Hampton H300

[mtcox]

I have just about completed my first season with our new Hampton H300. It's done a fair job with the exception of some very cold nights (0-10 degrees). Our dealertells me that we should be reaching surface temps of 600-800 degrees with the fan set on low. I was lucky to get to 400 on 1-2 occasions. Otherwise I was running primarily at 250 degrees. Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong? I should think that I could keep the house a lot warmer if I could reach those higher temps.

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

 

[elkimmeg]

Please describe your venting situation and the block off plate. What size flue is vented into? Is it an exposed to the exterior location?

 

[hilly]

I recently grabbed from the wrong pile and got some wet wood. It was all I could do to get it to burn. Later that same day, my wife added wood that was very dry and she came very close to overfiring the stove. I was astounded at the difference that dry wood makes.

 

[mtcox]

I installed the stove myself. Therefore I may be at a disadvantage to begin with. The stove pipe is double walled 6" approximately 14' in length. It's a straight shot from the stove through the roof. Is a block off plate a shield behind the stove to reflect the heat outward? If so, I only have what the stove came with. The rear of the stove is fitted with a metal backing that the fan blows through and to the top of the stove. The thermometer on top of the stove reads 200 degrees and I can easily lay my hand on the back of the stove. About 6' of the stove pipe is exposed to the interior.

My house is over 60 years old but recently remodeled. It's not tight and it is cut up with a lot of rooms but I cannot get this stove to heat up and it's burn time is less than 2 hours. I find myself getting up 3-4 times a night to keep the house at 60 degrees.

Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[begreen]

This might be a fuel situation. The stove should be running hotter. What kind of wood are you burning and how well seasoned is it? What size is it split down to?

 

[mtcox]

You may have hit on the issue. I'm burning primarily red and white oak but none of it has been seasoned for more than 6-7 months. I bought a cord from a local guy and tried that, too. He had insured me that it had been seasoned for 10 months. However most of it (inlcuding what I bought) has been sizzling in the stove when I first put it in.

I've read that it should sit for a year or more. Does this affect the performance of the stove as drastically as I'm describing?

The wood varies from larger pieces that will only fit b themselves in the stove to smaller pieces that enable me to get a fire going.

I've also read that this stove is on the smaller side of the large scale. Is this true and what other models would you suggest? We are currently remodeling our home and plan on adding a second free standing stove. It will be heating along with the H300 but will be located in a large kitchen with 12 foot ceilings.

 

[elkimmeg]

Im thinking your wood moisture is part of the problem but agin I'm also looking aat the 2 /3 hour burn on a full load?

With dry wood and better loading the stove, you should be able to achieve the preformance as your dealer indicated. I would not approach 800
degrees. I usually keep my stove under 650

 

[bwolfe1]

It has been my experience that even well seasoned Oak does not burn well by itself. I always mix it with something else like Elm, Ash, Birch, Poplar, ect and then it burns great. Oak takes a long time to season and would burn better if mixed with other faster burning woods as mentioned above. Some stoves also burn wet wood better. Non-cat stoves tend to burn green, or semi-green wood better with no catalyst to clog up? Clogging up the element, involves costly repairs, and even semi-green wood can have a negative effect on the catalysts element. You may have a couple of problems involved? First your stack (chimney) sounds like it may be part of the problem as when part of it goes outside and is exposed to cooler air it reduces your draft and tends to build up creosote. See article at (https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/chimneys_an_unexact_science/) for some good chimney info. Second I would have the catalyst checked to see if its partially clogged? I have a friend that lives in King George VA. that has a Sedore Stove. You could have a look at a type of stove that will burn wet and green wood with no element to plug up? He's only about 30 minutes from you and is retired so he's around a lot. He's a wood-burning pro from way back, who I met when I lived in that area from 1973 to 1982. If nothing else he's a barrel of laughs who live like a hermit on the Potomac River in a modest home among million dollar mansion's.

