Hopefully posted in right place Can anyone help please. We have just received a replacement regency 2450. Our older unit had a defective (that did not affect use) but we decided to take them up on their offer. We have put in put now all it does when we go to light it is our smoke back into the cottage, same as when we go to add a log. We have worked with the techs. They had us check the smoke baffle over the top plates. All seemed well there. They also have us opening the damper wide open and leaving the door slightly ajar before starting fire, adding log and after adding log.chimney is same with top 3 feet over peak. Door is right now open a crack, window slightly cracked but not a roaring fire. Never had to think so much with the previous stove. Any help from others would be appreciated. We just want to be warm and smoke free.
Regency 2450 backdrafting
- Thread starter Joandeme
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kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Whats your wood moisture? Grab a moisture meter, take a room temp split, re-split it and test the fresh split face with the meter, 20% or lower is what your aiming for, if you dont have a moisture meter then try to source some untreated 2x4's or dry untreated pallet wood, this will establish that your using dry fuel.
My reasoning for focusing on fuel moisture, in your description your not complaining about smoke roll out with the door open.
My reasoning for focusing on fuel moisture, in your description your not complaining about smoke roll out with the door open.
Thanks for the reply. Our logs are well seasoned 2 years. The kindling is really old cedar slabs split. Same as we have been using the past 20 years. Really not sure why this is happening with the new stove. Happening even with just starting a fire. The learning curve is not an easy one with this stove.
Any chance somebody plugged the pipe after removing the original stove and waiting on the new one? It's happened a time or two!
Nope as we only put tied a bag around opening. Really starting to think the metal vertical deflector Over the plate baffles is obstructing air flow to the chimney pipes. This only started with this new stove. We understand that the metal vertical deflector is something new that was added to this model. Will need to cool unit down take apart and see what is happening. Thank you for trying to work through with us. Appreciate all and any ideas.
Yes it sounds more like a chimney problem than a stove problem. Has the chimney been cleaned recently?
That new deflector does seem like it will be really restrictive. How tall is the chimney over all?
Did you take possession of the stove brand new, unpackage it and install it yourself? Just another thought below. Guessing this applies to your stove.
Important: Prior to installing the bottom heat shield, remove the 4 inch blanking plate. See below. This must be removed for combustion air to enter the appliance.
Page 8 in the listed manual
Important: Prior to installing the bottom heat shield, remove the 4 inch blanking plate. See below. This must be removed for combustion air to enter the appliance.
Page 8 in the listed manual
^^^^ This needs to be checked ^^^^^^
If the old stove was pre-epa then it likely could work with a weak draft. Many modern stoves need a stronger draft in order to breathe properly. What is the height of the flue system from stovetop to chimney cap?
I registered just to make this comment: for 2 months we fought with this stove. Smoke and sparks and flames poured out every time we needed to put a log on, until one calm ~0C day absolutely no smoke would go up the chimney. Some even came back out of the draft. Finally, the company we bought it from sent someone out because we told them we could not use this stove any longer. The guy removed the deflector above the baffles and it works perfectly, although presumably not as efficiently as not sending any heat up the chimney. I really could not see how smoke could get around this deflector to the stove pipe as it was installed. It appears to run the width of the firebox, from the top of the firebox down to the baffles. And the baffles do not permit any smoke to go directly up to the stove pipe. The smoke seems to have had to seep through the seams to get to the pipe!
We have had the same issue. They sent us a new baffle that was bent more, but has not totally resolved the problem. Better but not ideal. We have been working with a dealer in Regina, SK as we no longer have one in Manitoba they are over 8 hours away from our location. They have been amazing but the head office has really not been helpful. Regina had tried to help us but not totally resolved. Th new baffle was of some help some of the time. We are still having issues with back drafting especially if the fire has died to a smolder smoke pours out. At that point we need to let fire almost go out to restart. Morning are especially rough. As long as the fire is still going well we can add a long as long as we open the door slightly ajar for a few seconds. We know that the baffle is the issue even though they all say no. We know it restricts the flow of the smoke and keeps it in the firebox. At this point we will probably just remove the baffle altogether as well, but will give it another go with the company.
Does not help as it is to do with the angle. The company has already sent us another one. Helped a little but not 100%. It is a defect of design. Our humble opinion.
Nigel459
Feeling the Heat
Sounds like a strange thing, almost like an afterthought/add-on to mitigate runaway stoves after the epa 2020 modifications to make things burn hotter.
