The Regency CI2600 & CI2700 operation thread

[Fieldzy41]

Are you guys really getting 12hr burns? At 6 I have enough coals to start another fire but anything past that I’m out.

 

[Simon Templar]

Are you guys really getting 12hr burns? At 6 I have enough coals to start another fire but anything past that I’m out.

I bought an early 1st gen insert which had a problem with the cat bypass and lack of intake air restriction; with that insert I wasn't getting very good burn times. That insert was replaced in mid-2015 with one that had several design improvements, and my burn time (with good wood!) is now 10-14hrs. By "burn time" I mean the insert is blowing significant heat since the wood seems to bake more than burn, if that makes sense.

 

[Fieldzy41]

I guess that’s where I’m making my mistake. It’s still blowing heat for 12 hours but at that point it’s a small bed of coals. Maybe that’s what I’m getting confused

 

[Wolves1]

It’s not going to have fire for 12hrs it should still be giving heat. Simon put it perfect on low the wood should bake. There should be some hot coals at 12hrs.

 

[vetrano]

Wolves, Simon: does your glass get extremely black when you let the wood "bake" for an entire burn?

 

[Wolves1]

A good part of the corners, that’s normal.

 

[mwgillenwater]

If I crank the air control all the way down to go into "bake mode" I do get longer burns (of course) but the glass pays for it by totally blackening up by the end of the burn. So, I accept shorter burns to save the headache of glass cleaning. I'm sure it is also a function of the type of wood, etc.

There is much discussion here about getting longer burns. But if you let the stove get down to coal and drop temp below 500F before you relaod, then it is my understanding that you have to get it fired back up for awhile before engaging the catalyst again. I prefer to just reload more frequently while the stove is still in above 600F and keep the catalyst engaged (except during the reloading process).

How do others handle reloading during the day? Do you keep the stove temp up, or let it cycle down till the fan shuts off and start over?

 

[Wolves1]

If the wood is 20% or higher after splitting and taking a reading on the center 3 spots and avg, you will get more blacking of the glass. Just one piece of wood mixed in with 20% or high that one piece can blacken the glass.
When I load I leave the bypass open till I hit 500, I lower the air first to about 1/2 to play it safe so flames don’t hit the combustion, I then close the bypass and leave it for 10 min, then completely close or just leave it a bit open. I get a littl blacking on the bottom corners.

 

[painful100]

For overnight burns, do you guys turn the draft lever all the way off or leave a tiny bit of air coming in? Does it completely shut off air when its all the way to right? oh, and do you ever need to clean the inside of the little draft piece (does ash get inside it?)

Thanks

 

[Woody Stover]

I prefer to just reload more frequently while the stove is still in above 600F and keep the catalyst engaged (except during the reloading process).

If the cat is burning and you throw fresh wood in, you can thermal-shock the cat if you open the door without first opening the bypass for a couple minutes to cool the cat off. Worse yet is opening the door without cooling the cat, loading on hot coals and immediately close the bypass, hitting the hot cat with relatively cool moisture. Yes, you should burn it a new load for a bit before closing the bypass again to get rid of some of the moisture and to get enough wood burning so that the cat has plenty to eat. Sometimes after closing the bypass I will leave the air open and keep some flame going for a bit to get the load more involved, then cut back to my cruise setting. I have a different stove but I always 'batch-burn.' When the stove top drops under 275 I open the air a bit on the coals and the stove top temp will hold or rise a bit. My stove has a small box so burning down the coals lets me get more wood in on the reload, and then the cat can crank more heat for longer on that bigger load. A steel cat may be more resistant to thermal shock than a ceramic, but when running one I still like to open the bypass and let it cool off a bit before I open the door.

 

[mwgillenwater]

Thanks Wolves and Woody. What you describe is basically what I do. Although, I will admit to sometimes being impatient and closing the bypass only a couple minutes after reloading. But, I only do so when the temperature is still above 600F.

