Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

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Sorry I understood it as you have to much draft. ;em
When the furnace is on "high fire" it could be too high, as @laynes69 explained so well, it dies off after the damper closes, and then you get condensation (and a mess) too
 
I didnt know you could install them horizontally?
Yup.
Here is a diagram out of my Yukon manual (which is straight off the Fields baro website) of where (how) you can put them in
https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/baro-png.155295/
baro-png.155295.png
 
Hi Craig.

They don't have the raw firepower of the old smoke dragons, it's more like slow n steady wins the race. How much house you heatin?

That is very likely an issue. That is almost 3 times the size flue that is called for. Once the intake damper closes and the firebox goes into "cruise" ( the hottest part of the burn) there is not enough heat being wasted up the chimney to keep draft going strong (-0.04" WC minimum) and that makes the fire die down. If you have a manometer it is easy to check this. If you don't have one, let me know, I can hook you up.

Gotta prevent backdraft. If nothing else, slide a piece of cardboard in next to the filter on the gas furnace (shut the power off) this will act as a poor mans backdraft damper temporarily.

You may not need one. A manometer would tell you for sure. You may be able to get by with a key damper (SBI says not to do this) but you would need a manometer to set and monitor setting the damper on each load.
You have plenty of room there for a baro by the way.

How's the wood you are burning.? These things like really dry wood, much more so than your old unit

the wood im burning is VERY dry red oak........how much for a manometor?
 
the wood im burning is VERY dry red oak........how much for a manometor?
$35 shipped. Brand new in the box Dwyer Mark II model 25...the same one most of us wood furnace guys use
 
No, and the numberses are backwards. ;) You may not need baro cause you probably have low draft. Why are you not going strait into the supply? Also there is plenty of room to tie into the return plenum.
 
No, and the numberses are backwards. ;) You may not need baro cause you probably have low draft. Why are you not going strait into the supply? Also there is plenty of room to tie into the return plenum.
What do you mean by going strait into the supply.....I need all the advice I can get.....after this winter I'm going to do everything in my power to get this thing running effeciently as possible
 
What do you mean by going strait into the supply.....I need all the advice I can get.....after this winter I'm going to do everything in my power to get this thing running effeciently as possible
Also if you have no backdraft damper you are losing a lot of efficiency. From what I can see in your pictures you are blowing not only through the supply side but also back down through the A/C coil, gas furnace, and through the cold air returns. I would be looking to find a way to stop the back flow. Even if you were to build one in the rectangle main trunk before the 8" supply from the tundra. You are also going to have to line that chimney. I cannot believe there just isn't liquid pouring out of that clean out. Have you inspected the inside of your chimney yet?
 
:oops:
What do you mean by going strait into the supply.....I need all the advice I can get.....after this winter I'm going to do everything in my power to get this thing running effeciently as possible
Your tundra is located directly under your supply trunk. Your two supplies from the tundra should go straight up into the trunk of your gas furnace yet you came up with the 2-8" runs and elbowed over for some reason. Also install a damper in each of the two supplies from the tundra.
 
So I take a pass through Drolets website last nite...I see the Tundra II and the Heatmax II is still there, no info on them though. (we discussed these back on page 20 of this thread in case y'all need to catch up) So I emailed them to ask "what up?" with these things. Here is their response:

"The Tundra II and Heatmax II are the new versions for 2016. We will have stock in March. They come with a hot air plenum like the bigger version (Heatpro). The hot air plenum is not an option because it comes with the unit and it cannot be retrofitted to the Heatmax and Tundra with an 8’’ outlet."

So apparently, a plenum is the way to go after all. The one thing that is curious is that they have downgraded the "capacity" from 2500 sq ft (yeah right) to 2000. But I would say they over promised to begin with so...
 
Finally.....don't know why it didn't have a plenum to begin with. With the larger opening, it should be capable of heating a larger area. If the heating demand is satisfied quicker, that's less the unit will have to run wide open.
 
I see my link from back on page 20 doesn't work anymore, and this Tundra II stuff is kinda hard to find on their site so I did a screen shot of a side x side comparison...this is about as much info as there is on their site right now.
upload_2016-1-18_9-31-9.png
 
:oops:

Your tundra is located directly under your supply trunk. Your two supplies from the tundra should go straight up into the trunk of your gas furnace yet you came up with the 2-8" runs and elbowed over for some reason. Also install a damper in each of the two supplies from the tundra.

I thought maybe this was done to meet the clearance requirements but after taking another look at the pic it appears that there is plenty of clearance above the main trunk line so there is no reason not to take the supplys straight up (or more straight up) into the trunk and do away with those long 8" horizontal runs.


As other have said check your draft and most likley line the chimney. Also if you could some how get rid of that black 90 coming rite off the back of the furnace it would help your draft (think rotating the furnace 90 deg). You could use a couple of 45's or better yet run the pipe straight from the back of the furnace into the chimney.

Hope this helps,
 
As far as a chimney liner goes......I see they make flexible ones, and ridgid ones......and they are both ok for wood burning....anyone has any experience with these?
 
