Advice / Review need: Regency CI2600 fireplace insert risky & costly?
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edge-of-the-woods
Feeling the Heat
That's what ours looks like from 8am to 1pm :/
Wolves, do you have a block off plate in your chimney? I know you have the reducer plate in, but do you also have the knockout plates removed?
Thanks!
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
No block off plate but when I had the old stove installed the installer but insulation. Yes I took the knockout plates out.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
Yes. That seems to be working fine. Maybe the short burn time is from lack of insulation. Where should the insulation be? I watched the installers put in the insert and tubing up the chimney and there was no insulation put in.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
Insulation was on the top of the fireplace. Did the installer run the liner all the way to the top?
I will bring up about insulation with the Regency rep and the installer at my house tomorrow. And yes, the liner went all the way to the top.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
edge-of-the-woods
Feeling the Heat
Thanks for the replies!
This is a burn from a fire I started at 10pm last night, video was taken at 10:30:
This is what I had in the stove this morning at 7:45, so about ten hours later. No fan on, no heat coming out, but coals hot enough to ignite kindling under the ash blanket.
At this point, the stove always has about 4" of ash/coals in the bottom, up to the front lip. I just got the temp probe from Condar, will be installing that myself on Friday or Saturday.
This is a burn from a fire I started at 10pm last night, video was taken at 10:30:
This is what I had in the stove this morning at 7:45, so about ten hours later. No fan on, no heat coming out, but coals hot enough to ignite kindling under the ash blanket.
At this point, the stove always has about 4" of ash/coals in the bottom, up to the front lip. I just got the temp probe from Condar, will be installing that myself on Friday or Saturday.
edge-of-the-woods
Feeling the Heat
Our liner goes all the way to the top but the dealer did not put in a block-off plate or any insulation, from what I could tell.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
I don't remember do you have the reduction plate and the knockout plate removed.
edge-of-the-woods
Feeling the Heat
I don't have the plate installed or the knockout plates removed. It's stock. I want to get the probe installed before I start making mods to the stove.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
With the probe temps I bring it to 550 close the bypass then when temp hits 700 close the air. The temp will slowly rise to about 1,100 to 1,300.
So the Regency rep and installer came to the house today. Here is what happened. First Regency says that the advertised 14 hour burn time does not mean 14 hours of fan blowing. I felt that Regency misled the dealers who are misleading their customers...shame on them. It just means that in 14 hours you should be able to stir up the ashes and still have burning coals so you can in theory add more logs and it should start back up. He would not tell me how long the blower should be on. The main reason I purchased this insert was because I was let to believe it would heat my house for 14 hours before needing to reload.
But we do have a few issues which they will correct and hopefully get a better burn time/heat output time. Because our chimney is so tall (over 25 feet), it is creating a strong draft. And he did agree that the wood is burning up too fast. So they are going to add the restrictor plate to help reduce the draft. Also they are going to remove the knockout plate. By removing the knockout plate the hot air will circulate around the outside of the insert and should keep the insert warmer and hopefully slow down the burn time as well. Also, because we removed the washers on the door latch as per the dollar test and their recommendation, it threw off the door so it's not level. It also caused the door gasket (the rope braid that goes around the door) to get squashed and flatten out too much, which may also be letting in air. So now they are going to replace the rope gasket and try to level out the door. Also our door latch/handle is not straight because of probably removing too many washers, so they will actually replace the entire handle. Also, the Regency rep thinks that the internal temperature reader is not sitting flush enough under the insert. If that happens it will affect how long it takes to turn the fan on. So that needs to be checked. That is part of the blower unit and during installation it could have been pushed down so it's not making direct contact with the insert.
So that is where we stand. Probably by next week the installer will be back to repair it. We'll see what happens. At this point I have lost confidence in this insert. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I feel I was sold something that is not doing what I was told it could do. Regency mislead the dealers whom are passing along bad info.
