Help me not hate my Regency F3100.

[BrowningBAR]

So it's right that 2 hours after loading my stove it should be 475? I did load it a little before 4:00, so two hours and the temp starts to drop and it's the coals now. What do I do with the air once the flames stop? I asked before and might have missed any answers. Obviously when we are asleep the air just stays dampered down, but if I am sitting here should I also just leave it down or should I open up the air to help burn the coals better?

Depending upon how you loaded the stove, it is very possible that this is a normal burn cycle. With the Stove that I have that is very close to your 3100, with a loosely loaded stove that is kind of full, but not really, it is entirely possible to have the stove sitting at 450-525 two hours into the burn.

 

[pearlgirl]

Well it's been two hours, but the temp started dropping an hour ago.

 

[pearlgirl]

Depending upon how you loaded the stove, it is very possible that this is a normal burn cycle. With the Stove that I have that is very close to your 3100, with a loosely loaded stove that is kind of full, but not really, it is entirely possible to have the stove sitting at 450-525 two hours into the burn.

Ok and do I just leave it like that? With the air turned down until it drops down to like 200-300?

 

[pearlgirl]

First, welcome to the Hearth. You've found the best place possible to get help for your issues.
I'm curious what kind of wood you have. If it's softwood and you're leaving the draft open too long, the wood will be gone before you know it.
Not to beat a dead horse (sorry Dixie), but it takes a LOT of energy to burn/boil off the moisture, and it's not going to heat your house while doing it.
I don't have an EPA stove, but had the same problem you're having when we started burning. Got the fire going great with the door cracked open, then it died as soon as the door was closed. This would go on for a while until the moisture was down, then the stove would take off. By this time, not much was left of the wood and we got poor burn times.
Classic wet wood syndrome. Most of us have been there.
To get rid of the coal excess, rake them to the front of the stove, then lay a smallish piece of wood E/W across them. Give the stove some air, and they'll burn down while adding heat to the space.
Stick around a while, you'll be as batty knowledable as the rest of us.
That's all I got, for now.

I really think that is what is going on after posting here today, even more so. I am not sure on the wood I just burned, it is something I am ignorant about and this particular wood just came from some guy. Most of our other wood is from a reputable source, that I am more sure is hardwood even if I do not know in particular which, but this particular wood today I do not know.

I have hope that this thing will do a lot more work for us than it is right now, once we have the right wood. I don't have a ton of heat right now but I do have hope! It's some thing! We did read about raking the coals etc, just had our rake come in the mail yesterday actually1

 

[pearlgirl]

I may grab a few more packs at the grocery store and run another cycle by you all with some good wood. Will keep you posted, and will be back tomorrow to update on the energy efficiency check!

THANK YOU for all the thoughts today!

Sarah

 

[corey21]

I may grab a few more packs at the grocery store and run another cycle by you all with some good wood. Will keep you posted, and will be back tomorrow to update on the energy efficiency check!

THANK YOU for all the thoughts today!

Sarah

Hope it works out for you.

 

[Waulie]

That seems like the temp dropped very quick to me, but like I said I don't know the stove. Maybe it really was softwood, or maybe it really wasn't that full. Maybe I'm just spoiled as I don't think my smaller stove has ever started dropping temp after an hour. I don't think I could get it to no matter what I did. Hmmm.

What you do with the coals depend on your goals. I you're home, awake, and cold then you'll have to open it up to burn them down and get more wood in there. This is definitely not the most efficient way to do it, but if you're cold...

You're right that the more you have the draft open, the more heat you are wasting. You'd probably be better off in the long run to accept less quick heat from the stove, go for the longer more efficient burns with less wood, and burn more oil. Otherwise, at that rate you are going to go through a TON of wood.

Do keep your hope up though, as I don't think the book on your situation has even been closed to finished.

 

[pearlgirl]

Alright, really loading it up for the night. It's as packed as I can get it N/S. It's been less than 10 minutes, the stove was 400 when I started after burning the coals and few splits with full air for the last couple of hours. Now it's full air and warming up the load that's in there. It's up to 650 in less than 10 minutes, once it hits 750 I'll start to shut it down. This will be within a few minutes for sure based on prior experience with this thing. Just checked it, literally went up 100 degrees while I typed that and I am a fast typer!

 

[pearlgirl]

800 now, just closed the air down 25%

 

[pearlgirl]

That seems like the temp dropped very quick to me, but like I said I don't know the stove. Maybe it really was softwood, or maybe it really wasn't that full. Maybe I'm just spoiled as I don't think my smaller stove has ever started dropping temp after an hour. I don't think I could get it to no matter what I did. Hmmm.

What you do with the coals depend on your goals. I you're home, awake, and cold then you'll have to open it up to burn them down and get more wood in there. This is definitely not the most efficient way to do it, but if you're cold...

You're right that the more you have the draft open, the more heat you are wasting. You'd probably be better off in the long run to accept less quick heat from the stove, go for the longer more efficient burns with less wood, and burn more oil. Otherwise, at that rate you are going to go through a TON of wood.

Do keep your hope up though, as I don't think the book on your situation has even been closed to finished.

I definitely don't want to go through a ton of wood as I'd like as much of it as possible to season for next year!! I am thinking we may have to cut our losses on this year and use more oil just so we can save most of the wood we have to really be dry for next year.

