The Regency CI2600 & CI2700 operation thread

[Wolves1]

You probably have a really strong draft. Cat crumbling like that is usually from flames hitting the cat.

 

[Lefty13]

I also get smoke like that... it always makes me worried something isn't working properly when I see that. I just posted my cat. has been crumbling a bit so I guess that makes sense that I'm getting more smoke???

Also, I have enough draft that my door can shake if I let it get going too strong without closing the door. Does that sound like a strong or too strong of a draft to everyone else? Thanks!

I'd say I'm at least two hours into the burn normally... I re-load around 5 AM and have the cat. engaged by 6 AM. Typically leave the house around 7 AM and that's when I notice the smoke coming out of the chimney.

 

[Lefty13]

You probably have a really strong draft. Cat crumbling like that is usually from flames hitting the cat.

Good to know Wolves! I kind of figured the draft was quite strong due to the door shaking a few times. Is there any other way to measure the draft? It sounds like I might need that extra piece from regency for the damper?

I also wondered if the strong draft made for more smoke coming out the chimney?

 

[begreen]

Good to know Wolves! I kind of figured the draft was quite strong due to the door shaking a few times. Is there any other way to measure the draft? It sounds like I might need that extra piece from regency for the damper?

I also wondered if the strong draft made for more smoke coming out the chimney?

When was the liner last inspected? What you describe could have been related to a chimney fire. Hopefully not, but the door shaking is concerning.

 

[Customcreationsllc]

I think I have a pretty strong draft, I don't have much to compare too but I never had a problem starting the fire or smoke coming into the house.
About 30ft liner.
The flames are almost always hitting the CAT.

Mine looks like the one the other guy posted two years in a row.

I'm talking with Regency to try and figure out the problem.

 

[cmt02006]

Hi all,

Need some help. I live in a 1425 sq ft house and I'm looking for a wood stove insert for my fire place. I prefer the look of the models that are flush to the wall, but want one with a decent burn time (12+ hrs on low). Currently I'm looking at the Regency CI2600 and the Blaze King Sirocco 25. What are the pros and cons of these models? And are there any others that meet my criteria that you might recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Wolves1]

Hi all,

Need some help. I live in a 1425 sq ft house and I'm looking for a wood stove insert for my fire place. I prefer the look of the models that are flush to the wall, but want one with a decent burn time (12+ hrs on low). Currently I'm looking at the Regency CI2600 and the Blaze King Sirocco 25. What are the pros and cons of these models? And are there any others that meet my criteria that you might recommend?

Thanks!

I have the regency and I love it, I recorded here are the numbers.

 

[cmt02006]

Thanks so much . One more question. I’ve been reading that some people are having issues with the center of the glass blackening and not just the corners. Have you run into this issue too?

 

[Wolves1]

Only in the shoulder season when the stove isn’t full and I completely cut the air intake or if I burn wood that is not fully seasoned maybe 22% moisture content. Most cat stoves will get blackening when burning really low.

 

[tadmaz]

For a flush insert, there is probably no better than the CI2600/HI400. With the cast iron faceplate, looks really sharp. If my existing fireplace allowed for an insert that sticks into the room a few inches, I would've also considered a blaze king.

 

[locust9]

I got one full season (burned most every day/night though) - out of my Cat - my pics look similar (see post link below) - man did it make a mess removing it. I highly recommend keeping a close watch on the Cat in order to prevent it fully crumbling. - have a drop cloth or plastic handy and line the box with it before removal.

I linked my earlier post about this--> should have new Cat coming under warranty (looks like Regency/Applied will only replace ONCE though per the manual)....hence my search for a replacement source - I'll have to ask the dealer what their price is since FireCat/Applied site clearly shows retail price being lower than their online price - seems odd.

http://www.firecatcombustors.com/ACI-70C-p/wa-4152000944.htm

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...atalyst-for-ci2600-hi400.165146/#post-2274941


Wolves, thanks again for all your posts/info - been reading a lot! What probe are you using with your Thermoworks logger? I'm dyin to get my hands on one of those, but feel the factory probe will eventually give out as well - and it looks like the Thermoworks is a direct wire to the probe? Not compatible with the plug on the factory probe (think this is called a mini K connector) - could you please let me know how you connected the probe to your logger?

