Drolet Myriad/Austral Update

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Huntindog1

Minister of Fire
Dec 6, 2011
1,879
South Central Indiana
Had some real cold weather to test out the Drolet Myriad last week.
-15 one morning and wind chills were even more that morning like around -25.
My house is around 2600 sq ft which 700 sq ft is a basement family room.
I have noted before this is a radiating beast of a stove.
As it doesnt use any insulation in the baffle stainless steel manifold
and the fire brick only comes up a little over half way up the sides of the firebox.
This is truely a happy medium of the old steel stoves of the past and meeting emissions.
Not the cleanest burning stove but as said does meet current emissions. (I know new standards were just released)
After reading the long post about hybrid technology and Cat only vs hybrid Technology.
I really have to say this $689 stove I got on sale is all I need. Plus I got the $200 tax credit
when I filed my taxes.
So to get to the specifics I was waking up to a nice warm house of 70-72 degrees
on all those cold mornings last week. I am getting easily 10 hour burns and an occasional
12 and 13 hour burns. Defined as having enough coals to start another wood load easily.
I dont need 20 or 30 hour burn times as loading in the morning and loading after work and
loading before bed suits me just fine. I will save around $1200 in heating cost over my electric
base board heat. As I cut my own wood.

Life is Good!!
 
Gotta love a big honkin steel stove.
 
My stove has the same firebox as yours. I love the stove!

My only complaint is simple: since there is no insulation above the baffle and the fire bricks only go up the side, it takes the stove about 30 minutes to get to cruising temperatures. I have tried friend's stoves who have a blanket above the baffle and fire bricks to the top...the stove reaches cruising temperature in about half the time.

This time to reach cruising temperatures likely increases the emission standards...it takes time for the secondaries to start cruising.

Andrew
 
Bought this heater on sale too at Menards for about the same $ last February. It's a steal at that price for a well-built stove this large with a blower and ash pan thrown in. I like the bypass too and the damper control has a lot of range. Dog, you ever experiment with adding more firebrick up the sides? Thought I saw a discussion about this and was wondering if you tried it to see if the stove performed any better or worse.
 
  • Like
Reactions: larryjbjr
Love my Austral :) Agree with the comments posted above - I might try some more brick as well, I wonder if I can find some that are longer so that I don't need to stack them, or I might look at somehow shaving them so they angle towards the outsides and therefore hopefully less likely to fall.
I do find it interesting that the manual states don't load above the bricks - which I always do! Note that I don't let wood lean against the steel, I never let it sit on the top side of the bricks. I can't see any issues with loading the stove up, typically I jam pack it full right to the top, only trick I find is check to make sure the bypass will close! lol. (sometimes a chunk gets in the way and I have to reposition it accordingly.)

But all in all the heat that pumps out of this very inexpensive stove is amazing - plus I find it burns for a long long time - for example today I woke up, stove had last been loaded 10 hours previously and I reloaded it only with large chunk of wood no tiny splits at all as there was a ton of hot coals there to get things going.

E.
 
Love my Austral :) Agree with the comments posted above - I might try some more brick as well, I wonder if I can find some that are longer so that I don't need to stack them, or I might look at somehow shaving them so they angle towards the outsides and therefore hopefully less likely to fall.
I do find it interesting that the manual states don't load above the bricks - which I always do! Note that I don't let wood lean against the steel, I never let it sit on the top side of the bricks. I can't see any issues with loading the stove up, typically I jam pack it full right to the top, only trick I find is check to make sure the bypass will close! lol. (sometimes a chunk gets in the way and I have to reposition it accordingly.)

But all in all the heat that pumps out of this very inexpensive stove is amazing - plus I find it burns for a long long time - for example today I woke up, stove had last been loaded 10 hours previously and I reloaded it only with large chunk of wood no tiny splits at all as there was a ton of hot coals there to get things going.

E.
Not sure exactly what to expect by adding more firebrick other than less heat emitting from the sides of the stove which would probably lead to quicker and possibly hotter top temps and more/longer secondary action. Should definetly help with the warpage seen on the sides above the firebrick. If your handy and have a table saw one way to hold the the additional layer of bricks would be to cut them and the original ones in a manner shown in this sketch. image.jpg
 
I added brick to my Drolet Baltic before I sold it last year. It made a small difference in holding heat in the fire box. I added them along the sides on the top. It won't cost much to try it.
 
