Isle Royale Install

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hoverp

New Member
Jan 3, 2010
83
Montana
Isle Royale set up and working! Hope the pics turned out ok. Installed on the main living level, 6" single wall 24 gage into an internal Masonry chiminey with a rectangle clay liner 25 feet to the top of the roof. Great draft all the time. Blaze king Ultra downstairs into same chiminey different flu. That is an 8 Inch for the blaze king and has about 8 more feet of flu. Draft is better on the Isle Royale due to the longer straight section out the top of the stove prior to going 90 deg. into the Chiminey. Royale 90 degree section is only 15 inches deep to the clay liner opening so it draws real well.

I love the stove but I am only able to get pine to burn so my burn times are not what I would like them to be. 9 hours is pushing it event with it loaded full (from the front) by folding the andirons down and inserting the biggest 1/4 splits I can get in there. No problem with 20-21 inchers going in. Havent tried a big round yet for overnights. Air turned all the way to the right. start up air off.

Really like the top load for keeping it going durning the day. very easy and I am amazed at how there is no smoke escaping out into the room when you load from the top. Very convienent!

Any techniques for longer burn are welcome....I envy you east coasters for he hardwoods !!!!

Patrick

Montana
 

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Great looking stove. The Isle Royal would be a stove that may replace the Vigilant at some point.
 
Love that stove. It very nearly made it into our home. The pictures look great. Moving them to the perfect picture for posterity.

It might be worth trying a key damper in the connector pipe if draft seems too strong.
 
I do like my hardwoods, but I think I would like to be in Montana.
 
+1 on the pipe damper as Begreen said.

Also, I've actually gotten longer burns in mine loading North-south since I seem to be able to use the space more efficiently. This won't be possible if your wood is cut to 21 inches, though.
 
Thanks for the comments guys, I had a great time getting rid of my Regency Gas stove and I really like the Royale in its place. I love it even more now that my F.A.G furnace doesnt ever come on!!!

I saw the damper in ACE hardware today ...made me think about it...how do I know if the draft is too strong? when I had the single wall sticking out and the vertical not hooked it would hold a paper towel ther due to the suction. same goes for my Blazeking pipe downstairs. I just dont know if its too strong.
 
how do I know if the draft is too strong?

Without a manometer or measuring instrument, it's hard to tell except by trial and experience.
 
Here is a few pictures of my Blaze King Ultra I installed in my Basement...It can really crank out the BTU's !
 

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BeGreen, how did you get your Avatar to flame...I have some good jpeg movie of my Royale but I couldnt get it to load it was too big on the 50 kb file size
 
hoverp said:
BeGreen, how did you get your Avatar to flame...I have some good jpeg movie of my Royale but I couldnt get it to load it was too big on the 50 kb file size


Convert them to animated GIFs.
 
I jut did my first ash removal...not as nice as my Blaze King. Pan is very shallow, grates clog up with bigger chuncks. I opened the top and used a piece of wood to push the ashes around and through the grate. I over filled the ash pan and pulled it out and it top scraped all back into the ash pan box. made a mess...got frustrated...blamed it on myself for filling too full. Lesson learned= make multiple trips with the ash pan and not overfill, OR use a bucket and shovel and open the front doors.

What have you guys found to work the best for you?

Thanks
 
hoverp said:
I jut did my first ash removal...not as nice as my Blaze King. Pan is very shallow, grates clog up with bigger chuncks. I opened the top and used a piece of wood to push the ashes around and through the grate. I over filled the ash pan and pulled it out and it top scraped all back into the ash pan box. made a mess...got frustrated...blamed it on myself for filling too full. Lesson learned= make multiple trips with the ash pan and not overfill, OR use a bucket and shovel and open the front doors.

What have you guys found to work the best for you?

Thanks

Nice pics. Nice stove.

I alternate between the ash pan and scooping the ashes out with a shovel. Leave the bigger chunks in the stove to burn on
the next load. It's fuel. An ash rake is a useful tool. Very useful for the ashes and for moving wood around in the firebox. I use the
pointed corner of the ash rake to open up the slot/grates and then rake back and forth by the openings. You don't need to
empty the ash often. The stove seems to run better with a nice bed of ash. Makes overnight burns easier because some coals
will settle down into the ash, and you'll be able to use them on the next morning--at least with hardwood. I don't have much
pine.
 
BeGreen said:
Love that stove. It very nearly made it into our home. The pictures look great. Moving them to the perfect picture for posterity.

It might be worth trying a key damper in the connector pipe if draft seems too strong.

I did learn something else this morning. With the fan off and quiet in the house I had the stove burning well and closed it all the way down. slid the air control all the way to the stop on the right. I heard a distinct sucking noise of the stove pulling in air. I couldnt get the stove to calm down on the flames..so I slid the primary air control back to the left about 1/8 an inch and the sucking noise stopped and I had the flames calm down....I have an opening that allows too much air in all the way to the right. repeated a few times and same result.

any other IR owner noticed this? I tried looking up underneath to see the slide mechanism but its all hidden.
 
hoverp said:
BeGreen said:
Love that stove. It very nearly made it into our home. The pictures look great. Moving them to the perfect picture for posterity.

It might be worth trying a key damper in the connector pipe if draft seems too strong.

I did learn something else this morning. With the fan off and quiet in the house I had the stove burning well and closed it all the way down. slid the air control all the way to the stop on the right. I heard a distinct sucking noise of the stove pulling in air. I couldnt get the stove to calm down on the flames..so I slid the primary air control back to the left about 1/8 an inch and the sucking noise stopped and I had the flames calm down....I have an opening that allows too much air in all the way to the right. repeated a few times and same result.

any other IR owner noticed this? I tried looking up underneath to see the slide mechanism but its all hidden.

