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

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The glass will go black when you have small slow fires the bottom corners. When the temps drop the glass will clean it self. If you open the air a little more it will help with the glass. As far as taking washers off on the door do the dollar bill test.
Thanks the dollar bill test was actually ok before I removed the shim on the handle side. It is just more tight now, it was hard to close the door yesterday. I have only done 3 fires so far. Just to make sure, is there washers to remove on the hinge side as well? If it's the case could somebody point me where it is cause I just don't get it and it is not discussed in the owner manual.
 
Thanks the dollar bill test was actually ok before I removed the shim on the handle side. It is just more tight now, it was hard to close the door yesterday. I have only done 3 fires so far. Just to make sure, is there washers to remove on the hinge side as well? If it's the case could somebody point me where it is cause I just don't get it and it is not discussed in the owner manual.
When I tightened my door, I just removed the washers from the handle side. I don't think there is any way to tighten the door from the hinge side.
 
I have another question, but maybe it is more of a general insert question than a CI2600 point. If my chimney is largely interior, do I need a block off plate? I had asked my installer about this, but he said I didn't need it. Here's a pic of the space so you can see what I mean.

If only one side of this chimney mass is in contact with the outside, will a block off plate do much? I assume it will take a good amount of work as I will need to pull out the insert, put in the plate, and then re-attach. Frankly, that might be beyond my skill, but maybe I can have the dealer/installer do it if I really insist.

The insert is putting out good heat, but I have tons of windows and a high ceiling so keeping the space warm is pretty challenging. I figure every little bit helps.
[Hearth.com] Advice / Review need: Regency CI2600 fireplace insert risky & costly?
 
You are probably ok without a block-off plate for that installation. Ceiling fans however are a big help in moving the heat that gets trapped up high.
 
New to catalytic insert fire places, and this forum. Had my CI2600 installed last week by a fireplace store. After they were done, I noticed lots of wind noise. I checking this forum, discovered that I should be looking for the EPA hole. I called the store, and the technician came out to make some adjustments, and help me find the EPA hole. Never found it. But he did find the restrictor plate. He removed this plate, and now the wind noise is gone. Then I found out what the restrictor plate is for. Now I will have to put it back, but will try to adjust it so that the wind does not whisle in my fireplace.

After a few small fires, I cranked it up a notch, and prepared for a long slow burn, and then left. Came back a few hours later to find my wife stirring a pot of soup in the kitchen, dressed only in underwear. I guess the fireplace is working. YES!!

Have picked up a lot of info from the forum, and my burns are working fairly well. About 8 - 10 hours of heat, without the restrictor plate. No kindling needed. Just add logs on top of the coals, wait for the temp to hit 550, and close both adjustments. Temp quickly goes to about 1200 f and stays there. Furnace fan is on, and I'm heating 1800 sq ft on two levels. Yes, wood consumption is a bit on the high side right now, but I'm hoping the restrictor plate will fix that.

Had an issue with the glass turning black, so I opened up the lower air inlet to about half, while still keeping the damper closed. Temp went to about 1350, but had lots of air wash in the unit, and in about 10 minutes, the glass had cleared to about 90%.
 
New to catalytic insert fire places, and this forum. Had my CI2600 installed last week by a fireplace store. After they were done, I noticed lots of wind noise. I checking this forum, discovered that I should be looking for the EPA hole. I called the store, and the technician came out to make some adjustments, and help me find the EPA hole. Never found it. But he did find the restrictor plate. He removed this plate, and now the wind noise is gone. Then I found out what the restrictor plate is for. Now I will have to put it back, but will try to adjust it so that the wind does not whisle in my fireplace.

After a few small fires, I cranked it up a notch, and prepared for a long slow burn, and then left. Came back a few hours later to find my wife stirring a pot of soup in the kitchen, dressed only in underwear. I guess the fireplace is working. YES!!

Have picked up a lot of info from the forum, and my burns are working fairly well. About 8 - 10 hours of heat, without the restrictor plate. No kindling needed. Just add logs on top of the coals, wait for the temp to hit 550, and close both adjustments. Temp quickly goes to about 1200 f and stays there. Furnace fan is on, and I'm heating 1800 sq ft on two levels. Yes, wood consumption is a bit on the high side right now, but I'm hoping the restrictor plate will fix that.

Had an issue with the glass turning black, so I opened up the lower air inlet to about half, while still keeping the damper closed. Temp went to about 1350, but had lots of air wash in the unit, and in about 10 minutes, the glass had cleared to about 90%.
How full was the stove?
 
Maybe a dumb question but will the Regency CI2600 work perfectly fine without the optional blower? We have a ceiling fan so wondering if we can go without trying to wire in the blower (no electrical outlet near where the insert would go).

The main floor of the house is a fairly large open plan, easily 1100 st ft.

Thanks in advance!
 
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Maybe a dumb question but will the Regency CI2600 work perfectly fine without the optional blower? We have a ceiling fan so wondering if we can go without trying to wire in the blower (no electrical outlet near where the insert would go).

The main floor of the house is a fairly large open plan, easily 1100 st ft.

