Dialing in the Drolet Escape (1500, 1800 and inserts)

[Woodcutter Tom]

Nice work! Hope it works out this winter. How long a bead did you weld at a time? My concern would be warping the front?

I used two welders. Stick welded with 7018AC the lower indented area. I ran a full rod lengths across the section. I was not concerned about warping for two reasons: 1. it already was indented from the manufacturing process and that is what I was trying to fix and 2. there is a lot of structure supporting that section.
For the bead I used a 90 amp welder with .030 " flux core wire. There was not excessive heat from this set up. I ran each side as best I could. I am a self taught novice. I was not stacking dimes. There was a lot of grinding and redoing. I needed to fill in gaps and had to change the corners to properly follow gasket path. It was a lot longer process than I expected.

 

[moresnow]

@Woodcutter Tom
Guessing you contacted sbi with your warped stove body issue? Curious what they had to say.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

@Woodcutter Tom
Guessing you contacted sbi with your warped stove body issue? Curious what they had to say.

I did discuss this with SBI. There is another thread about this. Sent them multiple emails, photos, videos. SBI ended up warrantying the stove. They sent a replacement. They did not want to original back. When I got the replacement, first thing I did was check the front. It seemed to have the same inward recession although not as bad. I took photos and sent to SBI, but never heard back. I decided to leave the new stove in it's crate in the garage. At the time I did not see any reason install it.
Last week I looked at the replacement stove again. Although it has a bit of inward recess, it is not as bad as I thought it was, and not nearly as bad as the original. Since I put the work into the original, I will see how that works out.

 

[moresnow]

Now I recall your other thread. Got it.
I wonder if a properly placed bottle jack (lying flat inside the stove and properly supported at top and bottom) might gently encourage the inboard bend to move back out? Even steel that has moved due to welding etc. usually has some ability to move left in it.
Believe I'd at least consider that as an option if all current adjustments need a little more help.
A thought.
Maybe this has been tried?

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Now I recall your other thread. Got it.
I wonder if a properly placed bottle jack (lying flat inside the stove and properly supported at top and bottom) might gently encourage the inboard bend to move back out? Even steel that has moved due to welding etc. usually has some ability to move left in it.
Believe I'd at least consider that as an option if all current adjustments need a little more help.
A thought.
Maybe this has been tried?

There is more to the front than just the front plate. Attached is a drawing of the stove cut-away in a front-to-back (N-S) manner. Running across the front of the stove on the inside is the primary air chamber. This chamber takes air from a hole in the bottom center of the stove and flows it left and right to the corners. The air flows up on each side to the top where it is able to flow down over the door glass as the air wash. The chamber is made up of three pieces; the stove front, the stove bottom, and a piece of rounded angle iron which makes up the top and inside.
Placing a bottle jack on the inside would press against the rear stove panel and the primary air chamber. The weaker part would be the rear of the stove. I see bending the rear panel outward instead of moving the front panel. Thanks for the idea.

 

[oilcan1001]

I just received my brand new Drolet Escape1800 and will be installing it soon. This thread has me a little spooked. Since there are only a couple people reporting I hope the issues presented here are not the norm for these stoves but are only rare and isolated.

I know I haven't posted much on these forums but I have been reading a lot and the knowledge here has helped me a lot. When I finally start burning my 1800 I'll be be sure to report my experience.

 

[EbS-P]

ZC

I just received my brand new Drolet Escape1800 and will be installing it soon. This thread has me a little spooked. Since there are only a couple people reporting I hope the issues presented here are not the norm for these stoves but are only rare and isolated.

I know I haven't posted much on these forums but I have been reading a lot and the knowledge here has helped me a lot. When I finally start burning my 1800 I'll be be sure to report my experien

How tall is the chimney? What is your altitude? Do you have a key damper? Do you have a way to measure flue gas temps?

The stove are designed well. But the consensus here is if you have a tall chimney you probably need a damper. That’s true for almost any stove. Don’t be worried just be thoughtful.

 

[oilcan1001]

ZC


How tall is the chimney? What is your altitude? Do you have a key damper? Do you have a way to measure flue gas temps?

The stove are designed well. But the consensus here is if you have a tall chimney you probably need a damper. That’s true for almost any stove. Don’t be worried just be thoughtful.

