Advice / Review need: Regency CI2600 fireplace insert risky & costly?

[BrotherBart]

Part of the slowing it down is that EPA stoves have unrestricted primary air inlets, hard to locate, and the unrestricted secondary air input. Mostly they mean that you have to learn how to start turning down the primary that you can control earlier in the burn.

 

[dondero14]

So is there any new news, input, or findings from any of the guys that have this insert. Anyone happy or disappointed.

 

[J RD]

So is there any new news, input, or findings from any of the guys that have this insert. Anyone happy or disappointed.

I'm a few days into a continuous burn and I have noticed the burn times are extending slightly. There is definitely an issue with too much air. I kept it all the way down at all times other than trying to get some fresh splits going.

There is always a rapid fire cooking somewherein the box. My eexperience with other cat stoves is that when the air is turned all the way down you get a slow smoldery fire which is what lends to the longer burn times as you're letting the cat burn the slow soldering smoke.

It is worth noting I am running a 5.5 liner so that probably isn't helping the uncontrollable throttle.

 

[dondero14]

I'm a few days into a continuous burn and I have noticed the burn times are extending slightly.

How long are you getting for a burn time.

 

[J RD]

How long are you getting for a burn time.

Maybe 8 hours up from six. Not many coals left in the box at 8 but the cat will still be at 600 degrees.

 

[dondero14]

Kinda disappointing. The weathers turning for the next couple days so I'll be doing a continuous burn for a few days. Don't know how they can claim 14+ hours. Bugs me out cause that was one of the biggest reason for buying the insert.

 

[J RD]

Kinda disappointing. The weathers turning for the next couple days so I'll be doing a continuous burn for a few days. Don't know how they can claim 14+ hours. Bugs me out cause that was one of the biggest reason for buying the insert.

I agree. It's definitely not like FPI to overrate their burn times. I really think the solution lies in the air control. If things don't continue to improve I'll start digging around for the EPA holes and experiment from there.

 

[Jonny006]

Just try it and see if it makes a difference. At least any smoke won't blow right in your face. Are you opening the bypass before opening the door?

Btw. Small split size means more surface area and faster outgassing of the wood. You may get longer burn times by putting larger splits in. As far as I know the cat also needs some "break-in" period. The results you are getting now may not be the same in a few months. That said, Regency is relatively new to the cat/hybrid game. I would be surprised if they have figured out their catalytic design as well as BlazeKing or Woodstock who have been doing cat stoves for a long time.

I do have small splits b/c this stove seems to me at least, to have a small firebox. Like I said I am used to an old Defiant that took massive splits through the top and was a breeze to load. I'm not a fan of the insert loading by getting on my hands and knees and straining to put the wood in. I don't have a choice however.
The night I packed it full was a letdown. I awoke 5hrs later and the fan was off, almost no retained heat and only a few coals. I was able to load new wood and get it going again but the heat output stops when the wood is gone. I guess I'm used to a cast iron stove which held heat better/longer.
I was hoping that this would be a whole house heater, but I'm afraid it may not be. It could, I suppose, if I babysit it and feed it often but I do have a job and have to work so that limits things. As Grisu pointed out the stove is still new and may need some break in. I am certainly going to use it and my hope is that things improve. I'm a little bummed that a nice freestanding cast iron stove wasn't an option for me. It seems that they are superior heaters.

 

[bens_igloo]

These burn times just don't sound right. Not the new stove, I know, but I have a standard non-cat Regency insert (Regency i2400 with the 2.3 cubic foot firebox). I loaded it last night at 8pm with 4 medium size splits plus a bunch of small stuff and kindling. 10 hours later there were still plenty of red coals and the stove temp (taken in the front near door) was 150 celcius.

8 hours doesn't sound normal.

 

[J RD]

These burn times just don't sound right. Not the new stove, I know, but I have a standard non-cat Regency insert (Regency i2400 with the 2.3 cubic foot firebox). I loaded it last night at 8pm with 4 medium size splits plus a bunch of small stuff and kindling. 10 hours later there were still plenty of red coals and the stove temp (taken in the front near door) was 150 celcius.