I haven't noticed this. Where did the air seem to be coming in with the lever all the way to the right?
 
Turn your fan off and really get a fire going...lots of draft then slide the air control all the way to the right. My sound is comming from underneath but its hard to tell where the intake is...in front I think by looking at the slide control from underneath. But any way I confirmed it agani this morning not by sound but by flames....all the way right increased vs just about an 1/8 inch off left...not a big deal just i cant simply slide it to the stop to shut down and training the wife to do it regularly is tough....
 
Well, I always hear suction into the back of the stove when the primary is closed down. That's where the air intake is, on the bottom rear of the stove so an OAK can be installed.

From the flame pattern, where did the air seem to be entering the firebox? I ask this because, with the air slid open just a little bit, this will once again fan air onto the front, which can have an effect of creating a bit less flame right in the front since fresh air is being introduced. In addition, I believe air goes in right at the primary air control when it is open a bit, while when it is closed, all the air will be going in the air intake at the rear and feeding the secondaries. This means more air will be going into the back when you have it closed than when you have it open, which would account for the "suction" sound. The chimney draft doesn't change immediately upon closing the primary, so the volume of air going into the stove will be the same while it's being forced to go in one opening instead of two. The fact that the air is now being restricted will make a whooshing or suction sound. It's also pretty common for the secondaries to get going much stronger with the primary all the way closed, since all the air is being forced to feed the secondaries, and very little is going into the primary.

The only way you will be able to tell for sure if more air is actually getting into the firebox or not when you move the handle all the way to the right is to measure your burn time. If it burns significantly shorter with it moved all the way to the right, it's definitely worth contacting your dealer and having them talk to Quad for you, to see if they have heard of this issue. If it is a manufacturing defect, it will certainly be covered under warranty.

I'm quite certain on mine, it lets more air in when I open the air intake that tiny amount. I confirmed this by closing my pie damper, which, with a fully closed air intake, will allow the fire to last so I can have a decent coal bed in the morning. I then used the same amount of wood, but left the air intake open by a very small amount, and closed down the pipe damper. I was left with fine white ash in the morning and a cold stove.


Just one other question - when you say you are opening it just a little bit, how far exactly? Far enough to just expose the screw on the right side of the air control? Just barely covering the screw?
 
Ok, I wish I could just show you its hard to describe with just words...but right after I read your post I went back to the stove and turned off the fan...totally quiet house opened the primary, got it going, then closed the primary all the way, just grabbed the knob and went to the stop on the right. there is the suction noise. Then I looked under the stove while sliding the air control back and forth....went to the stop and suction noise..then backed it off slightly noise goes away. watched the flame pattern...definately more air etering all the way to the stop then when backed off ever so slightly...definately.

Then: I put the control all the way to the stop and looked under the stove at the flat metal barstock the the aircontrol is attached to the actual lever that runs back under the stove to the internal coverpalate that allows the air to come in. I noticed that if you slide the air control to the right and hit the stop it actually pivots the bar slightly to the left when it hits the stop. So without taking the air knob and actually sliding back to the left off the stop I just pivoted the knob to the left which in turn pivots the bar under the stove back to the rightabout 1/8 of an inch......the sucking noise stops and the flames show the reduced air almost immediatly.. :

In summary : from the front of the stove and the control up against the right stop PIVOT(without moving the control off the stop) the knob to the right (its probably already there from pushing the knob to the right and having it hit the stop and pivot right) opens the air by pivoting the bar to the left....opposite for pivoting the knob to the left...bar underneath goes to the right and fully closes the air.

All this is totally coverd up (other than the visual) by the sound of the fan .even on low...but it is enough of an air leak to make a difference in the burn rate for sure.

Please try this on your Isle Royale (totally quiet room) and let me know if you see the same thing.

Hope this wasnt too long winded ...Im going to the wood store tomorrow and see if another Isle Royale has the same ability to pivot the bar underneath back and forth while up against up against the stop.

Thanks guys!
 
Forgot to add something..if you PIVOT the knob to the left and right hard enough you can get the internal air cover plate to bang off the side or its own stop
 
I've never noticed that mine can pivot like this, but I'll give it a try tonight.
 
I would not have noticed it either if not for the inability to close it down enough and then all the fiddleling after I heard the sucking noise.
 
I can verify that mine doesn't pivot off the track like this, and I'm not exactly "gentle" when I slam it down all the way.
 
Interesting... I need to get to the dealer ..I know he doesnt have another Isle Royale...but I do know he has a Cumberland Gap I will see if they have the same air slide control.
 
hoverp said:
Any techniques for longer burn are welcome....I envy you east coasters for he hardwoods !!!!

Patrick

Montana

Patrick -

I am an east coaster and have actually been to Great Falls before. Flew into there and then drove to Browning which was at the base of the East Glacier mountains. Had to go do some IT work for the school district. I had my cell phone through Nex-to-hell at that point and didn't have any service the whole time I was in MT...ended up stopping at a gas station to buy a calling card (this was 2 years ago)

Gorgeous country there - flat with the mountains in the backdrop. Was glad to check out of the Dancing Bears Inn and come home after a week.

Enjoy your softwoods and the great scenery!

Dave
 
Hey on this Isle Royale, how much wood do you burn in a day at 24-7? Bart has let us know "about a wheel barrel" a day is a reasonable avg and good starting point. 20 or so avg splits per day. I'd be curious what you see on this one? thx
 
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