Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

[brenndatomu]

I definitely see how it could cut down on burn times. I was just paranoid about getting creosote build up. Sometimes on really cold days I will run my buck insert upstairs and that will satisfy the tstat for awhile keeping the tundra damper closed.

Yeah, it will cut down on heat output more than anything, running damper open non stop blows a ton of heat up the chimney, and gives you a huge pile of coals in under two hours...and anybody that has run an EPA firebox for long knows that it takes another 6-ish hours to burn off those coals.
As long as you are burning dry wood (< 20% internally measured) you won't have creosote buildup as long as you bring the firebox up to temp (good secondary combustion) before the damper closes. This is assuming a proper chimney setup.
My sister has had creosote issues with hers lately, I told her it was wet wood, she said no way, I went over tonight and checked the wood MC, it was 25-35%...

I do the same thing when it gets real cold, fire up the upstairs stove that is...kinda nice not having to run the crap outta either one. I have said before that Tundra performs much better maintaining heat (tstat satisfied) than it does raising the house temp more than a couple or 3 degrees (for us anyways) Like today, it has been warmer out today and I did a light load (stacked criss crossed) at 6:20 AM, the house was 72* when I loaded and the tstat is set at 72*. It is now 9:30 PM and the house is still 73* from that AM load. If Tundra is big enough to meet your heat load with the damper closed most of the time, then you will probably love this furnace...if your heat load is high and the damper is open a lot, your probably gonna be disappointed...not that this is entirely unique to Tundras...most any furnace works best when properly sized for the job.

 

[buckbane]

If you can check for power at the motor, that will tell the story for sure. If you turn the manual switch to "on" when the firebox is not hot, then you should have 24V AC power (and ground) at the motor. If you have that and it is not working then yes, its bad.

I've got power going into the transformer, but not coming out. I figured the transformer was bad, so I replaced it. However, I'm still getting the same results. Not sure what to make of it...did I get a faulty replacement transformer, or is there something else going on?

 

[zmcnutt]

I've got power going into the transformer, but not coming out. I figured the transformer was bad, so I replaced it. However, I'm still getting the same results. Not sure what to make of it...did I get a faulty replacement transformer, or is there something else going on?

I wonder if you could have a faulty high limit switch.

 

[brenndatomu]

I've got power going into the transformer, but not coming out. I figured the transformer was bad, so I replaced it. However, I'm still getting the same results. Not sure what to make of it...did I get a faulty replacement transformer, or is there something else going on?

I wonder if you could have a faulty high limit switch.

This ^ ^ ^.
See if you have power on both sides of the HLS

 

[TDD11]

Just curious with guys running temp controllers what you have high and low limits set at. I originally set mine up copied from 3fordasho. Seems like my flue temp never gets above 550. Chimney draft is spot on measured with Dwyer. Burning ash seasoned a year and a half

Similar to what found. Setting the controller at 600* was WAY too high for my setup. I kept playing with it, backing it down 50* at a time until it seemed too far...I ended up with mine at 350*...on my sisters Tundra she likes 425*

Curious, but if you guys drop your high temp limit, do you actually get a good secondary burn? Where are your thermocouples - how far from the stove?

If my damper closes on a fresh load at 400-500°F, than it seems too cool for secondary burn to occur. I do get 550-615°F temps on a fresh load if the timer is set long enough. Then my high alarm shuts damper, and the stove will not see that temps above 375-400°F again for the rest of the burn. I do wonder if while the fire is building up to the 500°F+ range, that I am wasting a lot of heat up the chimney.

I never realized til I joined this forum how much can go into wood heat.

 

[brenndatomu]

Curious, but if you guys drop your high temp limit, do you actually get a good secondary burn

As long as the wood is dry, yes.

Where are your thermocouples - how far from the stove?

18"...24" at the most...

If my damper closes on a fresh load at 400-500°F, than it seems too cool for secondary burn to occur.

Wet wood...or maybe just the way it is stacked...that can affect if the "burn" takes off on the first try or not.

