Mt Vernon AE insert not heating the square footage as I would have thought (at all!!!!)

[Harvey Schneider]

SorrY I am confused Joe said to run -5 flame height and your saying +5 flame height? Which is correct.... A happy wife is a good thing...I;m told..lol

Flame height is just another name for feed rate. If you want more heat it takes more flame. In this weather I run flame height +5, manual mode, heat output +5.
Edit
I just went back to the source of confusion. In sunflower seed mode the stove burns a lot more and needs to be turned down. The -5 setting is only for sunflower seed mode and pellets as fuel.

 

[hyfire]

Flame height is just another name for feed rate. If you want more heat it takes more flame. In this weather I run flame height +5, manual mode, heat output +5.
Edit
I just went back to the source of confusion. In sunflower seed mode the stove burns a lot more and needs to be turned down. The -5 setting is only for sunflower seed mode and pellets as fuel.

Thanks for making it clear, I really want to OP to get some good output from that stove....it should be "like the sun" in front of that thing...

 

[LMPS]

Either -5 or +5 is correct, again the flame height controls the feed rate so higher the flame height the more pellets which equals more heat. So, if sunflower or softwood. or hardwood or utility at -5 produces enough heat to keep your house warm than that is correct. If not then keep adjusting it up until you get the heat you need, along with adjusting the heat output level if your in manual. For my house when its real cold meaning below zero for a few days in arrow I have to run +5 Sunflower on Manual High to get the heat I need. If it is normal temp then I can run it on softwood, either manual or automatic and cut the flame height backto +2 or lower.

 

[JoeS]

SorrY I am confused Joe said to run -5 flame height and your saying +5 flame height? Which is correct.... A happy wife is a good thing...I;m told..lol

Start with a -5 and adjust from there!

 

[Harvey Schneider]

I'm wondering, this thread just went quiet. I didn't get the impression that the OP ever resolved his problem.
Did I miss something?

 

[hyfire]

I'm wondering, this thread just went quiet. I didn't get the impression that the OP ever resolved his problem.
Did I miss something?

I think he is just busy warming up the house with the furnace, ...maybe he will post later tonight?

 

[LMPS]

I think he said he works 24hr shifts.

 

[hyfire]

I think he said he works 24hr shifts.

No doubt, in order to afford to feed that stove when its on +5 manual mode..

 

[afd_82]

So I have tried just about every thing (every thing that was suggested on here) with very little results. I'm going to get a blower door test done and see if I am losing heat from the house and were because my heating bill has gone up since I bought this dumb thing, now it's propane and pellets.......thanks for the help guys

 

[Harvey Schneider]

So I have tried just about every thing (every thing that was suggested on here) with very little results. I'm going to get a blower door test done and see if I am losing heat from the house and were because my heating bill has gone up since I bought this dumb thing, now it's propane and pellets.......thanks for the help guys

You might also want to get an infrared scan of the house, inside and out. With that you can visualize where your heat losses are happening.
A poor man's version of a scan is to use an infrared thermometer to look at the temperatures of the interior walls and record them on a photo of the wall.

You might also want to consider that this has been an exceptionally cold winter.

 

[hyfire]

I understand your frustration...so how many bags are we burning a day 4? If not your still doing something wrong...How big is that propane furnace again?

 

[hyfire]

TTT

 

[hyfire]

This has gone all quiet, I guess the the problem is solved....

 

[afd_82]

The test shows that the 3 year old house has many many problems.... 4 times the amount of air movement that the house should have..... IE piss poor inslation from the manufactured home builders...... So it's not the stove it's pine grove homes from PA. I hope they read this because I know if I go back to them they are just going to laugh at me and say "too bad"..... Time to start saving up to add instlation for a house in the north east not Florida.

 

[chken]

The test shows that the 3 year old house has many many problems.... 4 times the amount of air movement that the house should have..... IE piss poor inslation from the manufactured home builders...... So it's not the stove it's pine grove homes from PA. I hope they read this because I know if I go back to them they are just going to laugh at me and say "too bad"..... Time to start saving up to add instlation for a house in the north east not Florida.

You had a blower test done? So, you have drafts all around the windows, doors and outlets, etc.? What did the tester say? Caulk the heck out of the house when it's warmer? Still doesn't explain why the stove doesn't crank to try to keep up with the heat loss, does it?

 

[hyfire]

No wonder the propane bill is higher than your income....I would be pissed too...change the windows, make the builder pay a portion of the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[hyfire]

This is a quite interesting.............might help you

http://www.residentialenergylaboratory.com/r_value_cellular_shades.html

 

[afd_82]

Sorry this has taken so long to respond and many may not care much any more but I am happy to say my house is warm, hell I will say it HOT! Thank you every one for all the help. I had the company from Quadra fire change out a few things that helped (not sure what it was really) but after that blower door test I got the report and took there advice and had the pretty much replace all of the insulation most of the insulation in my house is rolled insulation they replaced it with blown cellulose pipe insulation I was very impressed and I'm very happy I only have to run my Mount Vernon stove on low or medium low to keep it around 70° on a 30° day and burning only a bag bag and a half It was a very large investment but will be worth it in the long run. Thank you guys!

 

[chken]

Sorry this has taken so long to respond and many may not care much any more but I am happy to say my house is warm, hell I will say it HOT! Thank you every one for all the help. I had the company from Quadra fire change out a few things that helped (not sure what it was really) but after that blower door test I got the report and took there advice and had the pretty much replace all of the insulation most of the insulation in my house is rolled insulation they replaced it with blown cellulose pipe insulation I was very impressed and I'm very happy I only have to run my Mount Vernon stove on low or medium low to keep it around 70° on a 30° day and burning only a bag bag and a half It was a very large investment but will be worth it in the long run. Thank you guys!

Glad it worked out for you. I think what threw everyone off was that it was a new house, so one would have guessed pretty well-insulated and reasonably tight, though the 1500 gallons of propane indicated it used more than an average home. The mfr should be ashamed as the insulation is put in a factory, where it's easy to get it done right.

 

[john193]

Glad it worked out for you. I think what threw everyone off was that it was a new house, so one would have guessed pretty well-insulated and reasonably tight, though the 1500 gallons of propane indicated it used more than an average home. The mfr should be ashamed as the insulation is put in a factory, where it's easy to get it done right.

Most builders just stamp out these houses like eye balling a recipie. My current house, built in 64, is tighter than my last one built in 2006.

 

[hyfire]

Glad it worked out! Insulation is your best investment for years to come..