Supreme Fusion 24 wood insert

[begreen]

Congratulations! I never realized the Supreme was a cat stove.

 

[WoodfireNewbie]

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First time on house heating duty and doing a great job!

 

[WoodfireNewbie]

It's been cooling down near freezing the past couple weeks in Minneapolis so it has been the perfect opportunity to learn how to operate this insert without smoking out the house.

Bought my first ever face cord of seasoned red oak and built a rack made of 2x6's and 2x4's with some metal braces on the sides. It was tricky trying to determine where to put that wood where it wouldn't attract extra bugs into the house or kill grass underneath it. I ended up stacking it in the back of the yard under some pine trees already covered in pine bark mulch.



Burning the oak has been great. I can throw in a couple logs at 10PM and wake up 7 hours later to find a few embers left to start it back up. What I never expected though was how well you can make pizzas in this thing once the fire dies down!

This is just the temp of the glass. The embers are so hot the thermometer can't read them. Ouch!



Once two to three logs' worth of embers are prepared they get pushed out to the corners for even convective heat. I made a tool to reach in and pull the grate down with some scrap wood, then use a standard aluminum 14" pizza peel to quickly get the pizza in.



This was my first attempt and boy is it hard to get the camera to focus in there!



After I pulled out a perfect-looking pizza I was a little sad I didn't make it bigger -- the crust was perfectly crispy (we could NEVER get a crispy crust before, even with a gas oven and pizza stone) and after a 3-minute broil to brown the top it came out as you see above.

The next day we got more brazen and made another batch of dough, threw on some chicken and parsley pesto with tomato and jalapeno and crossed our collective fingers...



Best pizza we've ever made at home. The taste with the pesto and the perfect crust was mind blowing.



Pizza crust recipe here: http://puu.sh/BLATS.png

Making pizzas may just be our "thing" now when we invite company over this winter.

 

[begreen]

That's decent looking pizza there. I need to try again with a cooler firebox. It was so hot the last time I tried that the pizza was done in a minute and the crust scorched on the bottom.

 

[wild_bill49]

is this thread still alive? got some questions about how loud the fans are and how much heat they actually put out. thanks.

 

[heatiowa]

I also have a few questions about your supreme perhaps you could do a full review on your insert now that you have had it for a little while

 

[Penn02]

We've had the supreme insert since late October. Handle fell off two weeks ago, still waiting on a new one- it fell off five or six weeks after purchase with minimal use. Company said they would mail us a new door. Insert was installed incorrectly and took three visits for fire-glow to correct installation. Half the time the fire goes to a smolder when the door is fully latched. Installers told us to call Supreme to get their techniques for a fire that will still produce heat when door is latched. Went back-again-to get the Supreme fire instructions and followed them to a T this Sunday morning. Same thing. Wiggled handle on to latch the door. If door is held shut by an antique iron- all good. But that's pretty bad. Our was approx 4500 US dollars with installation and it's been a big disappointment. Will call Supreme once we have a functioning door.
They've said installing more chimney would not help. It we get this working to basic specs will update review. Would say do not buy.

 

[Penn02]

FYI- fan not too loud. A little lower than one of those white noise makers. Our heat production is good when fire will stay lit...

 

[heatiowa]

We've had the supreme insert since late October. Handle fell off two weeks ago, still waiting on a new one- it fell off five or six weeks after purchase with minimal use. Company said they would mail us a new door. Insert was installed incorrectly and took three visits for fire-glow to correct installation. Half the time the fire goes to a smolder when the door is fully latched. Installers told us to call Supreme to get their techniques for a fire that will still produce heat when door is latched. Went back-again-to get the Supreme fire instructions and followed them to a T this Sunday morning. Same thing. Wiggled handle on to latch the door. If door is held shut by an antique iron- all good. But that's pretty bad. Our was approx 4500 US dollars with installation and it's been a big disappointment. Will call Supreme once we have a functioning door.
They've said installing more chimney would not help. It we get this working to basic specs will update review. Would say do not buy.