I added brick to my Drolet Baltic before I sold it last year. It made a small difference in holding heat in the fire box. I added them along the sides on the top. It won't cost much to try it.
Realstihl, see you have the Drolet 1800 now, just curious why you sold the bigger Baltic and bought a smaller stove. A lot of burners wished they'd gone bigger.
 
I havent had any warpage on my stove but the paint looks different above the fire bricks as its getting more heat.
I find this stove likes to cruise at around 600 stove top temp and 300-350 stove pipe temp about 12 inches up on a
single wall pipe. This stove can be over fired if you forget to shut it down properly but the stove seems to not be a stove
that likes to get too hot or get too hot easily but it can be done. I have seen people put straight edges on stoves and look
for warpage but I would imagine any steel stove has slight warpages. These stoves are well made and has very nice heavy welds
that look like a robot done them and the top plate is 5/16th inch which is pretty heavy duty.

As far as the extra bricks go, I have recently tried two extra bricks on each side of as to not go farther back than that as it slightly retricts the
bypass damper from opening but the damper does almost open all the way if you do go farther back. I guess you could cut some bricks down or notch them.
I see a nice small increase in performance. But I think you can get the same using extra good dry seasoned wood like 18% moisture or less. But extra heat held in the firebox should improve emissions of the entire wood burn cycle as thats the main way these stoves meet emissions theory of operation. There is no way to put insulation on top of the manifold stainless baffle as there is no room to get up on top of the manifold. I am pretty sure the PE puts insulation in their stainless baffles. The insulation I used is ceramic 2300 degree.

fire brick 1.jpg fire brick 2.jpg FireBrick Backing.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thx for the info dog I'll have to give the extra firebricks a try. Not disappointed at all with the performance of the stove so far with this being my first full winter burning in it and first full year ever burning wood. When there's been issues, I know I can chaulk it up to subpar wood (too wet) and operator error. Only in the last month and a half or so have I become more confident in running the stove, mostly because of the knowledge I've gained here. Prior to that I relied too much on what a friend was telling me when it comes to wood and stove operation, and I'm pretty sure I probably over-fired her a few times last Feb. burning kiln dried scrap wood, so maybe that's why I see some warpage on the sides (seems permanent but the welds look fine and no top warpage). Had a cheap temp gauge, actually two from different manufacturers but they were reading much lower than the Condars I replaced them with this year (they're definitely worth the extra $). Yes, I've totally been bitten by the wood burning bug now that I'm starting to see good results like you and and the other knowledgable burners here see every day. So glad I stumbled across this place.;lol
 
Im pleased with my Austral as well, altho not as enthusiastically as you apparently are. That last cold snap i had to run my wood furnace to help my Austral keep my 1600 sq ft house warm, but i like it in the 78 degree range. Enough coals to start a new fire after 9 hrs if i rake them to the front and leave the door cracked for a bit to get the coals glowing. My biggest dislike is that damn by pass damper. If you're not careful loading and hit it with a piece of wood it will swing open. A few days ago the chimney hit 550 degrees after loading, smoke alarms went off, hot metal smell real strong but the stove top temp was only about 300 and im freaking out trying to figure out whats going on. Finally i notice the bypass damper was slightly cracked open maybe an inch. Got to be real careful around that thing, easy to bump it and have it swing open. Overall im happy but there have been some growing pains along the way.
 
Im pleased with my Austral as well, altho not as enthusiastically as you apparently are. That last cold snap i had to run my wood furnace to help my Austral keep my 1600 sq ft house warm, but i like it in the 78 degree range. Enough coals to start a new fire after 9 hrs if i rake them to the front and leave the door cracked for a bit to get the coals glowing. My biggest dislike is that damn by pass damper. If you're not careful loading and hit it with a piece of wood it will swing open. A few days ago the chimney hit 550 degrees after loading, smoke alarms went off, hot metal smell real strong but the stove top temp was only about 300 and im freaking out trying to figure out whats going on. Finally i notice the bypass damper was slightly cracked open maybe an inch. Got to be real careful around that thing, easy to bump it and have it swing open. Overall im happy but there have been some growing pains along the way.
Where is your stove located? Open concept floor plan? Your cold snap has also been REALLLY cold. 1600 sq ft when it's -25F outside is a lot of space to hear if there's not much insulation in the attic and walls.

My stove heats my house well once it's going. 1300 sq ft per level, stove is in the basement, basement walls are R24.