Thanks!

 

[mtnhiker70]

Hi. Has anyone used a pellet basket to burn pellets in their ci2600? my husband has done ZERO processing of wood. we have nothing ready to go for this winter. considering buying wood or not even burning this year. kind of ridiculous when we have felled trees....

 

[kennyp2339]

Buy (2) tons of redstone fuel bricks @ tractor supply on black Friday (discounted)

 

[locust9]

Don't see why you couldn't - might not get hot enough though to engage the cat from what I've read about those baskets.
I'd make sure though that theres nothing in the pellets or if you use fuel bricks that would void any of the warranties. - not sure if Regency would honor any covered failure if using these fuels. They want to know and see (pics) of what your burning should any warranty issue arise. I'd check with them (they may tell you to check with dealer) just to be on the safe side.

 

[tadmaz]

I've read through most of this thread, please forgive me if I'm re-asking something. Do most folks completely move the air control to the right before they head to bed? Flame goes out, cat is still glowing, but I think I have more coals in the morning. Using 5 normal sizes splits (which is not that much wood!) at 8pm, had "ok" coals at 7am, cat temp 226F, semi-warm air blowing still. If I leave the air a hair to the left of all-the-way to the right, I will have a little flame but have minimal coals in the morning.

 

[locust9]

I've read through most of this thread, please forgive me if I'm re-asking something. Do most folks completely move the air control to the right before they head to bed? Flame goes out, cat is still glowing, but I think I have more coals in the morning. Using 5 normal sizes splits (which is not that much wood!) at 8pm, had "ok" coals at 7am, cat temp 226F, semi-warm air blowing still. If I leave the air a hair to the left of all-the-way to the right, I will have a little flame but have minimal coals in the morning.

I usually leave mine cracked open a bit too

 

[locust9]

I usually leave mine cracked open a bit too

I think also there are a number of other factors which I'm still learning myself - like previously mentioned wood types/splits/orientation/moisture content, how much draft you have, if you have the restrictor plate or not and how its positioned (I actually slid mine up a bit to increase the restriction) and also too how tight your door gasket is and maybe even how 'worn' your catalyst is. I'm starting to learn myself, being a newbie to this 'hobby' that ALL of these factors can have an impact on its behavior/performance.

 

[RyanBurnsWood]

I think also there are a number of other factors which I'm still learning myself - like previously mentioned wood types/splits/orientation/moisture content, how much draft you have, if you have the restrictor plate or not and how its positioned (I actually slid mine up a bit to increase the restriction) and also too how tight your door gasket is and maybe even how 'worn' your catalyst is. I'm starting to learn myself, being a newbie to this 'hobby' that ALL of these factors can have an impact on its behavior/performance.

I’ve had this insert for three years. The first year was terrible. It took some getting used to to get the operation down. Don’t give up! Follow directions exactly and you’ll be very happy. I had “seasoned” wood delivered that burned very poorly. Bought the moisture meter and found it was high content (I’ll never use that guy again.) Bringing unseasoned wood inside does not properly dry it out, it must have sufficient time outside with sun and wind exposure. Yes it will help dry seasoned wood, but this is marginal just a little warm up before burning. Left it for the next winter (year two) and it burned nicely. I also had some wood from a tree I cut down seasoned approx year and a half and burned great. The KEY is dry wood. You won’t get soot/creosote on the glass, the catalyst stays clean, and heat is hotter and burns/bakes longer. Also, because dry wood burns hotter it will burn off the spot on the glass, just give it a good 24hrs and 90 percent will be gone. I cursed this unit year one with unseasoned wood and lack of operational knowledge. Now I absolutely love it!

 

[Cdam]

I’m new here and want to thank everyone for all the helpful information! It’s made it much easier to figure out to use my brand new ci2600. I got it installed last week but have one question. Should the gasket look like this?