This is our thought as well. But they do not want to say out right. We ere told to open a window for more air inflow into the house. Yah right when it is -30.
Yes. We even spent about an hour on phone with tech going over everything. End result they sent us a new baffle. Better but still not resolved. Hubby had quite a problem this morning.
Was considering this stove for our new home until I read this thread. I wanted a simple well built no nonsense stove but that deflector issue sounds like a real problem. It's now down to a Quadra Fire 4300 or VC Encore.
If you want a simple no nonsense stove the VC is out. For the record we have 10 or so 2450s out and only one on a short chimney had an issue I pulled the plate and bent the angle a bit making a little more space and it was fixed
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
I had this stove installed at our camp. I havent noticed any issues and our chimney height is about the minimum required.
Thanks for the input bholler and ctwoodtick that's good to hear. Wasn't thrilled with the VC either but I'll be on the eastern shore of VA and only one dealer who carries 3 brands (VC, Regency and Quadrafire). My chimney will be straight up (2 floors) and should have a decent draft.
Like ryanmac, I registered here just to post this, both to show my appreciation for this forum (and especially this thread) and share my experience.
TLDR: upper smoke deflector was too restrictive
We had an F2450M installed early Nov 2022 on the main floor of our bungalow. Chimney goes 4 feet straight up from the stove, 2 x 45* bends backward, then straight up through the ceiling, attic, low-pitch roof and outside. Total chimney height is ~12 feet.
After lighting our first fire, smoke began pouring out of the open door. Closing the door just choked the fire out, even with damper full open (which makes sense as nothing was really hot yet). Wood was all <18% moisture and kindling was <5%.
I assumed it had to do with the column of cool/dense air in the chimney, so I preheated with a torch and restarted the fire, leaving the door open so the fire would really catch. It filled the living room with smoke but eventually the fire pulled enough draft to stop trickling from the damper control and be controlled by the damper. Chimney thermometer read ~250*F and climbing.
However EVERY time I opened the door to add a log, smoke would pour out. It didn't matter if I opened the door quickly, slowly, hot fire, or after it had died down; the end result was always a smoky living room. I grew up with wood stoves and have recent experience with Napoleon and Drolet units, so I figured Regency wouldn't design something to perform like this. Obviously something was wrong.
Thankfully I found this forum. As was suggested here, the installer had left the rear 4" blanking plate in the pedestal (not Regency's fault). I removed it but nothing changed. So after it cooled, I pulled the top metal deflector and relit. What an absolute difference! Smoke all went where it was supposed to, regardless of door position. I couldn't believe how restrictive the deflector was, but I was so happy to have it working properly.
I figure Regency put the deflector there for a reason, so I bent it up a bit so it would be less restrictive. I reinstalled it for my next fire and the stove performed just was well, so I've left it in there and everything has been great since.
Sorry for the long post and bringing back an old thread, but this information is still very valid today (ours was built Oct 2022). I guess Regency hasn't remedied the angle of their deflector, but without this thread I don't know if I ever would have thought to check the deflector. So thank you to everyone here for your help, and to ryanmac for sharing your experience.
TLDR: upper smoke deflector was too restrictive
We had an F2450M installed early Nov 2022 on the main floor of our bungalow. Chimney goes 4 feet straight up from the stove, 2 x 45* bends backward, then straight up through the ceiling, attic, low-pitch roof and outside. Total chimney height is ~12 feet.
After lighting our first fire, smoke began pouring out of the open door. Closing the door just choked the fire out, even with damper full open (which makes sense as nothing was really hot yet). Wood was all <18% moisture and kindling was <5%.
I assumed it had to do with the column of cool/dense air in the chimney, so I preheated with a torch and restarted the fire, leaving the door open so the fire would really catch. It filled the living room with smoke but eventually the fire pulled enough draft to stop trickling from the damper control and be controlled by the damper. Chimney thermometer read ~250*F and climbing.
However EVERY time I opened the door to add a log, smoke would pour out. It didn't matter if I opened the door quickly, slowly, hot fire, or after it had died down; the end result was always a smoky living room. I grew up with wood stoves and have recent experience with Napoleon and Drolet units, so I figured Regency wouldn't design something to perform like this. Obviously something was wrong.