Andrew
 
Where is your stove located?

lower level, perfect spot as heat radiates thru the house nicely. Attic is chock full of blown insulation, walls are cement block. Probably doesnt help im gone for 8 hrs and can't stoke the stove. It's a nice stove, not sure i would refer to it as a heating beast tho. Stove top doesnt stay at 600 degrees more than an hour or so.
 
Most people keep their house around 70 - 72 , I have heard from some folks that like it cooler but thats not for me.

Trying to keep your house 78 would be a chore for sure.

With these secondary air type stoves if these is just a little bit too much moisture in the wood it seems to affect heat output
due to the cooling the moisture does to the secondary action. I get best heat out put with wood that is 18% moisture content or less.

The reason the stove is a radiating beast is it doesnt use any insulation or ceramic baffle board in the top of the stove its use a stainless steel
manifold that conducts heat up thru it unlike a ceramic baffle board that is meant to keep heat inside the firebox. Plus the sides of the stove
only has the firebrick which is used to insulated the firebox also , the fire brick only comes up the sides of the stove around half way. alot of heats radiates out
the sides of the stove due to this. My other stove I used to have had fire brick all the way up the sides and used a ceramic baffle board plus had a blanket of ceramic insulation on top of the baffle board for an extra effect.

But in the end its just steel stove of 3.2 cu ft and only hold so much wood that has only so many btu's.
 
Im pleased with my Austral as well, altho not as enthusiastically as you apparently are. That last cold snap i had to run my wood furnace to help my Austral keep my 1600 sq ft house warm, but i like it in the 78 degree range. Enough coals to start a new fire after 9 hrs if i rake them to the front and leave the door cracked for a bit to get the coals glowing. My biggest dislike is that damn by pass damper. If you're not careful loading and hit it with a piece of wood it will swing open. A few days ago the chimney hit 550 degrees after loading, smoke alarms went off, hot metal smell real strong but the stove top temp was only about 300 and im freaking out trying to figure out whats going on. Finally i notice the bypass damper was slightly cracked open maybe an inch. Got to be real careful around that thing, easy to bump it and have it swing open. Overall im happy but there have been some growing pains along the way.

I was thinking over the weekend , you should check your door gasket and how it seals as you said your only getting your 600 degree cruising temp for only an hour. I adjusted my door latch which isnt too hard of a process, hardest part is pulling the roll pin that serves as a stop for the door handle rotation so it wont rotate too far backwards as the handle latch is a threaded part thru the door itself as thats how you adjust the latch to latch tighter. After pulling the roll pin using vise grip pliers and tap it a little with a hammer, you then turn the handle one complete turn "Counter Clock Wise". This will put more pressure on the door gasket as the gasket wears over time or gets compressed over time.

door latch adjust.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: KindredSpiritzz
thanks Dog, thats info i was needing as i notice the door doesnt latch as snug anymore as it used to. In the past 2 weeks it has over fired more than it has in the past 4 months so i was beginning to suspect a loose gasket might be an issue. Sounds easy enough to adjust.
 
well that didnt work so well. If i do one full revolution on the handle its to tight to close so i ended up having to do half a turn but now the handle sticks straight up and down when its closed which isnt ergonomically friendly.
 
Try backing it off 1 turn as I got confused on what a full turn was like it might have went more than 1

Mine was tight but wasn't sticking up but was sticking out to side slightly

I am going to put on new gasket in the off season
 
if i back it off another 1/2 turn im back to where i started, which im probably going to do as the handle drives me nuts sticking up now.
 
Mine is really tight after I adjusted , I just had to use more force.
I dont want to suggest that to you as if you break it you will be mad at me. LoL
I imagine we need new gaskets sometime but things are working fine for me now.
The stove works fine. Some people I know with really cold temps now have reported
they have to keep on the stove as it really takes off fast. I have noticed it too but
I think its due to the wood now being drier. For some reason minus temps seems to
take my wood to another level in dryness. I put one load on the other day and shut the door
and the by pass damper. It was on a good bed of coals and the wood immediately was off
gasing and I had secondary flames. Thats why I say when you learn these stoves and have
really good dry hard woods these stoves are easy to operate. I use really large splits with this stove.Small splits dont last as long. My splits are usually 6" to 9" kind of a triangle shape most of time. For most of the winter the wood could have been a little drier but this stove is forgiving.
The bypass damper is nice for the problem of coal buildup as it lets higher air flow thru the stove when you need to burn down coals quickly.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.