 

[mtcox]

Can the converter clog up in one season of burning?

The wood box is only 1.7 cubic feet. Small from what I understand. That may contribute to the short burn times.

Does the fan have any type of effect on the surface temp? The fan has two speeds, high and low. The dealer suggested keeping it on low. Any thoughts?

 

[BrotherBart]

You don't have to worry about a clogged cat converter. That stove does not use a cat. As far as surface temps go, with a convection chamber on the top of it and the fan going there is no way the top of that stove should get to 800 degrees. The air passing over top through the chamber will keep the surface temp significantly below that. And if you have the warmer racks installed on the sides that will lower the temp even more.

Put a thermometer on the side of the firebox and find out what the actual stove body temperature is while it is burning.

 

[begreen]

You may have hit on the issue. I'm burning primarily red and white oak but none of it has been seasoned for more than 6-7 months. I bought a cord from a local guy and tried that, too. He had insured me that it had been seasoned for 10 months. However most of it (inlcuding what I bought) has been sizzling in the stove when I first put it in.

I've read that it should sit for a year or more. Does this affect the performance of the stove as drastically as I'm describing?

The wood varies from larger pieces that will only fit b themselves in the stove to smaller pieces that enable me to get a fire going.

I've also read that this stove is on the smaller side of the large scale. Is this true and what other models would you suggest? We are currently remodeling our home and plan on adding a second free standing stove. It will be heating along with the H300 but will be located in a large kitchen with 12 foot ceilings.

Wood moisture makes a huge difference in the heat output of a stove. Wood should not sizzle when burning. Do yourself a favor, go to the local hardware or grocery store and buy a couple bundles of dry wood. Or if you have a friend that has plenty of well seasoned dry wood offer him a swap for a couple nights of wood.

I think you will see an amazing difference in heat output from the stove.

Also, how much of this unseasoned wood have you burned and when was your chimney last cleaned? A by-product of burning damp wood is a cool stack and creosote. If you've burned a lot of this wood you should have that stovepipe checked and cleaned soon.

 

[elkimmeg]

Warning Warning Will danger danger.. Do not burn that stove till you clean that chimney Since your wood was wet, your chimney could be particailly blocked with cerosote.

Even if not blacked then examine it and clean if necessary. The last thing you want to do is get a rip roaring fire in there and touch off cerosote

Clogging up the element, involves costly repairs, and even semi-green wood can have a negative effect on the catalysts element

, This is a bogus statement about the costly repair usually 10 minute cleaning is all that is required. Many times it will burn off by itself, the next hot fire.
This info is from someone who never experienced cat combustor opperations Now if one is foolish enough to burn wet wood and engage the cat before obtaining second stage burning, the moisture can cause thermo shock and ruin a combustor. Intelligent burners will burn the wood first to the second phase, the charing stage of the burn cycle, when most moisture has been dissipated. Then engage the cat

I also feel that moist woodyou are burning you are not able to opperate the stove as intended. First you have to leave the inlet air wide open longer allowing the moisture to be burned off and too much heat lost going up the chimney. You may also engaging secondarry burn too early without completely eliminating the moisture. this will lead to poor preformance and never getting the stove up to temps Till you get good dry seasoned wood preformance suffers all the way around. You will have to re learn how to opperate that stove. IT is very differcult for any here to advise how to opperate with wet wood. the best suggestion would be to split it into smaller sizes so that it drys out quicker or get it stacked off the ground in the sun and be ready for next year. Also buy any additional wood now and get it stacked and drying in the heat of the comming summer.


BTW BB has it right your stove does not have a cat combustor

 

[mtcox]

No cat combuster so I don't have to worry about having clogged it up. Good to know.

There is only one control for the air inlet on that stove. No other controls other than for the fan. No secondary anything........

I tried the thermostat on the side and it reads the same temp. I suspect that my wood is not entirely dry and I should try again next year.

