If the power goes out . . . .

[Tater1985]

Can i still burn a normal load in my FP30? With this not being a free standing stove, but rather more lile a Summit in a ZC box, there is nowhere for the heat to go without the fans on.

My standard practice is to fire it up or reload with fan off. Once face temp gets around 300 i dial back about 1/2, then when its around 350 or so i cut it back another 1/4. Once it get to 400 i take the air all the way down or maybe 1/4" open and let it climb a bit more. Once i get into the 450-500 range i will turn the fan on.

Depending on how full the load is, what kind of wood, how strong the secondaries are, i will have the fan all the way up and it may either hold temp around 500 or continue to rise. I had it hold around 650 for probably about an hour this weekend and the fan was on full bore.

Just wondering, if the power would have went out how high it would have climbed? Should i have an alternate burning practice in place in the event the power is out and i need heat or goes out in the middle of a load?

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

 

[Dabster13]

If the power goes out I would recommend to just turn the air down and let it burn out. You wont get much heat off of it without the fans.

However, i have one of these: https://egopowerplus.com/portable-power/ since i have multiple batteries lying around from the various tools i have.

In the past I would just let the house get a little cold as usually the power is back on in a day or so but now with a baby i was looking for a generator to make sure the house stays warm in case of an outage, this just happened to be released last year and is way cheaper than a generator.

 

[Mike M.]

I had the exact same concerns with my FP30. That box around the stove is going to get wicked hot and fast. Apparently the unit can handle it, something I am not going to test and continue to hope doesn't happen. I have a few seasons on the books with mine and have had zero major issues and zero power interruptions. The wall behind my unit gets warm with the fan on. All things considered on a power interruption I may do the open door / open fireplace option if home at the time. This breaks the 2nd combustion and sends heat up the chimney.

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[Tater1985]

I had the exact same concerns with my FP30. That box around the stove is going to get wicked hot and fast. Apparently the unit can handle it, something I am not going to test and continue to hope doesn't happen. I have a few seasons on the books with mine and have had zero major issues and zero power interruptions. The wall behind my unit gets warm with the fan on. All things considered on a power interruption I may do the open door / open fireplace option if home at the time. This breaks the 2nd combustion and sends heat up the chimney.

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I assume you are saying you would finish the burn that way (door open)? Then wait for power to come on.

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

 

[Mike M.]

I assume you are saying you would finish the burn that way (door open)? Then wait for power to come on.

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

Correct probably making sure that our kitten cat is not trying to crawl in the firebox.

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[HomeinPA]

Can i still burn a normal load in my FP30? With this not being a free standing stove, but rather more lile a Summit in a ZC box, there is nowhere for the heat to go without the fans on.

My standard practice is to fire it up or reload with fan off. Once face temp gets around 300 i dial back about 1/2, then when its around 350 or so i cut it back another 1/4. Once it get to 400 i take the air all the way down or maybe 1/4" open and let it climb a bit more. Once i get into the 450-500 range i will turn the fan on.

Depending on how full the load is, what kind of wood, how strong the secondaries are, i will have the fan all the way up and it may either hold temp around 500 or continue to rise. I had it hold around 650 for probably about an hour this weekend and the fan was on full bore.

Just wondering, if the power would have went out how high it would have climbed? Should i have an alternate burning practice in place in the event the power is out and i need heat or goes out in the middle of a load?

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

This sounds like a question for PE's technical people. Unless someone on here has a manual that can definitively say that it should or should not be used in a power outage everyone is guessing. Get their 800 number and check with them.

 

[Tater1985]

This sounds like a question for PE's technical people. Unless someone on here has a manual that can definitively say that it should or should not be used in a power outage everyone is guessing. Get their 800 number and check with them.

I already have a question about my possible excesive draft in to their tech people. I will hold off on adding another question until i get answers to my current question.

I did scour the manual and could not find any warnings about burning without power to fans.

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

 

[Mike M.]

This sounds like a question for PE's technical people. Unless someone on here has a manual that can definitively say that it should or should not be used in a power outage everyone is guessing. Get their 800 number and check with them.

I dont really see how you could ever use the unit then. Nobody knows when the power is going to go out. The fan simply cannot be a "must use in operation" item. Way too many chances at failure or power interruption.

