Introducing Brand New Wood Furnace to Market - The Drolet Tundra!

[BrantSFGDS]

Yeah, I'll have to see what happens with the chimney. I'm not going to install the stove until after winter for various reasons. I'm hoping that I have enough draft when the stack is cold and that the baro will regulate it once it gets hot. I will consider the flex liner if I don't have minimum draft on start up. I would be really surprised if I don't have enough draft even with a cold stack. I've got to order a Mano tomorrow.
Anyway, I'm not sure about how to go about the flex liner set up because my pipe goes through the wall, not sure I could snake a liner through there, or if I would need to.

 

[flotek]

There are a few guys I have helped that have a tundra going into a older clay lined exterior chimney . Just my personal observation in what they say leads me to believe they are going through more wood and getting less burn time than others . I attribute that to the air flap intake being ran for extended periods to try to compensate for the poor draft situation and inability to satisfy the t stat setting

 

[Wisneaky]

There are a few guys I have helped that have a tundra going into a older clay lined exterior chimney . Just my personal observation in what they say leads me to believe they are going through more wood and getting less burn time than others . I attribute that to the air flap intake being ran for extended periods to try to compensate for the poor draft situation and inability to satisfy the t stat setting

they ever used a manometer to check the draft?

 

[BrantSFGDS]

I don't have this thing yet so I don't have all the specs yet but does this furnace call for a specific draft requirement?

 

[Wisneaky]

I don't have this thing yet so I don't have all the specs yet but does this furnace call for a specific draft requirement?

-.04 to -.08

 

[brenndatomu]

Anyway, I'm not sure about how to go about the flex liner set up because my pipe goes through the wall, not sure I could snake a liner through there, or if I would need to.

Flex liner with tee kit. You drop the liner down the chimney with the main body of the tee already clamped on. Once the liner is in place the snout of the tee is placed through the wall (where the stove pipe attaches) and clamped to the body of the tee from inside the snout. Sounds confusing but once you have one in your hand it becomes very obvious how it works and is very simple to do, even for a DIYer.

 

[BrantSFGDS]

Ol

Flex liner with tee kit. You drop the liner down the chimney with the main body of the tee already clamped on. Once the liner is in place the snout of the tee is placed through the wall (where the stove pipe attaches) and clamped to the body of the tee from inside the snout. Sounds confusing but once you have one in your hand it becomes very obvious how it works and is very simple to do, even for a DIYer.

great! I was having a hard time visualizing the set up. First thing is to see what my draft is with a meter and hopefully I won't need the liner.

 

[brenndatomu]

Ol

great! I was having a hard time visualizing the set up. First thing is to see what my draft is with a meter and hopefully I won't need the liner.

I'm bettin you will need it, but yeah, try it out first if ya wanna. Only thing is, if you are gonna install the furnace this summer, you will have no way to get an accurate test of chimney until the weather gets good and cold, and at that point if (when ) you need the liner it will stink to do install in the cold weather. It's doable, I've done it, just no fun.
At least with fire sale prices on the Tundra those savings will pay for the better part of a liner kit!

 

[BrantSFGDS]

I'm bettin you will need it, but yeah, try it out first if ya wanna. Only thing is, if you are gonna install the furnace this summer, you will have no way to get an accurate test of chimney until the weather gets good and cold, and at that point if (when ) you need the liner it will stink to do install in the cold weather. It's doable, I've done it, just no fun.
At least with fire sale prices on the Tundra those savings will pay for the better part of a liner kit!

I'm guessing what little bit of 8" pipe there is inside the house wouldn't be an issue?

 

[brenndatomu]

No, you just need to make sure the new 6" snout is long enough to come out past it.

 

[byron2]

There are a few guys I have helped that have a tundra going into a older clay lined exterior chimney . Just my personal observation in what they say leads me to believe they are going through more wood and getting less burn time than others . I attribute that to the air flap intake being ran for extended periods to try to compensate for the poor draft situation and inability to satisfy the t stat setting

I have the Heatmax plugged into a 8x8 masonry chimney which is inside the house... I'm probably 25ft from where the stove plugs in to the top...there is about 9ft going through the attic where its cold along with the chimney top 3 ft. outside... Problem one is the coaling issue but "I believe it was you who suggested" to crack the fill door open which helps ... I'm not sure what my draft is because I don't have the tool to check it and I'm not sure what to look for....

