Hi there. I purchased a Drolet Baltic a few months ago (after much drama of trying to find what I was looking for at a price I could afford). I spent a lot of time looking into which stove to buy, and I wanted to post my impressions of this stove for anyone else who might be doing the same in the future. I also had a question about stove temps (below).
I was looking for a stove in the $1000 range (but preferably lower
P). I had looked at the Drolet Myriad on several occasions and went back and forth about it, but at the last minute, I ended up finding a Baltic for just a little bit more. The Baltic is the same exact stove as the Myriad, but it has some cosmetic improvements and heat-shields on the sides (which reduce the safety clearances for the Baltic).
It was purchased to replace an old (early 80's) cast iron stove that would burn hot, but short.
I've had it up and running ever since it started to get chilly here in St. Louis and it's been keeping the house warm 24/7 (only had to turn the furnace on twice when we went out of town). It's not hard to use. Lights fairly easy, once I got the hang of it. It looks nice (to me, at least). It can hold some bis-ass pieces of wood (it's pretty deep). It puts out more than enough heat to keep my 1200 square ft. Ranch warm (in fact... sometimes I overdo it and end up with temps in the 80's, since I'm still getting used to the process of keeping the house at a reasonable temperature). It has a built-in variable speed fan, which works well and isn't too loud when it's on low or medium (the higher settings are kinda loud, though). The ash pan is pretty big (although it can easily spill a bit when you're removing it, if it's sorta full).
Anyway... my general conclusion is that I'm happy with the stove. It does what I wanted (heats my whole house), and I can get over-night and all-day burns (while I'm at work), with usually enough coals to start it right back up when I wake up/get home. I think the only nit I have is that the glass doesn't stay clean, but a couple of seconds and a wet paper towel fixes that, so it's not really a big deal to me.
My very slight concern/question has to do with the fact that people here always talk about getting their temps up to 500-600 degrees, but mine never get above 350, really. I got one of those basic, magnetic T-stats and put it on the pipe exactly 18 inches above where the pipe meets the stove (as was suggested here) and it usually hovers between 250-350 degrees. The T-stat has markings that indicate the "safe" ranges, and it says that 250-350 is within that range (albeit the low end of the safe range), but I just want to know if this is something to be concerned about.
The odd thing is... even though it only says "350"... it's really damn hot. Even when the stove is full and the fire is roaring, or I close it up and turn the air control down a bit and it does the secondary burn, the T-stat never gets very high. I think it got near 400 once, but that's about it. I can't imagine what it would feel like if it got to 600, because when it's really going (at 350 or whatever), it's uncomfortable to stand near it.
WATYF
I was looking for a stove in the $1000 range (but preferably lower
P). I had looked at the Drolet Myriad on several occasions and went back and forth about it, but at the last minute, I ended up finding a Baltic for just a little bit more. The Baltic is the same exact stove as the Myriad, but it has some cosmetic improvements and heat-shields on the sides (which reduce the safety clearances for the Baltic).It was purchased to replace an old (early 80's) cast iron stove that would burn hot, but short.
I've had it up and running ever since it started to get chilly here in St. Louis and it's been keeping the house warm 24/7 (only had to turn the furnace on twice when we went out of town). It's not hard to use. Lights fairly easy, once I got the hang of it. It looks nice (to me, at least). It can hold some bis-ass pieces of wood (it's pretty deep). It puts out more than enough heat to keep my 1200 square ft. Ranch warm (in fact... sometimes I overdo it and end up with temps in the 80's, since I'm still getting used to the process of keeping the house at a reasonable temperature). It has a built-in variable speed fan, which works well and isn't too loud when it's on low or medium (the higher settings are kinda loud, though). The ash pan is pretty big (although it can easily spill a bit when you're removing it, if it's sorta full).
Anyway... my general conclusion is that I'm happy with the stove. It does what I wanted (heats my whole house), and I can get over-night and all-day burns (while I'm at work), with usually enough coals to start it right back up when I wake up/get home. I think the only nit I have is that the glass doesn't stay clean, but a couple of seconds and a wet paper towel fixes that, so it's not really a big deal to me.
My very slight concern/question has to do with the fact that people here always talk about getting their temps up to 500-600 degrees, but mine never get above 350, really. I got one of those basic, magnetic T-stats and put it on the pipe exactly 18 inches above where the pipe meets the stove (as was suggested here) and it usually hovers between 250-350 degrees. The T-stat has markings that indicate the "safe" ranges, and it says that 250-350 is within that range (albeit the low end of the safe range), but I just want to know if this is something to be concerned about.
The odd thing is... even though it only says "350"... it's really damn hot. Even when the stove is full and the fire is roaring, or I close it up and turn the air control down a bit and it does the secondary burn, the T-stat never gets very high. I think it got near 400 once, but that's about it. I can't imagine what it would feel like if it got to 600, because when it's really going (at 350 or whatever), it's uncomfortable to stand near it.
WATYF
