Drolet HeatMax Review/Install

KL3540 said:

until march of 2014

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Posted the sale info ^^^ on the Tundra/heatmax thread over on AS, hope it was/ is OK to use your pic KL!

Absolutely

Hi I'm new to this site and found the discussion of interest. I'm considering purchasing a new Tundra to replace my old Riteway model 37, which is a real creosote maker. After reading the installation/owners manual, it sounds like quite a science on how to maintain a fire correctly. It states that all the wood should be cut so the length doesn't vary more than 2 inches? I 'm used to filling the firebox and forget it. What has been others experiences with these units. Second question , how do the spend ashes and embers get into the ash tray, manually? Thanks

Having all the wood the same length isn't crucial to proper operation, just has to fit in.
Ashes are pushed into the ashpan manually. Most don't use it, just shovel out the stove when it's time and be done with it. I have a stove with the same ashpan setup, never used it, not once, way to fiddley for my liking.

Hey all, I just got my heatmax in last week and so far it's been a dream to run. The house (1500 sq ft , two story old farm house) gets to 74 easily and stays there. Last few nights we've had to shed both blankets and clothing just to stay comfortable in bed (this is s definite plus). My question is this, I've hooked up 8in duct work to two the side by side holes (the ones parallel with the front or back of machine). One duct flows to a floor register in my first floor, a run of about 10 ft, it's the duct on the top right of the unit. The other duct (left side) I connected to a duct that my oil furnace used to service that goes to the second floor bathroom. With the new duct work and the old I would estimate it being about 20 ft with of duct to the second floor. What I'm finding is that the duct that goes to the second floor gets warm/real warm. When the blower is running both ducts are the same temp BUT when the blower isn't running the duct that goes upstairs is still warm while the duct that goes to the first floor is cool to the touch. Why is this? I would rather the consistent heat go to the first floor and then work it's one way up through the house rather than pour out into the bathroom. Any thoughts ? My speculation would be that warm air wants to rise and maybe it can possibly do that quicker through the upstairs ducts because it almost acts like a chimney drawing the heat because it goes 10 ft vertical through the wall. Curious what people's ideas/recommendations would be. What do you think about installing a manual damper right about the unit in the duct so I can put it to half flow? How far away from furnace top (right at top, ten inches, 3 ft down the line)? Thanks all!!

TallBoy said:

My speculation would be that warm air wants to rise and maybe it can possibly do that quicker through the upstairs ducts because it almost acts like a chimney drawing the heat because it goes 10 ft vertical through the wall. Curious what people's ideas/recommendations would be. What do you think about installing a manual damper right about the unit in the duct so I can put it to half flow? How far away from furnace top (right at top, ten inches, 3 ft down the line)? Thanks all!!

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Yup, chimney effect.
Install damper wherever...

Brenndatomu, thanks .... damper is installed an functioning properly, both runs of duct work are now an even temp when blower isn't running . Now I've got a couple of more questions to ask. 1. They sell a filter attachment kit, not wanting to shell out 40 bucks or wait the two weeks for it to arrive I fabbed up my own brackets to hold the filter and blocked off the other two sides of the blower unit with sheet metal and foil tape. My question is, on the side the filter is installed is it recommended to chop out the grate (its only held on by a number of metal tabs) or just install the filter over the grate. Certainly the grate blocks some percentage of air flow . 2. When burning the stove I usually fire it up with damper open for about 10 mins then close damper and let run. This keeps the house toasty and the heat from flying up my chimney. But I have notice the temperatures on my stove pipe thermometer are pretty low (under 200- creosote range) , the pipe gets into the 400-500 range and higher when the damper is open. Is the cool burning of this furnace normal operation and nothing to worry about because the secondary combustion is burning up a lot of what would become creosote on the walls of my chimney. My thinking is that firing the stove a few times a day should bake/flake off any build up on the pipe. Thoughts? Merry Christmas to all....

I got the filter kit with my Tundra, but I didn't open it before the installers installed it. I think it came with 2 blank sheets of metal, because when I got home the installers had removed all 3 sides of grating, and covered them with the filter on 1 side and the full sheets of metal on the other two sides. I don't see a reason to keep the grate on the backside of your filter.

