Burn Time vs. Blast Out

[wg_bent]

I like the placement of the chair...it looks like that chair is set up to just sit and watch the fire and read a paper. A Pipe, a nice strong ale and an old dog would complete that picture.

 

[Todd]

You say you have a poor draft now? What kind of chimney and setup do you have now? A stainless steel liner does wonders for draft in masonary chimneys. I was worried about my draft to. I have an outside brick chimney with 3 90 deg elbows, and my new stove drafts better than the old one. Don't give up on the cats just yet. I think the older ones may be more draft sensitive than newer models.

My setup right now is like this:
7" oval to 7" round for 11" exiting the top of the stove
7" to 6" reducer
6" diameter 90° (backwards)
12" horizontal of 6" diameter pipe with about 1/2" of rise over the length
6" diameter 90° (upwards)
Through 6" thimble into 7" x 7" flue tile at approximately 45°
12" at the 45° angle, then another 45° to go straight up again
About 10' of straight up 7" x 7" flue tile lined brick chimney which is between an exterior and interior wall
About 2 or 3' straight up above roof of the 7" x 7" flue tile lined brick chimney
At the top of the existing chimney I added 6' of 6" round Simpson Duravent insulated SS chimney and a cap to help satisfy the 2-3-10 rule. I would have gone with an 8" round addition on top of the chimney (which I already had and didn't need to buy) but I was afraid of junk slipping down the chimney then landing on top of the brick chimney and running down it and making a mess.

I've attached some drawings of the hearth setup (no stove or stove pipe) to clarify the beginning of the chimney with the 45° bends in it. I also attached a photo (from the real-estate ad from when I bought the place in November) of the gas stove that I pulled out, you can sort of see the two 90° bends in the stove pipe.

I'm planning on adding a 6" stainless steel flex liner to the chimney when I install a new stove. I may try to insulate around between the stainless liner and the flue tile if I can.

The insulated 6" liner should help your draft, but you may have a hard time getting it down the 7x7 flue tile. Is that the inside diameter?

As far as stoves, buy one that has a large fire box that states a 12 hr burn time, cat or noncat.

 

[Mo Heat]

... At 24 hours there are still large chunks of coals and the cat is still active and the thermometer on top of the stove reads from 300 to 350 degrees. I am still learning the operation of the stove so, I haven't actually filled it completely full yet (manual says 90 pounds of wood). Manual also says stove operates better when you actually do fill the stove completly full.

Wow! 24 hours! That's impressive! Do you have the Ultra, Parlor, or Classic option?

This thing claims low burn times of 40 hours! Even fudging that should guarantee a 12 hour burn.

Unfortunately, this stove has an 8" chimney requirement and won't fit into a 7" flue.

 

[got wood?]

I've had 12-14 hour burns with my Lopi Liberty many times, easily...I really like the stove, it holds heat very well and is easy to load and get hot in a hurry (mornings, coming back from work, etc).

 

[Geoff]

The insulated 6" liner should help your draft, but you may have a hard time getting it down the 7x7 flue tile. Is that the inside diameter?

As far as stoves, buy one that has a large fire box that states a 12 hr burn time, cat or noncat.

Yeah, the flue tile is 7x7 inside. There was an insulated aluminum liner for a gas stove in there that I took out. I need to check the OD on that but I think it was about 5.5". The toughest part about getting a 6" liner down will be the two 45° bends in the flue tile. I'm thinking about ordering a 2 or 3' long section to try in that area before I order a full length of flexible liner. I'd rather not have to go with a 5.5" liner if I don't have to...

So what does everyone think, can I heat a medium sized house with a large stove (to get long burn times) but not get the house too hot? That is what I'm actually doing right now, but its an older stove and I havn't been fully loading it (16" longs and it will take 26 or 27"). I've been damping it way down to get the long burn times, but I'm worried about buildup in the chimney.

 

[Geoff]

I've had 12-14 hour burns with my Lopi Liberty many times, easily...I really like the stove, it holds heat very well and is easy to load and get hot in a hurry (mornings, coming back from work, etc).

Thanks for the info!
I think something like that might be a good choice for us. So long as I can re-light off of coals after a day away from home (instead of having to spend the time building a new fire every night) and I can start introducing heat to the house quickly then I'm happy. Well... if I get the house too hot then I might not be happy but the lady of the house would like it! ;-)

 

[iburnpine]

Geoff,

You might want to look into Regency as well. I have their smallest model and have been pleased with it's performance. A friend of mine has the larger model and he couldn't be happier. I've got nothing but great things to say about their stoves. I had the Lopi Patriot about 4 years ago. I liked it but they could certainly look into putting some sort of ash pan into their stoves. I also own a Jotul which might be another avenue for you. Just something to think about....

Here's a link to the Regency site (no, I don't work for them) (broken link removed to http://www.regency-fire.com/Wood/Stoves/)

 

[Swamp Fox]

... At 24 hours there are still large chunks of coals and the cat is still active and the thermometer on top of the stove reads from 300 to 350 degrees. I am still learning the operation of the stove so, I haven't actually filled it completely full yet (manual says 90 pounds of wood). Manual also says stove operates better when you actually do fill the stove completly full.

Wow! 24 hours! That's impressive! Do you have the Ultra, Parlor, or Classic option?

This thing claims low burn times of 40 hours! Even fudging that should guarantee a 12 hour burn.

Unfortunately, this stove has an 8" chimney requirement and won't fit into a 7" flue.

Mo Heat, I have the King 1107 Classic. Yes, it does require the 8 inch chimney, which is what I have. Probably would have gotten the smaller stove had I had the 6 inch chimney.

 

[Geoff]

iburnpine - How good does the natural convection in the Regency work? Does it move a decent amount of air without the blower on?

I looked into the Regency stoves but there isn't a whole lot of needed info on their website (it only gives BTUs, max. log length, and effeciency). Fire box size? Burn times? etc... All those specifications aren't listed in the manual either.