The Regency CI2600 & CI2700 operation thread

[Wolves1]

Wolves. I was concerned about the chimney being a bit low and mentioned it prior to installation. The installer didnt think it was an issue. I occasionally get eddies of smoke near the top of my roof but the draft is always strong.... Perhaps too strong. With the door cracked, I get plenty of airflow; even when cold starting. Often, when i refuel after the fire is established, the draft is so strong that it makes cyclical throbbing roars and makes the stove intake whistle. Is the main benefit of extending the chimney above the roof to help increase draft or do you think there is something else to gain from it? I should also note that I do get slight back smoking if i open the door too quickly but this is infrequent and usually only during a cold start (slowly opening the door eliminates this).
Also, its pretty clear that you've been involved in the CI2600 thread since the beginning. Neither regency nor my stove supplier have acknowledged the existence of a draft reduction plate. Do you know if this modification was completely eliminated in the newer versions of the stove? My gut feeling is that something about my setup is creating too much draft and that the standard size of the stoves airflow control orifice is too large to regulate it.
As far as i know, my liner is not insulated at the damper. I don't recall the stove installers cramming any mineral wool in there. What are your thoughts on block off plates?

I have the ci 2600 insert and the f3500 stove. The F3500 I would get smoke backing up to the house when adding wood I would get smoke backing into the house but draft was fine once I would crack the door and full operation mode. I added 2 feet of pipe and just about eliminated the problem. So definitely a possibility that can be a reason you get smoke in the house but opening the door to fast will just about always let smoke in the house. Open the bypass, open the air all the way, wait a few seconds about 20 to 30 seconds then open the door slowly.
I believe the restriction plate is included on the new stoves. If you run your hands to the right and left of the hole the air comes in, outside the little housing surrounding the intake there are two metal wings that will allow to slide it off if you want more draft. A block off plate will always make the insert more efficient.

 

[k3751]

What replacement cat have people gone with, I’m probably past due for one? Searching the forum, it looks like there’s two options:

FireCat Catalytic Combustor ACI-70C

Use the FireCat Catalytic Combustor ACI-70C for the following stove models: Pro Series CI2600 Wood Insert , Hampton HI400 Wood Insert

www.firecatcombustors.com

Amazon product ASIN B0754PTQVJ
Any feedback on these or any other options? How did you know you were due for a new one? Mine looks fine structurally, but there’s definitely been a drop off in heat and burn times. FWIW, been burning 16ish hrs per day through the winter in NE Iowa for five years (this is sixth) with this stove.

 

[sleepingtiger]

Hi guys i am new to this. I received a HI500 just recently, and i am having trouble. Fire is out within 1 hour of a full load with 3-4 very large sugar maple logs that have been very well seasoned (< 15% humidity). I have read forums, watched videos tried to lay them N/S, make sure there was an extra layer of ash underneath, etc etc etc. And the dealer seemed to have made many mistakes: There was no gasket on the bottom fascia, it was not on the rail system and left on the floor, only one of the bolts secures the top primary air shield, etc. I reached out to regency and so far i have been asked to send photos and videos, and the conversation seems to deviate to my lack of expeirence with the product. I renew the load at 10 pm and at 12 there is nothing but hot coals left, with the temperature reading falling for 1000F to 350F and within an hour the blower turns off and a temperature < 200F. The next morning i check and there is nothing but ash at 8 am, with a temperature around 90. Does anyone have any suggestions? What should i be doing?

 

[Wolves1]

There is a lot of things it can be or there maybe no issues at all. First question. what does the fire look like when you lower the air? 2) you said you fill it with 3 to 4 logs n/s. How full is the stove? Here are pictures of my insert about 3/4 full and my stove full. Let’s start here and we’ll figure this out. But how the fire looks is very important to see if to much air is getting in.

 

[GA Wood Burner]

Hi guys i am new to this. I received a HI500 just recently, and i am having trouble. Fire is out within 1 hour of a full load with.......

Hi. I'm fairly new to this myself, only one season, but I'll try and a pertinent question or two:

1. Do you have a good seal with the door gasket? How to check...take a $ bill & close & lock the door, if it pulls out easily you probably need to adjust the door for a better seal.