Anyone have thoughts on a larger stove that will burn through the night?

 

[webbie]

Important point is where you are taking the temp measurement.....

Look carefully at the construction of the stove. Perhaps your thermometer is located somewhere that an interior air manifold is right behind it - that will cool things off fast. Also make certain you are on a single wall area. By looking inside the stove, you should be able to locate a part of the top or side which is just single wall and exposed to the fire - that is the part that should hit the higher temps....

1.7 Cubic Feet may barely make it through the night with perfect wood....but you have to go bigger - perhaps 2.5 CF upwards for an easier time. A cat stove may burn longer in some cases....although non-cats are pretty dang good these days.

The wood problem is usually easy to diagnose - even without a moisture meter. Ask a friend or even your stove dealerto give you a couple splits which are known to be well seasoned.....then burn 'em.

 

[mtcox]

Is there a good stove you would suggest at 2.5 or larger?

There are not too many places on this stove (after looking at it carefully) that are single wall to the outside. Most of it has a fire brick on the interior. You would think the dealer would know what the adjusted surface temp should be when running the fan. They still insist that the surface should get to 600-800. I can't believe it. When I open the stove it blasts enough heat that adding logs with bare hands is asking for a lot of burns. Even the door has a fire brick attached to it.

 

[begreen]

There are lots of stoves that will burn longer. Look for stoves with a bigger firebox like the larger Quadrafires, PE stoves, Lopis, Country stoves, Englander 30 NC.

 

[BrotherBart]

No cat combuster so I don't have to worry about having clogged it up. Good to know.

There is only one control for the air inlet on that stove. No other controls other than for the fan. No secondary anything........

I tried the thermostat on the side and it reads the same temp. I suspect that my wood is not entirely dry and I should try again next year.

Anyone have thoughts on a larger stove that will burn through the night?

The first order of business is to get the wood and burning technique stuff out of the way. With good wood and a little time spent learning how to get the most from it that stove should give you decent five or six hour burns. And let you get more sleep.

If you are where I think you are (just South of Quantico) then you are only 17 miles from me. But in the wrong direction. I have a heck of a time getting down that way. When I could we could take a look at your wood and give the stove a test drive using some of my good wood. The big problem is that it would be latter on and once we got the stove cranking you would probably have to open the windows and turn on the A/C because it would be in the summer.

BTW: Did you buy it at Pitkin's?

 

[webbie]

Is there a good stove you would suggest at 2.5 or larger?

There are not too many places on this stove (after looking at it carefully) that are single wall to the outside. Most of it has a fire brick on the interior. You would think the dealer would know what the adjusted surface temp should be when running the fan. They still insist that the surface should get to 600-800. I can't believe it. When I open the stove it blasts enough heat that adding logs with bare hands is asking for a lot of burns. Even the door has a fire brick attached to it.

Yeah, 600 is considered real good for a single wall part of the stove - anything with air chambers or blowers should generally be much cooler.

So everything might be just fine except the thermometer!

 

[mtcox]

I do live just south of Quantico. About 11 miles NW of 95.

I bought the stove from an Aunt of mine who owns a store northern Virginia. She's been great and gave me a good deal. However, her techinical knowledge isn't capable of answering a lot of the questions you all addressed here.

Is 18 months a fair amount of time to season oak?

 

[Gooserider]

I installed the stove myself. Therefore I may be at a disadvantage to begin with. The stove pipe is double walled 6" approximately 14' in length. It's a straight shot from the stove through the roof. Is a block off plate a shield behind the stove to reflect the heat outward? If so, I only have what the stove came with. The rear of the stove is fitted with a metal backing that the fan blows through and to the top of the stove. The thermometer on top of the stove reads 200 degrees and I can easily lay my hand on the back of the stove. About 6' of the stove pipe is exposed to the interior.

My house is over 60 years old but recently remodeled. It's not tight and it is cut up with a lot of rooms but I cannot get this stove to heat up and it's burn time is less than 2 hours. I find myself getting up 3-4 times a night to keep the house at 60 degrees.