ZC ------ not sure

How tall is the chimney? ------about 14' from stove top to chimney cap
What is your altitude? ------ 4800ft
Do you have a key damper? -------- no
Do you have a way to measure flue gas temps?---------- magnetic thermometer and IR gun for confirmation

Don’t be worried just be thoughtful. ------ Often I'm told that I'm over-thoughtful,,, lol

Cheers

 

[EbS-P]

ZC ------ not sure

How tall is the chimney? ------about 14' from stove top to chimney cap
What is your altitude? ------ 4800ft
Do you have a key damper? -------- no
Do you have a way to measure flue gas temps?---------- magnetic thermometer and IR gun for confirmation

Don’t be worried just be thoughtful. ------ Often I'm told that I'm over-thoughtful,,, lol

Cheers

You should not need a damper. 14’ at elevation it might have a weak draft until it gets warmed up or outside temps fall. Pay attention if you have a well sealed house and consider an outside air kit if possible. Post back if you have any questions.

 

[oilcan1001]

You should not need a damper. 14’ at elevation it might have a weak draft until it gets warmed up or outside temps fall. Pay attention if you have a well sealed house and consider an outside air kit if possible. Post back if you have any questions.

Thanks for the input.
I'll post my results after a few fires.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Welcome to the DROLET Escape family. I hope you get many years of enjoyment and heat out of your new stove.
I suggest a digital probe for measuring flue temps. The magnetic thermometer and IR gun are good for the stove top. A probe like one of the Auber units will give you the true flue gas temps.

 

[oilcan1001]

Welcome to the DROLET Escape family. I hope you get many years of enjoyment and heat out of your new stove.
I suggest a digital probe for measuring flue temps. The magnetic thermometer and IR gun are good for the stove top. A probe like one of the Auber units will give you the true flue gas temps.

Is an IR gun not sufficient or accurate for a single wall stove pipe ?

 

[EbS-P]

Is an IR gun not sufficient or accurate for a single wall stove pipe ?

The point is measuring flue gas temps is better than single wall temps.

 

[oilcan1001]

I've had a few fires now so I thought I'd give report of what I have noticed.

1) once this stove gets heated up it really puts out some btu's
2) I'm still in the 'shoulder' season so a full load in my stove was way too much for my space therefore I went to smaller loads
3) smaller loads turned out to be a little trickier for me being new to an EPA stove with secondary burn.
4) In my situation I am finding I must leave the door open (cold start) until flames have engulfed most of the wood (smaller load) then close door to about 3/4 inch, a few minutes later close the rest of the way.
This takes about 15-20 min elapsed time. I want to makes sure the firebox gets heated enough to get to secondary burn going
5) If I reload, I leave the door open until strong flames on the fresh wood then start closing the door

In both situations (cold start, reload) I get a bunch of smoldering and smoke that is why I like to let the splits get 'fired-up' before closing the door.
I am still learning, but so far I can't close secondary air more than half way or operating temps begin dropping and I'll start losing secondary burn.
All with smaller loads.

For you seasoned pro's does this all sound normal ?

TIA

 

[EbS-P]

I've had a few fires now so I thought I'd give report of what I have noticed.

1) once this stove gets heated up it really puts out some btu's
2) I'm still in the 'shoulder' season so a full load in my stove was way too much for my space therefore I went to smaller loads
3) smaller loads turned out to be a little trickier for me being new to an EPA stove with secondary burn.
4) In my situation I am finding I must leave the door open (cold start) until flames have engulfed most of the wood (smaller load) then close door to about 3/4 inch, a few minutes later close the rest of the way.
This takes about 15-20 min elapsed time. I want to makes sure the firebox gets heated enough to get to secondary burn going
5) If I reload, I leave the door open until strong flames on the fresh wood then start closing the door

In both situations (cold start, reload) I get a bunch of smoldering and smoke that is why I like to let the splits get 'fired-up' before closing the door.
I am still learning, but so far I can't close secondary air more than half way or operating temps begin dropping and I'll start losing secondary burn.
All with smaller loads.

For you seasoned pro's does this all sound normal ?

TIA

Do you have a moisture meter? Candy you describe how the venting system is constructed?

Both my stoves (14’ and 23’ ) I load light and close the door. I light top down with lists of kindling. If your wood is 20% MC or less it shouldn’t smolder.

 

[oilcan1001]

Do you have a moisture meter? Candy you describe how the venting system is constructed?

Both my stoves (14’ and 23’ ) I load light and close the door. I light top down with lists of kindling. If your wood is 20% MC or less it shouldn’t smolder.

I have a moisture meter and all my splits are less than 10%. I've been burning left overs from last year so I'm sure it's dry.
5' single wall stove pipe and 8' chimney = total 13', all straight up. Chimney goes through the roof at the peak with no obstructions.

I have been lighting top down also. Maybe tonight I'll use more kindling, but even the newspaper will go out if I close the door on it.