As for my house its a ranch built in the 70's 30 x 40 Ranch which has some problems ....could use better/new windows and more insulation in the attic R19 in the walls R19 ceiling ....At some point we will fix the windows maybe next summer...The attic is full of stuff which complicates fixing the problem up there as we need the storage space ... not to mention the ceiling joist are 2x6 and would need adding on to or something to get another 6 " in there big project and still have the storage...

For 30 plus years I've used a home built wood furnace and had no problem heating this house... probably average 5 cords a season.....but this heatmax below 10 degrees its a struggle to keep the temp up where I like it 73/75 ..... I should have studied what I was getting into with this Heatmax my fault there....The store had very little info with the display..So I should have done more research before buying .... I really wasn't looking for a rocket science wood burning stove but rather just trying to upgrade/replace the old one... I'm quite sure the heatmax would heat this house if all things were good but they are not at least for this winter..... At this point I'm not sure I'm willing to spend lets say 800 dollars on a liner for the chimney and when done still no guarantee I'm not going to have the coaling issue...... And I really don't want to baby sit this thing all the time ..... Sorry I'm venting a bit but I'm pretty sure I'm going to cut my losses with this one....Find something that will plug and play into a 8x8 masonry chimney and give me descent burn times......I want to thank everybody that posted in this thread as it was very helpful in understanding these EPA stoves.

One question has anyone ever thought about putting a hot air plenum on one of these things with a descent high/low limit switch to run the blower...the snap switches stink and the stove has very little hot air volume and quickly cuts the fan out ... just wondering.......thanks again Byron

 

[brenndatomu]

I have the Heatmax plugged into a 8x8 masonry chimney which is inside the house..

At this point I'm not sure I'm willing to spend lets say 800 dollars on a liner for the chimney and when done still no guarantee I'm not going to have the coaling issue

The larger size of the chimney and the fact that the top half is exposed to outdoor temps is very likely much of the issue. You can buy a liner kit for ~$350 or so...insulation for it (real good idea) for another ~$250

I'm not sure what my draft is because I don't have the tool to check it and I'm not sure what to look for....

Go on fleabay or the like look for a Dwyer Mark II manometer. They can be had for $20 if you are willing to shop a bit.

One question has anyone ever thought about putting a hot air plenum on one of these things with a descent high/low limit switch to run the blower...the snap switches stink and the stove has very little hot air volume and quickly cuts the fan out ... just wondering.......thanks again Byron

It has been done. I'm getting ready to set one up like that here pretty soon too (for somebody else)
If your fan cycles too much you may not have the static pressure set right. How is it ducted into the house?

 

[byron2]

The larger size of the chimney and the fact that the top half is exposed to outdoor temps is very likely much of the issue. You can buy a liner kit for ~$350 or so...insulation for it (real good idea) for another ~$250


Go on fleabay or the like look for a Dwyer Mark II manometer. They can be had for $20 if you are willing to shop a bit.


It has been done. I'm getting ready to set one up like that here pretty soon too (for somebody else)
If your fan cycles too much you may not have the static pressure set right. How is it ducted into the house?

Thanks for the response Brenndatomu....yeah I think my draft is maybe a bit low at times I use a paper clip to hold the damper door open just a little when the stove is at an idle ... the crazy thing is I have a double flue chimney with two 8x8 flues... after 30 years of wood up one side it was pretty bad so I lined it with a 6" ss liner.....Now mind you I had the heatmax setting in the crate all info about the stove deep inside the thing .....My thinking after looking at the new ss 6 liner was that the wood stove would be far better off and safer in the good side of my chimney .... Sooooo I moved everything around unhooked the oil hot air spun it 180 degrees refit everything putting the oil in the new ss liner ..... lol ... Like I said I didn't research the heatmax and got little info at the stove where I got it.... I liked what I saw figured it was plug and play....my bad all around

Thanks for the meter info some of them things I've seen are big bucks I can handle $20....

