New Enviro Kodiak 2100

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GrampaDennis

New Member
Nov 19, 2012
44
Central Maine
We placed our order this morning for a new Enviro Kodiak 2100. We're getting it equipped with the pedestal base, the Nickel door, and the blower kit.

We shopped around and found a stove shop that sold it to us for 10% off list, plus a 2% discount for cash. The difference between that and the first dealer's quote was more than enough to cover the stove pipe and the sales tax.

The earlier part of my story is found in the following thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/replacing-the-old-blaze-king.94861/

We have already removed our old stove. We'll be away for the rest of this week, so with any luck, we'll shouldn't be at home without a stove for more than about a week. I'll post again when we get the stove.
 
Congrats. I loved my old Enviro. I would gladly buy one again. I think you'll really like that stove. They are built like tanks. I like the firebrick baffle too. Good luck.
 
I would like to see an Enviro in person but no dealers are nearby.
 
I would like to see an Enviro in person but no dealers are nearby.
Yeah, their dealer network sucks. I bought mine without seeing it. Dealer told me if I didn't like it, he would take it back before it was installed.
 
Yeah, their dealer network sucks. I bought mine without seeing it. Dealer told me if I didn't like it, he would take it back before it was installed.
I first saw the Kodiak 1700 model at a dealer, who said they were on their second season of heating their store with it. The Enviro step top Kodiaks look a lot like several other step top stoves. The weight of the 2100 is about 100 lbs more than some of the similar stoves. There's more steel, and more firebrick, in it. The cost was a little less than some of the similar stoves as well, but more than the Napoleon.

I can't say we did enough shopping and research to claim that it's the best out there, but it looked like a good value to me. The stove we saw burning was doing well.
 
Today, we learned that our new stove has come in to the shop. However, the installer is very booked and we had a couple of events that were in conflict as well. Consequently, we are now scheduled for our install on Wednesday, December 19.

We certainly miss having wood heat, and look forward to getting the new stove in!

I'll report, with a photo or two, after we are "fired up" once again.
 
Looking forward to the pictures.
 
After a chilly 3 weeks, We got the new Enviro 2100 installed today!

The installation went well in general, but there were a couple of hitches. One of the firebricks arrived broken and the installer broke another while trying to force it into place. He is going to get me some replacements. He installed the broken ones in the top front. (This stove has a double thickness of firebrick as a top baffle.) That way, I can get at them more easily when I replace them. Installing the top firebrick layers was a bit of a hassle, partly because he needed to trim the back ones with an angle grinder to get them to fit between the welds.

The second hitch was with the blower thermostat. The blower did not come on during the first firing, even though I got the stove top up to 400 degrees at one point. In checking the installation instructions, it turns out that the installer was supposed to have "adjusted" (bent) the sensor bracket so the sensor would be in contact with the stove back. He neglected to do this. Looking up from underneath, it appears that the sensor is about 1/2 inch away. I'll fix this myself, when I get the stove cooled down again.

I got conflicting advice from the installer, and from the paperwork that came with the stove, on how much of a fire to run the first time, while starting to cure the paint. I split the difference and used 4 smaller sticks, which burned for about two hours before flaming out to just coals. The photos below include the first fire. It sure felt great to have a wood fire again!
 

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Great wood stove ya got there. Enjoy.
 
After a chilly 3 weeks, We got the new Enviro 2100 installed today!

The installation went well in general, but there were a couple of hitches. One of the firebricks arrived broken and the installer broke another while trying to force it into place. He is going to get me some replacements. He installed the broken ones in the top front. (This stove has a double thickness of firebrick as a top baffle.) That way, I can get at them more easily when I replace them. Installing the top firebrick layers was a bit of a hassle, partly because he needed to trim the back ones with an angle grinder to get them to fit between the welds.

The second hitch was with the blower thermostat. The blower did not come on during the first firing, even though I got the stove top up to 400 degrees at one point. In checking the installation instructions, it turns out that the installer was supposed to have "adjusted" (bent) the sensor bracket so the sensor would be in contact with the stove back. He neglected to do this. Looking up from underneath, it appears that the sensor is about 1/2 inch away. I'll fix this myself, when I get the stove cooled down again.