I do wonder if while the fire is building up to the 500°F+ range, that I am wasting a lot of heat up the chimney.

My feeling is, yes!

I never realized til I joined this forum how much can go into wood heat.

AGREED!

 

[brenndatomu]

That is why I went over to my sisters place last nigh, to check the wood MC...she complained of creosote, I said wet wood, she said no. Then she said the secondary burn wouldn't stay until the controller had made 2-3 trips to the high limit...I said "definitely wet wood!"...and then I went over and proved it...all her wood tested 25-35% MC tested internallly! (she had made the mistake of testing MC on the outside of the split, not a "re-split")...it tested 10% on the outside so she thought she was good to go.

 

[zmcnutt]

Curious, but if you guys drop your high temp limit, do you actually get a good secondary burn? Where are your thermocouples - how far from the stove?

If my damper closes on a fresh load at 400-500°F, than it seems too cool for secondary burn to occur. I do get 550-615°F temps on a fresh load if the timer is set long enough. Then my high alarm shuts damper, and the stove will not see that temps above 375-400°F again for the rest of the burn. I do wonder if while the fire is building up to the 500°F+ range, that I am wasting a lot of heat up the chimney.

I never realized til I joined this forum how much can go into wood heat.

Yes my secondaries seem to burn fine as long as the fire takes off. I'm still adjusting my settings to see what burns best. My temp was just never reaching the high limit so my damper was staying open until the thermostat was satisfied. I'm considering on lowering my low limit now or completely turning it off to get longer burn time. My wood may not be fully seasoned I have not checked moisture content yet. This place has definitely helped a lot running this stove

 

[TDD11]

That is why I went over to my sisters place last nigh, to check the wood MC...she complained of creosote, I said wet wood, she said no. Then she said the secondary burn wouldn't stay until the controller had made 2-3 trips to the high limit...I said "definitely wet wood!"...and then I went over and proved it...all her wood tested 25-35% MC tested internallly! (she had made the mistake of testing MC on the outside of the split, not a "re-split")...it tested 10% on the outside so she thought she was good to go.

I know that my firewood is not fully seasoned, it is 1 year seasoned ash but has not been covered up well, and was stacked under a row under large pine trees so it was always shaded. I just moved into the house and it is what the previous owner left behind. I have a few years worth of ash trees to drop, so that'll be the majority of my firewood for years to come, although I hope to get the ash trees cleared by the end of summer.

I adjust my low alarm setpoint based on what I think the wood MC is - I don't have a meter but I know full well that it is not under 20%. With this wood that I described above, if I turned my low alarm below 210°F, I would at times have black condensate drip out of the flue pipe onto the top of the blower box. So I set my low alarm temp to 250°F, just trying to keep enough heat in the chimney to prevent condensation. I intentionally run it hotter, because as you know Brenn, I have an over-sized masonry chimney without a liner - for at least this winter. I'd like to burn some well seasoned dry ash first before I worry about the chimney liner. Then again, with dry wood, I'm still not 100% clear what additional impact or advantage the 6" SS liner would make...? Not doubting that there isn't a difference, I still just don't comprehend what improvement it would make.

What I don't understand Brenn, is how your sister's stove would hit the high limit 2-3 times in a burn cycle, unless she had a timer or thermostat keeping the damper open? I don't have a thermostat tied in, only a timer and the Omega controller. When I load, I set the timer, and depending on how long the timer is set for, and how the load takes off, it may or may not hit the high alarm. Otherwise, the damper closes and doesn't reopen til my low alarm temp (250°F right now), and then closes again when it gets to 350-400°F (250°F plus whatever I have my alarm hysteresis set at, I think 100 or 150°F). So I just don't understand how anyone would be hitting the high limit multiple times - unless she has a thermostat or is intentionally opening the damper mid burn, she would never get past the alarm hysteresis threshold??