 

[locust9]

looks sorta crooked the way it was glued into the channel - little sloppy maybe
should be ok though as far as the seal - maybe try to 'fluff' it if its smashed at all
i noticed though from the factory at least on mine that the handle side was loosely sealing (paper test) - right away i had to remove one of the shims in order for that side to seal tight

 

[tadmaz]

I have been burning at night for a good month and a half with my HI400. Got the insert back in spring. Insulated liner, 5 year dry wood. I'm gradually having issues. I can get the stove to 500-700F no problem with the bypass open, and whenever I engage the cat, sometimes it will take off and get to 1300F, sometimes it will only rise a few degrees and the cat won't glow. I've used a mirror and looked at the bypass door, it fully closes when I push the rod in. I've removed the cat, cleaned it, it didn't even need a cleaning, it seems fine. When things are not working right, sometimes after an hour or two the stove will fill with smoke, the cat will start glowing, and it will behave well the rest of the burn. It's almost as if the draft is gone when the cat gets engaged. If I open the bypass I can see the draft is instantly back. Any ideas?

 

[tadmaz]

I have been burning at night for a good month and a half with my HI400. Got the insert back in spring. Insulated liner, 5 year dry wood. I'm gradually having issues. I can get the stove to 500-700F no problem with the bypass open, and whenever I engage the cat, sometimes it will take off and get to 1300F, sometimes it will only rise a few degrees and the cat won't glow. I've used a mirror and looked at the bypass door, it fully closes when I push the rod in. I've removed the cat, cleaned it, it didn't even need a cleaning, it seems fine. When things are not working right, sometimes after an hour or two the stove will fill with smoke, the cat will start glowing, and it will behave well the rest of the burn. It's almost as if the draft is gone when the cat gets engaged. If I open the bypass I can see the draft is instantly back. Any ideas?

Still trying to figure this out. With bypass open, couldn't get past 300F last night. It was stuck there. I did remove a shim from the handle, so the gasket is actually tighter than it was when new. Anyways, all of a sudden the fire roared to 650F, I engaged the cat, temp shot to 1000F, then started falling just as fast as it climbed. Then it climbed up a few dozen degrees, then stayed there, cat was glowing. I'm trying to correlate if the furnace is kicking on, hot water heater, door opened, etc. So far I can't correlate the temperature stalls/drops with anything. Literally nothing seems to change. I've tried cracking a window in the stove room, didn't do anything.

 

[locust9]

only thing i can think of would be to make sure the air intake port is not clogged - inside the firebox where the restrictor plate is

 

[locust9]

Ive recently noticed also on mine (as the insert is in the same room as my cold air return for my furnace) that if the furnace fan is running on high it seems to have an impact of the inserts draft - where it struggles to get hot and i've even had negative draft 2 times when the insert was cold lit - i had smoke coming from the bottom of the insert until i shut my furnace off - once the insert is up to temp though its not an issue

 

[locust9]

I’ve had this insert for three years. The first year was terrible. It took some getting used to to get the operation down. Don’t give up! Follow directions exactly and you’ll be very happy. I had “seasoned” wood delivered that burned very poorly. Bought the moisture meter and found it was high content (I’ll never use that guy again.) Bringing unseasoned wood inside does not properly dry it out, it must have sufficient time outside with sun and wind exposure. Yes it will help dry seasoned wood, but this is marginal just a little warm up before burning. Left it for the next winter (year two) and it burned nicely. I also had some wood from a tree I cut down seasoned approx year and a half and burned great. The KEY is dry wood. You won’t get soot/creosote on the glass, the catalyst stays clean, and heat is hotter and burns/bakes longer. Also, because dry wood burns hotter it will burn off the spot on the glass, just give it a good 24hrs and 90 percent will be gone. I cursed this unit year one with unseasoned wood and lack of operational knowledge. Now I absolutely love it!

Totally agree! Takes quite a bit of forethought and work in order to have the wood in the right condition - these catalyst stoves seem to be highly sensitive to the fuel. I can also tell a big difference on the glass buildup if using 20%+ wood vs correctly seasoned wood, I'd say 18% or less - and as pointed out previously the reading is to be taken on a 'fresh' split; not something I find myself doing regularly when I'm relocating a cord of previously split wood from my back yard, but very important nonetheless. Definitely not as easy as you'd think to have properly 'seasoned' wood and keep it in rotation.