8 hours doesn't sound normal.

It's not normal. Or at least it shouldn't be.

My family store is one of the largest Regency retailers in the mid-atlantic for the past 20 years. I have a lot of experience burning their entire product range and this is the only unit that hasn't consistently hit all the marks. We have always pushed regency because of their ease of use, robustness, easy to maintain, always clear glass, underrated burn times, etc...

So far this unit falls way short on the burn times and at keeping the glass clean. I'm really starting to regret not defaulting to the HI300 as predictable and consistent it is.

I'm just so set on catalytic stoves at this point. I couldn't not give this unit a go.

 

[Jonny006]

I've had the stove burning for 24 hrs now. At 330 this am I had a good bed about 4" deep of coals. I packed it full with good size splits all the way to the top. Let it fire up for ten mins to get going then closed the damper and cat. My wife got up around 7 and she checked the stove at 8. Just a bed of coals. No flame but still putting out heat. So 4-5hrs to devour logs that my old stove would have taken 8+.
Also the glass on the lower right corners is all blackened. It's done this since day one. It's not the wood. The first few fires were with logs that had been in my house for 1.5years. Don't get much drier than that.
I'm definitely disappointed with these results. I spent a good deal of money on this setup. I had superior results with my old $500 VC that I bought off Craigslist. Bummed.

 

[Brewster812]

I ordered my unit yesterday and have a question about the blower power cord. I've read through the installation instructions but can't figure out where the power cord exits the faceplate (I ordered the low profile faceplate). This is going in our formal dining room so my wife doesn't want the cord visible. My fireplace in 35" wide so there's plenty of room to install an outlet inside it so the cord would be behind the faceplate. Would that work or would it get too hot and melt the cord? How have others hidden the cord? Thanks guys

 

[Grisu]

I've had the stove burning for 24 hrs now. At 330 this am I had a good bed about 4" deep of coals. I packed it full with good size splits all the way to the top. Let it fire up for ten mins to get going then closed the damper and cat. My wife got up around 7 and she checked the stove at 8. Just a bed of coals. No flame but still putting out heat.

Did you rake the coals forward or did you just load the splits in top? If I would do that in my insert I would quickly get a really hot burn (close to an overfire) in there and may have not much left after 4 to 5 hours.
Also, was the cat still active at 8 pm? Cat stoves don't have much of a flame but it is the glowing cat that indicates you are still burning your wood/coals. Do you have any way of measuring whether the insert still puts out heat?

 

[Jonny006]

Did you rake the coals forward or did you just load the splits in top? If I would do that in my insert I would quickly get a really hot burn (close to an overfire) in there and may have not much left after 4 to 5 hours.
Also, was the cat still active at 8 pm? Cat stoves don't have much of a flame but it is the glowing cat that indicates you are still burning your wood/coals. Do you have any way of measuring whether the insert still puts out heat?

I usually rake the coals to the rear and then load the wood on top and forward. Last night I loaded the stove at 10:30. This morning at 6:00 the stove was cold. By cold I mean that the fan was off and there was no heat to speak of. I was able to rake the coal bed and get some heat then loaded fresh wood and got a fire going.
When the stove is working it cranks out great heat. It seems to heat the house to an acceptable 68 downstairs and up to 71 upstairs. The biggest issue I have is it's appetite for wood and sub par burn times. It just doesnt seem to burn for long. It is also annoying that I can't seem to turn the stove down. As I stated previously the damper does little to slow the flame. My old stove when you closed the damper into cat mode you could actually see the flames slow down and then having an internal thermostat was awesome in that it would self regulate.
I used to heat 24/7 with that stove and it would go at least 8hrs allowing me to go to work and heat the house. It's frustrating that this stove requires so much babysitting.
Grisu I do not have anyway of checking the cat. I would think though that with the temp controlled fan off and the stove not putting out heat that the cat is also cold.

