Help with my insanely hot Regency 2450

[corona5k1635]

Here's a picture of the load I burned today. Pretty much copy your set up from the "starting a fire and running an EPA stove" that you (@begreen) made. I am not an expert but getting better with identifying wood. I believe the bottom row is two red oak splits with a cherry split in the middle. The stuff on top of that is I'm guessing poplar and ash but I'm not certain. All I know is that the stuff on the upper left is much less heavy than the splits on the top right.

Anyway I lit this off and closed the air intake 95% within just a few minutes of lighting it. STT was at 323 degrees at that point. 7 minutes later it was at 450 STT and I shut the air 100%. Turned the fan on high a couple minutes later. At the one hour mark into the burn the STT maxed at 757 degrees and remained there for 30 minutes before starting to crawl down.

I am OK with those levels. What still concerns me is that I shut the air so much so early and it still goes so high. Is this just what I need to accept and live with? I have seen so many YouTubers and read many posts here that seems to paint a different picture: burning for 15-30 minutes wide open then oh look all the splits are caught so nice and charring I guess let me see time to turn the air down. For me in that situation it seems like the fire department would be at my door! What gives??

 

[CanFireman]

I don’t understand how you can be closing off (reducing) combustion air so quickly after just lighting fire. Is that not contrary to operating instructions?

With most non-cats, you must establish a good hot fire with a hot coal bed before diapering down. If hot enough, fire will boil with rows of flame pushing out of secondary tubes / baffles. If you don’t see this, you need to provide more air.

Dampering down before your secondary is hot enough results in smoke. Condensed smoke is creosote. Your runaways may be due to fires within the outlet collar, connector, and chimney.

 

[bholler]

I don’t understand how you can be closing off (reducing) combustion air so quickly after just lighting fire. Is that not contrary to operating instructions?

With most non-cats, you must establish a good hot fire with a hot coal bed before diapering down. If hot enough, fire will boil with rows of flame pushing out of secondary tubes / baffles. If you don’t see this, you need to provide more air.

Dampering down before your secondary is hot enough results in smoke. Condensed smoke is creosote. Your runaways may be due to fires within the outlet collar, connector, and chimney.

When i ran non cats it was always shut down completely within 10 minutes. With good dry wood and proper draft that is plenty of time to get up to temp. What would possibly make you jump to the conclusion that they are having chimney fires?

 

[begreen]

Where are STT being read on this insert?

 

[corona5k1635]

I always measure the STT at the hottest possible place I can find each time, which almost always means right in the middle, about 6” back from the front edge of the box. The unit comes with a cas-iron shelf on top which I removed so that I could get actual ST temperatures.

I’m running a load right now. 7 min after first lighting the newspaper, air was reduced 95%. 2 minutes later and it was shut. 50 minutes into the burn and one spot hit 765 on the left side, super fast moving bright yellow flames in that spot. (There was a small piece with the bark still on, really dry ash in that location and I’m thinking that it was from that?)
1 hour into the burn and the STT is 720 at the normal center spot.

As a result of your (@beholler) other comment that you would have your air shut down all the way within 10 minutes when you yourself ran non-cat stoves, I am more hopeful that perhaps this is normal? I’m just shocked (and nervous) at how easy it seems for it to be able to go so high so quick.

The ash that I have is super dry and smaller pieces. I’m beginning to think that it is the enemy. Currently I’m 1 hr and 25 min into this burn and it is calm now, STT dropped to 650. There’s only two pieces of ash in the whole box. Everything else is something else that I don’t know what it is, but the splits are much bigger and they’re not as dry…

 

[bholler]

Trying to think how else it could get so hot up in that location. The homeowner is often the last to know when they are having a chimney fire. If around the appliance when one does ignite, it can be a fearful situation. Aside from glowing outlet collar and connector, the rumbling/rushing noise and bright, hot fire is absolutely unmistakable..

Cannot see how the secondary could possibly be hot enough to ignite and continue burning if you damper down after just a few minutes after cold start.

Well my secondaries worked perfectly fine with the aircshut down completely about 10 mins after lightning the fire on my quad and my regency constantly for years

 

[moresnow]

Do you have a digital home thermostat?
If you do... Take an IR measurement on the wall adjacent to the thermostat. Match?

 

[begreen]

For some reason, the draft appears to be strong on this setup. Is the smoke deflector in place? It sits in front of the secondary frontmost tube.

@bholler, is there a boost air port on this insert that is accessible with the blower removed?

 

[bholler]

For some reason, the draft appears to be strong on this setup. Is the smoke deflector in place? It sits in front of the secondary frontmost tube.

@bholler, is there a boost air port on this insert that is accessible with the blower removed?

I believe it still is i can check next week I have one to install

 

[begreen]

I believe it still is i can check next week I have one to install

Isn't there an adjustable vertical deflector above the baffle in these stoves to tame draft? I wonder if that just needs adjustment, or is that just in the freestanding 2450?