Thanks in advance!
The fireplace will work perfectly fine, however the benefit of the fan throwing the heat into the room will not be there without the fan. This fireplace manufactures heat, and I don't think the radiated heat would be nearly the same as the fan blowing it into the room.
 
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The fireplace will work perfectly fine, however the benefit of the fan throwing the heat into the room will not be there without the fan. This fireplace manufactures heat, and I don't think the radiated heat would be nearly the same as the fan blowing it into the room.

I think today is the last day of the free fan promotion.
 
Be aware that almost no one is getting 14 hour burn times. For me it's about 8 - 10 hours of heat. There is also a learning process in operating a catalytic equipt fireplace, but I have learned a lot from this forum.
I know that there are a lot of variables in order to get a long burn time. After reading through all the comments on this forum, I feel much more confident in selecting this insert. We like the large glass front, it seems like it will be more efficient with wood usage. Being in Canada, we need to stick with Canadian made product due to horrible exchange rate - and it is nice to support locally made products too. :)
 
[Hearth.com] Advice / Review need: Regency CI2600 fireplace insert risky & costly?
I know that there are a lot of variables in order to get a long burn time. After reading through all the comments on this forum, I feel much more confident in selecting this insert. We like the large glass front, it seems like it will be more efficient with wood usage. Being in Canada, we need to stick with Canadian made product due to horrible exchange rate - and it is nice to support locally made products too. :)
I'm getting the 14 hour burn time, I love the stove. The picture is of the coals after 13 hours.
 
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New to catalytic insert fire places, and this forum. Had my CI2600 installed last week by a fireplace store. After they were done, I noticed lots of wind noise. I checking this forum, discovered that I should be looking for the EPA hole. I called the store, and the technician came out to make some adjustments, and help me find the EPA hole. Never found it. But he did find the restrictor plate. He removed this plate, and now the wind noise is gone. Then I found out what the restrictor plate is for. Now I will have to put it back, but will try to adjust it so that the wind does not whisle in my fireplace.

After a few small fires, I cranked it up a notch, and prepared for a long slow burn, and then left. Came back a few hours later to find my wife stirring a pot of soup in the kitchen, dressed only in underwear. I guess the fireplace is working. YES!!

Have picked up a lot of info from the forum, and my burns are working fairly well. About 8 - 10 hours of heat, without the restrictor plate. No kindling needed. Just add logs on top of the coals, wait for the temp to hit 550, and close both adjustments. Temp quickly goes to about 1200 f and stays there. Furnace fan is on, and I'm heating 1800 sq ft on two levels. Yes, wood consumption is a bit on the high side right now, but I'm hoping the restrictor plate will fix that.

Had an issue with the glass turning black, so I opened up the lower air inlet to about half, while still keeping the damper closed. Temp went to about 1350, but had lots of air wash in the unit, and in about 10 minutes, the glass had cleared to about 90%.
I'm gonna fire up the stove,tell my wife i want soup for dinner and leave the house for a bit.Hopefully when i come home i get the same results as you lol.
 
I was fooling around with my Kill A Watt electricity meter, figuring out how much power various appliances in my house really take. Hooked up the CI2600 blower and when it is on low you are looking at roughly 34 watts. On high, about double that. So, having the blower on high is less energy than your standard light bulb.

In the past I was hesitating to crank it up to high because I thought it was taking a lot more energy (the blower on high is pretty loud after all). Maybe everyone else here knew that, but I just wanted to put that out there in case others had the same concern. I still like to have the blower on low when I'm sitting by the fire since it makes for a much more peaceful atmosphere, and even that puts out a lot of heat and apparently takes very little power.
 
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Been a lurker for about two months, a newby wood burner owner of a 2601 for one month with 6 burns of ashes in it, a bit of a distaste for the results. and an excellent question of why some folks get great long burn results and others get significantly shorter burn results with the same unit ... burning in my mind.

I get dirty opaque glass in the bottom corners that appear to need cleaning every other burn, mostly when it's dieing down, don't get anywhere near 8 hours burn time, and feel like even though my chimney liner is a short 13 ft, it's burning too fast, not sure. It does take a bit of patience to get it started from cold though.

Haven't done a full pack of the box yet, mostly because I need a different selection of splits than what I have. I think I need larger splits and a varying length selection to pack it right. The dollar bill test so far has not indicated the shims need adjusting, and I don't think I have the restrictor plate, though I haven't taken it apart to see yet.

This forum and participants, however, has been a great resource, and I hope to be able to contribute my continuing learning curve saga of results as well. Plenty of details to go around, but just saying hi, and I too am on the path to illumination (and long burning heat.)

Have plenty of questions too. What can I say? I'm a techy... and I thought the 2600 would be a great investment (err challenge) - not gonna give up on it just yet...
 
Ask any question you like, would love for you to get long burn times. First check if the restriction plate is in, very important if you feel it's burning to fast. Second make sure your bypass can close all the way. Do you have the cat thermometer? Very very important. To hit 14 hour burn times insert needs to be fill completely. Even then at 10 hour and on it will give you heat but not blazing heat just hot coals, will keep house warm if temps outside are in the high 30s low 40s. Keep asking questions and keep giving input we all can help each other and enjoy this insert.
 
Don't worry about the dirty glass once you start burning 24/7 and temps get colder the glass will clean up.
 
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