 

[Jonny006]

And I should add that it irks me that the Regency touted this stove as having extended heating times and efficiancy. This has not been my experience.

 

[J RD]

I've put in a couple more days of continuous burning. Things haven't gotten any better. I think it's time to start exploring the idea of restricting the inlet and see if that resolves our issues. It's really hard to believe FPI would have released this unit with it's current performance.

Their quality control has otherwise been.impeccable in the past.

 

[Seachaser]

My CI2600 is being installed as I type this. Obviously I am a little concerned about expected burn times, but I will certainly update everyone on my experience after the first few burns.

 

[dondero14]

J RD, I agree with you completely and think thats where most of the problem lies. I've been doing a continuous burn for the past three days and the longest realistic burn time I've gotten was about 9 hours with a small pile of coals cooking a way in the back. Fan was still running and it was throwing off very minimal heat but getting it fired back up was not a problem at all. I'm sure you could say that there are still coals in the insert after 12 hours but you would constantly have to dig them up. I definitely think that the burn time issue lies in the air control as well. Another thing I noticed too is that the firebox should be packed as much as possible with as little space and cracks left between logs. It seems as though the more the firebox is filled to the gills, the burn slows down a lot and causes the wood to smoke more, which is where you get the secondary burn. Once I get a hot fire and close the bypass I turn the draft damper all the way down. Even with the air all the way down, you can still see an inferno blowing through the bottom of the logs where the air enters the insert. I don't know if there is anyway to close that damper off anymore to slow the fire down to more of a smoldering fire so there is less flames from the air entering and more flames from the secondary burn.

 

[Jonny006]

J RD, I agree with you completely and think thats where most of the problem lies. I've been doing a continuous burn for the past three days and the longest realistic burn time I've gotten was about 9 hours with a small pile of coals cooking a way in the back. Fan was still running and it was throwing off very minimal heat but getting it fired back up was not a problem at all. I'm sure you could say that there are still coals in the insert after 12 hours but you would constantly have to dig them up. I definitely think that the burn time issue lies in the air control as well. Another thing I noticed too is that the firebox should be packed as much as possible with as little space and cracks left between logs. It seems as though the more the firebox is filled to the gills, the burn slows down a lot and causes the wood to smoke more, which is where you get the secondary burn. Once I get a hot fire and close the bypass I turn the draft damper all the way down. Even with the air all the way down, you can still see an inferno blowing through the bottom of the logs where the air enters the insert. I don't know if there is anyway to close that damper off anymore to slow the fire down to more of a smoldering fire so there is less flames from the air entering and more flames from the secondary burn.

This mirrors my experience. When the fire is going good, even with the cat in operation and the damper turned all the way down it's an inferno with a large appetite for wood. 6hrs has been my max. Disappointing to be sure.

 

[begreen]

Maybe see if you can locate the boost manifold air intake. If you can, try placing a flat magnet over the hole as a test.

 

[Fsappo]

I'm about to pull the trigger to order the Regency CI2600 because of the sleek, modern look and hybrid design. Our local stove company, whose advice comes highly recommended, advises against it, saying the catalytic converter is problematic and costly to replace every 3 to 5 yrs. I was quoted over $600 ( by a Regency dealer) for this particular unit's catalytic replacement. Our local stove company also claims that catalytic stoves/ inserts are on their way out. Also, from some of my research reading, Regency seems like a company that will not stand by you when the unit develops problems. Since the Regency CI2600 is so new to the market, I can hardly find any reviews over the internet. I feel like I am back to square one. I am thinking either I wait until next year so that some users can share their experience or just risk it and be the guinea pig and learn the hard lesson (this unit will run me over 5K, unit plus materials and installation). Any opinion is welcomed. Thank you so much for your time.

