regency f2400 hard to control fire

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loubasle

New Member
Dec 27, 2012
11
a new 2400 and finding it hard to control fire. with two or three pieces of wood the stove operated fine with draft control about half open. when i put five pieces of wood and draft control almost closed the stove runs over 600 degrees. i am afraid to fill the stove for an overnight burn. so i really am getting about a two hour burn time. anybody have the same problem? help??
 
What kind of fuel are you using? Softwoods? Hardwoods? Man-made fuel bricks? Are the splits good sized or fairly small if using regular cord wood?

Also, what kind of chimney do you have and how tall is it? 6 inch or 8 inch flue diameter?

Welcome to the site.

pen
 
pen,
thanks for reply . using hard wood well seasoned. various sizes. have a ss liner, 6 inch, inside a masonery liner about 21 foot to the top. it is a straight run. prior to this year we had a real old earth stove never had that problem.
 
600 isn't really too hot. If you were getting over 750 then I'd start to get concerned.

If it were me, I think I'd try a bigger load and don't be afraid to close that air down all the way (as it won't actually be completely closed since the modern stoves always let some air in) and see what you get. If you find that the stove wants to head over 700 consistently, then I'd consider putting in a pipe damper to help control it as that's a good length chimney and it sounds like you have a super draft.

Also, make sure you let your coals burn down well before a reload and pull them all towards the front of the stove. If the coals are large, hot, and spread out all over the floor of the stove, the entire load has a tendency to ignite at once, getting things hotter than intended and gives a shorter burn too.

pen
 
pen,
thanks for reply . using hard wood well seasoned. various sizes. have a ss liner, 6 inch, inside a masonery liner about 21 foot to the top. it is a straight run. prior to this year we had a real old earth stove never had that problem.

Your chimney height is really close to where a damper may be required to keep the stove from running away from you. Everything else sounds about right, altho it'd be interesting to know what you've got for moisture content in the wood...
 
Your chimney height is really close to where a damper may be required to keep the stove from running away from you. Everything else sounds about right, altho it'd be interesting to know what you've got for moisture content in the wood...
 
This stove will not burn like the old Earth Stove. It is a completely different technology. 600F on the stove top with a decent sized load of wood is about what I would expect, especially if it is loaded N/S. If you want a cooler stove top either feed it less wood or shut the stove down sooner. You do this in increments as the wood catches fire. Watch the flames. When the wood first starts getting engulfed in flames, close the air at least half-way or until the flames start to die back a bit (but not all the way out). Wait about 5 minutes for the flames to build up in intensity and then repeat reducing the air. Again wait 5-10 minutes for the fire to rebuild intensity, then close it down as far as possible without snuffing the flames out completely. Ideally you want a very lazy wafting flame over the fire. If I get this right with our stove it will cruise around 500F.

Another way to keep temps more moderate is to load the wood parallel to the front and back of the stove (E/W). That will slow down the burn. This morning's load in our stove has been cruising around 500-450F for a few hours now.
 
Lou I have the same stove as you, I often run the stove well up over 600 F. In fact I like to get it to at least 600 F after loading it up, and closing the draft for the night. I do have a fan behind my stove though, that blows air over the top of the stove which helps keep the stove top a bit cooler by convecting the heat away from the stove and into the room.
I also have a chimney about 21 ft tall with a very good draw, I'll often close off the main air completely and can get (wood to hot coal) burns from 7-10 hours long.
Check out my post in this thread.
 
I also have the F2400, just started burning with a stove this year.

I contacted Regency asking about the maximum stove-top temperature. They replied that there's nothing spec'd, as long as the stovetop doesn't glow red.

I have an outside, oversized, masonry (clay lined) chimney. I find that I load similar to LumberJack (though slightly smaller splits) with Douglas Fir and have to get it to around 700-750 before I can knock the air down halfway and still keep secondaries going. After I get it to halfway, I can usually put the air to 1/8 open and I'll be good for around 9-10 hours. I've tried to knock the air down sooner like it's suggested on here but I think that it's not really working for me because of my oversized, cold chimney.


Is your stove brand new? If it's used, maybe the door/glass gaskets are leaking and you aren't getting the primary air control that you need.
 
I also have the F2400, just started burning with a stove this year.

I contacted Regency asking about the maximum stove-top temperature. They replied that there's nothing spec'd, as long as the stovetop doesn't glow red.

I have an outside, oversized, masonry (clay lined) chimney. I find that I load similar to LumberJack (though slightly smaller splits) with Douglas Fir and have to get it to around 700-750 before I can knock the air down halfway and still keep secondaries going. After I get it to halfway, I can usually put the air to 1/8 open and I'll be good for around 9-10 hours. I've tried to knock the air down sooner like it's suggested on here but I think that it's not really working for me because of my oversized, cold chimney.


Is your stove brand new? If it's used, maybe the door/glass gaskets are leaking and you aren't getting the primary air control that you need.
 
wow 9 to 10 hours. i'd be in heaven if i could get that. with the air damper all the way closed and about four or five splits in the firebox the stove gets over 600 degrees. so i don't load it all the way up and only get three hour burns. will try what a couple of people say and that is to put in a stove pipe damper.
 
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