No wood being too dry really isn't an issue if the stove is setup and operating properly
Wood Stove Insert with Air Leaks
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Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
Glad to hear you’re getting a new stove. That’s good news.
Testing a fresh split piece of wood is the way to measure. I live in coastal CT and have only rarely seen readings below 17 or 18. That’s as good as it gets for me. Which is honestly great for firewood. 10% means it was NOT tested on a fresh split, which renders the reading useless.
The book Norwegian Wood has a good write up of the concept of how wood that’s “too dry” is a myth. Basically with a modern stove like you have, there is no concern with wood being too dry.
Testing a fresh split piece of wood is the way to measure. I live in coastal CT and have only rarely seen readings below 17 or 18. That’s as good as it gets for me. Which is honestly great for firewood. 10% means it was NOT tested on a fresh split, which renders the reading useless.
The book Norwegian Wood has a good write up of the concept of how wood that’s “too dry” is a myth. Basically with a modern stove like you have, there is no concern with wood being too dry.
What is the "appliance adapter"? I didn't think a key damper would be possible with an insert! I thought they usually went on the pipe.
Also, is it possible that this could be an issue with our current problematic wood stove? Would it be something that might be resolved with the new wood stove?
It is absolutely possible the issue is with the stove. But yes a damper can be installed on an insert but it isn't simple
If a new stove does not fix this issue at least somewhat, and we cannot fix the draft with this complicated "appliance adapter" damper, then it makes me question if a wood stove is even worth it for us. To me our fire is so out of control that how can I justify paying so much money for a wood stove when I still have so little control over the fire? Or maybe I just buy the cheapest wood stove I can find since it's not going to work anyway.... Here is a video showing the fire all the way damped down. I had filled the firebox so full of wood because the Regency rep said that filling the firebox full might help me control the fire because there would be less oxygen in the firebox.
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
I agree that that stove looks like it running hot. In wouldn’t get discouraged. Looking back at the pic of the house, it doesn’t look like an incredibly tall chimney. You know that the stove has issues so it’s seems likely that the new stove will function fine. Just my opinion
Is this burn in the video the same as before the Regency rep tweaked the insert, or better now?
Was the wood put on a large, hot coal bed? If yes, then it is not that uncommon to see a robust fire like this, especially if the air was not turned down soon enough. The heat of the hot coal bed causes the wood to outgas suddenly, all at once. If this is the case, let the coal bed burn down further before reloading and turn down the air sooner to keep the flames lazier, but not out or smoldering. Or put on less wood and thicker splits.
I think this is the first Hampton version of this insert that we have seen posted here. If the issues around the door sealing can't be resolved, then I am wondering if you would be better off with the Regency 2450i with the standard door. Or if an enameled stove is still preferred, then perhaps another brand insert.
PS: I'm sorry this has been a rough experience. The vice grip door handle is classic.
Question 1: "Is this burn in the video the same as before the Regency rep tweaked the insert, or better now?"
Here is a video of the burn before the Regency rep closed up the air leaks with extra gasket. It is hard for me to tell a difference in the control of the fire between before the air leaks were sealed and after, to be honest. Unfortunately, it seems approximately the same as before.
Question 2: "Was the wood put on a large, hot coal bed?"
Yes I would say so. From videos of other wood stoves, I would still have hoped for more control over the fire than I have. See the YouTube video I linked at the bottom of this post. She seems to start with a nice bed of coals, loads it up, has a fire going like I had, and then is able to really control the fire by closing her air intake completely.
Comment: "If the issues around the door sealing can't be resolved..."
The Regency rep did a temporary fix (the permanent fix is a new stove) which seems to have resolved the door sealing for now. Here is a picture of how he added gasket to close up the air leaks to temporarily have the stove work better until the new stove arrives. The bottom right is doubled up. When I do the dollar bill test now the door seems to seal. The smoke test around the glass also looks good so I don't know of any air leaks at this point. So the video I posted last time was with the air leaks sealed up.
I was hoping for an experience more like this lady has in the video (linked below). She gets the fire going like crazy, shuts it all the way down, then is able to have it burning mostly off secondaries. At 4:29 she shuts the door with the air intake all the way open. Her fire at that point (with the door shut but the damper all the way OPEN) looks like my fire does when my door is shut and the air intake is completely SHUT. Honestly she has a HUGE difference between the air intake all the way open and the air intake all the way shut (compare 4:29 to the end of her video). The difference in my fire between the air intake all the way open and all the way shut is very difficult to tell the difference. If it is normal for my stove to not have that kind of control and barely a perceptible difference between the air intake open and the air intake shut, then maybe there is another stove that would work better? I'm still a little hopeful that a brand new stove would have more control, but I'm nervous to get my hopes up too much because I have been disappointed so many times over the past year.
