Regency 1200 burn times...........any advice?

[engina]

Just got my regency 1200 and is working great but I was wondering what sort of burn times others are getting from their small stoves. I seem to be getting around 2 to 2.5 hrs off a full load of seasoned hard wood. i have been starting with kindling establishing bed of coals loading full then opening up all the way till fire is raging for a bout 20-30 min then shutting down half way to establish secondary burn, at this point stove temp reaches 450-500 at that point i turn blower on low and stove will burn nice for only 2 hrs max..................what am i doing wrong. i have heard of others at least getting 4hrs from a load. my secondary burn tubes and my bricks always glow cherry red when stoves heats to 500. any advice would be great . I really like this unit but im blowing through wood like crazy..............thanks

 

[engina]

wow................i guess there isnt anyone with any ideas?

 

[Sleepy]

Until someone smarter comes along...

I just finished my first full week with my new Quad 5700. Not a small stove, but maybe a similar design.

Have you tried closing the air further, maybe all the way?

Mine burns the full load in a couple of hours with the air open 50%, but runs all night with it closed.

I have to run it with the air open 100% once a day to clean the glass, though.

 

[rathmir]

I have the 2400, which is the next size up from yours. I find that mine will burn through a load of wood FAST if I don't choke her back to maybe 1/8th to a 1/4 inch from completely closed. At 50% closed a full load would last me maybe 4-5 hours (just a few coals to rake to the front). However, if I get her hot then close her down to 1/4 inch out I can make it last 7-8 hours. It's just a learning curve - you will get the hang of it, keep experimenting.

 

[schwaggly]

My I1200 maxes out at 3.5 hrs with dampener almost shut. Its a small box in a small fireplace so I'll take what I can get.
My stove guy told me to leave my blower on auto to prevent the unit from overfiring. Could you please send a pic of your
thermostat mounting location and brand info?

 

[precaud]

engina, you're not doing anything 'wrong.' Most folks here describe 'burn time' as the time from starting to burn a new load to where you still have enough coals to start up again. What you are describing is how long the period of flaming lasts for a load. For a stove that size, 2 to 2.5 flame hours is not bad. Maybe you'll find a way to stretch it to 3 since you have hardwoods up there. My Quad 2100 is in the same size range as your Regency and, burning pinon pine, I get 2 to 2.5 hours of flaming per load max.

 

[engina]

Thanks for all the replys. I have a Rutland thermometer that I mount on the front of the door for lack of a better place. Does anyone have a better thermometer that fits this brand thats more accurate?. It seems to read about 400 when fully stoked. I usually throw the blower on low at that point..............thanks

 

[Seastrike]

You can always try an IR thermometer gun. I love mine and it has plenty of household uses.

 

[schwaggly]

I've got my I1200 cranking right now. I hit my wood together and got the hollow sound. There is no smoke coming out of the chimney just wavy lines of exhaust like the road in the summer. When I open the door to reload I'm getting ZERO spillage and my glass is still clear! I'm almost afraid to say it but I might have a clue as to what I'm doing thanks to you all.

Thanks!

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

how tall is your chimney? Is it possible that you have to much draft?

 

[schwaggly]

25 ft, kinda sounds like a trick question?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

25' is a lot of chimney. I think you have to much draft. Overdrafting a stove means reduced burn times and lost heat up the chimney. The manual did not give a tested max hight, but 16'-20' is the sweet spot on most stoves. Maybe some other posters here can come up with a slick way to install a inline damper.

 

[Lakelivin]

my first post/reply i'm jumpin in now because i too have a regency.. mine is the s2400.. i too am just learning the unit.. but seems every night i try a new experiment..here is what i have so far.. although the firebox is almost the same dimentions front to back,side to side.. Mine without a doubt burns best (happier) filing it north/ south.. another thing i stumbled on was to reload for the night as soon as i have little fire left , Stove top around 300.. that way the refire doesnt take as long and leaves you bigger splits that last longer..

I could be wrong and dont want to give bad advise , but i woke up to a good bed of red hot coals this morning after 7 hrs after the load..i may have even gotten another hr or 2

something else i learned was the blower will cut down your times as well.. i shut mine off after the secondaries stopped.. the stove top temp rose about 50 degrees but it ideled fine for the duration

 

[schwaggly]

25' is a lot of chimney. I think you have to much draft. Overdrafting a stove means reduced burn times and lost heat up the chimney. The manual did not give a tested max hight, but 16'-20' is the sweet spot on most stoves. Maybe some other posters here can come up with a slick way to install a inline damper.

silly me I thought I all was working well with no spillage, clean exhaust and long burn time. Good thing you're here trying to make me feel dumb.

 

[Fsappo]

Your burning fine. My customers report 4-5 hours from a full load of hard wood on a bed of coals to the point where they are back to a bed of coals with the fan pushing out heat. They close the air control 100%. No smoke out the chimney during full damper closed operations

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

25' is a lot of chimney. I think you have to much draft. Overdrafting a stove means reduced burn times and lost heat up the chimney. The manual did not give a tested max hight, but 16'-20' is the sweet spot on most stoves. Maybe some other posters here can come up with a slick way to install a inline damper.

silly me I thought I all was working well with no spillage, clean exhaust and long burn time. Good thing you're here trying to make me feel dumb.

im not trying to make any one feel dumb. wood stoves and inserts have a sweet spot. To short, or to tall are both detrimental to the efficiency. IF its to short, it does not burn well, and can lead to spillage, creosote build up etc. If its to tall, the draft is too strong, and the chimney pulls on the insert harder then it would if it where shorter. When you are in a overdraft situation, burn times are shortened, and some heat loss is expected. Some of the flue gasses get yanked out of the firebox before they have time to burn.