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[HomeinPA]

I would think that the appliance is tested and clearances measured without having to have the fan running since it's not required for combustion. What would someone do who burns overnight and then the power goes out in the middle of the night and they have no idea? Is the house going to go up in flames?? Again though, I'm assuming something that seems to be common sense and you know how that often goes. I'd email them and get it in writing if you feel the need.

 

[chazcarr]

I have one of these UPS systems and it runs the fan on my stove for around 2.5 hours.

 

[Mike M.]

I have one of these UPS systems and it runs the fan on my stove for around 2.5 hours.

That's a nice solution. Do you have a closet or something nearby to store this in?

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[Tater1985]

I have one of these UPS systems and it runs the fan on my stove for around 2.5 hours.

Im no electrician, but im guessing you have to be able to plug the appliance into this UPS? My fan is hard wired into a rheostat switch. Is there a way to make this work?

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

 

[chazcarr]

That's a nice solution. Do you have a closet or something nearby to store this in?

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I have it plugged into my computer so if there is a power outage I can safely shut the computer down.
Once the computer is off I bring it down to the stove room and plug the stove into it.
That way it is always in the same spot and always fully charged.

I have a generator, but it does not power the stove room, so this was my solution. If no power in 2.5 hours, I can also run an extension cord to the room the generator runs.

 

[chazcarr]

Im no electrician, but im guessing you have to be able to plug the appliance into this UPS? My fan is hard wired into a rheostat switch. Is there a way to make this work?

2018 Pacific Energy FP30

Some of the units have prongs for connecting loose wires to, but then you would have to unscrew the rheostat and transfer the wires. Seems like a lot of work.

What worked for me in a similar situation was using USB cooling fans to push air through the bottom vents. It would work well with a power supply. I actually spliced the USB off and used D batteries and electrical tape.

 

[NoobTube]

I would like a solution like that UPS but with a greater run time. I wish I could build a solar array with a storage solution attached... That would be the cats meow.

 

[yooper08]

A more expensive setup, but you could get a thermoelectric unit to put on top of the stove to trickle charge a battery that has an inverter connected directly to the battery. Basically a constant power supply of about 1000w provided by your stove. Could easily power your fan, charge phones and laptops, and even keep your WiFi going if the ISP's network is still up.

 

[jetsam]

I would like a solution like that UPS but with a greater run time. I wish I could build a solar array with a storage solution attached... That would be the cats meow.

Deep cycle lead acid battery: ~$100
100w solar panel + charge controller: $140
100w inverter: $20 or less

With 2 batteries you can skip all the wiring, too. One battery goes outside to charge for a couple days while the other one runs the fans.

 

[bholler]

There is no wood burning appliance out there that needs the circulation fans running to be safe to burn as long as it is installed properly

 

[Wildbilljp]

There is no wood burning appliance out there that needs the circulation fans running to be safe to burn as long as it is installed properly

I'm glad to hear that bholler as I searched out this topic just for that information. The power rarely goes out at my place but in reference to the many discussions on this forum about runaway fires, it sounded like turning the fans off could be the cause of a runaway fire.
Hearth.com

 

[bholler]

I'm glad to hear that bholler as I searched out this topic just for that information. The power rarely goes out at my place but in reference to the many discussions on this forum about runaway fires, it sounded like turning the fans off could be the cause of a runaway fire.
Hearth.com

No a runaway fire is caused by either user error or excessive draft. Yes running a fan can help drop the temps but that is not a solution. Either the install needs fixed so the draft is under control or the burn technique needs to be changed.

 

[HomeinPA]

There is no wood burning appliance out there that needs the circulation fans running to be safe to burn as long as it is installed properly

I try to avoid these blanket statements because inevitably some PITA tries to find something to contradict you.
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I'm working on it

 

[bholler]

I try to avoid these blanket statements because inevitably some PITA tries to find something to contradict you.
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I'm working on it

I stand by that statement.

 

[HomeinPA]

I try to avoid these blanket statements because inevitably some PITA tries to find something to contradict you.
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I'm working on it

I crack myself up sometimes

 

[blacktail]

I doubt PE would still be in business if their products caused house fires from something as common as a power outage.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Why not just put in a sub pannel and put some basic circuits on it. You could then plug in a small generator to it.. run some lights.. refrigerator. The fan you your insert, tv ect...