 

[corona5k1635]

Do you have a digital home thermostat?
If you do... Take an IR measurement on the wall adjacent to the thermostat. Match?

Yes, match

 

[bholler]

Isn't there an adjustable vertical deflector above the baffle in these stoves to tame draft? I wonder if that just needs adjustment, or is that just in the freestanding 2450?

It is not technically adjustable. A d it comes full size. I just make smaller ones because on shorter chimneys it can be restrictive. And shhh i know I'm not allowed to modify. But if anything i find them to restrictive

 

[corona5k1635]

Ah, the vertical deflector. That is a great idea. I didn't think about that. Didn't know it was adjustable. Running a load right now so can't check but here's a photo of it from my manual Looking at the photo, it looks like it should be adjustable up/down a bit. I did read on other posts on this forum that people were having issues getting a good burn and it was due to that thing. I think some people even removed it altogether. Should I try to lower it?

 

[corona5k1635]

Also I got nervous about the comment regarding a chimney fire as being the cause, so I bought a borescope to look inside the liner and see if anything is looking odd, cracked, discolored, etc I dunno

 

[corona5k1635]

Also, btw I am running the stove with a completely covered primary boost air jet at the front bottom center of the doghouse. I covered it with heavy duty aluminum foil. That was my first attempt to stop air from coming in...

 

[begreen]

Also, btw I am running the stove with a completely covered primary boost air jet at the front bottom center of the doghouse. I covered it with heavy duty aluminum foil. That was my first attempt to stop air from coming in...

Thanks, GTK. Next step, check that air deflector and lower it if possible

 

[bholler]

Also I got nervous about the comment regarding a chimney fire as being the cause, so I bought a borescope to look inside the liner and see if anything is looking odd, cracked, discolored, etc I dunno

It wasn't a chimney fire

 

[corona5k1635]

Thanks, GTK. Next step, check that air deflector and lower it if possible

Just popped out the 1st secondary air tube and took out the baffles to reveal...that apparently @bholler was right. It doesn't look like I can adjust this up/down at all unless I also slide the whole thing to the left, which is of course impossible since it fits all the way left to right across the box. Really disappointed 'cause that was a good idea.

 

[EbS-P]

Just popped out the 1st secondary air tube and took out the baffles to reveal...that apparently @bholler was right. It doesn't look like I can adjust this up/down at all unless I also slide the whole thing to the left, which is of course impossible since it fits all the way left to right across the box. Really disappointed 'cause that was a good idea.

View attachment 336786

A carbide burr and rotary tool i could make that J hole bigger

 

[corona5k1635]

A carbide burr and rotary tool i could make that J hole bigger

Hmmm well that sounds out of my league to do, especially since I don't have the tools. I guess I could remove it and try to "un-bend it?" Then it would reach down a bit lower. I have no idea if I could accomplish that, or if I even should. Read through another thread that had multiple people with this stove chiming in that they had the complete opposite problem and needed to remove it altogether...

 

[begreen]

Increasing the angle of the bend - a little - may work, but it would need to be done carefully to not have an opposite, undesired effect. I was wondering if a fire brick was placed on top of the baffle as a block would help.

 

[EbS-P]

Increasing the angle of the bend - a little - may work, but it would need to be done carefully to not have an opposite, undesired effect. I was wondering if a fire brick was placed on top of the baffle as a block would help.

A piece of angle iron. I’ve done that.

 

[corona5k1635]

A piece of angle iron. I’ve done that.

You mean you've done that to reduce draft? Did it work? Which material did you go with

 

[EbS-P]

You mean you've done that to reduce draft? Did it work? Which material did you go with

I had a scrap piece of 3/4” I tried to make a DIY turbulator. I think so. My 1800i has small deflector in front of the outlet I added a piece there to reduce the space under the stick deflector to 1/2”. My goal was to increase the flow path.

Any steel that’s not galvanized will work. Thread is here.

Thread 'DIY turbulator anyone?'

Dec 19, 2022

So I’m considering a DIY turbulator.
What is it?
See Jotuls diagram #73. It’s a structure that increases turbulence above the baffle to increase heat transfer to the stove top.
Why?
I’m trying to dial in a self diagnosed over drafting insert. It has a damper but I’m still not convinced it’s operating at peak efficiency. That stoves will be detailed in an another thread.

If Jotul thinks it’s worth it, is it worth try to make one myself? What would you use? I have about 2.5” of space above the baffle.

My thoughts are 2” tall pieces of 3/4” or 1” angle iron maybe 5-8 of them...

• EbS-P
• Replies: 23
• Forum: The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces

@ABMax24 took the defector concept about as far I one could take it. A steel large coffee or vegetable can could be cut with snips and shaped similar to what ABmax24 did as an experiment.

You are going down the modification path. You need accrue data and be willing to keep experimenting. Don’t expect success first try.

 

[corona5k1635]

Is it very interesting thread. Cool idea. Basically just trying to block the flow in different ways. Key damper would be trying to do the same thing for me right? So which road do you guys think I should go down first? Key damper, or customized deflector addition?