So, anyone that was around last year might remember my ongoing battle with the Intrepid. Long story short, it put out far less heat that it should have. As the winter progressed I worked out some kinks (swapped out wood with kiln dried [was a non factor], pushed the stove further out of the fireplace, sealed any possible leaks in the stove pipe, cursed, complained, etc.) and was able to get it to produce an acceptable amount of heat. But still extremely frustrating.
This year I removed the heat shield to prep it for sand blasting. In doing so, I think I found the main issue with the poor performances. Last year if the stove was under 500° the stove was useless. To get heat out of the stove I needed to maintain at least 600°, and even then, heat out put seemed marginal.
This year, without the heat shield, there is a noticeable difference. It's 39° out right now and the stove is keeping the main part of the house at 65° and the kitchen, where it is located, and the bedroom above at 73°. All the while the stove is running at 400-450° as oppose to 600°.
The only thing I can think of is that the heat shield, combined with the location of the stove created a perfect mix where the heat stayed trapped... somewhere. I'll be damned if I know where. But, clearly, the answer appears to be; yes, the heat shield was a big factor in the stove's poor performance.
This year I removed the heat shield to prep it for sand blasting. In doing so, I think I found the main issue with the poor performances. Last year if the stove was under 500° the stove was useless. To get heat out of the stove I needed to maintain at least 600°, and even then, heat out put seemed marginal.
This year, without the heat shield, there is a noticeable difference. It's 39° out right now and the stove is keeping the main part of the house at 65° and the kitchen, where it is located, and the bedroom above at 73°. All the while the stove is running at 400-450° as oppose to 600°.
The only thing I can think of is that the heat shield, combined with the location of the stove created a perfect mix where the heat stayed trapped... somewhere. I'll be damned if I know where. But, clearly, the answer appears to be; yes, the heat shield was a big factor in the stove's poor performance.