How many feet of chimney do you have? Is your liner insulated? Do you know the moisture content of you wood and species of wood? And what about the overall quality/fit and finish? Sorry for all the questions I’m just really thinking of buying a supreme insert

 

[Penn02]

How many feet of chimney do you have? Is your liner insulated? Do you know the moisture content of you wood and species of wood? And what about the overall quality/fit and finish? Sorry for all the questions I’m just really thinking of buying a supreme insert

"Alot" of chimney- will get you a real answer later. Not insulated. It was retrofitted into a 70's A frame living room fireplace. They added two feet of chimney. Not sure of wood species. We've had it since last winter. It's been kept dry since delivery. The finish is well done. The unit it light- but that's well know. It's meant to be. Until handle fell off, we'd been thinking it was us or poor installation. Will update this one we get the new door and speak with Supreme. Also- we've never seen a difference when pushing in activator or adjusting the fire burn rate.
It's a great looking unit and hoping we get the problems worked out. Overall pretty home handy and do it ourselves- but left this to others. Sounds like those who installed it themselves have good results.

 

[mar13]

I'm at a friend's house whom has had this insert for about 4 weeks, running gbit essentially 24/7. The fan is quiet. He's happy with the inaeri performance and is cooking meals every 4 days. He says the installer put some white type of cloth insulation around the outside i though not called for by manual. I don't think it's a cat, as I can see the baffle.

 

[begreen]

I don't think it's a cat, as I can see the baffle.

Take a look at the first picture here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/supreme-fusion-24-wood-insert.167778/#post-2267666

 

[mar13]

Take a look at the first picture here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/supreme-fusion-24-wood-insert.167778/#post-2267666

It does help to read, look at a thread carefully (and not be multitasking) before replying!

 

[Pertzbro]

Any more updates on how the air controls work and secondary combustion works?

 

[begreen]

Any more updates on how the air controls work and secondary combustion works?

The video you posted in the other thread shows how the air control works. Secondary combustion is probably conventional tube design if like the Opus. Or a plate with holes in it like on the Galaxy.

 

[WoodfireNewbie]

Hey sorry clearly I haven't checked this in a while! That sucks to hear Penn02 is having issues with the handle, ours has been A-OK. I'll take a look at the latch mechanism to see how ours is held on.

Heatiowa:
How many feet of chimney do you have? I thought it was 20', it was actually 28'.
Is your liner insulated? Yes, 1/2" insulation
Do you know the moisture content of you wood and species of wood? I was seeing ~13-15%, and mixed hardwoods mainly oak/ash
And what about the overall quality/fit and finish? I'm satisfied with the quality and can't wait for burning wood in it again this winter. If you start a fire too hot too fast in it while it's cold, the top steel portion does bend downwards some as the steel expands from heat -- but comes back up and flattens out fine once the heat spreads. It also doesn't hold heat as long as cast iron or brick lined fireboxes, but that also makes it easier to start up and come to temp. The fans work well and a wall fan controller is included to quiet them down if needed. I do have issues sometimes starting a fire with the door closed and the air intake fully open, and tend to keep the door slightly cracked for the first 5 mins or so.

Here is something I didn't understand when I first started looking at wood stoves: they cost a lot more time and money than a gas insert.
- 260 therms of natural gas = 26M BTUs of heat = 1 cord of oak on average
- 260 therms @ $0.93/therm = $251 (Minneapolis, MN)
Then you have to factor in energy efficiency:
96% efficient furnace = 24.9M BTUs, 70% efficient insert = 18.2M BTUs
Basically a cord of oak will need to cost $200 to break even with gas, at least in MN.

 

[SpaceBus]

That's a nice fireplace. Not a bad price either!

 

[WoodfireNewbie]

Update 10/16/19 - second year now using this fireplace and now that I've learned how it works, it's been great with the automatic air control ("AAC"). Keep the door cracked first five minutes with the lever pushed all the way in, then close the door and leave it alone. Airflow slowly closes off as the temp comes up, no need for my my wife to deal with it when I'm gone!

 

[moresnow]

Going out for pizza right now

 

[Uly]

Looking for some advise with our new insert. Had the Fusion 24 a couple months now, installed by a local dealer. Single story chimney with insulated ss liner. Burning dry hardwood.

Its pretty to look at, but our unit has been finicky to operate. The automatic air control just doesn't seem to let enough air in. Once the fire warms up, the automatic damper starts closing. On many starts the damper will close before the kindling has time to light larger pieces of wood. Should mention, to my knowledge the activator/damper lever can't be manually pushed back in until the firebox cools. I also have the burn rate selector set to maximum burn rate.

