the day. She'll be comfortable adding wood to a burning fire, but I don't want to buy a unit that will require her to start a new fire each morning. Does that mean we should try to find something that advertises 10-12 hour burns, or are there enough coals left over after the advertised burn time to get something started back up by adding wood?

I'm in my second season of wood burning with the HI300 and I think it's an excellent insert and a real workhorse! As JIm from Portland Oregon states below...with a little preparation on your part, 8hr burn times should be no problem. To get an overnight burn from 10:30PM to 7:00AM you need to have really dry wood and really load the firebox tightly and shut the air down low after you get a good robust burn going. I have a 2,000sq ft. Center Hall Colonial and have done many overnight burns within the same time parameters. In the morning, I usually have to only open the air intake up and lay some smaller splits on the coal bed and I'm good to go with a roaring hot fire within about 15 to 20 minutes. Couple points as Jim notes below...get an insulated liner and a block off plate. I just had the dealer install the block off plate this September after going my first season without one (dealer said it wasn't necessary). Bottom line is I can already see the unit is burning hotter and more efficiently...and the room temperatures rise more quickly and stay higher for a longer period of time. The real test will be the frigid temps (20's and below) this winter, but I can already see the unit is performing more efficiently with the block off plate installed! Anyway...the HI300 is a great insert and you and your wife will love it!

 

[cableman]

I have the enameled hi300 also, nice stove performs well. 8-10 hr burns can be had but you wont feel too much heat at the end of the burn in those sub temps, should be able to get an easy relight off of coals.
Check out the new sirocco insert by blaze king, i would have if it was out last year. Its a cat stove and known for long burn times.

 

[Woody Stover]

With the fireplace measurements, you can see if other inserts that you may not have considered will fit. There are many to choose from, and I'd want to take a close look at all options before laying out substantial cash in this long-term commitment.

 

[velvetfoot]

I love my HI300 as well. I think if you load it up well, get it going well, and push the air rod in all the way, you'll have good coals in the morning.
I'm retired now, but I always used to start a fire in the morning before I left for work. My wife could easily add a load of wood during the day if she wanted to.

The problem is if you are trying to get max heat out of it if you're trying for it to be the only heat source when it's cold out. Then, coals develop that put out low grade heat but take up a lot of room. Things work out better in the day if you let it burn out, pulling out the rod for more air and heat when things get coaly, and let it burn down. You might be using your backup heat some.

One of the things I like about my HI300 is the ability to load front to back. And the good looks, of course.

 

[Highbeam]

Burn time is very very important to us. We use a stove for 100% of our heat and do not want to start a fire from scratch every day. Sometimes, like now in the shoulder season, every other day fire starting is just part of wood heat since keeping a fire going makes too much heat.

If you have decided on the non-cat H1300 then you will have to suffer with its poor specifications. "Up to" 8 hours burntime, 2.3 cubic feet (which is usually overstated), and considered a medium insert by regency. It's a pretty stove but at that size barely adequate to burn overnight at the lowest output setting.

If you have physical space for a larger stove and the desire to use this thing for more than just its good looks then I would look for a larger stove.

I owned a 2.3 cubic foot stove to heat my 1700 SF home. It did the job but was a lot of work to get an overnight burn. With 2100 SF in CT, you would be better served by a 3+ CF insert.

 

[begreen]

@wizards8507 how large an area is heating zone 3?

 

[velvetfoot]

Or you could get an ugly cat stove, never see the fire, and replace the cat every x years. Hah! Take that!

 

[Woody Stover]

Or you could get an ugly cat stove, never see the fire, and replace the cat every x years. Hah!

Well, I don't know about all that but I would sure read up here on cat stoves before I committed to one...

 

[cableman]

I can stuff 9 splits 16" n/s loading which is pretty nice! Def look for that n/s loading option.
Is the sirroco a n/s loader?

 

[wizards8507]

@wizards8507 how large an area is heating zone 3?

1,200ish square feet.

When I ask about burning overnight, my concern isn't really burning enough to keep the house warm, just whether or not I'll be able to get it back up easily in the morning using the leftover coals. We're looking at the insert as a piece of furniture, not a heating appliance. Our primary concern is that it looks beautiful and adds ambiance to the home while being fairly easy to use, with the heating benefit secondary. We're prepared to continue burning oil as necessary.

