Regency i1500 Operating Temperatures

[MrMattNH]

Hi Everyone, I'm impressed by the engagement and expertise here and am hoping for advice, expertise, and probably reassurance here.

Last year I installed a Regency i1500 (LINK HERE) with a 6", uninsulated, 316ti stainless liner that is about 15-18' to the cap. Being a past firefighter I am leery of the temperatures shown on the digital readout which is a probe just above the catalyst where the flue collar meets the unit. I tried to operate it around 600 deg F to 850 deg F to avoid creosote and overfiring. After about 2 cords of dried maple (moisture <12% with my probe and split to check the insides) the cleaners that swept it this past summer said I had a lot of creosote build up. So I suspect I was running it too conseratively.

I've emailed my distributor, and Regency (the manufacturer) and asked about operating temps. The distributor wasn't much help, though I like the guy after about 5 emails back and forth he realized the unit I told him about initially was a catalyst and all his guidance was wrong earlier, and not really sure with this model.

Regency said the catalyst won't engage until about 500 deg, but to shoot for 700 and on a full load of wood the normal (probe read) operating temps are 800-1200 is typical. Generally I trust a manufacturer's guidance but they never really confirmed for me what is "overfiring" though they say "don't over fire the unit".

Using the rule of thumb that a stove top temp of 300-600 is generally good, and you can take your probe temp and cut it in half-I should have been in a good burning range when I ran it 600-850 last year, but come to find out I was making creosote. So my fears are 1) having a chimney fire, 2) overfiring the unit, 3) underfiring the unit and causing #1 eventually. This year I plan to sweep a couple times to really avoid any creosote build up and have been running higher temps (targeting 900 always).

So my question is: What temps do you all think I should be targeting with the probe reading? What's too hot, too cold? And how hot is too hot for a a 316ti liner?

If it helps, I'm in NH and heating seasons are about 6 months so I want to get this right as I have a family of young kids to keep safe and warm, and heating oil prices are too ridiculous to not burn wood mainly.

 

[EbS-P]

Is this an external chimney? And do you have a blockoff plate installed? It looks like you magnetic thermometer is right by an air vent is that he case?

So you have ruled out wet wood. Someone will question your testing methods and you will or won’t confirm you were testing in the center of a fresh split face at room temp. I’ll take your word that you had 12 %mc wood. Could you tell what part of the liner had the most creosote?

I’m think maybe you do have an external chimney and your un- insulated liner is cooling down enough for the creosote to condense. Maybe running hotter is in order. Insulating the liner is another option. Measuring insert temps is more difficult.

I might pull the surround and see if there is another place to stick a K type thermocouple that you could read with the regency cat thermometer unit. Other choice is something like the Auber AT200(. I have one fire each stove it’s a thermometer with high temp alarm). If you have kids your busy (we have 5). Mine goes off reminding me the stove is getting too hot at least once a month. It can measure surface temperatures or you can get a probe and measure the flue gas temps. You can read the temp from 15-20 feet way and hear the alarm from anywhere in the house.

I think the liners are rated to 1000 F continuous with excursions to 2100F. So basically if it’s a new liner it takes a chimney fire destroy.

Just some thoughts

 

[GrumpyDad]

Hi Everyone, I'm impressed by the engagement and expertise here and am hoping for advice, expertise, and probably reassurance here.

Last year I installed a Regency i1500 (LINK HERE) with a 6", uninsulated, 316ti stainless liner that is about 15-18' to the cap. Being a past firefighter I am leery of the temperatures shown on the digital readout which is a probe just above the catalyst where the flue collar meets the unit. I tried to operate it around 600 deg F to 850 deg F to avoid creosote and overfiring. After about 2 cords of dried maple (moisture <12% with my probe and split to check the insides) the cleaners that swept it this past summer said I had a lot of creosote build up. So I suspect I was running it too conseratively.

I've emailed my distributor, and Regency (the manufacturer) and asked about operating temps. The distributor wasn't much help, though I like the guy after about 5 emails back and forth he realized the unit I told him about initially was a catalyst and all his guidance was wrong earlier, and not really sure with this model.

Regency said the catalyst won't engage until about 500 deg, but to shoot for 700 and on a full load of wood the normal (probe read) operating temps are 800-1200 is typical. Generally I trust a manufacturer's guidance but they never really confirmed for me what is "overfiring" though they say "don't over fire the unit".

Using the rule of thumb that a stove top temp of 300-600 is generally good, and you can take your probe temp and cut it in half-I should have been in a good burning range when I ran it 600-850 last year, but come to find out I was making creosote. So my fears are 1) having a chimney fire, 2) overfiring the unit, 3) underfiring the unit and causing #1 eventually. This year I plan to sweep a couple times to really avoid any creosote build up and have been running higher temps (targeting 900 always).

So my question is: What temps do you all think I should be targeting with the probe reading? What's too hot, too cold? And how hot is too hot for a a 316ti liner?

If it helps, I'm in NH and heating seasons are about 6 months so I want to get this right as I have a family of young kids to keep safe and warm, and heating oil prices are too ridiculous to not burn wood mainly.
View attachment 301050

Heating oil prices where they are at, are an absolute FAILURE at so many levels.
People will be burning wood for the first time in a long time in fireplaces, using space heaters, kerosene heaters etc. The fire dept is going to be busy busy.
I really hope we dont have a cold cold cold winter in NA, however murphys law would dictate that we shall.

 

[bholler]

Ok the temps you are seeing on the cat probe are cat temps not stove temps none of the temps you are talking about are out of line

 

[begreen]

Yes, the temps seem normal. Insulating the liner would definitely help keep it cleaner, and may be required by code unless the chimney has the proper separation from combustibles.