Quadrafire Insert 3100I
BUY BUY the insert TODAY don't wait. HUGE diffrence, I just have a cheap Dutchwest and it works great. I would guess it is a 80% improvment over the hole in the wall that was there before.
Quadrafire Insert 3100I
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have had this insert stove for 7 years. My house is a 5 bedroom farm ranch with 2800sqft. The stove is located on the first floor in the den, it heats up the adjacent kitchen and dining room. It also heats up the upstairs two bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I use doorframe fans to move the air from the den to the kitchen, and from the kitchen to the hallway where the hot air rises to the upstairs bedrooms.
I can fit 6 6"x17" logs and they last 8 hours where after 8 hours there are some red coals left at the bottom just enough to start another fire. At this point the stove is just warm. I have the dual blowers and use them 24/7 with the stove 24/7. We have 3 more bedrooms on the first floor and I keep the thermostat there at a constant 62°F ( a little cold but we got used to it fast). We have a 3 zone oil heating system, one for the upstairs and two for the first floor so as long as the outside temperature does not drop much below 30°F, only the first floor bedrooms zone is on only once in a while.
The Quadrafire has two levers, one for the flue and one for the air intake. When I first load the wood I leave the door a crack open (with the door handle down) for about 20 to 30 minuets to let the fire catch, then I close the door and let it run for another 5 to 10 minuets. Then I close the flue lever all the way and close the air intake ½ to 2/3 of the way, depending how cold the house is. For the first 45 minuets I run the blower ¼ speed and after the 45 minuets 2/3 to ¾ speed again depending on how cold the house is.
One interesting observation, I have a two zone central air system so I experimented with running the central air fans to move the warm air to the rest of the house. To my disappointment after 1 hour the temperature on the first floor bedrooms actually dropped one degree! I do not understand why but that is what happened.
I tried to give as much information as possible for any new woodstove users to get a feel on what is involved, I hope that helps.