When we built our home we added an air tight, high efficiency fireplace in the great room. It is driving us out of the room. The unit is a Kozy Heat Z-42 and has a max of 60,000 BTU and a min of 8,000 BTU.
The floor plan is open with about 800 square feet in the great room and another 700 square feet directly open to the great room or connected by an open doorway. The ceiling height is nine feet with 18 inches of cellulose above. The walls are six inch also with cellulose. The home is in a windy location in Upstate New York but has good efficient windows.
We have not used the fireplace for heat since the house was finished last winter but just for the occasional evening fire. On Christmas we had a party and decided to have the fire going all day. In order to maintain a comfortable temperature in the great room I had to open two windows about six inches each. The outside temperature was in the mid twenties and the wind was calm.
I was using split three year old red oak firewood and only used seven pieces all day. Once the temperature in the room reached seventy-five, I kept the air intake dampened down. It was only open enough to give us a soft pretty fire. The windows still had to be open to keep the temperature down in the comfort range. [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img]
I have the option of ducting some heat to another area of the house but that only is 500 square feet. The fan unit will still push most of the heat into the great room because that is the shortest least restrictive path.
I have never heated a home with wood and was very surprised at the output of this unit. I do not know if I am over looking something or just plain doing something wrong. How can I burn this unit more without turning the house into a sauna? [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
It sounds like the problem is a combination of heavy insulation and big fireplace. The house can't cool off fast enough to handle 8,000 BTU constant. You can try venting some of the heat into the rest of the house. It might help and it might not. Open windows are kind of common with wood heat since it's hard to regulate. Does the fireplace draw air from outside for combustion?
Yes, it does draw air for combustion from the outside. It called for a four inch supply but did not burn well so we increased the supply to a six inch duct. That was a big improvement.
Yup. Wood heat is great but most (I hear it often) people with wood heat have the windows open occasionally. Two things I would do, wait (hope) for cooler weather and/or build a smaller fire. It might require maintaining it more often, but small fires usually work. You mentioned a draw problem, and that may have to be fixed to do the smaller fire routine. (I would cut each piece into two pieces for a shorter chunk of wood).
Good luck. I don't think you are doing anything "wrong", but just need to get used to your stove (we all had the same learning experience with new stoves - I am on my third one, and each was different and took a while to get used to).
I have to agree completely. I've had almost identical experience. The first fire I built in my first sealed fireplace insert (Earthstove brand) literally drove everyone out of the house for a few hours. It's a learning curve. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
The draw problem is fixed with the six inch duct and I can regulate the combustion air well.
The temperature is going to warm up for a few days before heading down again next week. When the temperature gets in the twenties again I will try your suggestion. It does make sense to just cut down the volume of the wood to help lower the BTU output . I may have been trying to do too much by just limiting the supply air.
I have a cord or two of smaller pieces that are all ready to go, I sure hope it helps. It was funny watching all the sweaters and jackets being hung on chairs as the room temperature went up.
Pound for pound, wood of egual moisture content should provide the same amount of heat. Some woods have more weight per unit of volume, so burning the more dense woods, such as oak and maple, seem to give more heat because you don't have to carry so many pieces to the stove.
I had a good friend who worked out what species was best for a plantation that would supply his heating needs, and he planted soft maple. Soft maple "grew" the most BTU's per acre per year, taking into account the growth volume and the BTU's per volume of wood. Soft maple is not a very dense wood, as compared to oak or hard maple. He had six acres of soft maple, and planned for it to keep him supplied with a renewable fuel resource. He just passed away about 20 years before he had the opportunity to do more than see the plantation get big enough to start the rotation. He enjoyed the challenge anyway.
When I get a good fire going for an extended period of time, I'll turn on the low speed fan on the oil furnace to circulate the air through the house. Otherwise we have to wear shorts in the living room and a parka in the bathroom.
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