I got conflicting advice from the installer, and from the paperwork that came with the stove, on how much of a fire to run the first time, while starting to cure the paint. I split the difference and used 4 smaller sticks, which burned for about two hours before flaming out to just coals. The photos below include the first fire. It sure felt great to have a wood fire again!
Congrats Dennis great looking stove and hearth! Does your stove have the pumice bricks or the heavy ceramic bricks? The pumice bricks are very easy to break as I have replaced the ones in the back of the stove with the ceramic bricks and they should hold up much better. Lots of debate about the different bricks but nothing definitive. My stove runs no different with the hard bricks in the back and I expect the hard bricks to last a long time and withstand any normal log loading impacts..

Ray
 
Congrats Dennis great looking stove and hearth! Does your stove have the pumice bricks or the heavy ceramic bricks? The pumice bricks are very easy to break as I have replaced the ones in the back of the stove with the ceramic bricks and they should hold up much better. Lots of debate about the different bricks but nothing definitive. My stove runs no different with the hard bricks in the back and I expect the hard bricks to last a long time and withstand any normal log loading impacts..

Ray

Ray -
The manual says use only "Clayburn" type fire bricks (whatever that is). They look something like pumice. I doubt that they are the hard type that you mentioned.
 
Ray -
The manual says use only "Clayburn" type fire bricks (whatever that is). They look something like pumice. I doubt that they are the hard type that you mentioned.
Sounds like what I used in the back of my stove... Do your firebricks look porous? The pumice bricks are very light and porous and fragile.. My stove manual makes no statements about pumice firebrick just the dimensions of the bricks.

Ray
 
Sounds like what I used in the back of my stove... Do your firebricks look porous? The pumice bricks are very light and porous and fragile.. My stove manual makes no statements about pumice firebrick just the dimensions of the bricks.

Ray
Ray -

No, they don't really look porous - not like real pumice anyway. There is a name molded into them. I didn't catch what it was. The color (before firing) was sort of yellow-tan, with reddish-brown flecks.

I got the blower going. It definitely was the bracket for the thermostat sensor. I eyeballed the gap between the sensor and the stove, uninstalled the blower assembly, measured before the adjustment, adjusted the bracket out about 1/2 inch (= the gap I eyeballed), and reinstalled. The stove wasn't completely cooled down at this point. When I plugged the blower in, it started right up.

I now have my second fire going. This time, I loaded it about as much as I used to for a medium fire in the old stove, which is probably just under half full for this firebox. Soon, I had a few flames at the secondary air ports in the top. I'm trying to get used to how much to shut down the air, and how soon. That will take a bit of practice. I am keeping quite a lot of air going until the fire gets going well, but I want to start to close it down before it reaches my desired peak level. I don't want to over-fire it, especially at first. This is the first time I've ever used a stove-top thermometer. I'm watching that, but I am also watching what the fire is doing.

Gotta go check it again.
 
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That's a really nice stove. Congrats.

This stove should have pumice style bricks. That's what my 1700 had.
 
Here's a bit of how it's going:

I built a fire at about 6:10 this morning, on top of a few coals that were left from last night. At 8:30 AM, before leaving for work, I talked the Mrs. through loading a couple of 3 inch rounds, including how to operate the air control and the door. When I came home tonight at about 6 PM, she had the house warm and cozy. She said she added only 6 round sticks of about 2 inches (3 each at 2 reloadings) and one flat piece, about 1.5 x 4 inches. The house was so warm that I didn't add any more wood until after 9 PM. A that time, I was surprised by how much coals we had left. I put in a medium sized load, which should easily last until morning.

The early indications are that we will be using less wood than with the old stove. Also, I notice that the stove pipe is substantially cooler when the stove is at operating temperature, than it was with the old stove. There is more heat going into the house, and less going up the chimney!

Perhaps due to the design of the stove, and perhaps partly because the blower moves air out under the "step top" plate onto it, my stovetop thermometer runs cooler than the ranges calibrated on it. So far, I've only gotten the thermometer to read 400 a couple of times. More of the time, it reads around 300 to 350. However, my stove's manual says the operating range for the stove top temps should be 250 to 550. Looks like I'm operating within what the manual recommends.

