Question for Hampton HI300 owners

[Toby123]

I am close to purchasing a Hampton HI300 insert, and am also considering the Pacific Energy Super insert. The Hampton is vastly superior in looks inmho and seems to get generally good reviews. The salesman is pushing me towards the PE however, and claims it has a superior baffle system that allows one to run the fan while the stove is in closed, long burn mode. He, and the HI300 manual say that you can't do this with the Hampton. It is also my understanding that without the fan running, inserts put out very little heat. So, I guess my question is if the fan is off, and the Hampton is closed down mode, does it still put any real heat out? If you can run the fan with the PE when the air is closed, would that be a huge advantage? I guess, I want to go with the Hampton, but I would also like to achieve as long as possible burns while still pumping some heat out.

Anyway thanks for any responses, and any general opinions about either stove would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Dan T

 

[stejus]

I've run the stove in both modes. You will get heat in the fully closed position, however, that heat will be radiant heat coming off the glass and cast iron surround and any hearth mass you may have. If you have a wide open floor plan and a small fan moving cold air into the stove room, you can move the heat without the blower on the stove running. I also have a block off and fully insulated liner flue which is extremely beneficial.

I ran my insert this way all last winter in the overnight burn. It worked well. I have a colonial with a center hallway. The heat from the family room finds its way upstairs. I place a small fan at the base of the hallway stairs pointing at the insert. The family room and kitchen are basically one big room in my house. I also have a ceiling fan in the kitchen that turns on and off with a temp sensor. This helps move the heat as well.

The past week I did a few overnight burns with the air 1/2" open and the blower on AUTO. When I came down the next morning (10 hrs), I still had a bed of coals and the blower had turned off. The entire house was between 70 (down) and 68 (up).

So, either way, this stove heats my house. The key is the move the heat with aux fans or with the blower.

 

[Toby123]

Stejus,

Thanks for the reply! That sounds good. I have a rancher about 1500 square feet, and the fireplace is at the far end away from the bedrooms. I am hoping being one level, and not too large, that it will heat well with this unit. How many square feet is your house?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[stejus]

Stejus,

Thanks for the reply! That sounds good. I have a rancher about 1500 square feet, and the fireplace is at the far end away from the bedrooms. I am hoping being one level, and not too large, that it will heat well with this unit. How many square feet is your house?

Thanks,
Dan

2000 sq/ft center hall colonial. 1000 each floor. The secret with single floors is to move the cold air from the bedroom hall area towards the stove. The cool air running along the floor towards the stove will move the heat above it towards the hall where the bedrooms are.

 

[Toby123]

Well it sounds like it should have no problem heating my smaller single level house. I imagine our climate is not as extreme as yours is either! Thanks for the tips on the fans, I will definitely try that.

Did you make your own blocking plate? I have read a lot about them on this site, but haven't found much info on how people are getting / making them. I was wondering if you could just try to cut a hole in the existing damper. Although that might be challenging, it seems like it would work well.

Thanks again,
Dan