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

[Mlaw22]

Uhg. I knew better. At the beginning I was going to do 45s but I got to eager beaver and wanted to get her up and running. I'll pick up some 45s today. Found a dweyer new on amazon for 25 bucks free ship. The only thing I don't have is the draft reg . I have double wall and the only one in town I can buy is single wall. Can I put a single wall baro in double wall pipe?

 

[laynes69]

I have 2-90's inside and a 90 in the chimney and I have too much draft. A draft too high, and it will send heat up the flue and lower burntimes. Our chimney is 32' feet tall, and we need a baro to lower the draft. What problems are you having with the damper? Also if you wait to close the damper after too long, it will lower the burntimes too. Verify draft before going to a barometric damper.

 

[Mlaw22]

It won't open without me giving it alittle nudge. Seems to be a pivot point the puller just can't get over. Think I can bend some things around but thought I'd wait for the response from drolet first. So you think I might be okay with 90s? I notice the caddy has an air intake hook up. Do you have that hooked up? Putting 45s is gonna blow!

 

[laynes69]

No intake here, my basement has more than enough make up air, it's stone walls with old beams. While the 90's aren't ideal, it doesn't mean it won't work. It's just more to overcome for draft. If your draft measures out, And there's no smoke spillage, personally I wouldn't worry about it. Our chimney is a little taller, but like I say, it drafts hard without the baro.

 

[flotek]

One thing to consider is the fixed thermo button thermostat fan switch ( it doesn't use a traditional adjustable thermodisk ) drolet has it so the furnace has to be super hot then it shuts off too quickly at 120 - but. In my opinion 120 on and 90 low limit is far better for this furnace and more ideal for a medium house and it only helps to run the blower longer in my experience no sense in having a nice bed of hot coals and no air blowing seems dumb to me anyways a variable dial fan switch . (5 minute swap and a 20$ adjustable universal switch at your local hvac )and this furnace cycles the fan a lot more ideal in my opinion drolet may not like it but it only helps most everyone I know sets their low limit at. 90-100.before doing that though I'd consult with drolet and then check your draft speed mine seems great I guess I was fortunate

 

[brenndatomu]

It won't open without me giving it alittle nudge. Seems to be a pivot point the puller just can't get over. Think I can bend some things around but thought I'd wait for the response from drolet first. So you think I might be okay with 90s? I notice the caddy has an air intake hook up. Do you have that hooked up? Putting 45s is gonna blow!

Ahh, OK, I didn't understand that you were having problems with the damper door working. Better get that fixed before changing thing too much. If the thermostat can cycle the burn, that may make a big difference for you. May explain why you have a large pile of coals left at the end.
Also, your chimney is a lot shorter than layne69s, a 32' chimney will overcome extra 90s, yours may not, but I'd get a draft reading before going to the trouble of changing to 45s though.

 

[laynes69]

Mlaw, are you runnin a thermostat on the furnace? Even with many coals in the firebox, you may not see much heat. This all depends where your at in the burn cycle. If you have a thermostat then disregard this, but if you don't this might be it. If your firebox is full of coals, but not receiving much air (damper closed, no call for heat) then they basically go dormant. On the otherhand, if you have a thermostat and the house is calling for heat, that coal bed may go from dormant to white hot. This triggers the snapdisc, and the blower starts to heat the house. When the thermostat is satisfied, the damper closes and the firebox temps drop back down. If you don't have a thermostat and you fill the firebox and leave, I can see where after 8 hours you have many coals, but little heat. After a while, they might ash up and insulate the coalbed. If you don't have a thermostat, get one. In the 30's, I can run off a coal bed for hours, with little to no flame.

 

[brenndatomu]

If you don't have a thermostat and you fill the firebox and leave, I can see where after 8 hours you have many coals, but little heat.

I have found that all the wood burners I have ever used work better if they are ran hard n hot for a bit (brought up to temp) before being left to run in the "autopilot" mode the rest of the day..."load n leave" seems to burn cool n dirty.
I agree, thermostat if not already installed (obviously the damper control needs to be working correctly for any of this to matter)

 

[Mlaw22]

This is making sense now. I have thermostat ready to go but havnt hooked it up due to the damper not opening. Ill get that fixed pronto. I still kinda like floteks thought. My first initial thought at the beginning when I first got Er goin was why is it hotter than heck and the fan isn't blowing? I'm used to the adjustable thermostat in back on the hotblast. But I don't wanna mess with warranty. So I'll get the damper and thermostat goin first and hopefully that solves it. Thanks. I'll let ya know. Manometer will be here sat .