Hi my tundra was working perfect then halfway thru last winter the heat seemed to be staying in the furnace. The pipes going to the duct work was barely warm while the front of the furnace was extremely hot. We cleaned the heat exchangers didnt change. Any suggestions. We purchased new in the fall of 2014

ktys said:

Hi my tundra was working perfect then halfway thru last winter the heat seemed to be staying in the furnace. The pipes going to the duct work was barely warm while the front of the furnace was extremely hot. We cleaned the heat exchangers didnt change. Any suggestions. We purchased new in the fall of 2014

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The blower was working normally?
ANY other changes ANYwhere in the system?

ktys said:

Hi my tundra was working perfect then halfway thru last winter the heat seemed to be staying in the furnace. The pipes going to the duct work was barely warm while the front of the furnace was extremely hot. We cleaned the heat exchangers didnt change. Any suggestions. We purchased new in the fall of 2014

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Check it out, you most likely now have a cracked fire box. You will want it replaced before the heating season.

check the vermiculite baffle above the burn tubes. They have a tendency to crack. Had it happen twice on mine.

I have just hooked up my new tundra about a week ago, and I'm still learning how to operate it. Seems to be a well built unit. Just have a few questions.

#1. I noticed some moisture dripping out of the back of the unit when I have the damper shut. Is this normal? I'm burning well seasoned red oak.

#2. How hot should the stove be, before shutting down the damper?

#3. I hooked my duct work up front to back and noticed the 8" duct pipe in front towards the door is far warmer than the one towards the back. Why is this? Just so you know I do not have a barometric damper installed

Thanks for any feedback

Craig9702 said:

I have just hooked up my new tundra about a week ago, and I'm still learning how to operate it. Seems to be a well built unit. Just have a few questions.

#1. I noticed some moisture dripping out of the back of the unit when I have the damper shut. Is this normal? I'm burning well seasoned red oak.

#2. How hot should the stove be, before shutting down the damper?

#3. I hooked my duct work up front to back and noticed the 8" duct pipe in front towards the door is far warmer than the one towards the back. Why is this? Just so you know I do not have a barometric damper installed

Thanks for any feedback

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Howdy Craig!
#1. Not normal. Sure your wood is truly dry? Oak is known to hold moisture forever. You either have wet wood or low draft, or both. Could be you are shutting the damper too soon, does it maintain as good secondary burn after the damper is closed for a while? The secondary burn should only go out after the wood is burnt down, a number of hours at least.
#2. Put a mag thermometer on the heat exchanger clean out door (above the firebox door) IIRC most people run that around 350. Even better, get a probe type thermometer to stick in the stove pipe, run 'er up to 5-600* before shutting damper down.
#3. That is why they recommend using the 2 side x side outlets, the rear outlet is just getting the leftover heat from the front one. What is your draft like, no way to know if you need a baro without that reading. Without a known t's kinda like hooking a loaded trailer to a truck and you have no idea if the truck has a 4, 6, or 8 cyl engine. The chimney draft is the engine of a wood burner...

For much more info on the Tundra...https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/everything-drolet-tundra-heatmax.140788/

brenndatomu said:

Howdy Craig!
#1. Not normal. Sure your wood is truly dry? Oak is known to hold moisture forever. You either have wet wood or low draft, or both. Could be you are shutting the damper too soon, does it maintain as good secondary burn after the damper is closed for a while? The secondary burn should only go out after the wood is burnt down, a number of hours at least.
#2. Put a mag thermometer on the heat exchanger clean out door (above the firebox door) IIRC most people run that around 350. Even better, get a probe type thermometer to stick in the stove pipe, run 'er up to 5-600* before shutting damper down.
#3. That is why they recommend using the 2 side x side outlets, the rear outlet is just getting the leftover heat from the front one. What is your draft like, no way to know if you need a baro without that reading. Without a known t's kinda like hooking a loaded trailer to a truck and you have no idea if the truck has a 4, 6, or 8 cyl engine. The chimney draft is the engine of a wood burner...

For much more info on the Tundra...https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/everything-drolet-tundra-heatmax.140788/

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Thanks..... I think my whole problem with the dripping is because I do t ramp up the firebox temp hot enough before shutting the damper down. Now that you say it.....I also noticed my secondarys only burn for about 20-30 minutes after shutting it down. I think that goes hand in hand with the dripping. I have a 20-30 ft masonry chimney with a 8x11 clay lined flue, so I don't think there is a draft issue. I will get the thermometers and try that. Thanks again

Craig9702 said:

I have a 20-30 ft masonry chimney with a 8x11 clay lined flue, so I don't think there is a draft issue

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You might be surprised. SBI calls for a 6" chimney which is ~27 sq inches (round) 8 x 11 is more like 88 which is over 3 X larger. I would bet your draft is low.
Try the higher firebox temps, see what happens. One thing to keep in mind is that if it is partially a draft issue, that will improve with colder weather. Many chimneys don't do too well when the outside temp is much over 35-40*

Your condensing your flue gasses in the chimney, your liner is too large. We had the same setup and the same problems. A cool chimney with a larger liner only hurts draft. A properly sized liner keeps the flue gasses hot, which improves draft and eliminates condensation. If you wood isn't seasoned properly, it only compounds the problem.

