I'm not new to wood-burning stoves/inserts, but this Drolet 1800 has me scratching my head. Everything seems to be working except drawing in fresh air. I have to leave the door slightly ajar to get fresh air to the fire. When I close the door I get the 2nd burn but it quickly snuffs itself out. Where does this stove draw the fresh air? I don't have the option of plumbing in the fresh air from outside and I'm told it should be able to draw air from inside the the house. any help will be greatly appreciated.
Drolet 1800 insert not drawing fresh air
- Thread starter tommyf1961
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Tell us about the setup and fuel. How tall is your chimney and how dry is your wood? How hot are you getting the fire before closing the door?
Wisco Shepherd
Minister of Fire
Check wood (moisture reading on a fresh split on room temperature wood). Then check chimney for obstructions. The only other thing would be new construction or basement installs can have negative pressure issues. Crack a window near the stove to check that.
Hi folks, appreciate the replies! I'm using very seasoned wood, split about three years ago. The stack is well above the peak of the house and never had issues with the old stove. The stove is very hot before I attempt to close the door, then when I do, the fire goes out. I understand the fresh air should be coming in right above the glass at the door but I'm not able to determine where it's being drawn from.
Your wood is not dry (internally)
Take a room temp split, resplit it, measure the MC in the middle of the fresh face(s), preferably with pins running with the grain. You need to be under 20% for it to burn even halfway decent. But even 20% is still a fair amount of water you are loading into the stove...for example, if you loaded a 50lb load of wood at 20%, that's 10lbs of water, which is over a gallon, headed toward 5 qts! Now you can see why wood over 20% doesn't burn worth a hoot!
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
The air intake is behind the blower. There is an unregulated secondary air intake a rectangle you can see. The primary air intake is centered on the floor of the stove out of sight.
I can see the secondary just like you said. Is there anything that might be able to block the primary? I never took out any of the fire brick or the upper tubes, just installed it as I received it. Should I have removed all that stuff first?
Yea, I get it. I did check the wood with a meter (6%), split it and checked again (7%). The wood was stored in my solar kiln. I figured I'd use it since I have a sawmill. I don't think it's the wood. As far as the fuel goes, I haven't changed anything. burning the same wood I burned when I had my other stove. I only burn pecan, oak, and persimmon.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
No it’s just a plate that slides over the hole when you move the lever in and out. You can feel it moving when you move the lever.
I would inspect the top cap with binoculars if you can’t get up there.
How tall is the flue?? Insulated liner?
Wisco Shepherd
Minister of Fire
What you're describing is the classic wet wood scenario. Can you get some pallet wood, or dry pieces of lumber (untreated) to check to see if the stove or chimney is the issue? Any place to put a thermometer on to see temp? The 1800 insert looks fairly flush in the pics I see on line. The baffles in top of stove, do they move? If so, check to see if they're in proper position too. I'm thinking its just not hot enough to draw in the small amount of air its allowed to to build up combustion temperature. Good luck.
It currently doesn't have a top cap. Built a new one the other day, just need weather to cooperate so I can install it. The flue is pretty tall, all rock. It extends about two feet above the peak of the house. The peak is about 20'. It's not insulated, just a good old fashioned fireplace with a rock chimney stack. It is clean though, nothing blocking the updraft.
The wood has been in a solar kiln to help speed up the drying process. It's running about 7% in the middle when split. I'm thinking that's not the issue. I did check all the tubes/baffles in the top, they are secure. Thanks for your input!
So you are just venting into an old fireplace?
Somehow missed that. I’m sure the draft is all wrong if that is the case and explains his issue!
OP, It needs a 6” liner preferably insulated.
7%...that's really low...even kiln dried lumber doesn't stay at that low of an ambient MC most places in the country (maybe Phoenix)
I'd be willing to bet it's at least 15 % ( which is good)
Yup, bholler nailed it, you are trying to heat up a masonry flue with a modern high efficiency stove...and they just don't waste enough heat up the flue to keep a draft going in that monster.
Gonna need an insulated liner.
Yea, I think installing the 6" liner is the way I'm gonna have to go. The other stove didn't need a liner to work and seemed to work just fine without it. I guess I'll be shopping for a liner and connections. Thanks!
Yep, it's very low. I pulled the wood straight from the kiln and straight to the Drolet. Trying to heat up a masonry flue with this new stove makes a lot of sense. Shopping for a flue is the task of the day. Thanks for your help!
Make sure you get an insulated liner, you will regret it if you don't.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
It’s is required by the installation manual. My install with 23’ of insulated liner needed a manual damper.
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