Another newbie question... I've read that cast iron inserts, as opposed to plate steel, break down over time and need to be repaired / rebuilt. Does the enamel solve this problem, make it worse, or not impact it?

Check out the new sirocco insert by blaze king, i would have if it was out last year. Its a cat stove and known for long burn times.

That model doesn't work with the aesthetic of our home. We have a traditional New England center hall colonial and a modern-looking insert would look very much out of place in the family room.

 

[velvetfoot]

The cast iron on the HI300 is purely decorative.

 

[jscs.moore]

1,200ish square feet.

When I ask about burning overnight, my concern isn't really burning enough to keep the house warm, just whether or not I'll be able to get it back up easily in the morning using the leftover coals. We're looking at the insert as a piece of furniture, not a heating appliance. Our primary concern is that it looks beautiful and adds ambiance to the home while being fairly easy to use, with the heating benefit secondary. We're prepared to continue burning oil as necessary.

Another newbie question... I've read that cast iron inserts, as opposed to plate steel, break down over time and need to be repaired / rebuilt. Does the enamel solve this problem, make it worse, or not impact it?


That model doesn't work with the aesthetic of our home. We have a traditional New England center hall colonial and a modern-looking insert would look very much out of place in the family room.

You'll be absolutely fine with the HI300! We also have a traditional 2,000sq.ft Center Hall Colonial home and the look of the HI300 was very important to my wife as it really fits with the traditional hearth design & built-ins surrounding it. Yes, the 2.3 cubic firebox is only considered medium size, but our fireplace couldn't accommodate anything larger and we have been very happy with this insert. As some posters have noted on this string...the HI300 allows for North/South loading of the firebox and you can really pack the wood in and get the insert burning very hot and kicking out serious heat. The last two nights (although not really cold)...did get down to about 36 degrees by about 5:00AM each morning and I was able to easily keep the entire down stairs at 74 to 75 degrees and the upstairs at about 71. By all means...if you have a larger fireplace you should consider the biggest insert you can fit, but we didn't have that luxury and have been very happy with the HI300.

 

[begreen]

For the size area and described usage the HI300 should work out well. It won't heat the whole house during the coldest days, but should keep that area comfortable. A block off plate will help keep the heat down at the stove. For comparison, a couple other inserts in this size range are the Enviro Boston 1700 and the Hearthstone Clydesdale.

 

[velvetfoot]

Clydesdale doe not do n/s with standard length firewood. Don't know about the Boston.

 

[wizards8507]

I've read about the block off plates in other threads but I can't get an installer to agree to put one in the quote. I'm not sure I understand the physics. They insulate at the top of the chimney, so worst case scenario you heat the air between the liner and the masonry but there's nowhere for it to go "up and out," right? FWIW, the chimney is between the house and garage, so not an outside wall.

 

[velvetfoot]

I believe it's at the bottom, not the top. I believe some people use Roxul, but I'm no expert. You do want a stainless steel liner - insulated if possible.

 

[wizards8507]

Right, the plate would be at the bottom. My question is if they're sealing off the top anyways what's the difference?

 

[begreen]

With the bottom insulated the heat coming off the convective jacket of the insert stays in the fireplace. That helps keep the insert hotter. Without the blockoff plate the heat heads up the chimney and out to mother nature. The difference can be significant, particularly with temps in the teens or lower.

 

[wizards8507]

With the bottom insulated the heat coming off the convective jacket of the insert stays in the fireplace. That helps keep the insert hotter. Without the blockoff plate the heat heads up the chimney and out to mother nature.

I understand the part about heating the chimney but how does it get out to mother nature if the TOP of the chimney is sealed?

(Not arguing, trying to learn.)

 

[velvetfoot]

Hey begreen, the Roxul approach works well? No sheet metal fabricating, plus it adds insulation.

 

[velvetfoot]

I understand the part about heating the chimney but how does it get out to mother nature if the TOP of the chimney is sealed?

(Not arguing, trying to learn.)

On top you have to keep the rain out as well. The space you're covering is from the outside of the chimney liner on out.