Secondaries not working

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rick clifford

Member
Oct 19, 2012
64
I have a Hampton Regency Hi300 insert. I have never gotten an all night burn in it but thats another issue. At the end of last season my secondaries werent working well so I shut it down and cleaned everything out real well. Swept the liner out well and had some crap fall from the last 2 feet. Very little the rest of the liner. It is totally clear now. Looking up and looking down the liner it is clear. Took out and cleaned all secondary tubes with a wire brush and blew them out. Firebrick and baffles removed and cleaned. Put everything back and positioned the baffles correctly and my secondaries were not kicking in at all. I am about to fire it up for the 1st time this season and thought I would ask if I am missing something. Yes my wood is very dry. I even have a bunch dating back to superstorm Sandy. All wood is covered on top. Ideas???
 
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It's good that the cleaning was done, but the secondary tubes don't need it. Was the chimney cap screen cleaned also?

Was the flue gas diverter above the baffle adjusted or moved?
 
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Chimney cap screen cleaned the best I have done in a few years and I dont know of a diverter above the baffles. I am not sure what that even is. I bought the stove used several years ago and there was never anything above the baffles. (That I have or can remember...I am getting old) Your advice is always appreciated.
 
My errror, it looks like the flue gas diverter is on the HI500 and not on HI300. It might be good to do a visual on the flue collar to make sure air is not leaking in there. To further cross items off the list, try a fire with some 2x4 cutoffs mixed in to see if that livens up the secondaries. Also, for a test, open a nearby window an inch to see if that has an effect.
 
I will do both. I didnt check the collar but have have put high heat sealer around it in the past as a precaution just to make sure there werent leaks but maybe its cracked and brittle. I will see. And the window cracked open a bit will try also. One thing I dont like about this stove is the sliding air control which cant be accessed as far as I know. I would like to see it operate as some times the fire stays cooking even after I shut the air down, I did the dollar bill trick and its still quite snug so no air penetration there. I will check now and fire it up. Thx
 
If I recall, after the first year or so of production in this series,the put a restrictor plate to reduce air flow. This was due to field reports that the stove was hard to control. There are reports in the long Regency ci2600/ci2700 thread about this with some pictures.

Secondary air will be unrestricted regardless of the primary air control setting. This is to ensure a complete, clean burn of the wood gases and to prevent the fire from smoldering.
 
I was away down south and sick when I returned but still cant figure this thing out. Is there a way to clean something internally as my secondaries may fire a bit in the rear. Can something physically go wrong with the stove. ? I dont know the way these stoves work in regard to having the secondaries fire up. Is it heated air or gases and where do they originate. Sorry if this sounds dump but I am ready to get another stove. The other issue is short burn times. 2 or 3 hours is it before I need to reload. Kind of a pain this winter during the night. Any ideas or direction is appreciated
 
Here is a diagram of how the stove works.

As the primary air is closed down, the vacuum created by the draft pulls air through the secondary tubes. This secondary air ignites the unburnt wood gases for more complete combustion.

Post a picture of an average loading of the stove. Short burn times can be that too little fuel is being loaded or most typically, that the air is not being closed down far enough and quickly enough.
 
Thanks. I see in the illustration how it operates with the air in the secondaries. This now makes me think about the air control. I bought the stove used (its a 2006) and as we were loading it on my truck, my nephew in his hast pushed the stove fast and the air control rod cauught the side of the truck. It bent a couple inches foward about midway down. There doesnt seen any way to access the internals and I have not been able to bend it back completely straight. It makes me wonder that when I push in the bent air control, it pulls away from the air intake hole. Dont know if that possible as I cant see in there but that may be a problem. I will look to see if I can somehow bend it further to original. I will also fill the box with more wood. Thanks for the help. Your advice Begreen is always helpfull. Thx