Comment: "I'm sorry this has been a rough experience. The vice grip door handle is classic."
I am so thankful for your sympathy and your feedback - you don't even know! It is an encouragement to me when so much of this experience has been discouraging. A bright spot
. The Regency rep actually replaced the door handle, but I can't use it because so much force is require to open my door that the handle could not stand up to the force required to open it!
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Thank you for your feedback and encouragement! You can probably tell that I am discouraged so I am trying to be patient as I wait for my new stove. But my biggest fear is that after the new stove is put in, I will try to adjust the air intake and continue to have no noticeable difference on the control of the fire. I hope that isn't the case!
Ctwoodtick
Minister of Fire
Question 1: "Is this burn in the video the same as before the Regency rep tweaked the insert, or better now?"
Here is a video of the burn before the Regency rep closed up the air leaks with extra gasket. It is hard for me to tell a difference in the control of the fire between before the air leaks were sealed and after, to be honest. Unfortunately, it seems approximately the same as before.
Question 2: "Was the wood put on a large, hot coal bed?"
Yes I would say so. From videos of other wood stoves, I would still have hoped for more control over the fire than I have. See the YouTube video I linked at the bottom of this post. She seems to start with a nice bed of coals, loads it up, has a fire going like I had, and then is able to really control the fire by closing her air intake completely.
Comment: "If the issues around the door sealing can't be resolved..."
The Regency rep did a temporary fix (the permanent fix is a new stove) which seems to have resolved the door sealing for now. Here is a picture of how he added gasket to close up the air leaks to temporarily have the stove work better until the new stove arrives. The bottom right is doubled up. When I do the dollar bill test now the door seems to seal. The smoke test around the glass also looks good so I don't know of any air leaks at this point. So the video I posted last time was with the air leaks sealed up.
I was hoping for an experience more like this lady has in the video (linked below). She gets the fire going like crazy, shuts it all the way down, then is able to have it burning mostly off secondaries. At 4:29 she shuts the door with the air intake all the way open. Her fire at that point (with the door shut but the damper all the way OPEN) looks like my fire does when my door is shut and the air intake is completely SHUT. Honestly she has a HUGE difference between the air intake all the way open and the air intake all the way shut (compare 4:29 to the end of her video). The difference in my fire between the air intake all the way open and all the way shut is very difficult to tell the difference. If it is normal for my stove to not have that kind of control and barely a perceptible difference between the air intake open and the air intake shut, then maybe there is another stove that would work better? I'm still a little hopeful that a brand new stove would have more control, but I'm nervous to get my hopes up too much because I have been disappointed so many times over the past year.
Comment: "I'm sorry this has been a rough experience. The vice grip door handle is classic."
I am so thankful for your sympathy and your feedback - you don't even know! It is an encouragement to me when so much of this experience has been discouraging. A bright spot
It's hard to compare, different stove and perhaps weaker draft. That's a substantial coal bed. I couldn't put a bunch of wood on that big coal bed without having a large bloom of secondary combustion and fire more like what you are seeing in your stove. But we are burning doug fir. Oak would burn slower. FWIW, she did not need to leave the door open at all after the reload.
Yeah I had that thought too - that she didn't need to leave the door open. That lady seemed like she was really nervous about snuffing out the fire and wanted to be really super thorough at getting it started haha. It was just an example of how she had a substantial difference between her fire with the air intake open versus shut. No matter the size of my fire (as long as it is started and established) I haven't had a substantial difference in the fire between the air intake open versus shut. I was hoping to be able to control my fire a lot more.
Someone asked her in the comments of the YouTube video "Is this the new 2450 from Regency?" and she said that it is. Mine is the hi2450 insert so I was thinking that they might have more in common since the numbers are the same (although hers is obviously not an insert). She says that it can heat her 3000 square foot house (which I know that stand alone stoves do better than inserts), but we have trouble heating our less-than-350 square foot living room (with 9 foot ceilings) even when the outside temperatures are well above freezing. Our living room has doors so that we can shut the doors and trap the heat in the space.
If there is no problem with the stove itself performing this way, then maybe the problem is with our house or the install or something about the set up.
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Hopefully, this will get corrected soon. We have several users with the Regency 2450 that seem happy with the amount of control they have over the fire. The only difference that I know of is the door and surround trim.
You'll note that at around 6:20 she turns down the air substantially. At that point secondary burn (up by the tubes) gets stronger and the fire doesn't dramatically slow down. The fire is hot. I would guess the stove top is pushing 650º or more. At 7:00 an unknown amount of time has elapsed. At that point, the fire has died down a bit, but it is still very hot. Note the red glowing secondary tube.
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