I have a non-cat insert with a 2.3 cu.ft firebox...similar to the Drolet and Enerzone inserts. I read many a post on here about too much primary air burning the load down too fast. This seemed to be the case for me,too. I decided to give a small modification a try.
I removed the blower to gain access to the primary air intake, located in the middle/front of the stove- just above the blower chamber. The single lever air control on the stove serves both the primary and secondary air, however, the only the primary is easily accessed by the front. The control lever moves a thin-kerfed piece of steel over,then away from the air chamber opening. The door itself has a 1/4" hole in it- so even when closed - a lot of air is still feeding the fire. I have heard this referred to as "Florida Bungalo Syndrome" --> meaning, stoves are manufactured to work in all climates....even warmer ones with poor draft,that require alot of primary air to stay lit.
I placed a quarter-sized magnet partially over the hole--covering about half of it. Now, when closing down the stove after re-load, the stove is FINALLY working the way it should. I can actually dial back the fire on the wood (something almost impossible to do previously) and the secondaries fire strong and pretty for several hours. This was not possible with the original set-up. Previously,the load would blaze strongly, even after closing the primary air COMPLETELY. Now, I have some control of the fire, and can slow the burn rate, while producing beautiful secondaries for more than 3 hours after re-load, and meaningful heat for a few more hours after that. Awesome.
Now, I should state that I would advise not to leave the stove un-attended during the learning process....meaning dont throw a load on,close the primary, and go off to work for 10 hours. That is a recipe for disaster. But thats just stove safety 101.
I was wondering if anyone else had tried this with their insert, and what the results were. So far, its been great for me.
I removed the blower to gain access to the primary air intake, located in the middle/front of the stove- just above the blower chamber. The single lever air control on the stove serves both the primary and secondary air, however, the only the primary is easily accessed by the front. The control lever moves a thin-kerfed piece of steel over,then away from the air chamber opening. The door itself has a 1/4" hole in it- so even when closed - a lot of air is still feeding the fire. I have heard this referred to as "Florida Bungalo Syndrome" --> meaning, stoves are manufactured to work in all climates....even warmer ones with poor draft,that require alot of primary air to stay lit.
I placed a quarter-sized magnet partially over the hole--covering about half of it. Now, when closing down the stove after re-load, the stove is FINALLY working the way it should. I can actually dial back the fire on the wood (something almost impossible to do previously) and the secondaries fire strong and pretty for several hours. This was not possible with the original set-up. Previously,the load would blaze strongly, even after closing the primary air COMPLETELY. Now, I have some control of the fire, and can slow the burn rate, while producing beautiful secondaries for more than 3 hours after re-load, and meaningful heat for a few more hours after that. Awesome.
Now, I should state that I would advise not to leave the stove un-attended during the learning process....meaning dont throw a load on,close the primary, and go off to work for 10 hours. That is a recipe for disaster. But thats just stove safety 101.
I was wondering if anyone else had tried this with their insert, and what the results were. So far, its been great for me.