Thank you again for all of your help.

This may also be an issue! Is the 14' the entire length of your flue? If so that may be on the short side of what is needed to get good draft. Also you shouldn't be running double wall through the roof - you should be using the properly designed and insulated Class A chimney - other stuff will hurt your stove performance, and can easily be a fire hazard... Are you sure this is an installation that is code compliant? Code is mostly about safety issues, but it also helps in many cases with stove performance.

Is this an insert or a free standing stove, and does it vent into an existing chimney? A blockoff plate is only an issue when venting into an existing chimney, when it is required by code in many cases and should be installed in ALL cases. A blockoff plate is simply a metal plate that goes into the existing flue opening and seals off all of the opening except for the actual connector that the stove is venting through. Mostly you need one with an insert or a free standing stove being connected to an existing fireplace. It doesn't sound like this is what your situation is, so you may not need one.

Gooserider

 

[mtcox]

The stove is freestanding and the pipe going through the roof is class A, pretty expensive stuff. The install instructions said to have 10-12' of flue. I thought by going a little longer it would have helped. Should I be extending it? No backer plate. The whole flue/chimney is new.

I think I need to be going to a larger stove for our second. We'll have 2 when we finish the remodel. I'd just like to sleep through most of the night for a change.

 

[BrotherBart]

On your question about seasoning time. Everybody will tell you two or three years but with our climate around here ten to twelve months in a sunny spot with the top covered will get fresh kill red oak, and white oak that has been dead for a while, ready to roll.

Of course after two full years the stuff is heavenly to burn.

 

[Gooserider]

The stove is freestanding and the pipe going through the roof is class A, pretty expensive stuff. The install instructions said to have 10-12' of flue. I thought by going a little longer it would have helped. Should I be extending it? No backer plate. The whole flue/chimney is new.

I think I need to be going to a larger stove for our second. We'll have 2 when we finish the remodel. I'd just like to sleep through most of the night for a change.

The Class A through the roof is good, I was just concerned with your initial post that it was just "double wall" which isn't the same thing...

If your install instructions say 10-12' is adequate, 14' is probably OK, though it seems shorter than what many run. It probably wouldn't hurt to try an extension, but I don't really think that's your problem.

If you are free standing, and not going into a chimney, you don't need a blockoff plate, there is nothing to block off!

Sounds like you are mostly back to the question of the wood you are using, operation technique, and the size of the stove. I think others have covered that ground pretty well, and don't have much I can add.

Gooserider

 

[mtcox]

Wow. 2-3 years. That's a lot longer than I anticipated. However, I have 6 cords split and seasoning as we speak. It's been sitting for 6 months and I hope will be ready for 2007-08 season.

The chimney extends up about 6' above the roof line. However, the directions say that it must be 2' above anything within 10' laterally of the pipe, such as a roof line. I'm really close (if not a few inches below) that mark. How critical is this to proper operation?

I haven't seen any suggestions for another stove. Does the forum prohibit specific suggestions on types and brands?

 

[BrotherBart]

Wow. 2-3 years. That's a lot longer than I anticipated. However, I have 6 cords split and seasoning as we speak. It's been sitting for 6 months and I hope will be ready for 2007-08 season.

The chimney extends up about 6' above the roof line. However, the directions say that it must be 2' above anything within 10' laterally of the pipe, such as a roof line. I'm really close (if not a few inches below) that mark. How critical is this to proper operation?

I haven't seen any suggestions for another stove. Does the forum prohibit specific suggestions on types and brands?

All of the stoves Begreen suggested are good ones. Blazes and Glover next to each other on Route 1 in Fredericksburg handle most of them. Country, Quadrafire etc. Blazes has a warehouse full of Buck stoves so he is pushing them pretty hard these days.

All of the manufacturer's make stoves big enough for what you want to do.