 

[pearlgirl]

Been 850 for a few minutes now, been shutting down the air a little bit at a time. If it follows the usual, the 2ndary burn will go out any time now.....and I will have to give it more air and shut it down slower. But at 850 should I have to shut it down slower? Is that the wood? It's late so I don't expect anyone to answer, but just want to keep up to date on what I am doing. I am burning what we were told is hardwood by a huge time reputable seller, majorly packed N/S.

 

[pearlgirl]

Air way down, but not closed, stove down to 745, 2ndary burn is going but not gang busters, just barely going.

 

[jeff_t]

I have a cat stove, and haven't burned a stove like yours, but it seems like you should start cutting the air back sooner. If you have the top up to 850°, there is A LOT of heat going up the pipe with the primary air wide open. I know a lot of folks monitor flue temps, and use that as a guide for reducing the primary air.

 

[pearlgirl]

Air the same, stove 700, 2ndary flames still rolling, picked up a little from last post.

 

[pearlgirl]

I have a cat stove, and haven't burned a stove like yours, but it seems like you should start cutting the air back sooner. If you have the top up to 850°, there is A LOT of heat going up the pipe with the primary air wide open. I know a lot of folks monitor flue temps, and use that as a guide for reducing the primary air.

I certainly can try it next time, I was going to at 700-750 but it literally shot up so fast I didn't even get to it in time.

645 now, good 2ndary burn rolling. Not really understanding why the temp is dropping. I am afraid to close the air down any more as it's rolling good, and based on how it's been in the past I think it would go out with less air.

 

[weatherguy]

I certainly can try it next time, I was going to at 700-750 but it literally shot up so fast I didn't even get to it in time.

645 now, good 2ndary burn rolling. Not really understanding why the temp is dropping. I am afraid to close the air down any more as it's rolling good, and based on how it's been in the past I think it would go out with less air.

Is this super market wood or your so so wood in the stove now?

 

[Waulie]

With that stove fully packed, you should certainly see those secondaries going for a good long while. Otherwise, you have a chimney/stove issue, or way more likely a wood issue. Keep us posted.

Oh yeah, 850 is getting way up there past recommended burning territory. It's likely fine for a trial run, but something to keep in mind in the future. In general, I think you should try going to halfish closed much sooner to keep the heat in the stove. If you have single wall stovepipe, measuring pipe temps would be a good idea too.

 

[pearlgirl]

This is the so, so wood.

 

[Waulie]

I certainly can try it next time, I was going to at 700-750 but it literally shot up so fast I didn't even get to it in time.

645 now, good 2ndary burn rolling. Not really understanding why the temp is dropping. I am afraid to close the air down any more as it's rolling good, and based on how it's been in the past I think it would go out with less air.

Try leaving it there. It's normal for the top temp to come down some. If you keep the secondaries rolling, the rest of the stove is heating up. This is your most efficient burn. If the secondaries go out and your temp keeps dropping, that is a problem.

 

[Waulie]

This is the so, so wood.

Then definitely don't go down more on the air. Keep the secondaries cranking.

 

[pearlgirl]

Pretty positive we have no single wall stove pipe. I know that is not typical, but we *did* have it, and they installed it with an only 8" clearance to wood beams at our ceiling and through our ceiling. We learned this was a huge no-no (thankfully before it was too late) and they had to come back and redo it. They basically over redid it because they had f-ed it up so bad the first time.

 

[pearlgirl]

Try leaving it there. It's normal for the top temp to come down some. If you keep the secondaries rolling, the rest of the stove is heating up. This is your most efficient burn. If the secondaries go out and your temp keeps dropping, that is a problem.

I am leaving it alone, it's been a half hour since I touched the air, and it's holding.

 

[weatherguy]

This is the so, so wood.

If its not seasoned enough wood your not going to get a food efficient burn, good luck on that wood guy you mentioned a few posts back, if he has truly seasoned wood you'll be good to go the rest of the year, if not Id mix in bio bricks, put a layer on the botton and your wood on top of the bio bricks, they're expensive but mixing them in you probably wont use to much.

 

[kingquad]

I know your wood stash sucks, and that's a s---y place to be, but running your stove up to 700+ degrees multiple times a day is going to destroy your stove. Try to fund a source for some dry untreated pallets or slab wood to mix in with your loads. Also, update your profile and signature with your location and stove model. This info helps and you might find that someone in your area is willing to help you or has some dry wood they are willing to sell you.

Could you please give us some details about your setup and install. We like details(i.e. liner, block off plates, insulation above and below block offs) and pics. More info gets better answers. You already have figured out one problem(your wood), but a 750 degree stove should be blasting in that room. I had a slightly smaller stove that ran me out of a 500 sqft. room at that temp, so something isn't right.

Good luck

 

[Waulie]

If its not seasoned enough wood your not going to get a food efficient burn, good luck on that wood guy you mentioned a few posts back, if he has truly seasoned wood you'll be good to go the rest of the year, if not Id mix in bio bricks, put a layer on the botton and your wood on top of the bio bricks, they're expensive but mixing them in you probably wont use to much.

Completely agree. This is a good exercise in getting to know your stove and if you are able to get a decent burn going that will give you some hints as to what to expect with better wood. It will be much better than you've experienced so far.