Temperature and Burn Time

[Daniel Albershardt]

I just had a wiseway installed in my 2400sqft home (main level, not in a basement).  Exhaust pipe is 4" and a straight shot to the roof ~15ft above.  There are no bends in the exhaust.  There was no fresh air inlet installed.  I have been having 2 problems. 

1) burn time on a bag of pellets is ~60% of what I should 'expect'.  I get about 20-24hrs on low and 10-12hrs on high

2) When I start the stove, it initially burns at 450 on the low setting.  However, after a few hours, the temperature cannot stay above 350F and even dips below the magic 300 F line to prevent creosote production.

The install was about two weeks ago.  I have been using the premium, low-ash, Doug Fir pellets that are recommended -- Cascade Pellets.  I have tried opening a window.  I have tried other pellets (Clean Burn) and those burned hotter, but a bag lasts 12hrs on low.  I have checked and cleaned the primary burn chamber (nothing really to clean since it's basically new).  Secondary burn chamber and ash tray are emptied after every bag of pellets.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Daniel Albershardt]

I think it's a model 1949 stove.  I'll have to check, but it's a brand new wiseway without the window. 

[Gary Wisener]

The burn time is what it should be 12 on high 20 to 24 on low per bag. The hopper holds a bag and a half a full hopper should run 32 or more on low when you first start the stove everything is clean and when you open the pellet stop plate to fill the feed tube some pellets fall through the basket into the secondary burn chamber.  So when you light the stove and hot pellets fall into the secondary burn chamber it also ignites the pellets in the secondary chamber after a bit  the pellets in the secondary burn down and the temp drops at that time close the draft slide half way and see where the temp goes to if it is where you want it fine if it's to warm open the holes a little  . Hope this helps  Gary

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "wisestove" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to wisestove+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[scp...@gmail.com]

that sounds pretty good, that sounds normal for this stove. my other electric pellet stove also burns the exact same 12 hrs on high 24 hrs on low. what burn times were you expecting? 450, then fading to 300 on low isn't bad, real similar to mine. on high it should run about 600- 700 depending on wind and temp outside.i have a 3in vaccustack on mine. which helps to promote draft and prevent downdraft. hope this helps.......:)

[Daniel Albershardt]

Thanks for the replies.  I didn't know the hopper held 60lb of pellets -- the burn time sounds about right then.  Thanks.  I looked back at the specs and it clearly says '60lb' for the hopper size....gosh I feel smart.

As to the temperature, maybe it's the pellets or something.  The stove dealer was saying I should expect 400-450 on low and 600-700 on high.  I get 400-450 for 4 hours or so and then 275-325 for the rest of the time.   Once it goes into the lower temperature range and I close the draft (to the high setting), it only goes up to 450-500.  I'm very new to pellet stoves and I don't know quite what to expect.  My reference points on the 'expected temperature' and burn time on a bag of pellets comes from the stove dealer.  So basically, this is all normal and i just need to get more acquainted with my stove?

[Gary Wisener]

Hi Daniel I strongly recommend that you try different brands of pellets in the stove before you buy large quantities as they all burn differently and different areas of the country use different blends of Woods
Gary

--

[Sophia Huyer]

HI Daniel,

A year later and I've been having similar problems.  It would burn high -- 450-600 for a couple of hours and then over the course of the next few hours decrease in temperature until I couldn't get it above 200. 

My dealer told me that since I am in Ontario Canada I need an insulated pipe.  I have that now, and a vacu-stack which I think is also helping.  However it is not getting up above 450 much - with the daisy wheel damper open.  I will shut that tomorrow and see if there is an improvement.

I am also finding that I have to constantly stir the small pellet feed, since the pellets don't feed continually -- they get held up and the temperature drops. I also find that the pellets don't move smoothly down into the feeder from the bin -- after a while I have to swoosh them over to the side of the bin where the opening is. Does anyone else have that problem?

I've read elsewhere on this forum that people are running it overnight -- I don't see how mine would sustain a high enough temperature, or that the pellets would continue to run smoothly enough to allow that.

On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 6:30:21 PM UTC-5, Daniel Albershardt wrote:

Any suggestions?

[Dan Albershardt]

How new is your home?  Your problem sounds similar to mine. I had the problem that my home was 'too tight' meaning that it was sealed really well. The fresh air inlet to the stove was inside the house (on the end of the stove). As it burned, the air drew into the unit so much that it created a negative pressure in the house causing the stove to burn at 300 degrees.  In my experience, once it gets below 350, it can never recover. So, don't try to rescue it by opening a window -- you have to open the window from the start.   I had a fresh air inlet installed so that air is taken from the outside and that fixed the problem.  But the fresh air inlet has its cons too, but it did fix the problem. 

As to the pellets not feeding well -- use Douglas fir pellets and ones that are not too big (cascade, clean burn etc).  I do find that I have to move the pile of pellets in the hopper when it's half empty (or swoosh it as you say).  It's a quirk of the design that would be hard to change. 

I have let mine run overnight many times. However, I don't let it run for more than 2-3 bags anymore. The primary burn chamber gets dirty with ash and stifles the burn chamber, leading to lower temperatures.  Be sure to clean the primary burn chamber often.  I'll say that again -- clean the stove often. Your problem might be gunk in the burn chamber. 

Due to finicky nature of the stove and all the labor required to keep it running, I'm using it as an emergency backup only now.  (Especially since I almost had a hopper fire from a design flaw and mistake by a family member).   I might look into a pellet stove that runs on 110v to replace the Wiseway.

Thanks, 

Dan

Sent from my iPhone

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "wisestove" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/wisestove/i_i3XzgHQDs/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to wisestove+...@googlegroups.com.

[Sophia Huyer]

HI Dan, thanks for your detailed reply. My home is new and very air-tight. I will definitely try opening the window tomorrow. I found i was able to keep it around 400 until the sun went down, today, and then couldn't get it to burn higher than 300. But it can't be an issue of outdoor temperature, because the temp was above freezing.

I have a fresh air inlet installed, but perhaps the house is so airtight it needs some extra help. My dealer says the problem is the air coming in the vent needs to be mixed with warmer air from the house and is trying to sell me a vent with a fan, but again, since the temp has been above freezing today I can't see that's the problem. 

Everything is burning clean and I am keeping an eye on the burn chambers so I don't think that's the problem.

It's helpful to hear that you are finding it finicky as well. For me, it's a supplemental heating source and good to have if the power goes out -- I won't be relying on it as my primary heat source.

Thanks again.

[Just Morgan]

Dan am looking at getting a wiseway too. I did not know it needed an outside air source. Does that make a difference in how well the stove works. Thanks.

[Dan Albershardt]

It doesn't need an outside air source if you have an old home with lots of air holes/drafts. My home was relatively new and pretty tight. Basically the Wiseway sucked the air out and created a negative pressure in the home.  Thus the performance was poor. When I added the fresh air intake, things improved.  Without the air intake, it performed sub-par. With the air intake, it performed as advertised (not better).  I would think hard about getting a Wiseway. It is a good system in a power outage but it is finicky.  I have a 20 ft chimney. They recommend 10-15. Perhaps that is why the performance of the stove goes down after one bag of pellets. I basically run one to two bags of pellets and then let it burn out so I can clean it (and the performance drops off).

I don't know if I answered your question. 

What year is your home?  Do you have double pane Windows?  Do you currently run a stove in your home?

Thanks, 

Dan

Sent from my iPhone

--

[Just Morgan]

Dan thanks for you advise. My home is over 10-years old and is suppose to be air-tight. I guess, once I get the unit up and running it should not be too hard to add an outside air vent.