2. You don't say but I'll assume you are familiar with how & when to use the air flow and cat. damper on your unit.....so with that I'll ask, do leave them open all the time or do you start closing them down once you get a good fire going? If you leave them open then your fire will burn out much quicker.
3. I'm not familiar with sugar maple as a fire wood, is it a hard wood like oak, alder, etc. or soft like pine or fir? Makes a difference in how long it'll burn.

Well, lets start there 'cause that's all I know to ask at the moment. I'm sure some of the more "season" members will jump in with some thoughts and as you already know there is always the internet & youtube!

Good luck.

 

[tadmaz]

With the fire roaring at 1000F can you confirm if your cat is glowing? Also if you turn the air down after that does the fire noticeably calm down? Once I'm at something like 1000F, I turn the air down almost all the way and get 8 or 9 hour burns with usable heat in cold Wisconsin. The dealer issues don't sound extreme, but for sure disappointing.

 

[sleepingtiger]

There is a lot of things it can be or there maybe no issues at all. First question. what does the fire look like when you lower the air? 2) you said you fill it with 3 to 4 logs n/s. How full is the stove? Here are pictures of my insert about 3/4 full and my stove full. Let’s start here and we’ll figure this out. But how the fire looks is very important to see if to much air is getting in.
View attachment 255638 View attachment 255639

So here are the logs (i would guesstimate 6 inch thickness, 20 inch length - they were part of the largest pieces i had as experiment to see how long it takes for them to burn). They were added and then medium size pieces filled in whatever empty spaces i had:

unfortunately i dont have the burn images... i have videos. Here is a typical example of the fire mid way: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fy8THDN859KgATq37

Note: I DO NOT OPEN THE AIR INTAKE AT ALL! I leave it fully closed at all times as i have no difficulty getting a full blaze. the air appears to come in strong draft in the center bottom floor of the stove from the door to the back of the fireplace.

 

[sleepingtiger]

So here are the logs (i would guesstimate 6 inch thickness, 20 inch length - they were part of the largest pieces i had as experiment to see how long it takes for them to burn). They were added and then medium size pieces filled in whatever empty spaces i had:
View attachment 255763
View attachment 255764
View attachment 255765
unfortunately i dont have the burn images... i have videos. Here is a typical example of the fire mid way: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fy8THDN859KgATq37

Note: I DO NOT OPEN THE AIR INTAKE AT ALL! I leave it fully closed at all times as i have no difficulty getting a full blaze. the air appears to come in strong draft in the center bottom floor of the stove from the door to the back of the fireplace.

I should have added the burntime for the fire above was 2-3 hours, and then finally a temperature of maybe 140F? after 4 hours. This is from the internal thermometer, on the surface ofcourse its cold. and actually it stays 100+ for yea get this... 8 hours+!

 

[sleepingtiger]

Hi. I'm fairly new to this myself, only one season, but I'll try and a pertinent question or two:

1. Do you have a good seal with the door gasket? How to check...take a $ bill & close & lock the door, if it pulls out easily you probably need to adjust the door for a better seal.

2. You don't say but I'll assume you are familiar with how & when to use the air flow and cat. damper on your unit.....so with that I'll ask, do leave them open all the time or do you start closing them down once you get a good fire going? If you leave them open then your fire will burn out much quicker.
3. I'm not familiar with sugar maple as a fire wood, is it a hard wood like oak, alder, etc. or soft like pine or fir? Makes a difference in how long it'll burn.

Well, lets start there 'cause that's all I know to ask at the moment. I'm sure some of the more "season" members will jump in with some thoughts and as you already know there is always the internet & youtube!

Good luck.

In regards to question 2: Neither. I dont leave the primary air intake open, nor do i start with it open. i start and keep it closed. I get a full blaze within 10 minutes anyway. i do wait for temperature to go above 500F before i engage the catalytic, this ofcourse aids and brings the temperature to 1000F. Ofcourse this is the internal temperature, the surface temp must be ?? 300??

And finally sugar maple is a hard wood. from what i understand maple is harder than oak.