Craig9702 said:

Thanks..... I think my whole problem with the dripping is because I do t ramp up the firebox temp hot enough before shutting the damper down. Now that you say it.....I also noticed my secondarys only burn for about 20-30 minutes after shutting it down. I think that goes hand in hand with the dripping. I have a 20-30 ft masonry chimney with a 8x11 clay lined flue, so I don't think there is a draft issue. I will get the thermometers and try that. Thanks again

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There is only one way to determine if your draft is right - measure it with a manometer. Cheap & easy.

laynes69 said:

Your condensing your flue gasses in the chimney, your liner is too large. We had the same setup and the same problems. A cool chimney with a larger liner only hurts draft. A properly sized liner keeps the flue gasses hot, which improves draft and eliminates condensation. If you wood isn't seasoned properly, it only compounds the problem.

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Is putting in a liner something you can do yourself?. If so how do you get the 90 degree elbow hooked up so you can hook your stove pipe to it when it's inside the chimney?

Craig9702 said:

Is putting in a liner something you can do yourself?

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Yes

Craig9702 said:

If so how do you get the 90 degree elbow hooked up so you can hook your stove pipe to it when it's inside the chimney?

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https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.c...How-to-Install-a-Chimney-Liner-Tee-Connector/

Craig9702 said:

my secondarys only burn for about 20-30 minutes after shutting it down.

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That kind of sounds to me like wet wood. Or else burning balsa wood. What I've found with my Tundra is somewhat like:

-If secondaries stay lit for 0-5 minutes after closing the damper, either the firebox was too cold or the wood is too wet.

-If secondaries stay lit for 10-30 minutes after closing the damper, that means the firebox was warm enough but the wood was too wet.

-If secondaries stay lit for 2+ hours after closing the damper, the firebox was warm enough and the wood was dry enough.

That's just me, and it may change for you if your draft is off.

brenndatomu said:

Howdy Craig!
#1. Not normal. Sure your wood is truly dry? Oak is known to hold moisture forever. You either have wet wood or low draft, or both. Could be you are shutting the damper too soon, does it maintain as good secondary burn after the damper is closed for a while? The secondary burn should only go out after the wood is burnt down, a number of hours at least.
#2. Put a mag thermometer on the heat exchanger clean out door (above the firebox door) IIRC most people run that around 350. Even better, get a probe type thermometer to stick in the stove pipe, run 'er up to 5-600* before shutting damper down.
#3. That is why they recommend using the 2 side x side outlets, the rear outlet is just getting the leftover heat from the front one. What is your draft like, no way to know if you need a baro without that reading. Without a known t's kinda like hooking a loaded trailer to a truck and you have no idea if the truck has a 4, 6, or 8 cyl engine. The chimney draft is the engine of a wood burner...

For much more info on the Tundra...https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/everything-drolet-tundra-heatmax.140788/

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Well I picked up a magnetic thermometer and put it on my stove pipe and I am standing in front of my stove doing my first burn since getting it.......I can tell you for sure I haven't even come close to having this stove anywhere this hot yet and I'm only at 400 degrees on the pipe.....I will fill you in after a long burn to see how long the secondaries burn and to see if I get any more moisture......thanks again

Do you have single or double wall stove pipe?
If that is double wall then the internal temps are gonna be much higher, like double at least. I was referring to an internal temp earlier. With the mag type thermos they will give you a rough idea on the temp but they are notorious for being inaccurate and the internal temps can run 50-100% higher than the externals. Just so you are aware...
I still think you are loosing your draft after the damper closes for a bit. I agree with @maple1 above, you need to check the draft with a meter. PM me if you are interested, I have a cheap manometer for sale...

Craig9702 said:

Well I picked up a magnetic thermometer and put it on my stove pipe and I am standing in front of my stove doing my first burn since getting it.......I can tell you for sure I haven't even come close to having this stove anywhere this hot yet and I'm only at 400 degrees on the pipe.....I will fill you in after a long burn to see how long the secondaries burn and to see if I get any more moisture......thanks again

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Magnetic thermometers can give very misleading readings. It is a lot hotter inside the pipe than it is saying. Get a probe thermometer.

And brenn's manometer.