Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

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That was easy! There was quite a bit of fly ash on it, and build up in those back corners on the baffle since I've never followed the HX directions till now.

I verified that the joints on the tee were both good. Thoroughly cleaned the HX tubes, which were nasty. Also cleaned ito the elbow on the back of the stove which has some build up.

By my manometer, I have great draft. I just lit a fire, 230°F flue temp on a cold chimney and I have .05" of draft. This is only 10 minutes into lighting a fire. I still am getting a small whiff of smoke at times.

I haven't opened the door to check for smoke spillage. No ventilation is on, and my basement windows are closed right now.
 
That was easy! There was quite a bit of fly ash on it, and build up in those back corners on the baffle since I've never followed the HX directions till now.
IMO Tundra/HeatPro, Caddy/Max Caddy has a very good design for cleaning/servicing the stove...and easy to establish a draft on a cold chimney with that HX cleanout door too...pop the door open and blow the propane torch or hair dryer in there for a minute...even the most stubborn chimney will start drafting!
 
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I am getting .1" of draft right now. But even with the fan off, west basement window wide open, and no other ventilation on in the house, if you open the door I get bad smoke spillage. Either the 5.5 with a little ovalization at the bottom, or the horizontal run in my connector pipe, must be the culprit.

I am contemplating lifting the stove another 8" off of the floor, shortening the SS Tee Snout, and running a short section of pipe diagonally. I know Drolet and other stove makers say that a 90° elbow hurts draft.
 

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I am contemplating lifting the stove another 8" off of the floor, shortening the SS Tee Snout, and running a short section of pipe diagonally.
Good plan
 
How in the world do you remove the baffle above the secondary tubes? Or the tubes themselves?

Going through the Tundra manual today I see that you're supposed to slide the baffle to the front when cleaning the HX tubes - I didn't know that. I've always just scraped as much towards the front as possible, and then ran my wire brush. I feel at least a half inch of stuff on top of the baffle so I'd like to remove and clean it.
I've had my Caddy ( same design ) for 8 years and I've cleaned my HX tubes once. It was the biggest waste of time. Just vacuum them out a couple times a year and you will be good.
 
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I've had my Caddy ( same design ) for 8 years and I've cleaned my HX tubes once. It was the biggest waste of time. Just vacuum them out a couple times a year and you will be good.
I had to clean mine every few weeks...not a ton of buildup...but enough to make it worth doing.
 
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I had to clean mine every few weeks...not a ton of buildup...but enough to make it worth doing.
I think we are talking apples and oranges. I'm talking about the tubes with the holes in the firebox. Those technically aren't HX tubes though. ;)

Are you talking about the big HX tubes that the indoor air picks the heat off of ?
 
I think we are talking apples and oranges. I'm talking about the tubes with the holes in the firebox. Those technically aren't HX tubes though. ;)

Are you talking about the big HX tubes that the indoor air picks the heat off of ?
Ah...yes.
 
I have a shutoff switch above the furnace I installed. It won't smoke if I work in a timely manner. If I'm messing around and it starts to take off it will smoke.

I removed the smoke baffle on mine, so I get some spillage somewhat frequently when loading on decent coals. The smoke spillage is less annoying to me than the baffle being in the way. ;lol Although with the Kuuma's you rake all the coals forward before loading, so all those hot coals are right near the door opening.
 
I wondered about installing a small smoke baffle, even a temporary install as a test, in my Tundra. I'm sure it would get annoying - I know my friends whose stoves have those baffles, hate them. But I wish the stove door could be open without a concern about smoke spillage, like my old Silver Dollar Saver in the garage - you can open the door and smoke in front of it if you want, it sucks!

By watching my manometer, I have too much draft now, but still the same smoke spillage issues. I wonder if a 7" SS liner would have the same issue - I kind of doubt it. Being a tall interior chimney, I'm sure it would still draft great.

I really need to get that variable speed blower mod done soon.
 
I removed the smoke baffle on mine, so I get some spillage somewhat frequently when loading on decent coals. The smoke spillage is less annoying to me than the baffle being in the way. ;lol Although with the Kuuma's you rake all the coals forward before loading, so all those hot coals are right near the door opening.
Same with the Caddy, I rake forward and load.
 
Hey all. We are researching fireplaces AGAIN after purchasing a Fire Chief 1000 in 2017 and are now going to tear it out. We liked the Drolet Tundra II but would like to hear from owners of them. We dont want to make a second mistake!! Who has an EPA wood furnace they are very happy with and did not need to modify it? We are over that stress.

Wannabe, I know this doesn't go directly to your question about the Tundra, but my Caddy is a really nice furnace that I am happy with. I made a small simple mod to the damper so I could gain more control over the primary combustion air but that's it. Just like the Tundras, the heat exchanger clean out is a breeze with the hinged panel in the front.
Good Luck!
 
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Reading installation clearances for the tundra2 they call out 16-18 inches from the back of the filter box to the combustible wall. That filter box is about 16-18” deep too. So the actual furnace needs 3 feet of rear clearance? Is this how you all have them installed? Out in the middle of the room?
 
Reading installation clearances for the tundra2 they call out 16-18 inches from the back of the filter box to the combustible wall. That filter box is about 16-18” deep too. So the actual furnace needs 3 feet of rear clearance? Is this how you all have them installed? Out in the middle of the room?

The only area of concern on the back of the Tundra is the chimney. In fact, the entire furnace puts out no heat to mention aside from the chimney and the front of the unit.
 
Reading installation clearances for the tundra2 they call out 16-18 inches from the back of the filter box to the combustible wall. That filter box is about 16-18” deep too. So the actual furnace needs 3 feet of rear clearance? Is this how you all have them installed? Out in the middle of the room?

I noticed that as well. Luckily my basement walls aren’t finished yet in that room so I guess it can be closer.
 
It's all about clearance from the wall to the stove pipe...
 
They are probably assuming worst case scenario where your chimney is improperly installed, you don't clean your chimney, you burn unseasoned wood, have a chimney fire with molten creosote dripping from the seams in the chimney....

I have double wall black pipe and a highly effective controller system on my T1 and there is no concern about heat. My chimney is maybe 12" from the front fender of my brand new car. No concerns. Not sure how effective the T2 controller is but from what I read it should suffice.
 
They are probably assuming worst case scenario where your chimney is improperly installed, you don't clean your chimney, you burn unseasoned wood, have a chimney fire with molten creosote dripping from the seams in the chimney....

I have double wall black pipe and a highly effective controller system on my T1 and there is no concern about heat. My chimney is maybe 12" from the front fender of my brand new car. No concerns. Not sure how effective the T2 controller is but from what I read it should suffice.


what type of controller system do you have? Controls the fire or the blower?
 
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I recall asking SBI about the rear clearance and they said it was only to access the air filter and fan, and to only pay attention to the stove pipe to wall specs .

Eric
 
what type of controller system do you have? Controls the fire or the blower?

We chatted about my plans last spring but I have 3 Johnson control digital controllers controlling the damper, blower on, and blower speed, 3 powered dampers, 8 relays, a 24vac transformer.

It allows the gas furnace and wood furnace to operate in a common set of duct work with both systems being authorized to operate at the same time, though they don't operate at the same time...most of the time. It absolutely works.