Both are good. I have two flex liners, 1 two ply (don't buy this) with insulation wrap from chimney liner depot, and 1 "pre-insulated" liner from a company that sold out to someone else. I wouldn't get too hung up on all the different choices out there on liners. Just get a SS liner rated for wood use and roll with it. If your chimney runs through the house most of the way you can probably get away with non insulated. If it runs through un heated space for very far at all I'd insulated the liner if you have a large enough flue to fit it in. (and you should at 8x11)
Does the gas furnace vent to this same flue?
 
I see my link from back on page 20 doesn't work anymore, and this Tundra II stuff is kinda hard to find on their site so I did a screen shot of a side x side comparison...this is about as much info as there is on their site right now.
View attachment 172323
Looking at the picture of the "new" tundra II
it's looks like 8- 5" supplies. I don't think they have any coming off the back but I could be wrong. So lets see why they derated the capacity. At .2 static pressure a 5" supply gives you roughly 95 cfm. Total of 8 you get roughly 760 total cfm. The old tundra with 2-8" supplies at .2 static pressure you get roughly 660 cfm each for a total of 1320 cfm.
That's one hell of a difference. Almost half the total cfm as before. Not sure how they are coming up with anything now.:confused: How in the world will this help with cracking or over heating if you reduce the airflow to nearly half of what it was. Can't wait to see the results of that cluster ****.
 
@Builderml Can you explain duct pressures and what they mean for us non HVAC folks ? Or can you point me to a web site that has information about them.
 
it's looks like 8- 5" supplies. I don't think they have any coming off the back but I could be wrong
I bet that is the same plenum that is on the Heatpro, even if not, I just don't see them putting ducts on two corners only. I'm betting that there is a matching set of connections on the opposite sides, just like the HP...total of 10 possible connections.
 
Both are good. I have two flex liners, 1 two ply (don't buy this) with insulation wrap from chimney liner depot, and 1 "pre-insulated" liner from a company that sold out to someone else. I wouldn't get too hung up on all the different choices out there on liners. Just get a SS liner rated for wood use and roll with it. If your chimney runs through the house most of the way you can probably get away with non insulated. If it runs through un heated space for very far at all I'd insulated the liner if you have a large enough flue to fit it in. (and you should at 8x11)
Does the gas furnace vent to this same flue?

No the gas furnace vents outside with pvc.....as far as the liners go I heard the ridgid ones have a smooth wall and get much less creosote build up....do you know if there is any truth behind this?........also based on my pictures if I install a liner and use the existing hole in my chimney to feed the T-connection through from the liner.......how do I access the cleanout in the bottom of the T?
 
@Builderml Can you explain duct pressures and what they mean for us non HVAC folks ? Or can you point me to a web site that has information about them.
To be honest no for both questions. I looked around a ton for a website that had the info I was looking for and never found it. I ended up talking with a supply house I deal with who also deals with HVAC and he had the "slide scale" that gave me the info I needed. I also spoke with my HVAC sub about what I was doing and he provided me with info also. So in short when it comes to the HVAC I can't really help. What I can do is help with the duct design on a tundra seeing how I do have the duct numbers starting from 4" to 8" round. If you need those just let me know.
I will add that the higher the static pressure the faster the air moves causing a louder system. Kinda like blowing into a big pipe, more room for air to move around within that pipe, less drag. Now blow that same amount of air in a small pipe air travels faster thru the pipe but causes more friction within the pipe walls causing it to be louder.
 
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Did some Googling and found a pretty good article that talks about static pressure in your duct work. From what I read on this article and some others, you do not want more than .50 inches wc added together on your supply and plenum sides.

Also found a residental duct sizing guide. I do find it interesting that round ducts are able to push the same amount of air than a square or rectangular duct with more square inches.
 
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Did some Googling and found a pretty good article that talks about static pressure in your duct work. From what I read on this article and some others, you do not want more than .50 inches wc added together on your supply and plenum sides.

Also found a residental duct sizing guide. I do find it interesting that round ducts are able to push the same amount of air than a square or rectangular duct with more square inches.
Yes round flows better, most residential systems are designed at .1 static pressure.
 
I heard the ridgid ones have a smooth wall and get much less creosote build up....do you know if there is any truth behind this?
Dunno about the rigid first hand, but I can tell you that the flex liners will expand and contract with temp changes and pop creosote off.
also based on my pictures if I install a liner and use the existing hole in my chimney to feed the T-connection through from the liner.......how do I access the cleanout in the bottom of the T?
What I did was to have them crimp the bottom of the tee so I could put a leg on it down to the cleanout. I have a cap on the bottom that I pull for cleaning...I have a brick under the cap to hold it up onto the liner leg
 
After I finished I decided to pull the side air jacket panels off to look around again in preparation for designing a top to install a plenum on. So I'm lookin all around the HEs to figure out how the air flows through this thing and I notice something...a crack!

Hey Brenn,

Man, what a disappointing find!

How difficult is it to pull the sides off? Sometimes when my damper closes and secondaries are at full blast, I, too, get a smokey smell for a few minutes. But that's the only circumstance. And it doesn't smell exactly like smoke, more like the pungent curing paint. At least that's what I've been telling myself, since it only happens a short while after the damper closes, then goes away. Some kind of theory that that's the hottest moment the furnace experiences. A couple weeks ago I pulled the cap off the front outlet and put a trouble light over it but couldn't see any light into the HX box. Maybe I need to look further. Just what I need, another thing to do around here...