This is a dealer who is scared of change, or they are reliving the early 90's (doesn't sound bad right about now) So here are some facts, some of which have already been stated:
1. There is no way for this dealer to identify the cat in this stove as "problematic" as it is a new design
2. A cat "should" last about 7 years, from my personal experience, if used properly as described above.
3. That cat does retail for over $500, or should. I look at it this way 500/7=$71 per year for the luxury of a catalytic stove. Worth every penny IMO.
4. Cat stoves on their way out? Again, this is decades old sentiment. Cat stoves are coming back, and with good reason. More than a couple of manufacturers are expanding their catalytic offerings
5. That model decked out with a face plate, blower and digital probe should cost you over $4000. Not sure how they are coming up with $5000. Maybe $5k installed with a liner, etc. Site unseen, if I had to quote someone on getting that stove installed locally with a 1 story insulated liner, we would be about $5200. Plus $300 of that cost is the fan which Regency is giving away until 11/24/14 or something.
6. Someone has to go first and I elect you! I wanna hear reviews on that stove.

 

[Fsappo]

$2,700 Give or take a few bucks.

Retails for $2850 or so, some dealers add shipping (about $80 to NE) plus either $200 or 400 for a faceplate and $300 for the blower (free for the next few weeks)

 

[Jonny006]

Maybe see if you can locate the boost manifold air intake. If you can, try placing a flat magnet over the hole as a test.

I don't follow what you mean by this. Where would this manifold reside? And how would a magnet be utilized?
I really think part of the problem I have is with that damper. I really think it isn't closing fully.

 

[begreen]

The air intake control is designed to not close fully. The intent being to not allow the fire to smolder. Many of these stoves have an additional air intake port that shoots air low at the front of the coal bed. This is called boost air. Some stoves have a separate intake port for this boost air. If it does, sliding a magnet over this port can reduce this startup air and slow down burning a little. If the stove does not have this port then the point is moot.

 

[Seachaser]

J RD, I agree with you completely and think thats where most of the problem lies. I've been doing a continuous burn for the past three days and the longest realistic burn time I've gotten was about 9 hours with a small pile of coals cooking a way in the back. Fan was still running and it was throwing off very minimal heat but getting it fired back up was not a problem at all. I'm sure you could say that there are still coals in the insert after 12 hours but you would constantly have to dig them up. I definitely think that the burn time issue lies in the air control as well. Another thing I noticed too is that the firebox should be packed as much as possible with as little space and cracks left between logs. It seems as though the more the firebox is filled to the gills, the burn slows down a lot and causes the wood to smoke more, which is where you get the secondary burn. Once I get a hot fire and close the bypass I turn the draft damper all the way down. Even with the air all the way down, you can still see an inferno blowing through the bottom of the logs where the air enters the insert. I don't know if there is anyway to close that damper off anymore to slow the fire down to more of a smoldering fire so there is less flames from the air entering and more flames from the secondary burn.

I am on day 3 of fairly consisting burning since Tuesday. I have also had a couple overnight burns that I have had to 'reset' in the middle of the night to get a good burn again on a bed of hot coals. On the very bright side, this stove kicks out some serious heat and I am now in an internal battle to keep my oil furnace from coming on and so far I am winning with near zero oil burn in the past few days. Temps have hovered in the thirties overnight so living where I do, I have not seen any real cold as of yet. I think a lot of this may boil down to the subjective definition of "burn time" I packed the stove mostly full the past 2 burns and seeing 6-8 hours of reasonable heat with the remnants being hot coals allowing me to fire up another load pretty easily. I also have a catalyst monitor on my stove which I have been monitoring to be sure to engage the cat at around 600 degrees Fahrenheit. At full burn, my catalyst monitor runs anywhere from 1100 -1400 degrees so far and my understanding is the optimum operating temperatures for this cat are 600 - 1600 degrees Fahrenheit. The last few burns I have been sure to stack the wood as tight together as I can which is important. That being said, I don't see a 14+ hour burn time happening unless I am still breaking her in which I guess is fully possible. Regency recommends not using bricks but I have used the larger, condensed bricks in the past and stacking them together seems to extend burn times in previous stoves so I may try that as simple test. I'll keep posting my experiences.