pacific energy summit not providing heat to room

[Jodi]

we just purchased pacific energy summit insert and when we run it it is not heating up the room at all. we are burning dry seasoned oak wood and our family room is 25x17 with an 8 ft ceiling. we were told that this would heat up to a 3,000 sq ft home and we can't even get heat to come into our room the insert is in. it's a corner brick fireplace with a 20ft chimney. also, it is hard to start a fire and smoke waterfalls down the front glass for approx. 45 minutes before the fire gets going good. the glass is also stained in the lower corners and we are not sure if this is normal. we have used it twice and it is very frustrating. if anyone has any suggestions or has had similar problems please let us know, we would greatly appreciate your time and response.

thanks,
jodi

 

[Corey]

Welcome to the forum. I would first question how dry the wood really is. If you bought it from someone as "seasoned" chances are, its not. Any hissing, bits of foam at the log ends will tell you it is too wet. If you've personally had it setting out side for a couple of years, you are probably OK.

Second, I would look at your fire starting technique. It should not smoke for 45 minutes. A couple of sheets of crumpled newspaper, a few dry sticks, twigs, or other kindling around 1" diameter, followed by some dry splits approximately 2" in diameter would make a great start. Once that gets burning, you could put on a couple of dry splits maybe 2"x3" and go from there. I think the most common problem is trying to light logs right off newspaper. You really need a range of sizes.

Lastly, you air controls should be wide open for the start, then when things get rolling, you can close them down.

To get heat into the room you will need a good hot fire for starters, and you will almost certainly have to run the blower to get meaningful heat out with an insert.

 

[Jodi]

thank you for your quick response!

the wood has been sitting in our shed for 4 years. we do use the blower which is heat activated and it takes a while for that to even kick on. is it normal for the glass doors to look burnt in the lower corners after just 2 uses? lastnight when we started our fire we used firestarter and that seemed to work quicker (we also shoved a cpl pieces of paper in there) but to get heat you had to be right on top of the insert and yet the fire was blazing.

 

[nshif]

Was a full length liner installed with a block off plate where the flue enters the fireplace?

 

[Jodi]

thank you for your response. yes the installer put a full length stainless steel liner in and it was insulated with fiberglass at the bottom of the chimney between the stainless steel liner and the terra cotta.

 

[Todd]

Sounds like wet wood if you have problems starting a fire. Did you buy the wood this year? Is the bark loose on some of the pieces? What does it sound like when you hit two pieces together. Dry wood will make a crisp crack like a baseball bat hitting a ball, wet wood will give a dull thud sound.

Does your insert have a blower? Blowers are a must have with inserts. Is there a block off plate where the damper use to be in your fireplace? This will keep the heat from escaping up your chimney.

 

[Jodi]

the wood appears dry and has been in our shed for 4 years...not sure of the sound will have to do that test.
there is no block off plate but fiberglass insulation where the damper use to be. we have a blower but it took forever for it just to kick on lastnight.

 

[jqgs214]

I have the next size smaller PE insert and it throws alot of heat. That stove should heat that room with no problem. My blower kicks on about 1/2 hour after start up. Surface temp around 300 deg. Do you have a surface thermometer on the front of the stove?? If not I would suggest getting one. When the blower does kick on does it stay on?? Is it blowing hot air? Also are you leaving the door open when you start the fire and close it after it gets going good? Thats how most people start them here. Leave the door open maybe 5 minutes. Was this "shed" the wood was stored in sealed?? Or could air pass through it. If no air flows over the wood it is very difficult to dry it out.

 

[begreen]

the wood appears dry and has been in our shed for 4 years...not sure of the sound will have to do that test.
there is no block off plate but fiberglass insulation where the damper use to be. we have a blower but it took forever for it just to kick on lastnight.

Stuffing insulation around a flue is not a proper block off plate. If it is fiberglass insulation, it can melt at 600 degrees. If an installer did this, he should be called on it.

Sounds like the stove is not warming up quickly. Is this an exterior chimney? Is the entire liner insulated? Somehow I suspect not.