 

[sleepingtiger]

With the fire roaring at 1000F can you confirm if your cat is glowing? Also if you turn the air down after that does the fire noticeably calm down? Once I'm at something like 1000F, I turn the air down almost all the way and get 8 or 9 hour burns with usable heat in cold Wisconsin. The dealer issues don't sound extreme, but for sure disappointing.

that is incredible. I will try to start a fire tomorrow morning, and post the progress here. Regency came back to me, asking me to resolve the matter with my dealer (i had asked them to verify proper installation and that the stove is working as expected). And ofcourse my installer always says its my inexperience... But i am at awe because i am all out of wood (2/3rd of a cord in 3 weeks!) and i still need the primary heat to keep house at 69F (although an old home - i did get spray foam insulation in attic, blown in insulation in walls. The outside temp this week has been averaging 30F - NewJersey)

 

[sleepingtiger]

I must add: the regency site itself describes the stove as having a 14 hour burn time. I just dont know how to get those 10 extra hours. Maybe i try soaking the wood in water??

by the way i spent nearly 9K on the stove (with installation) so this has been a bit of a reality check.

 

[Wolves1]

Is it possible that the bypass is not closing all the way? Do you see smoke coming out of the chimney? Don’t wet the wood, that would be very bad. Make sure the gasket is ok by using the dollar test as mentioned above. There is a little to much of a flame if you are all the way closed. I would get heat for 10 hours, hot coals after 12hours.

 

[JRFarmer]

@sleepingtiger I'm sorry I am not experienced enough to offer a lot of help, but I do have one observation: I think you should be loading your wood tighter. Less criss-cross, try to eliminate space between the logs.

Don't be afraid to remove those andirons. They are a real nuisance, and really get in the way of loading the wood in tightly.

All that being said, a 140F after 4hrs is ridiculous. If I put 2x large logs in my stove (not even close to fully loaded), they will take 3hrs to burn down to coals, and I'll probably get another 3hrs of useful heat after that.

 

[Woody Stover]

What replacement cat have people gone with...Mine looks fine structurally, but there’s definitely been a drop off in heat and burn times. FWIW, been burning 16ish hrs per day through the winter in NE Iowa for five years (this is sixth) with this stove.

If it's the original cat, you are definitely due for a new one, after five years burning in IA.
The Amazon cat specifies that it's made by Applied Ceramics, the OEM maker of your cat (I believe.) Wow, they ain't cheap...not like a Woodstock. Sorry, I couldn't help it, I'm a fanboi.

I'm not familiar with sugar maple as a fire wood

Good medium-high output wood; Should get long burns with it.

 

[Nigel459]

...I DO NOT OPEN THE AIR INTAKE AT ALL! I leave it fully closed at all times as i have no difficulty getting a full blaze. the air appears to come in strong draft in the center bottom floor of the stove from the door to the back of the fireplace.

This suggests an improper balance in your system. Could be too-strong draft with unregulated doghouse air, or a bad gasket.

Sorry to hear of another dealer who won’t help, and possibly set you up for failure by not measuring draft thus not knowing how your system would perform.

I agree with others that your loose load of logs is also begging for a hot quick fire, but what you describe also sounds like extremely high draft, compounding the issue.

 

[sleepingtiger]

I agree with others that your loose load of logs is also begging for a hot quick fire, but what you describe also sounds like extremely high draft, compounding the issue.

So as i mentioned i fill the largest logs i have and then whatever space i have i jam in whatever smaller pieces i can. Basically i dont know how to fit any more, without turning it into sawdust (logs dont bend).

Here is the wood i just put in an hour ago (note i am running low and at the last few pieces)

12% surface moisture:



loaded with temp reading at 292F (from coals below) and more importantly, the air intake is fully closed. again i NEVER open it, as i have no need to.


i close the door, and wait. in LESS than a minute i have a flame:


just want to make it clear that INTERNAL temperature read by meter is VERY different then surface temp:


Not the kinda stove you wanna crack an egg on!

I have contacted Regency, and other dealers including my installer. My installer says its wood, and thats what wood does.. it burns. if i put less wood, according to my installer ill have less of a flame and more duration, but if i put more wood, ill have a bigger flame and risk overheating and melting the stove! Other dealers i contacted told me to contact regency because they dont want to be involved. Here is the latest response:

Good Morning,

We have been in contact with your installing dealer and he will be in contact with you. Please contact your installing dealer with any inquiries you may have.

Sincerely,

Nancy Miranda
Marketing Coordinator

all that was response to this:
"... I need some way to confirm that it is in fact properly installed and working as intended which i have asked you for before. ..."

Its a 9K$ headache.

