I had a wood burning insert installed last week

Unknown

Where's the make up air coming into home when the wood burning is going? The hotter the fire you have, the more cold air coming in your home if the insert is not connected to outside air.

Buckeye

I had a woodburning insert installed last week

to help offset some of the cost of natural gas. I have a mcclain hot water boiler and live in a 2500 sq ft. brick house with no insulation in the walls. I have blown insulation into the attic floor and plan to do the rafters before next winter. All new insulated windows.

OK, I was using the woodburner last week and had a good fire going, it was about 45 to 50 degrees out side. In my house in the 6 to 8 hours the fire was burning the temp. only went from 61 to 69 degrees. The room the wood insert is in was only about 69. The woodburner has a stainless steal liner to the top of the chimney (about 38') and has a blower on it. It only has a single air control on the front. The wood burner is rated to heat up to 1200 sq ft. and I was closing rooms to get the living room that warm. I know the wood was seasoned well and dry.

So, I called the company that did the install and they say that I will have to have a hot fire burning for a long time because brick absorbs alot of heat in the begining and will actually hold that heat longer once it warms up.
Anyone ever hear of this or is this guy just yanking my chain?

Eric Johnson

Some truth

There's some truth to what the dealer is saying. An insert is not a wood stove, in that most of its radiant surface is surrounded by bricks and refractory cement. That's where most of your heat goes at first.

Do you have a damper on the insert? If so, close it a bit so that less heat goes up the stack. Keep fooling around with that and you might get more heat coming out the front.

Finally, try posting at http://www.hearth.com. A lot of people over there have inserts, and they can probably give you a lot of help and useful information. Mention the brand name and model and you'll probably get lots of information specific to that stove.

jp_2

when they say

heats 1200 sq ft, i believe they are assuming you have insulation. better to get the btu output of the stove.

bottom line, you need to insulate your walls!!!!!

hr

And invest in a good CO detector

to keep the family safe and healthy.

hot rod

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Uni R_2

True enough...

But I would still think that using a wood stove insert with a fan steady for 6-8 hours with an outdoor temperature of only 45-50° should result in at least a well heated room. Even with poor insulation and "great" infiltration, I have to wonder what's up.

Eric Johnson

tweaking

Most new stove installations need tweaking. He needs to talk to somebody (in addition to the dealer) who's familiar with what he's got and how it works.

Ericjeeper

Insulation above the insert.,

Make sure by pulling back the tin covers on top of the insert, That they stuffed the area around the flue pipe tightly with fiberglass insulation. Otherwise the Chimney will act like a chimney, and therefore draw the warm air that the insert just made. And carry it straight out the chimney beside the liner.
A friend was complaining about his insert and upon further inspecting I found the insulation gapping a bit (about the size of two soft balls side by side. I am betting that the heat was flowing up the chimney along the side of the stainless liner. Good luck

Eric Johnson

glass fiber

It should be insulated, but with something better than fiberglass. If it's regular fiberglass, then the installation was not done correctly or according to code. But Eric's right--that's one of the first things to check.

Bob Harper

brand and model stove?

Please post what equipment you have and possibly a pic.

IS your stainless steel liner insulated? If not, call your installer and tell him you want it insulated with the proper foil faced ceramic fiber insulation to comply with UL 1777 for a zero clearance to the outside of the chimney. Without the insulation, it is not a listed liner and all codes require listed liners for woodstoves.

Yes, an insert will not heat a room as well as a freestanding stove all things considered equal. A hearth stove may have been a better choice. Still, woodstoves should be burned with small hot fires. Are you engaging the bypass damper once a good draft is established? I take it this is a new EPA Phase II stove?

If you have a large heat loss, a stove can only do just so much. Also, thermometers are lousy and indicating comfort levels. Since woodstoves heat primarily by radiant heat, do you feel warm or is there a chill? Do you have large air leaks? Don't expect miracles from a woodstove.

I agree with sealing off the damper area with ceramic fiber insulation.

Get a moisture meter and test your firewood. I have never found a homeowner that didn't swear his firewood was properly seasoned. You cannot trust end grain checking as these start to appear at around 35% moisture content. Until you use a meter, you are guessing.

HTH

George Peteya_3