I test my wood on fresh splits and it is in the 15-20% moisture range (i.e., around 17% normally). We live in Seattle, so even in winter the relative humidity is 80% typically. So, there is a minimum dryness we can probably achieve.

It seems if I keep the air control no lower than 2/3 closed, then the class will blacken on the left corner, but is easy to clean the next day (paper towel and ash). If I go up to 3/4 closed or below, then I get the tough to clean stuff forming on the class (needing chemical cleaner and elbow grease).

 

[griam01]

I know it’s been discussed before loading wood east to west or front to back. How does everyone prefer to load for maximum burn time? We cut the wood a little shorter this time and I have some medium and some large pieces but I find when I load it’s like playing Jenga. I always find gaps after I get the wood in there and I can’t exactly move it around while it is flaming. How does everyone handle this?

 

[Thisguyloveswood]

Here is what I did:

1. take the door off
2. Measure distance from face of insert to each hole on the bracket. If I recall correctly I found a difference of several mm.
3. Loosen the 2 bolts that hold the bracket in place.
4. Use folded aluminum foil as a shim behind the bracket to make the holes that the door rests in stick out the same amount at the top and bottom.

I had a few other ci2600 owners without the problem measure their bracket and they both had equal distances between the top and bottom holes. I suspect regency's quality control on this part is not very good as the replacement part I was sent is also not aligned, but it is by a different amount from the original bracket.

Fixing it has not made any noticable difference in burn time or the blackening of the glass, but makes the insert much safer as the door won't open on its own when not layched at start up.

Thank you Vetrano! The installer was very good and played with it for a while. He was able to minimize the door swinging open by itself so if it doesn’t help with sealing air I will probably leave alone for now. To wolves- I did that check on the door hinge side (sorry for not being back here for a few weeks...2 boys and one on the way makes for hectic schedule) but that passes the small paper test as well. Question for the experts - I am noticing a lot of black coals after burning for 10-12 hours...not so much ash. I have gotten the black down on glass to mostly just the corners (about 20% coverage) which seems normal, but these coals are a groan as they don’t turn to ash. Load with wood that has been checked (between 15% - 25% moisture) I know...it needs to be under 20% but I’m in it now with what I have. (All checked on room temp fresh split 3 areas). When re-loading often times i do it early when the log is orange hot because I need to go to bed. I spread the coals out most in the front then lay 4, 4” pieces on top. Is that what’s causing it? Or is it because some of the wood is a bit above moisture content? I seem to clear out the black coals about every two days as opposed to clearing out ash once a week. Any suggestions? Thabks everyone -

 

[Thisguyloveswood]

I know it’s been discussed before loading wood east to west or front to back. How does everyone prefer to load for maximum burn time? We cut the wood a little shorter this time and I have some medium and some large pieces but I find when I load it’s like playing Jenga. I always find gaps after I get the wood in there and I can’t exactly move it around while it is flaming. How does everyone handle this?

Griam I have similar problems. Unfortunately all of my wood is between 16-20” about 3-4” widenon bark side. I can really only lay east west about 4 of them and many times they are touching the secondary burn tubes. Pain, as I have a good 4” on each side that is open. Wish they made this stove where the back was the same width as the front. I’m still getting good 8-10 hour burn times with 4 pieces but would love to shove about 7-8 pieces in north and south but need them to be 12-14” and that I don’t have. Umpf!

 

[Thisguyloveswood]

Griam I have similar problems. Unfortunately all of my wood is between 16-20” about 3-4” widenon bark side. I can really only lay east west about 4 of them and many times they are touching the secondary burn tubes. Pain, as I have a good 4” on each side that is open. Wish they made this stove where the back was the same width as the front. I’m still getting good 8-10 hour burn times with 4 pieces but would love to shove about 7-8 pieces in north and south but need them to be 12-14” and that I don’t have. Umpf!

I should say 8-10 hour heat output times. Burn times about 2-3 hours where there is active flames. (Watching those flame wisps is so awesome when the wood isn’t burning but the smoke is).