 

[EbS-P]

I have a moisture meter and all my splits are less than 10%. I've been burning left overs from last year so I'm sure it's dry.
5' single wall stove pipe and 8' chimney = total 13', all straight up. Chimney goes through the roof at the peak with no obstructions.

I have been lighting top down also. Maybe tonight I'll use more kindling, but even the newspaper will go out if I close the door on it.

View attachment 317932 View attachment 317933

I should have looked back on the thread. What were the outside temps?
You are right at minimum height. Try more kindling. I use a lot. Want a clean hot fire fast.

Adding a section of single wall pipe to the top just as a temporary test is an option. If it improves things the permanent solution would s adding a length of class A chimney.
changing to double wall inside would help.

 

[oilcan1001]

I should have looked back on the thread. What were the outside temps?
You are right at minimum height. Try more kindling. I use a lot. Want a clean hot fire fast.

Adding a section of single wall pipe to the top just as a temporary test is an option. If it improves things the permanent solution would s adding a length of class A chimney.
changing to double wall inside would help.

Thank you Ebs-P
Outside temps when starting was about 50.

I was suspicious of my draft because of needing to keep the door open until things got going so I am investigating going to double wall inside or adding to my chimney up top.

 

[EbS-P]

Thank you Ebs-P
Outside temps when starting was about 50.

I was suspicious of my draft because of needing to keep the door open until things got going so I am investigating going to double wall inside or adding to my chimney up top.

it will perform better When it’s colder. Once you have a hot stove it may not be an issue. You can preheat the flue with a hair dryer or torch before you light anything off.

Try cracking a nearby window next time to rule out any negative house pressure.

 

[oilcan1001]

Well I've re-discovered that different species of wood demand a different approach to running the firebox.
My previous posts about smoke and smoldering were probably due to the wood I was using (elm) because last night I switched to the pine splits I harvested this year and everything seemed textbook perfect.
-Quick start up
-no smoldering
-secondary burn for the entire load

I still could not close secondary air completely during the entire burn = weak draft.

 

[EbS-P]

Well I've re-discovered that different species of wood demand a different approach to running the firebox.
My previous posts about smoke and smoldering were probably due to the wood I was using (elm) because last night I switched to the pine splits I harvested this year and everything seemed textbook perfect.
-Quick start up
-no smoldering
-secondary burn for the entire load

I still could not close secondary air completely during the entire burn = weak draft.

I love pine!! We do have the Cadillac of pine (long leaf) here. Almost the btus of oak and dries in a single summer

 

[ExxWhy]

I just installed an Escape 1800 in a small cabin. (640sf) Chimney ended up a bit shorter than ideal at about 11'4" from the stove top straight up through the roof. The cabin is almost 3 hours from home, so I guessed on my measurements before I bought the pipe. Double wall inside to 2 36" class A sections above the ceiling.

We've only had a couple fires in it, but so far it works great. Burned it for a couple hours with the windows and door open during the day, not terribly stinky but stinky enough. Let it cool off and then had a fire for overnight. (paint smell 95% gone) Small loads so far to get a feel for how it runs. Draft is adequate, but not real strong. It doesn't like me to close the air all the way down, but seems to be happy with it open halfway once it gets going. The wood is mostly oak and hickory in the mid teens for moisture.

I'll check back sometime as I get more experience running it.

 

[mouthfulloflake]

do all of the Drolet Escape stoves have the three holes drilled into the front lip over the air control knob?

what do they signify?

 

[oilcan1001]

do all of the Drolet Escape stoves have the three holes drilled into the front lip over the air control knob?

what do they signify?

I'm not sure if they ALL have these holes, but these are the ports for the primary air

edit: after re-reading I think you are referring to the small, medium and large holes drilled into the front ash lip which are indicators of primary air control

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

do all of the Drolet Escape stoves have the three holes drilled into the front lip over the air control knob?

what do they signify?

I'm not sure if they ALL have these holes, but these are the ports for the primary air

edit: after re-reading I think you are referring to the small, medium and large holes drilled into the front ash lip which are indicators of primary air control

On my Escape 1500, I do not have three holes drilled into the front lip over the air control knob.

I do have three holes on the inside of the stove, in the doghouse. (Doghouse being the lump which is centered in the front lower section of the firebox.) These holes only receive air when the primary air control is more than about 3/4 shut. When primary air is only partially shut the small intake hole is covered. With the primary air completely open to about 3/4 shut this hole is covered.
The primary air feed supplies air to the area above the door and serves as the door air wash which keeps the glass clean.
The three holes feed air directly into the firebox. My guess is that those holes supply air to help keep the fire burning when the primary has been shut down. Some people have plugged one or more of these holes to improve their stove. I am considering enlarging the small intake hole and developing a way to control the air flow thru that hole.