I find that I am going to have to modify my fire starting methods a bit from what I did with the old stove. With the cat bypass damper open on the old Blaze King, it pulled air to the back. With this new stove, everything happens at the front when you first light it. Therefore, I need to place my paper and kindling differently.

Also, when restarting on existing coals, if I don;t get the flames going right away, I have a battle to avoid letting smoke out the door while I light the paper. I may resort to lighting some paper first (to get the flames going) before putting in the kindling and small splits on top. I'm used to putting everything together, then touching it off, but it looks like this old dog has to learn a new trick or two.

Overall, I'm happy. I'll update again later.
 
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I just checked the stove again (9:50 PM). I have it at about 425 on the stovetop thermometer, and have some jet action on the secondary ports. I closed the stove down a bit more, to keep it from going too hot. I'm definitely still learning how to regulate it.
 
Thanks for the update. I would try loading larger splits for longer burns. 2" is what we use for kindling.
 
Thanks for the update. I would try loading larger splits for longer burns. 2" is what we use for kindling.
Yes. I agree and I normally do. My wife was trying to maintain the fire without overdoing it. It was her first experience with this stove.

I have learned that you can't get it up to a good operating temperature with too little wood. That can be a problem on warmer days like yesterday, when it got to be 47 degrees out. On such days, I'll probably make a fire in the morning, let it die out, and make another in the evening. In colder weather, I plan to keep it going 24/7. My goal is to use less oil than I used to with the old stove. I keep the thermostats on the oil system set so that it will come on if things cool down too much. However, I am trying to operate the wood stove such that the oil heat does not come on at all.

With the above said, we will be leaving tomorrow morning for an overnight at our son's place. We'll leave the thermostats on 65, to keep the house from being too cold to come back to.
 
Now that I have used the Enviro Kodiak 2100 for a while, I thought I would update my comments on it:

Starting –
Compared to my previous stove, this one does not have as strong a draft at startup and reloading. Consequently, I have to be a bit more careful with the door to avoid getting smoke into the room. It’s not a big deal, but I need to pay attention. When starting cold, I need more paper and a good progression of kindling sizes to get the fire going. I have started using a couple of sticks of fatwood. This helps a lot. I also bought a small box of the Rutland fire starters, but haven’t tried them yet.

Operating Temperature –
The Owner’s Manual recommends a running range from 250 degrees to 550 degrees on a stove top thermometer. The top baffle of this stove is a double layer of firebrick. Maybe that’s why the recommended range is lower than some. I’ve had it up to 600 on the thermometer a couple of times, but normally peak out between 500 and 550. At the upper third of the temp range, I’m getting nice secondary flames much of the time. When the stove is up to temperature, I’m seeing little or no visible smoke outside. As the wood burns down to glowing coals, the temp slowly drops, but it looks to be a clean burn.

Size and Firebox Capacity –
For my oversized cape house (1800 sf on main floor and 1500 sf upstairs), this stove seems about right. During the recent cold weather, I have been filling the firebox to about ¾ capacity most times. I had agonized over whether to get this stove or the next size smaller – Enviro 1700. I’m glad I went with the 2100 model.
Today, I did have one oversized split, where a branch had come out of the trunk. I tried to get it into the center of the stove between two medium splits. I had to take it back out. My wife was a little concerned when I brought the piece out onto the tile floor with some very small flames already started on it. I snuffed them out with a wet paper towel – no problem. I then took the piece down to the basement and resplit it with my 10 ton hand-pump hydraulic splitter. It’s now in 3 pieces. That splitter is quite slow. I normally split with a maul. I sometimes split big stubborn stuff with a chain saw. That hand pump job is the cat’s meow for resplitting in the basement, though.

Burn Times –
The brochure says my stove will do 8 to 12 hr burn times. The wood that I am burning now is almost all ash, from a big tree that came down in Hurricane Irene in 2011. When I am home, I reload as the temperature and my mood dictates (with some input from the Mrs). I often add about 3 sticks after the fire has been down to coals for a while, but before the “burn” is completely over. Based on a few times when we have both been out of the house, it seems like I will normally coals enough to easily get the fire going after 8 hours. 12 hours might be a stretch, but it would probably do it with the right wood and the right circumstances.