I suppose there is another tool to measure the static pressure ? I set up to 8 inch round mains and took of those with 6 inch to 5 spots in the upstairs 4 x 12 registers .....

I like the plenum idea how big are you going...I figured cover the four holes on the top of the stove but have no Idea on how tall it should be or doesn't it even matter ?

 

[brenndatomu]

I suppose there is another tool to measure the static pressure ?

I think you could do it with the Dwyer

I like the plenum idea how big are you going...I figured cover the four holes on the top of the stove but have no Idea on how tall it should be or doesn't it even matter ?

Whatever size the plenum on a Yukon Big Jack is...20"x 16" maybe? Yeah, height wouldn't really matter as long as you keep the required distance from combustibles...

 

[flotek]

Byron

It sounds like you have a high heat loss in your house . Modern EPA style furnaces don't roast you out like the old traditional grated units but they tend to burn longer and cleaner with smaller fire boxes . This produces a " softer " heat over a broader range of time ...and in order to keep your whole house in mid 70s on a 5 degree day with bad insulation and old windows it flat out requires a lot of btus ! Unfortunately That's not necessarily a strong point of these new secondary furnaces . A new Liner / flu setup and burning premium dry wood may be your answer to get that extra kick your looking for . It may be your wood is not as dry as it could be resulting in only mediocre heat output. I know for me a 300$ investment of loose cellulose blown in to my attic really helped hold the temperature in the house longer on the cold days

 

[byron2]

Byron

It sounds like you have a high heat loss in your house . Modern EPA style furnaces don't roast you out like the old traditional grated units but they tend to burn longer and cleaner with smaller fire boxes . This produces a " softer " heat over a broader range of time ...and in order to keep your whole house in mid 70s on a 5 degree day with bad insulation and old windows it flat out requires a lot of btus ! Unfortunately That's not necessarily a strong point of these new secondary furnaces . A new Liner / flu setup and burning premium dry wood may be your answer to get that extra kick your looking for . It may be your wood is not as dry as it could be resulting in only mediocre heat output. I know for me a 300$ investment of loose cellulose blown in to my attic really helped hold the temperature in the house longer on the cold days

Yeah the old place needs a little tlc, its been good us over the years... The windows are needing replacement, I put storms on them in the winter but they are still cold....So that will be the first fix this coming summer.... I got the wood tree length in Feb of last year I cut it up probably by the end of March then split it mid to late summer...Its outside covered with a tarp over the top open on the sides so it could be better I suppose we are also thinking about coming off the house with a shed roof ... I guess I need to commit to keeping this stove before I add the liner My concern is , is the coaling issue still going to be there ?
got some things to think about....

I do like how the stove burns but its been a bit of a learning curve ....Cold days like today is when I have the biggest problem with coal build up ....Right now I'm burning them down making ready for the overnight load.. I appreciate you responding flotek great forum good info from everybody thank you

 

[brenndatomu]

Put a magnetic temp gauge on the exchanger door and I've watched enough to know where the temps normally are.

So what kind of temps do you see?

 

[bedrock1]

Thanks Flotek. If that's set that low, it doesn't cool the heat exchanger too quickly huh? Do the stock ones have problems or are they just set too high? Just curious. I'm just wondering if that's my problem because it just started not heating as well (or long) out of the blue. Very happy with the furnace till it started chewing through the wood all the sudden.

hi im am new to the site I have trouble with my heat max my blower wont run long , I have 6 cord of wood gone in 3 months and no heat in my house. im not happy at all with my drolet, sbi is sending me a new 110/90 I will try that .

 

[Wisneaky]

hi im am new to the site I have trouble with my heat max my blower wont run long , I have 6 cord of wood gone in 3 months and no heat in my house. im not happy at all with my drolet, sbi is sending me a new 110/90 I will try that .

If the blower won't run long than the blower is more than likely set too high. Lower the blower speed to the lowest setting. I have mine set on the lowest and mine blows almost all the time.

 

[bedrock1]

If the blower won't run long than the blower is more than likely set too high. Lower the blower speed to the lowest setting. I have mine set on the lowest and mine blows almost all the time.

Hi I have the blower set low as it can go