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

[byron2]

I honestly don't even want to think about having to install a new one. Just trying to get that thing in my basement was one of the worst things I've ever had to do. Heavier than hell even with 3 people and a dolly I still managed to break my basement stairs because of the weight and I had to spend another whole day building new basement stairs.

That sucks I have a daylight but it still was a ***** to get in there.....I don't have any cracks as of yet but I'm losing confidence in this thing.....If I have to I'll reinstall my old furnace it really wasn't all that bad..... I like the efficiency of theses epa stoves but they have to be durable..... I missed something in this thread about the ash draw not sure if I have one of the problem stoves or not.......But all these things are pushing me hard to bail on this rig....

 

[byron2]

After a close inspection last night ,to my surprise I see mine is starting to get a crack in each upper corner of the door . I contacted sbi today and waiting in response .. What a shame after I endorsed this product to others ..I was willing to overlook the ash drawer but this is getting ridiculous . I believe the next furnace will be a max caddy . Now I must admit I'm not sure even at a cheap price that the tundra is a good option

you had no way of knowing this things were going to be cracking.....I blame myself for not researching more ..I really didn't even know the epa had put all these restrictions in place ..... oh well

 

[Mlaw22]

When it happened to mine I played homeowner stupid. They never asked about my setup just wanted pics. I also brought up the ash pan problem. They just send a new one no questions. I kinda just wanted my money back due to the high annoyance and anger that was flowing through my body but I took what I could get. When I got the second one I had issues with the snap disc on top closing the damper door to early cause the fan limit was on the back and they weren't working together. After several emails I think they have given up on me. The new unit has some beefier welds in all the corners and it seems to be holding up fine.

 

[Wisneaky]

I got a reply back from SBI. These crazy @ss people want me to return the furnace to Menards and they will ship a replacement there for me. I'm not pulling it out. They can send someone to my house to replace it.

 

[byron2]

I got a reply back from SBI. These crazy @ss people want me to return the furnace to Menards and they will ship a replacement there for me. I'm not pulling it out. They can send someone to my house to replace it.

Jesus I looked at mine real close late last night I have a crack bottom right corner of the loading door... Its goes through the weld and into the face steel about 1/2 inch ....They are probably going to screw me because I have it plugged into the 8x8 masonry chimney and the fact that I installed it myself...Warranty conditions say an authorized qualified technician must perform the installation.....

 

[bpwelding2005]

cant figure out why they would market this furnace to big box stores for the do it your selfer but then require professional instal for the warranty to be valid.

 

[byron2]

cant figure out why they would market this furnace to big box stores for the do it your selfer but then require professional instal for the warranty to be valid.

Not sure but its a way out for them also its a limited lifetime with a one time replacement limit...they can just give you another one and all bets are off after that ....not saying that's what they are going to do but that's how it reads to me ....Any way I called the store where I got mine and started the wheels in motion the good news is they only sold two and he remembers me ...

when I brought mine at Paris Farm the display stove was on the crate the manual was packed in side ....I should have made them open it up but I trusted what the guy told me ....

 

[byron2]

Hi guys I've been following the tread over at Hearth......A couple of things that come to mind ..#1 the way they made the door opening it looks like they punched and then bent the flanges out and welded the corners....It may well have been better to weld an angle iron there to make up the flange...

#2 Those with caddy's aren't seeing any cracks my thinking there is that from what I have read is the front of the caddy is enclosed and part of the heat exchange to the hot air plenum ...The blower would be keeping it cooler no ?

The other thing is what is to hot on the front ? The manual recommends keeping an eye on how hot things are getting but say nothing about what's to hot...Also my heatmax has a high limit cutoff... I don't remember the limit its either 160 or 200 it shut the damper down ... I've been using my stove just to hold the house at 70 I have a thermostat set up on it ...If the house is more than a couple of degrees below 70 I've been turning the oil on to bring the house up while I get the Heatmax loaded and warmed up .....Now I don't know what happens in the middle of a real cold night I suppose it could over fire if the thermostat is calling but shouldn't the cut off take care of that .?

 

[JRHAWK9]

Does the Tundra/Caddy have any ceramic lining on the inside to help protect the inside of the firebox?

