MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 58,150
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Here's what i got wrong with mine now:
Baffels are shot. On second set. Will have to replace. Not Warranty.
Most firebrick is cracked.
Need to replace door seal.
Hard to regulate,( when door seal was good)
Paint.
Size recommendations from Napoleon are WAY too generous, so my stove is undersized, even though my house is within Napoleons specs.
Firebox is too small to get a 8hr burn.
Ill admit I run mine pretty hard, but that is because i have to in order to get even close to what Napoleon claims.
I tried to call Napoleon and got nowhere.
They are just plainly inferior to the better stoves. It's partly my fault, I bought a cheap stove. I'll never do that again.
Whats wrong with yours, Moss?
Nothing wrong with mine at all. I was just wondering what was wrong with yours so I could watch out for the same issues. Thanks for the list. I will keep those items in mind when I inspect it daily. :thumbsup:
I will agree with you about the undersize issues. The litterature says it will take a 22" log but that is on a diagonal. Reality is it will take 18" logs nicely front to back or left to right. I cut mine at 16", so its not a problem for me. Also, I bought one size larger stove than they recommended because I had to install it in the basement on an outside wall and pipe heat upstairs with a vent/fan/thermostat I cobbled up. Glad I went with the one size larger. And our house is very old, not insulated well and drafty.
I get honest 8hr burns with good dry hardwood. I put a thermometer on the top of the stove right under the trivet vent. I don't let the stove get over 500 degrees. No paint issues yet. I do have two cracked bricks, but I'm pretty sure that was from me slamming wood into it while it was hot.
I load it up full as I can get it with smaller wood when I get home from work. This makes a quick, hot burn. About 11pm I load it again with larger hardwood pieces, get it up to 500 by midnight, then throttle it back to just under 1 on the damper. When I get up at 6 there is still red hot coals and the temp is still 250ish. I toss in some more larger pieces, get it up to 500 again, then throttle it back again and go to work. Work can be 10 hours some days. When I get home I cannot see red hot coals, but a few pokes with the poker and they are under the ashes. I move them to the middle, and start the process over again.
Also, I use welding gloves and make sure the baffles are pushed towards the back every time I load it. The gap should be at the front. If it is at the back, the heat just goes right up the chimney. Those baffles seem to move forward pretty easy. I suspect it is from me putting in logs and bumping them.
Last winter was mild, but two winters ago I burned 6 months continuos with only 4 days that the fire went out and I had to use a match.:thumbsup:
To get the heat upstairs, I put in a 6" duct over the top of the stove, then ran that to a hallway floor vent in the center of the house. There is a high temperature in-line fan in the duct. I have a greenhouse portable thermostat on the ceiling in the basement near the stove. I have it set for cooling and I plug the in-line fan into the thermostat. Anytime the basement room with the wood stove in it gets to 78 degrees, the fan kicks on and moves the warm air upstairs. When the fire goes out and the room drops below 78 it goes off. Works really well, except the in-line fan is a bit noisy. But the noise drowns out the trains and jets! :laughing: