Are these decent options?

[FunkDaddyG]

I am considering getting both of these two Drolet stoves. I need them to start and stay lit without problems, the heat and burn time to be regulated without difficulty within their limits, and hopefully durable. Are these viable options?

drolet HT-3000
(factorypure.com/products/drolet-ht-3000-epa-certified-2-700-sq-ft-wood-stove-new)
.
Drolet escape 1800
(factorypure.com/products/drolet-escape-1800-epa-certified-2-100-sq-ft-wood-stove-on-legs-with-black-door-new)
.
We’re on a budget, we have 3 stoves currently, an older fisher that works great but two newer wood stoves that won’t stay lit unless they’re burning full tilt and are a pita to get started. Weve cleaned them several times without success. So we need better stoves that don’t have to have the door propped and watched just to get it going.

We live in an old drafty uninsulated house that we struggle to keep warm in the winter.

Any helpful inputs?

 

[moor]

Drolet/Osburn make very good products. My fear is that to me it sounds like you might have a draft issue and that hooking up a new stove may not solve the issues you are having. Currently what kind of chimney do you have? Does it have a liner, is it insulated? Others will be along with far more knowledge than i have and any more info you can provide will help.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

we have 3 stoves currently, an older fisher that works great but two newer wood stoves that won’t stay lit unless they’re burning full tilt and are a pita to get started. Weve cleaned them several times without success. So we need better stoves that don’t have to have the door propped and watched just to get it going.

This sounds like wet wood. A new stove may not be the solution you are looking for if you feed it sub par fuel. What moisture content is your wood and how do you measure it?

 

[stoveliker]

I agree with that ^^

The good news is that the solution is free: let your wood dry for two or three years (split, stacked off the ground, and top covered).

 

[FunkDaddyG]

This sounds like wet wood. A new stove may not be the solution you are looking for if you feed it sub par fuel. What moisture content is your wood and how do you measure it?

The wood is seasoned properly and dry

 

[FunkDaddyG]

Drolet/Osburn make very good products. My fear is that to me it sounds like you might have a draft issue and that hooking up a new stove may not solve the issues you are having. Currently what kind of chimney do you have? Does it have a liner, is it insulated? Others will be along with far more knowledge than i have and any more info you can provide will help.

Stainless steel liners, 6 inch, insulated and properly installed with 22feet length per chimney

 

[stoveliker]

How do you know it's dry?
How and how long was it seasoned?

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

The wood is seasoned properly and dry

You could be right about that. But getting a moisture meter and testing the way I outlined above (test the freshly exposed face of a freshly split piece at room temp with pins parallel to the grain) would let you know for sure. Moisture meter is under 20 bucks so it could save you buying 2 new stoves.

The way you dry wood to burn in your fisher may work fine but modern stoves need drier wood. If you don't want to test the moisture some information on the species of wood you burn and how long it's split and stacked (not in rounds) prior to burning could help confirm its not wood.

All the stoves in your original post are plenty fine but may not be any easier to run than what you have right now if the wood isn't really dry

 

[Highbeam]

I am considering getting both of these two Drolet stoves. I need them to start and stay lit without problems, the heat and burn time to be regulated without difficulty within their limits, and hopefully durable. Are these viable options?

drolet HT-3000
(factorypure.com/products/drolet-ht-3000-epa-certified-2-700-sq-ft-wood-stove-new)
.
Drolet escape 1800
(factorypure.com/products/drolet-escape-1800-epa-certified-2-100-sq-ft-wood-stove-on-legs-with-black-door-new)
.
We’re on a budget, we have 3 stoves currently, an older fisher that works great but two newer wood stoves that won’t stay lit unless they’re burning full tilt and are a pita to get started. Weve cleaned them several times without success. So we need better stoves that don’t have to have the door propped and watched just to get it going.

We live in an old drafty uninsulated house that we struggle to keep warm in the winter.

Any helpful inputs?

What are your current modern stoves that aren't working for you? We know stoves and we can say if the new drolet proposals would be any better.

Drolets are good stoves at a good price point and not finicky. They are modern noncat stoves though which means that they can't be burned low and slow like your old fisher. The "range" of available outputs will be much smaller and hotter.

 

[FunkDaddyG]

How do you know it's dry?
How and how long was it seasoned?

Weve used wood to heat over 30 years, so I hope I have a little bit of understanding of the basics of whether or not wood is seasoned.

My experience with stoves is limited to older wood stoves. Thus im asking for information about good quality budget newer stoves that are supposed to be more efficient.

The wood was cut and split and stacked and top covered and seasoned two years.

 

[FunkDaddyG]

What are your current modern stoves that aren't working for you? We know stoves and we can say if the new drolet proposals would be any better.

Drolets are good stoves at a good price point and not finicky. They are modern noncat stoves though which means that they can't be burned low and slow like your old fisher. The "range" of available outputs will be much smaller and hotter.

Thank you. This is very useful. How is the reported burn times of 10 hours achieved without the low slow burns?

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

The wood was cut and split and stacked and top covered and seasoned two years.

This is the information we wanted my man. 2 years sounds really good the reason we press is because most people don't do what you do and try to burn wet wood. You may have some operational issues to work out but you should be fine with a drolet they seem to put out a lot of heat when operated correctly

Of note, once you get a fire going in these newer stoves turning the air down is what actually gets the entire system hot not running It Wide Open

 

[FunkDaddyG]

Drolet/Osburn make very good products. My fear is that to me it sounds like you might have a draft issue and that hooking up a new stove may not solve the issues you are having. Currently what kind of chimney do you have? Does it have a liner, is it insulated? Others will be along with far more knowledge than i have and any more info you can provide will help.

The chimneys are lined with stainless steel and that is insulated and they are about 22 feet of chimney.

 

[FunkDaddyG]

What are your current modern stoves that aren't working for you? We know stoves and we can say if the new drolet proposals would be any better.

Drolets are good stoves at a good price point and not finicky. They are modern noncat stoves though which means that they can't be burned low and slow like your old fisher. The "range" of available outputs will be much smaller and hotter.

Unstamped so not certain of manufacturers

 

[stoveliker]

Are the stoves in the same building?
If not, is the place with the newer ones rather airtight? Or with exhaust fans?

Are the newer stoves in a basement? Those can have lower pressure resulting in poor performance.

Does smoke roll out sometimes when you open the door?

Can there be ash build up in the newer stoves (on baffles or so)? Or could the air inlet be obstructed?

If your wood is not wet (and I agree it seems to look okay there), your chimney is reasonable (in height) and properly lined, and you have trouble keeping them going, air flow is not what it should be.

Another possibility is that the flues leak. E.g. an improperly sealed clean out door that sucks in air, competing with the draft your stove needs.


Just some questions to see if we can find out what the problem is with the existing ones as that would save $$ over getting new ones.

Drolet are a solid brand tho.

 

[Highbeam]

Thank you. This is very useful. How is the reported burn times of 10 hours achieved without the low slow burns?

The question is why can’t that stove burn for 30 hours at a 3x lower and slower rate.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

The question is why can’t that stove burn for 30 hours at a 3x lower and slower rate.

Emissions regulations is my guess. Their lowest air setting still likely let's in a fair amount of air to keep things clean.

 

[Highbeam]

Emissions regulations is my guess. Their lowest air setting still likely let's in a fair amount of air to keep things clean.

The noncat combustion system must run very hot to burn the emissions and stove design takes the control of that away from the operator to make sure it is run hot and clean. This leads to a smaller range of outputs for the user compared to a cat stove or to an old smoke dragon that could be smoldered and those old dragons often are smoldered along for long burns in spite of the pollution because low and slow is an awesome way to heat.

The OP may be hoping to get that range of outputs from a modern noncat which would lead to frustration.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

With the bigger Drolet 10 hours is doable. Here is a helpful thread for running an EPA non cat stove

Thread 'Starting a fire and running an EPA stove'

Jan 17, 2020

Questions about starting a fire and avoiding a runaway stove come up so frequently I decided to document starting our stove. This is a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 with about a 3 cu ft firebox. The stove is connected to a straight-up, 20' interior flue. The outside ambient temperature is 34ºF. The blower was off all the time for these shots. The firewood is douglas fir at about 17% moisture content. This is a N/S loading. An E/W loading start will follow.

NOTE: as testing will show, the older Condar flue thermometer is reading low. It needs recalibration.

There are 3 instruments shown.

1. ...

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• Forum: The Hearth Room - Wood Stoves and Fireplaces

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[Wisco Shepherd]

The OP may be hoping to get that range of outputs from a modern noncat which would lead to frustration.

Agree, if he wanted to go super low he should get a BK. But if its out of his price range they can likely learn how to regulate the house with a simpler (and cheaper) stove. I have a hybrid (secondary and catalyst) stove and keep the house reasonably steady with temps.