 

[tadmaz]

Your wood does look a little punky, which may burn hot but not long. If I have my air closed after a reload, I don't think I would ever get any flame, so that is bizarre to me. If you move the air from left to right, wait a few seconds and watch the cat temp, does it go down? If you move the air from right to left, wait a few seconds and watch the cat temp, does it go up? It's almost as if your air control isn't doing anything. Also FWIW, I had my HI400 installed for $5500 including insulated 5.5" liner.

 

[sleepingtiger]

Your wood does look a little punky, which may burn hot but not long. If I have my air closed after a reload, I don't think I would ever get any flame, so that is bizarre to me. If you move the air from left to right, wait a few seconds and watch the cat temp, does it go down? If you move the air from right to left, wait a few seconds and watch the cat temp, does it go up? It's almost as if your air control isn't doing anything. Also FWIW, I had my HI400 installed for $5500 including insulated 5.5" liner.

Yes it does. I thought so too... but if i open the air intake to the left, it definitely does increase the flame and speed... meaning its like opening the door.

Could be too-strong draft with unregulated doghouse air, or a bad gasket.

I totally agree with nigel on this... I highly suspect that there is too much air! The gasket was reviewed by the installer and he deemed it to be in good condition (it is new and supposedly he made it tight). But thats the thing... i want to be able to test to see if its getting too much draft. How do i do that!?!? Other dealers dont want to be involved, EVEN WHEN I OFFERED TO PAY!

I am in capitalist hell.

 

[sleepingtiger]

Your wood does look a little punky,

As i mentioned i am on my last few pieces. The earlier pieces that look like store bought logs, i have already burned... considering they went to ash in less than hour, it wasnt long before i had little left...

 

[JRFarmer]

@sleepingtiger can you tell us more about the load scenario you've got going on in your previous post? I'm surprised you're loading the box like that when it's only ~300F.

For example...
To start my fire, I'm typically using kindling and really small splits, which easily gets the temperature reading up to 600F before I put any serious logs in there.
If I'm refueling, I'm doing so well before the temperature gets to 300F. I'm usually putting more fuel in when the temperature falls below 500F, which is a long time before it would fall below 400F.

Hopefully that explains where I'm coming from with that question.

Also, I notice the surface temperature on the side frame takes quite a while to rise. Once it's hot and you're operating the stove continuously, it's obviously hot all the time, but when starting the fire it takes a while for the outside frame to get hot. So that observation may be completely normal (if you're just starting the fire).

 

[sleepingtiger]

So i started the fire like this:
(10:17 am this morning)


basically sticks, twigs, and branches (1.5 inch thickness) over a starter; i stuffed them however i could manage to fit them.

The temperature quickly rose to 850F:
(at 10:32 am)


At 12:11 i raked out the hot coals and piled them up to the front of the insert. I have learned that i get better output when i rake it all to try to fill that center front part where air shoots out of...


By 12:13 i have it filled up:


By 12:31 i have a full on blaze. NOTE: I DO NOT TOUCH THE AIR INTAKE. no need to.

 

[sleepingtiger]

Does anyone know where is the air intake opening on the HI500? I see there are openings on the left and right of the door, but not sure if its an intake or a exhaust or something different all together...

 

[Woody Stover]

I totally agree with nigel on this... I highly suspect that there is too much air!

I don't think you've described your chimney setup yet. Is there a full-length insulated liner to the top? How tall is it?

 

[sleepingtiger]

I don't think you've described your chimney setup yet. Is there a full-length insulated liner to the top? How tall is it?

unfortunately i dont know my chimney setup to great detail, as i just paid someone thinking they knew.

BUT fortunately: i know that it is an UN-insulated liner, as the installer recommended. the installer had informed me that it is NOT necessary for us in New Jersey to get an insulated liner... The chimney i would guesstimate it to be 30 feet. i dont know how to triangulate, but will try with my laser measure...

 

[Woody Stover]

30' is a tall chimney, and draft will be strong unless it's very warm outside. The fact that you have the air cut all the way, yet still have a very lively fire, points to excessive draft. You might try adding a 6">5.5" reducer on the top of the liner to reduce flow. Or maybe you could install a flue damper just above the flue exit, but this would necessitate drilling a hole in the surround to run a rod back to the damper handle. However, a single flue damper still might not cut the draft to spec for that stove. I recently added a second damper to my SIL's free-standing stove..