Thankfully I found this forum. As was suggested here, the installer had left the rear 4" blanking plate in the pedestal (not Regency's fault). I removed it but nothing changed. So after it cooled, I pulled the top metal deflector and relit. What an absolute difference! Smoke all went where it was supposed to, regardless of door position. I couldn't believe how restrictive the deflector was, but I was so happy to have it working properly.
I figure Regency put the deflector there for a reason, so I bent it up a bit so it would be less restrictive. I reinstalled it for my next fire and the stove performed just was well, so I've left it in there and everything has been great since.
Sorry for the long post and bringing back an old thread, but this information is still very valid today (ours was built Oct 2022). I guess Regency hasn't remedied the angle of their deflector, but without this thread I don't know if I ever would have thought to check the deflector. So thank you to everyone here for your help, and to ryanmac for sharing your experience.
I'll echo comment above expressing appreciation for this forum. It's been a while since I have posted but it was a great help in 2021.
We've had a Regency 2450 since summer 2021. It's been great. The installers also didn't remove the 4 inch blanking plate but I caught that immediately. I haven't had to do anything to the deflector. I have started it dozens of times without an issue until this last week.
We had been having a very cold, windy period. Temperatures were down to 6F. Then the weather changed and we had a rainy period with temps in the 30s and low 40s. One night we had a real problem with smoke filling the fire box and even pouring back into the room through the bottom and air damper control. I am assuming there was a lot of heavy damp air in the chimney that stopped it drafting properly. We opened up a window and a door for a few minutes and that seemed to help get it going. Since then I haven't had similar issues. I guess there are odd days when the prevailing conditions make drafting difficult.
The other issue I encountered is that I started having trouble controlling the air intake. It was clearly burning too hot even though I had the control shut down. After some investigation I discovered that the the nut holding the door handle in place had loosened so I wasn't getting a good door seal. I tightened it and that fixed the issue but it appears to just come loose again. Anyone got any insight on the best way to keep the nut in place? The stove guy in town suggested a locking nut or using nail polish to keep the existing nut in place. I am a bit skeptical about the latter at high temps. Loctite was another idea but even the "high temp" version says it only operates up to 450F. And which type of locknut? Presumbly not the ones with the nylon inserts but there appear to be at least a half dozen different types of metal locknuts.
We've had a Regency 2450 since summer 2021. It's been great. The installers also didn't remove the 4 inch blanking plate but I caught that immediately. I haven't had to do anything to the deflector. I have started it dozens of times without an issue until this last week.
We had been having a very cold, windy period. Temperatures were down to 6F. Then the weather changed and we had a rainy period with temps in the 30s and low 40s. One night we had a real problem with smoke filling the fire box and even pouring back into the room through the bottom and air damper control. I am assuming there was a lot of heavy damp air in the chimney that stopped it drafting properly. We opened up a window and a door for a few minutes and that seemed to help get it going. Since then I haven't had similar issues. I guess there are odd days when the prevailing conditions make drafting difficult.
The other issue I encountered is that I started having trouble controlling the air intake. It was clearly burning too hot even though I had the control shut down. After some investigation I discovered that the the nut holding the door handle in place had loosened so I wasn't getting a good door seal. I tightened it and that fixed the issue but it appears to just come loose again. Anyone got any insight on the best way to keep the nut in place? The stove guy in town suggested a locking nut or using nail polish to keep the existing nut in place. I am a bit skeptical about the latter at high temps. Loctite was another idea but even the "high temp" version says it only operates up to 450F. And which type of locknut? Presumbly not the ones with the nylon inserts but there appear to be at least a half dozen different types of metal locknuts.
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I read these comments and had to create an account as well.
I just had the Regency i2450 insert installed and was/am having the same backdrafting issue.
The installer has already come and removed the deflector after reporting the backdraft issue and it seems to have helped a bit but still having some smoke issue when fire is running hot and open the door to add a log or two. My main issue now is the damper rod jams when pulled all the way out and I have to hit it back in to start to close the damper. Im thinking its not even opening all the way when it jams. Does anyone have the insert i2450 and can advise how long the stroke is from all the way closed to all the way open?
I just had the Regency i2450 insert installed and was/am having the same backdrafting issue.
The installer has already come and removed the deflector after reporting the backdraft issue and it seems to have helped a bit but still having some smoke issue when fire is running hot and open the door to add a log or two. My main issue now is the damper rod jams when pulled all the way out and I have to hit it back in to start to close the damper. Im thinking its not even opening all the way when it jams. Does anyone have the insert i2450 and can advise how long the stroke is from all the way closed to all the way open?