The right wood furnace or solution for me

[kwenlu]

Hello all,

First time poster here. I bought a house that has a wood stove in it, a regency F3100L. I can't find too much info about this stove online, but what I could find claims it's rated for 3500 sq ft and can have up to a 9 hour burn time. My experience with it has been nothing even close. I can only fit, at most, 6 or 7 logs in it at a time (moisture content is where it should be 16-18% in the middle) and the longest burn time I can muster is 3 hours or so. In addition, it is not radiating enough heat for 3500 sq ft by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure if I'm getting something fundamentally wrong with this stove, but this is how it's been going for me.

My plan was to install a blower above the stove and tap into the supply duct work of the house to deliver heat everywhere that way. I see now that this stove will not be sufficient for that. My home is 2 stories, ~1900 sq ft. But half the home has a vaulted ceiling and the stove is in the basement which is probably a little over 1200 sq ft and, long term, we wish to partially finish. I'm looking for a new furnace that can adequately heat this space, considering the high ceilings and basement.

I initially looked at the Kuuma, which to me appears to be top of the line. It's rated for 3500 sq ft which seems plenty good enough for me, but the price point gives me pause. I also looked at the 2020 fire chief furnace, which is appealing financially, but it's only rated for 2000 sq ft which I fear isn't enough.

All of this background is to say, I'm looking for and advice and suggestions moving forward. I've read a number of threads on this site and the community seems very helpful. Thank you.

 

[brenndatomu]

I also looked at the 2020 fire chief furnace, which is appealing financially, but it's only rated for 2000 sq ft which I fear isn't enough.

No...just no.
Use the search feature here to research that POS.
Kuuma would be a good choice...also look into the new Drolet Heat Commander.

As far as the stove you have, something is very wrong if you are only getting 3 hour burns with it...I would think a stove that size should go 8 hours minimum...unless you are running it wide open...which is not the most efficient mode for sure.

 

[avsmusic1]

Just to clarify, your goal is to heat the whole house with the stove? A 24/7 burner for the cold months?
If you give some floor plans and additional detail I'm sure the pros here will be able to help ID options (assuming you do actually need to replace your current stove).

A 3hr burn in that stove does seem crazy short. Have you run a wood stove before this? Have you checked out the pinned thread for trouble shooting? https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...lem-stoves-air-is-restricted-faq-about.59225/

 

[marty319]

My friend heats 1350 sq ft with a 3100 in his basement.gets a good 8 hours of burn .

 

[bholler]

Hello all,

First time poster here. I bought a house that has a wood stove in it, a regency F3100L. I can't find too much info about this stove online, but what I could find claims it's rated for 3500 sq ft and can have up to a 9 hour burn time. My experience with it has been nothing even close. I can only fit, at most, 6 or 7 logs in it at a time (moisture content is where it should be 16-18% in the middle) and the longest burn time I can muster is 3 hours or so. In addition, it is not radiating enough heat for 3500 sq ft by any stretch of the imagination. Not sure if I'm getting something fundamentally wrong with this stove, but this is how it's been going for me.

My plan was to install a blower above the stove and tap into the supply duct work of the house to deliver heat everywhere that way. I see now that this stove will not be sufficient for that. My home is 2 stories, ~1900 sq ft. But half the home has a vaulted ceiling and the stove is in the basement which is probably a little over 1200 sq ft and, long term, we wish to partially finish. I'm looking for a new furnace that can adequately heat this space, considering the high ceilings and basement.

I initially looked at the Kuuma, which to me appears to be top of the line. It's rated for 3500 sq ft which seems plenty good enough for me, but the price point gives me pause. I also looked at the 2020 fire chief furnace, which is appealing financially, but it's only rated for 2000 sq ft which I fear isn't enough.

All of this background is to say, I'm looking for and advice and suggestions moving forward. I've read a number of threads on this site and the community seems very helpful. Thank you.

A 3100 is nowhere near big enough to heat that space. But you are also not getting anywhere near the burn time that stove is capable of. I easily got 8 to 10 hours from mine. What temperatures are you running at? When are you shutting the air back? How tall is the chimney and do you have a pipe damper?

 

[john26]

maybe look for a used PSG caddy

 

[kwenlu]

No...just no.
Use the search feature here to research that POS.
Kuuma would be a good choice...also look into the new Drolet Heat Commander.

As far as the stove you have, something is very wrong if you are only getting 3 hour burns with it...I would think a stove that size should go 8 hours minimum...unless you are running it wide open...which is not the most efficient mode for sure.

I'll look into the issues with the fire chief, thank you. As for the regency, I'm filling this thing the best I can and I'm running it when the air intake almost as closed as the lever gets. I can try running it with it closed all the way, but I expect minimal difference. It's a really simple stove so I'm not sure where I'm going wrong.

 

[kwenlu]

Just to clarify, your goal is to heat the whole house with the stove? A 24/7 burner for the cold months?
If you give some floor plans and additional detail I'm sure the pros here will be able to help ID options (assuming you do actually need to replace your current stove).

A 3hr burn in that stove does seem crazy short. Have you run a wood stove before this? Have you checked out the pinned thread for trouble shooting? https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...lem-stoves-air-is-restricted-faq-about.59225/

Yes, the goal is to use wood as the primary heat source for the whole house. I might be able to draw up simple dimensions of each floor. I'll read through that thread, thank you

 

[bholler]

I'll look into the issues with the fire chief, thank you. As for the regency, I'm filling this thing the best I can and I'm running it when the air intake almost as closed as the lever gets. I can try running it with it closed all the way, but I expect minimal difference. It's a really simple stove so I'm not sure where I'm going wrong.