Overall Satisfaction –
I am very pleased with the Enviro Kodiak 2100 so far. This is my first modern EPA-rated stove, and my first with the secondary air system. I know there are lots of other good stoves out there, and I don’t have a real basis to compare to them. So far, the stove has met my expectations and seems to be a good value for the price I paid.
 
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Now that I have used the Enviro Kodiak 2100 for a while, I thought I would update my comments on it:
Great write up Dennis! That's impressive info that you can heat your home with any stove! You have a huge home in a cold climate sounds like the Enviro Kodiak 2100 is a great stove for you..

Ray
 
Great write up Dennis! That's impressive info that you can heat your home with any stove! You have a huge home in a cold climate sounds like the Enviro Kodiak 2100 is a great stove for you..

Ray

It has been cold here today. When I got up, it was 12 degrees. The high temp for the day was 17. Now (7:30 PM) it's 3 degrees and dropping. This is a good time to report on how I am doing, heating with the wood stove.

The stove in the living room is near the center of the house. One of the upstairs bedrooms is over the living room and has the stone-faced chimney running up through it. We use that room as sort of a den. That room is a cozy 70 degrees right now. The other upstairs bedroom is 68. That's with the doors open. If we closed the doors, we might keep a touch more heat downstairs.

At the coldest end of our kitchen/dining room, it is now 68 degrees. When running the stove on a day that is not as cold, it would be over 70. Our first floor master bedroom, at the southeast corner of the house is 66. That's OK. We like it a bit cool for sleeping. The breezeway/laundry room/entry area would be at 65 or less without a fan running. I put a fan there this afternoon at floor level, blowing toward the stove. With the fan running at low speed, I got it up to 68.

I don't have a thermometer currently in the living room with the stove. It's probably more than 80 in there. Normally, I like that cozy warm feeling, but tonight I was too warm and retreated to my office for a bit. I don't have a thermometer here either, but it's probably around 65.

All of the above is maintained without running the oil heat at all. However, when the fire dies down during the night, the radiant heat zone in the entry will kick on. Probably tonight, the zone in our master bedroom and bath will kick on as well. I have those thermostats set at 63.

If we can keep going like this, we should save a bunch on oil this year. However, it's nice to have the oil kick in when we are away, or during really cold nights.
 
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Thanks for the info. I have always liked the Enviro stoves. Would have had one but the supposed to be local dealer said he didn't sell them. I complained to Enviro. Two months later the dealer calls and says he would be happy to order me one. I told him that the 30-NC I bought two months before was doing just fine. I also told him to do something to himself that I won't repeat here.
 
Thanks for the info. I have always liked the Enviro stoves. Would have had one but the supposed to be local dealer said he didn't sell them. I complained to Enviro. Two months later the dealer calls and says he would be happy to order me one. I told him that the 30-NC I bought two months before was doing just fine. I also told him to do something to himself that I won't repeat here.
Yeah, Bart -

I've experienced customer disservice like that, too. There are few businesses around that I have pledged not to give another nickel to, as long as I live.
 
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Hi Dennis...
I see from your experience with the 2100 you have the same issues I have with mine. I have had mine for 10 years now ( previous owner had it a few years prior ) and from the beginning I've always had issue with smoke coming back into the room. With damper all the way open for several minutes and slowly crack the door I have to add wood fast to stop the bellowing of smoke into the room. I've checked everything over and over and nothing seems to cure the issue. I sweep my chimney 3 times a season, clean the ash box regularly but nothing seems to work. What helped some was the removal of the 2nd layer of top brick in the stove to help the flow of smoke. My fresh air intake is through the floor to the basement and outside to a fresh air intake. I have the specs and pdf on the stove but failed to see exactly how the intake air gets to the firebox until I noticed several holes in behind the ash pan door at the front of the stove. Then I noticed the ash pan gasket was above the holes and thought it wouldn't be able to draw air in that configuration so today I'm about to modify the gasket path to accommodate the holes. With the ash pan fully closed the gasket, IMHO was stopping the air from getting to the fire box.
Any chance you could take a picture of your ash pan out and see how the gasket is positioned on your 2100? I'd be curious!

Thanks,,

Mike
 
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