I'll crack the door long enough for the fire to get going usually exceeding what the owners manual says (shut the door after 2 minutes), but even leaving the door cracked 5+ minutes like the op suggested and getting a pretty decent fire, when I shut the door in seconds the fire sometimes goes out. Twice creating a lot of smoke and back drafting. Any suggestions to prevent this? I'v tried loading the wood lots of different ways, crack a nearby window, using fire starters etc.

 

[heatiowa]

Looking for some advise with our new insert. Had the Fusion 24 a couple months now, installed by a local dealer. Single story chimney with insulated ss liner. Burning dry hardwood.

Its pretty to look at, but our unit has been finicky to operate. The automatic air control just doesn't seem to let enough air in. Once the fire warms up, the automatic damper starts closing. On many starts the damper will close before the kindling has time to light larger pieces of wood. Should mention, to my knowledge the activator/damper lever can't be manually pushed back in until the firebox cools. I also have the burn rate selector set to maximum burn rate.

I'll crack the door long enough for the fire to get going usually exceeding what the owners manual says (shut the door after 2 minutes), but even leaving the door cracked 5+ minutes like the op suggested and getting a pretty decent fire, when I shut the door in seconds the fire sometimes goes out. Twice creating a lot of smoke and back drafting. Any suggestions to prevent this? I'v tried loading the wood lots of different ways, crack a nearby window, using fire starters etc.

View attachment 253557

Looks like a nice install. I think supreme says not to use kindling because the fast heat from the kindling will heat up activator to quickly causing it to close prematurely. Once you get it going how’s the heat output and burn time ?

 

[Uly]

Looks like a nice install. I think supreme says not to use kindling because the fast heat from the kindling will heat up activator to quickly causing it to close prematurely. Once you get it going how’s the heat output and burn time ?
View attachment 253696

Think you are right. I spoke to the Supreme, very nice and helpful on the phone. They said use a long burning firestarter (specifically Pine Mountain Starter Logg) with the logs set up just like that photo in the owners manual with NO kindling or paper. After lighting the starter shut the door immediately. I'm picking up those starters and giving it a try. Basically they were like this is an EPA stove with 5 patents and doesn't work like your old stove.

If I still have problems they said to better secure the liner connection at the unit.

 

[moto1965]

How is the heat capacity of this unit, I have a very large open living space ~1500 sq. ft. I am trying to heat.? My home is very old and only has fireplaces for heat so I want to maximize heating capability and with the 250 cfm fans thought the fusion would be a good option but havent seen any reviews on how well it heats.

Any other pros/cons of this unit?

 

[WoodfireNewbie]

Think you are right. I spoke to the Supreme, very nice and helpful on the phone. They said use a long burning firestarter (specifically Pine Mountain Starter Logg) with the logs set up just like that photo in the owners manual with NO kindling or paper.

I had the exact same problem with the fire extinguishing itself at first. Your firewood is likely split too thick, to the point when the 'starter burns out the wood can't stay lit. Use thinner pieces, especially on top. They will turn into coals first and help light the wood below. You could also mix in some lower density wood, which burns faster and more easily. Once you get a feel for it, the auto air control truly is automatic.

I'm just using my small homemade starters (3oz dixie paper cup + shaved wood hamster bedding + 30 grams of candle wax). One is all it takes. One other tip: if you need more depth for longer firewood pieces, remove the BBQ grill. Adds about 1.5".

How is the heat capacity of this unit, I have a very large open living space ~1500 sq. ft. I am trying to heat.? My home is very old and only has fireplaces for heat so I want to maximize heating capability and with the 250 cfm fans thought the fusion would be a good option but havent seen any reviews on how well it heats.

This can absolutely heat 1500 sqft and the fans are quite powerful. You will need to plan on adding more wood every 1.5 - 2 hours (pretty typical) and also having enough airflow in the house to push the heat that far away. We have it in a 750sqft downstairs room and it gets awfully hot down there, like taking-off-your-shirt hot. Good thing my wife likes it down there

 

[Peterdulux]

I recently had an 18 installed and have had no issues with it so far, but, I do have a question that I can not find any info on.

On the right side where the door latches is a metal plate that has a 45 degree bend in it and pulls out of the side.

I want to guess thats it an ash scoop..... Anyone noticed this?