What temperatures are you running at? How tall is your chimney and do you have a damper?

 

[brenndatomu]

can try running it with it closed all the way, but I expect minimal difference. It's a really simple stove so I'm not sure where I'm going wrong.

So that's with the lever pushed in, or pulled out? (or left/right...I'm not familiar with the controls on this one)
Also, there should be a baffle plate laying on top of the tubes you will see if you get down and look into the top of the firebox...the baffle should be centered, flat, slid clear to the back, and basically sitting right on top of the air tubes. It can be easy to knock it out of place while loading full...and it will not burn right/be efficient if its out of place...

 

[begreen]

3500 sq ft heated is just a marketing claim. It's not a lie, the stove may be able to heat an open floor plan house of that size quite nicely at 40ºF outside. It is the firebox size that counts and the 3100 is a large stove. If you are burning through a load of wood every 3 hrs then the stove is being pushed to its limit and undersized for the task. If the heat is also getting lost through the basement walls and having a hard time making it upstairs, that would explain the situation. If so, this is wood furnace territory.

Is the 1200 sq ft basement included in the 1900 sq ft total house sq. ftg.? Are the basement walls insulated?

 

[kwenlu]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I tried responding to a few people as I'm out and about but I'll definitely sit down and respond to everyone later today.

 

[kwenlu]

A 3100 is nowhere near big enough to heat that space. But you are also not getting anywhere near the burn time that stove is capable of. I easily got 8 to 10 hours from mine. What temperatures are you running at? When are you shutting the air back? How tall is the chimney and do you have a pipe damper?

Not sure what temp it's reaching since there's no thermometer in line anywhere. I have the air intake all the way open until the first log catches, and then I close it to about 90% closed. The chimney is very tall, from basement to roof above second floor. Must be 40-45 feet or so. No damper.

 

[kwenlu]

maybe look for a used PSG caddy

I'll look into that, thank you.

 

[kwenlu]

So that's with the lever pushed in, or pulled out? (or left/right...I'm not familiar with the controls on this one)
Also, there should be a baffle plate laying on top of the tubes you will see if you get down and look into the top of the firebox...the baffle should be centered, flat, slid clear to the back, and basically sitting right on top of the air tubes. It can be easy to knock it out of place while loading full...and it will not burn right/be efficient if its out of place...

I'll have to look for that baffle plate. That's a good tip.

 

[begreen]

Not sure what temp it's reaching since there's no thermometer in line anywhere. I have the air intake all the way open until the first log catches, and then I close it to about 90% closed. The chimney is very tall, from basement to roof above second floor. Must be 40-45 feet or so. No damper.

You need some instrumentation and possibly 2 dampers in the flue pipe. That is very tall and probably sucking most heat up the flue.

 

[kwenlu]

3500 sq ft heated is just a marketing claim. It's not a lie, the stove may be able to heat an open floor plan house of that size quite nicely at 40ºF outside. It is the firebox size that counts and the 3100 is a large stove. If you are burning through a load of wood every 3 hrs then the stove is being pushed to its limit and undersized for the task. If the heat is also getting lost through the basement walls and having a hard time making it upstairs, that would explain the situation. If so, this is wood furnace territory.

Is the 1200 sq ft basement included in the 1900 sq ft total house sq. ftg.? Are the basement walls insulated?

The basement is not included in the 1900 sq ft. About 1200 sq ft on the first floor (essentially identical to the basement), the second story is only about the half the size of the first fo floor making up the other 700 sq ft. I hope that makes sense. The basement is insulated but unfinished.

 

[kwenlu]

You need some instrumentation and possibly 2 dampers in the flue pipe. That is very tall and probably sucking most heat up the flue.

Good note, sounds like I'll need that regardless of the stove/furnace I end up with.

 

[begreen]

Good note, sounds like I'll need that regardless of the stove/furnace I end up with.

Yes, you may be surprised how much heat has been flying up the chimney instead of heating the room.

 

[bholler]

Not sure what temp it's reaching since there's no thermometer in line anywhere. I have the air intake all the way open until the first log catches, and then I close it to about 90% closed. The chimney is very tall, from basement to roof above second floor. Must be 40-45 feet or so. No damper.

What begreen said. You need a pipe thermometer and atleast one damper

 

[kwenlu]

Yes, you may be surprised how much heat has been flying up the chimney instead of heating the room.

That would certainly explain things. There's not nearly as much heat coming off the stove as I expected there should be. Could this be causing the rapid burn times too?

 

[begreen]

The basement is not included in the 1900 sq ft. About 1200 sq ft on the first floor (essentially identical to the basement), the second story is only about the half the size of the first fo floor making up the other 700 sq ft. I hope that makes sense. The basement is insulated but unfinished.

It's good that the basement is insulated. That will help once you get the Regency Rocket tamed down with a normal draft. Not sure if it will heat all 3100 sq ft. well, but the basement heat improvement should be quite notable.

 

[bholler]

That would certainly explain things. There's not nearly as much heat coming off the stove as I expected there should be. Could this be causing the rapid burn times too?

It is absolutely the cause of the short burn times

 

[kwenlu]

It is absolutely the cause of the short burn times

I guess I'm just confused what the previous owners were doing, then. They claimed that used this stove as their primary heat source for the house. Maybe they were just going through wood like crazy?

 

[bholler]

I guess I'm just confused what the previous owners were doing, then. They claimed that used this stove as their primary heat source for the house. Maybe they were just going through wood like crazy?

Or they were lying.

You also need to check over the stove really well. If it was run like that for a long time it could very well be damaged.