Yes my secondaries seem to burn fine as long as the fire takes off. I'm still adjusting my settings to see what burns best. My temp was just never reaching the high limit so my damper was staying open until the thermostat was satisfied. I'm considering on lowering my low limit now or completely turning it off to get longer burn time. My wood may not be fully seasoned I have not checked moisture content yet. This place has definitely helped a lot running this stove

Granted it is entirely at your discretion, but if you know the wood is not dry enough, than I wouldn't lower your low alarm or remove it, unless you are going to be very proactive in cleaning/checking your setup very frequently. Some of my friends' stoves are run "shut down" all the time and they have severe creosote issues, needing cleaned once a month or more - and as I mentioned above, I see some condensation issues with wet wood and cool flue temps. That's just one reason I love the temp controller opening the stove up to maintain better flue temps. Somehow I manage 10 hours cycles with a good bed of coals left, although I don't allow the coals to burn up before reloading, only because these stoves don't seem to get much heat from a bed of coals.

 

[brenndatomu]

unless she had a timer or thermostat keeping the damper open?

Yes, a timer and a tstat both.
So it would hit HL, coast back down past the hysteresis setting, back up to HL...so on and so forth...until the wood caught and the fire would maintain normal operating temps.

 

[TDD11]

Ok I see. For a minute it sounded to me like her temp controller was opening the damper back up at the alarm hysteresis from the HL alarm, and cycling between the HL of 425 and 425-AH. Whereas mine cycles between LA and LA+AH. But its because of her thermostat most likely. Just learning. Bear with me. Haha

 

[zmcnutt]

Like today, it has been warmer out today and I did a light load (stacked criss crossed) at 6:20 AM, the house was 72* when I loaded and the tstat is set at 72*. It is now 9:30 PM and the house is still 73* from that AM load. If Tundra is big enough to meet your heat load with the damper closed most of the time, then you will probably love this furnace...if your heat load is high and the damper is open a lot, your probably gonna be disappointed...not that this is entirely unique to Tundras...most any furnace works best when properly sized for the job.

What is the square footage you are heating?

 

[brenndatomu]

What is the square footage you are heating?

Well, the main floor is 1200-ish, then the basement is the same size (very partially finished) and it stays 68-70* just from 2 registers and the radiant heat off the Tundra. So I dunno...I guess you call that 2400...but the tstat is only concerned with 1200

 

[zmcnutt]

Well, the main floor is 1200-ish, then the basement is the same size (very partially finished) and it stays 68-70* just from 2 registers and the radiant heat off the Tundra. So I dunno...I guess you call that 2400...but the tstat is only concerned with 1200

Alright I was just curious with your burn times. I can't seem to get much over 6 hours. I have been trying your stacking technique though. I think my issue is just wood quality . Hopefully next year burning will be a little better.

 

[STIHLY DAN]

That is why I went over to my sisters place last nigh, to check the wood MC...she complained of creosote, I said wet wood, she said no. Then she said the secondary burn wouldn't stay until the controller had made 2-3 trips to the high limit...I said "definitely wet wood!"...and then I went over and proved it...all her wood tested 25-35% MC tested internallly! (she had made the mistake of testing MC on the outside of the split, not a "re-split")...it tested 10% on the outside so she thought she was good to go.

Sooo, like a good brother you brought her a truck and trailer of nice dry wood?

 

[brenndatomu]

Sooo, like a good brother you brought her a truck and trailer of nice dry wood?

I didn't take the truck over...I did throw some of my wood in the trunk though...and after bragging up my dry wood, the first piece I checked tested 25% (stinkin Oak!) Figures that I would grab one of the few pieces of branch wood that was thrown on this years stacks from a tree that was standing dead, and I thought was "really dry!"...how many times do I have to learn this lesson, everything spends at least 3 years CSS!

 

[brenndatomu]

Alright I was just curious with your burn times. I can't seem to get much over 6 hours

6 hours...that's from lighting to what? The end of the active flame? To no hot coals left?

 

[brenndatomu]

I'm still not 100% clear what additional impact or advantage the 6" SS liner would make.