But we do have a few issues which they will correct and hopefully get a better burn time/heat output time. Because our chimney is so tall (over 25 feet), it is creating a strong draft. And he did agree that the wood is burning up too fast. So they are going to add the restrictor plate to help reduce the draft. Also they are going to remove the knockout plate. By removing the knockout plate the hot air will circulate around the outside of the insert and should keep the insert warmer and hopefully slow down the burn time as well. Also, because we removed the washers on the door latch as per the dollar test and their recommendation, it threw off the door so it's not level. It also caused the door gasket (the rope braid that goes around the door) to get squashed and flatten out too much, which may also be letting in air. So now they are going to replace the rope gasket and try to level out the door. Also our door latch/handle is not straight because of probably removing too many washers, so they will actually replace the entire handle. Also, the Regency rep thinks that the internal temperature reader is not sitting flush enough under the insert. If that happens it will affect how long it takes to turn the fan on. So that needs to be checked. That is part of the blower unit and during installation it could have been pushed down so it's not making direct contact with the insert.
So that is where we stand. Probably by next week the installer will be back to repair it. We'll see what happens. At this point I have lost confidence in this insert. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I feel I was sold something that is not doing what I was told it could do. Regency mislead the dealers whom are passing along bad info.
DaMoose
New Member
Love this forum guys, lots of good advice. I have had the CI2600 now since mid Nov. I have never had a wood burning insert before, just an open fireplace. I am still learning how to burn efficiently with this thing but i must say i love it. I am now getting a good 10hrs of heat. I have attached a "so called" burn diary. Its a typical burn for me. Any comments or advice "wood" be greatly appreciated. My opinon only to those who are having only 4 hour burn/heat times is to keep plugging away and experimenting, cause i too was just like you.
Nice to hear you are getting some decent burn time, all the best in seeing just how far you can go to!!
This is ours from 4pm to 8pm with temp at 550 . Hopefully the changes will help next week. And this is with the rep checking it out and cramming it full if wood.
Don't know why my pic is coming out upside down...lol.
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Cinders thanks for the pics/instructions and the info about what your rep said. Anyone out there know If they they recommend taking the andirons out and filling the wood to the glass. Also I'm not sure if my knockout plates are in or not. If they are in is it recommended that they are removed. I have no idea where they are located so if anyone has pictures or details where to find them I'd appreciate it. My unit is burning pretty good. I'm getting on average +- 8 hours between loads with good heat being put out. That's with the andirons still in and not loading up to the glass. It was pretty chilly the past week. Lowest being 0 degs and was able to keep our living room between 67-70 deg the whole day.
No problem. The knockout plates can only be accessed by removing the faceplate. It's on the right and maybe also the left side of the firebox toward the side back. It's perforated and just needs to be pushed out. However, because you have to removed the faceplate I wouldn't do it or have my husband do it. I'd have the installer do it. The rep does not recommend taking the andirons out. But he did put the wood over it and almost touching the glass. Hope that helps.
DaMoose
New Member
I am also running with a stock unit - andirons in and i believe knockout plates still in (no idea where they are?) - and getting similar burn times. The only thing i have done to the unit is I have removed one set of washers from the door. I think i might try and do what the rep did for cinders and load up and over them.
Now correct me if i am wrong but isnt removing the knock out plates going to add more fresh air/draft to the firebox thus making the burn time decrease. Anyone running without knockout plates for sure and getting longer burn times?
You're not going to damage anything taking the faceplate off. The top lifts off and the sides are bolted on. Take that off and use aa mirror to check.
I thought the same thing about removing the knock-out plates, but according to him it will act as insulation around the insert by heating up the air and improve burn time.
Also, if you look at the Owner Instruction Manual on their website you can see exactly where the knock-out plate is. Here is the link...
(broken link removed to http://www.regency-fire.com/Files/Manuals/CI2600-919-300.aspx)
Go to page 39, and it's located on the outer shield part 5 & 7. I see it's on both the right and left side bottom.
Wolves1
Minister of Fire
Grisu I think you can help me. How important is it to keep the wood in the house before loading into the stove?
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