 

[nshif]

Insulation doesnt make for a very good block off plate. Read this for more info

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Why_damper_seal_is_needed/

 

[R&D Guy]

Jodi,

If your wood has been in a shed for 4 years then I'm sure it's quite dry. You'd have to have a humidifier in there to have kept it wet. The stained corners sounds normal although it can be a sign that the fire is not hot enough. By the way, newspaper and Windex will clean it right off. When I had a wood stove I use to start the fires with chalk board eraser size fire starters with 4" rounds, but it did take longer for the stove to get hot compared to chopping kindling and wadding paper.

Some Q's; when the blower comes on is the air hot? It should be hair dryer hot at the minimum. How many loads of wood do you burn per run? Is the firebox full of fire?

 

[thechimneysweep]

Hi Jodi,

There are a couple things that come to mind that could be contributing to your situation:

The baffle box: Take a look at the stainless steel box that sits at the top of the firebox. It should be all the way to the back, so the rectangular air intake hole seats onto the top of the rectangular air feed tube you can see running up the backwall of the firebox. When properly aligned, the little tab with a hole in it that extends below the baffle box at center rear should line up with the matching hole in the backplate of the firebox. The stove shipped with a bent keeper pin through the tab and into the hole, but it might have jiggled out during transport or installation.

The door seal: The first time your door ever met your insert was when your installer hung it on there. Some adjustment is usually necessary to ensure a tight fit. To check the seal, close the door on a dollar bill: you should feel resistance when you tug on the bill, all the way around the perimeter of the door. If it is loose, tap the receiver (on the handle side of the stove, next to the door opening) lightly with a hammer, tapping and re-testing until you get a snug fit.

The woodshed: Does your shed have open slat walls, or is it all walled in? Without airflow to carry away evaporated moisture, a wood pile can stay pretty soupy for a long, long time.

The wood: Was the tree standing dead before it was cut up into fuelwood? If you do have good airflow through your woodshed, it is possible that your wood has become TOO dry after four years, a condition my Granddad used to call "punky". If the wood is super lightweight and seems to go directly from a freshly kindled fire to charcoal, your wood might be punky.

One way to check if your fuelwood is causing the problem is to try a load or two borrowed from a neighbor, or buy a couple packs of compressed sawdust logs (NOT the paper-wrapped kind) and see how the stove likes that fuel.

Smoke rolling past your viewing window for 45 minutes: A common sign of wet fuelwood, but also happens when the chimney isn't drafting properly. This is air inversion season, and care must be taken to start your engine before pouring on the fuel. Try burning the pages from yesterday's newspaper, a few loose balls at a time, before adding any kindling or fuelwood. Leave the door cracked a bit, and watch the smoke from the paper fires carefully: when the heat pushes the cold-air "plug" out of the chimney, the paper smoke will suddenly whoosh up the flue, indicating it is time to start your kindling fire.

 

[Jodi]

thank you for all your responses....i think we are getting somewhere.

the insulation concerned me and i phoned the installer today and he informed me it is an insulation plate?? not really sure wat an insulation plate is?

we started a fire tonight and it started without a problem...seems a little hotter so we'll see how the night goes.

will check out a few of the ideas given on here and thanks to the last reply for all that information.

thanks again...going to enjoy the view anyway if not the heat

 

[Gooserider]

thank you for all your responses....i think we are getting somewhere.

the insulation concerned me and i phoned the installer today and he informed me it is an insulation plate?? not really sure wat an insulation plate is?

we started a fire tonight and it started without a problem...seems a little hotter so we'll see how the night goes.

will check out a few of the ideas given on here and thanks to the last reply for all that information.

thanks again...going to enjoy the view anyway if not the heat

If it's made out of fiberglass, and it isn't backed up by a sheet of metal, then it's essentially about the same as the plate shaped objects found in a pasture occupied by male cows...

In an external chimney in Jersey, you should have had an insulated liner. At the very least, you should have a SOLID METAL blockoff plate - possibly backed up with some MINERAL WOOL insulation... The plate should be a precise tight fit around both the pipe and the chimney, and all gaps sealed with refractory cement around the pipe, and high temp silicone around the damper. Without a good blockoff your heat is going up the chimney. If you have an external firebox, you would also have benefitted if the interior of the firebox was lined with mineral wool blankets tapconned into place as this would have reduced the loss of heat through the firebox into the outside world.

Gooserider