 

[griam01]

I should say 8-10 hour heat output times. Burn times about 2-3 hours where there is active flames. (Watching those flame wisps is so awesome when the wood isn’t burning but the smoke is).

Same here. I have several different lengths so I can do both directions. I find myself doing 4 on the bottom north south and then a few big ones on top west to east usually 2. I love to watch the wisps. I just feel I could get better times if properly loaded. I get a good bit of black corners too. Both sides and a bit on the bottom.

 

[Fieldzy41]

What temps are you getting while the wood is “baking”

 

[griam01]

What temps are you getting while the wood is “baking”

I usually get it up to 1200-1300 and then start closing the air down to half for a bit then close it down or leave it a little opened. It stabilizes around 800-900 for several hours. I usually have the wispy flames for most of the burn except the last 2-3 hours. I get around 8-10 hours before I am down to coals that are mostly covered in ash before I reload. Lately since it is cold (under 20 degrees) I have had large coals when I stir things up and I have to move them to the front and take a single log to place it on top to burn the coals down. I get about 2 hours of good heat from that. I leave everything wide open when I do that.

 

[Fieldzy41]

I think it’s the wood I’m using. I tried to buy some seasoned “ 2 years” and it still won’t get over 1000 no matter how hard I try

 

[griam01]

One thing I had with my stove was the temp probe was not in far enough so my readings were off. Once I got it in the proper length my readings were more accurate.

 

[painful100]

If the wood is 20% or higher after splitting and taking a reading on the center 3 spots and avg, you will get more blacking of the glass. Just one piece of wood mixed in with 20% or high that one piece can blacken the glass. When I load I leave the bypass open till I hit 500, I lower the air first to about 1/2 to play it safe so flames don’t hit the combustion, I then close the bypass and leave it for 10 min, then completely close or just leave it a bit open. I get a littl blacking on the bottom corners.

What do you mean by "so the flames dont hit the combustion." Flames going up into the Cat is ok right? If i hit 500 and close the air 1/2 way, my temp will often drop.

Also, I am sad to admit, but I accidentally opened the door with the bypass engaged in Cat mode tonight. How damaging is this to the Cat if done every once in a while, on those rare brain dead evenings? And how would one know if their Cat is truely damaged or not working right?

 

[Woody Stover]

What do you mean by "so the flames dont hit the combustion." Flames going up into the Cat is ok right? If i hit 500 and close the air 1/2 way, my temp will often drop.
Also, I am sad to admit, but I accidentally opened the door with the bypass engaged in Cat mode tonight. How damaging is this to the Cat if done every once in a while, on those rare brain dead evenings? And how would one know if their Cat is truely damaged or not working right?

Opening the door on a hot cat might "thermal shock" it, resulting in cracks in the ceramic substrate. You also don't want flame hitting the front of the cat. I believe that can erode the cat, resulting in the "ice cream scoop" look on the face of the cat.
http://www.woodstovecombustors.com/maintenance.html
(broken link removed to http://www.woodstove.com/images/pdffiles/PDF%20Article%20Downloads/CatalyticCombustorTips.pdf)

 

[Wolves1]

Sorry been a little busy. If you fully fill your stove about 7 to 9 pieces of wood and you have a strong draft the flames can get pulled past the shield and have direct contact with the cat, that will cause the cat to crumble. It will produce less heat and you will notice more smoke coming out of the chimney.

 

[vetrano]

Has anyone noticed a smoke smell from the fan when they lower the air control? If I keep the air control half open or more I generally do not smell any smoke, but if I have close off the air I sometimes get a very faint smoke smell in the air coming out of the fan. It is so faint that you only smell it when in the room with the insert.

 

[griam01]

Has anyone noticed a smoke smell from the fan when they lower the air control? If I keep the air control half open or more I generally do not smell any smoke, but if I have close off the air I sometimes get a very faint smoke smell in the air coming out of the fan. It is so faint that you only smell it when in the room with the insert.

We are in the room with our stove most of the time and I turn the air all the way down and don’t notice any smoke smell.