 

[flotek]

Trying to run it manually doesn't work very well you need that wall thermostat to make it run correctly .sbi should have given the tundra an adjustable fan switch instead of a fixed one that had a high setting I realize their logic wanting to not cool the firebox on the unit but much heat is dormant and not getting into the ducting where it belongs . Perfect heavy bed of hot coals just sitting there and blower won't run cause its thermo switch thinks it needs to be a million degrees ..Bottom line is If that blower isn't going your house isn't being heated. The other thing is your wood has to be incredibly dry .i must have grabbed a piece the other day that was still moist boy what a mess
Because it keeps the heat in the unit it also keeps the creosote and tarry film in it too if its not burned off . Definitly better to have smaller dry splits than big wood or rounds that are questionable . It hates greenish wood

 

[spadjen]

One other thought, did you ever get any temp readings? Internal stove pipe temp (probe type thermo) or temp on the firebox? This being a new model, I can't tell you where those #s should be or the best "spot" to get them, but I do know that people with free standing stoves like to run 5-6, even as high as 700* stove top temps for them to work the best. Maybe some of your fellow Tundra owners here on AS could shoot some #s off theirs for ya? Guys (gals)?

I have a thermo gun. I have not been able to check it again since it has not really been cold out. but when it was 10 degrees and windy inside the firebox though the glass was 800-950 degrees. this was with the fire fully going. Side of unit was 120-140 ( i think) but that is insulated on the side. I did test the clean out door in the front and that was 400-500 but will have to double check again when it gets cold. Stove pipe prob only shows 200-300 most the time and sometimes less. Seems low to me. The prob just about never goes over 400-450 ish.

 

[brenndatomu]

I have a thermo gun. when it was 10 degrees and windy inside the firebox though the glass was 800-950 degrees. Stove pipe prob only shows 200-300 most the time and sometimes less. Seems low to me. The prob just about never goes over 400-450 ish.

Just FYI, those infrared guns don't take an accurate reading on glossy surfaces. Flat or satin black is recommended, a spot of electrical tape works good for a temporary spot to shoot (assuming the surface isn't too hot) I doubt the glass temp was accurate, although, it does sound about right. The temp you took from the clean out door would probably be a good one for you Tundra/Heatmax owners to use to make comparisons, IMO.
Your lower flue temps mean that your secondary heat exchanger is doing a good job!

 

[TruckerTeacher]

I'm having problems with the Tundra backdrafting , when it gets cold , air just pours down the chimney , added on a wind beater cap but it didn't help much. is there a flue fan to use to reverse the backdraft long enough to get a fire going cause after its hot I don't have any problems.

 

[brenndatomu]

Propane torch up the flue, or a hair dryer will warm your chimney enough to get it going.

 

[TruckerTeacher]

hair dryer not hot enough , been using torch but it almost doesn't work either , 3 / 90 deg binds in flue , 16 ft outside ,4 ft above roof line.

 

[flotek]

Just about Every stove or furnace I've used has that problem from a cold start ..its part of burning wood . I have found a few pieces of paper formed in loose balls up close the the door and light em off that sends the heat up to start /prime the draft always worked for me anyways

 

[brenndatomu]

hair dryer not hot enough , been using torch but it almost doesn't work either , 3 / 90 deg binds in flue , 16 ft outside ,4 ft above roof line.

Ahh, there ya go, with that chimney you are gonna have issues, plain and simple. Each 90 effectively cancels out 3-4 ft of your chimney height, most stove manuals call for 15-16' minimum (straight up, no 90s) You, in effect, have somewhere between a 3'-7' chimney depending on if you use the 3' or the 4' deduction for each 90. (see post #344 above from a respected manufacturer) Can you reroute the indoor pipe with 45s?
One other thought, some people have luck "priming" their chimneys by cracking a nearby window and then leaving the stove door open for 10-15 minutes before trying to light.

 

[brenndatomu]

Manometer will be here sat .

Get any readings yet?

 

[laynes69]

Yeah, you have too many elbows for a chimney that size. Whenever we light our furnace from a cold start, I do a top down fire. I light the fire, and crack the door open. After a minute or so I can close the door and let the fire take off. You need heat quickly to establish draft. With the design of the heat exchanger, the draft must be up to par.

 

[Mlaw22]

Get any readings yet?

It didn't come in yet. Slow mail being Xmas and all . I do the same thing with a ball of paper. It primes the chimney everytime. But it wouldn't work without outside air intake.