Well, if your stove is working good for you, and you aren't getting creosote in the chimney...then sounds like you will get away without a liner. For me, when I first put my first wood furnace in, I lined the chimney right off the bat, for one, because it was too big (12" x 12") and second, I wanted the additional insurance of having any potential chimney fires contained in an insulated stainless steel liner, not the masonry attached to my house...just helps me sleep a lil better at night...

 

[zmcnutt]

6 hours...that's from lighting to what? The end of the active flame? To no hot coals left?

I'm just getting about 6 hours of heat from the furnace. That is about as long as the blower will run. Then I will have coal bed for a few more hours.

 

[brenndatomu]

I'm just getting about 6 hours of heat from the furnace. That is about as long as the blower will run. Then I will have coal bed for a few more hours.

Ahh, I see. That's exactly why I wanted to do the variable speed blower mod...I hated that on/off crap at the end (actually, for me it was on/off after the first couple hours) The controller has a sensor in/on the supply duct so it will speed the blower up and down to match what heat is available from the furnace. It eventually gets to an on/off stage too (obviously) but the blower runs at a very low speed for quite a while at the end. You'd be surprised the heat that can be had from some pretty low CFMs. Just ask @JRHAWK9 , he recently found out what a sweet setup a variable speed blower is on a wood furnace...

 

[zmcnutt]

Ahh, I see. That's exactly why I wanted to do the variable speed blower mod...I hated that on/off crap at the end (actually, for me it was on/off after the first couple hours) The controller has a sensor in/on the supply duct so it will speed the blower up and down to match what heat is available from the furnace. It eventually gets to an on/off stage too (obviously) but the blower runs at a very low speed for quite a while at the end. You'd be surprised the heat that can be had from some pretty low CFMs. Just ask @JRHAWK9 , he recently found out what a sweet setup a variable speed blower is on a wood furnace...

I have considered the variable blower mod. However I think if I tinker with the furnace anymore this winter the wife might kill me lol. Maybe save it for a summer time project. I hate wasting all of that heat on a fresh load since I have my blower set on low speed settings. It would be nice to have a higher speed for reloads when temps in the stove climb high and quickly.

 

[JRHAWK9]

You'd be surprised the heat that can be had from some pretty low CFMs. Just ask @JRHAWK9 , he recently found out what a sweet setup a variable speed blower is on a wood furnace...

yep, I have a hybrid system of sorts using my stock snap switch to control the on/off of the blower circuit, but using the controller to control blower speeds based on plenum temps. Overall my blower speeds are LOWER than they were before but the house stays consistently warmer, especially towards the end of the burn cycle.

 

[brenndatomu]

I have considered the variable blower mod. However I think if I tinker with the furnace anymore this winter the wife might kill me

...understood!

I hate wasting all of that heat on a fresh load since I have my blower set on low speed settings. It would be nice to have a higher speed for reloads when temps in the stove climb high and quickly.

That's the other advantage, you can wire the controller into a higher speed than you could otherwise use...then when things are rockin n rollin at the beginning of a load you can push more heat into the house, but still not have to deal with the cycling on/off that would normally come with running a "too high" blower speed.

 

[3fordasho]

original Tundra's down to $622 after 11% rebate at Menards.. If you can find a close out display unit.

 

[yzman]

Hello all,,,,,

I just wanted to say hey and thank you all for all the work you have done so far. I recently purchased a tundra at menards serial #845 and have not installed anything as of yet. It did not come with any sort of firebrick for the front. I will be installing over the summer for next years heating season.
I will be heating 1800 sqft of ranch. I have been heating with a wood burning stove for 6 years now, with help from electric heat and am really looking forward to trying to make this thing run good. I have been reading for weeks and you guys are awesome
I really dont have any questions YET,,but I am sure I will. I just wanted to get registered and say thank YOu in advance as I will be taking on this challenge in the very near future. Any advice you may want to share from the get go would be appreciated. As I have read much but it is alot to try and get through and find every important thing I need. Thanks Guys,,,wish me luck,,,