 

[brenndatomu]

Firebrick lined, but bare metal at the front where the cracks are

 

[JRHAWK9]

lining the front face with some decent thickness ceramic insulation may help, if there's even room for it.

 

[KARB2014]

I'm just thinking out loud here but do you think it could possible have something to do with the fact that the caddy was engineered with a plenum. I know on my tundra the high limit switch is located in between the two side by side 8" outlets. When I measure with my infared thermometer with the damper open the top towards the front of the unit gets over 200 degs while in the middle where I have the two outlets connected its only ever gotten to 165 max. So my theory is all the air movement is in the back up to the middle and the front of the unit just gets heat soaked? I used the two side by side in the middle outlets because that is what drolet recomended in the manual. What I did on my unit was I moved the high limit from the middle of the top to the cover for the front outlet. The reason being is my house with the old windows has a huge heat demand. When the thermostat calls for heat the damper will be open for 30-40 mins at a time. I would notice the high limit was never reached because in the factory location it was getting all the air flow. I'm just think with a plenum the temp would be more even through out the fire box and possibly the damper would not have to be open as much easing the heat load? Plus on the caddy doesn't it sense the actual air temp in the plenum? With the tundra the snap disc measure the metal enclousure which would take a lot more time to get up to temp compared to just measuring the air temp.

 

[Tomc460]

I've been periodically checking his thread to see what people have to say about this new furnace. I bought a Heatmax last fall so this was my 1st winter with it. I really like the way it performs! My only complaints/concerns were that my damper door sometimes doesn't close all the way, staying open about 1/4" or so, & something in the door rattles when the blower is on, but the damper door is shut. These WERE my only issues until I clicked on this thread last night & started reading about CRACKS!?!?! So, I head down to the basement last night to inspect mine & my Heatmax is just like some of yours out there. Definitely disappointing!! So what should I do? Also, what the ash door problems? I've seen mention of it but no definite answer. Thanks

 

[brenndatomu]

So what should I do? Also, what the ash door problems? I've seen mention of it but no definite answer. Thanks

Call or email SBI, they have been taking care of people on this. At least as long as your install is not too squirrely anyways. FYI, they will want pics of your setup and any/all cracks.
I wonder if this damper linkage hanging up thing could have something to do with these cracks (overheating)...that would explain why the Tundras are cracking and Caddys are not...different linkage

 

[flotek]

They will refund or offer to replace . They will want lots of info and pictures concerning this but don't be intimidated it's for records to file a claim . They r refunding me full cost on mine . My install was not a pro job .

 

[byron2]

well we my story I'm plugged into a 8x8 which measures just under 7x7 inside I didn't hide that fact I did it I'll own it ... I don't think that's why I got crack but I'll see what they'll do ...sent out pic and all today .......I'm no pro either but I thought it looked ok couple pics ..Idk maybe the old beast setting beside it got mad and kicked the droplet

 

[byron2]

this other fellow said this on the hearth site..... Laynes 69 quote: I honestly believe the lack of cracking on the Caddy is due to the false front, and the open plenum. I'm sure there's also a lag between a snapdisc and a limit control probe I hope Laynes 69 doesn't mind ...I agree 100 % that and I think with a thermostat setup there also a problem with long open damper times if the house gets behind....I in most cases I bring the house back with the oil which I have set at 70 .....Its good to hear they are taking care of everybody

 

[newyorker]

seen this thread and went and checked my caddy which is less then a year old and no cracking

 

[flotek]

I received a full refund for my drolet furnace .i have no complaints with sbi they have done me right and still allowed me to keep the unit as long as I removed the rear plate and mailed it to them. I ponied up and just bought a Max Caddy to replace it on Saturday . I will have install pics with a full review once it's installed and setup

 

[byron2]

SBI offered me full store credit or a new heatmax delivered to Paris Farmers Union " I chose store credit" , PFU in turn offered me the store credit or my money back..... I wasn't sure they would cover my stove because as you all know I had it set up in a masonry 8x8 flue liner.... But even after telling them all that they still went good for it ... You can't beat that in my case they went above and beyond.....
They also let me keep the unit less the tags which I have to take back to PFU.... PFU and SBI both have been excellent with the way they have handled this with me....
I have decided to try a different furnace that PFU sells called Fire Chief pick it up this weekend........Again thanks everybody for your help and advice