Drolet 1800i operating temps?

[EbS-P]

Hi Everyone,

I have had enough fires in my new insert now to share some thoughts and ask some questions.

The Install- Drolet 1800i in a masonry fireplace with 24’ of insulated liner (SBI vortex that came with the Trio kit) with one slight offset. Damper installed in the appliance adapter. Auber AT200 probe installed in the appliance adapter right above the damper when it is closed (could be touching).

First few burns after break in we’re hot. My flue temps at the appliance adapter were 1150 and still going up. I needed more restrictions.

Before the damper I tried blocking 30% of the secondary air intake then 1 of three and then 2 of three primary dog house holes and then closer to 50% of the secondary intake. With 30% and 2/3 holes I could control the burn and could keep flue temps under 1000 and stove tops under 700 but I was still not loading clear full. It was obvious that the ratio of primary secondary and down wash airs were not correct. Front secondary tubes never fired. While I could block the secondary and dog house air I could not control the down wash air. Blocking the doghouse just diverted all that air to the down wash?? Stove however was controllable. On a medium load I could cruise at 600 stt (hottest spot center right at/under the jacket) and 8-850 flu gas but the burn just didn’t look great. No consistent flames from the front burn tube and the other tubes still had that blowtorch look even when just getting started.

I installed the damper right in the appliance adapter(had to remove some screws that were connecting the right angle stove appliance adapter brackets to allow the damper to close). I removed all other air restrictions.

Feeling confident I did a medium load with the damper at 45 degrees. Stove was very controllable. Again I could 8-850 flue temps at the adapter or I could cut back air to 7-750 at 5-550 stt. Time for a clear full hot reload. As temps crept up I closed the primary air all the way lots of flames. Temps keep going up 800 then I start closing the damper 850 I’m about 30 degrees from closed and and they keep rising to 915 with the damper full closed stt 725 at the hottest stop (center right under the jacket) blower is medium high. Temp come back down to 800-850 for about and hour with good secondaries ( not the blowtorch look before it blows itself out. )

So the question is, are 8-900 degree flue gas at the appliance adapter ok? Should i keep testing with damper and secondary and or dog house restrictions? Is there another air inlet on this stove that I am unaware of?

All in all it’s a good stove very quiet blower, my only complaint is the air control lever. No real indication of it position and it’s not a very good feel when operating. Scraping metal, jerky but functional.

Thanks Evan

 

[begreen]

My guess is that the temps above the damper would be lower. At least that is what I noted several years ago when I added a key damper on the F602 when it had single-wall.

 

[ABMax24]

Sounds hot still. Granted I'm running an analog flue probe, but steady state my STT are at least the same as the flue, but often the STT is 50-150F hotter.

For my stove a low burn is 500-550F STT, generally though I'm seeing more like 600-650 for a low-mid burn, and 750F is quite common when I'm working the stove a little. On my flue probe I never push harder than 600F, although I believe this to be 50-100F low, so 700F actual. Beyond this the STT gets near 800F and I'm just blowing heat out the flue.

I really need to get a thermocouple probe to verify these readings.

Generally though I operate the stove damper in conjunction with the flue damper, the more I close the stove damper the more I close the flue. I also begin closing the flue fairly early, IMO by the time you're hitting 600F on the Auber you should be fairly aggressively closing the flue to reel those temps in. If you do it right and can hold 600F in the flue, you should be at 600-650 STT in about half an hour.

 

[Woodcutter Tom]

Can I get a definition of 'dog house holes' and 'dog house air'. I have seen the term 'booster air' and now 'dog house'. Are these the same thing?
I have three holes that enter the firebox at the center front of the stove. There is a hump centered left to right in the firebox. The three holes enter the firebox from that hump. There is a single small hole beneath the hump that is covered by the primary air slide unless the primary air control is full closed. That small hole feeds the three holes from the hump.

Is this the doghouse and is it also referred to as the boost air?

 

[EbS-P]

Yes doghouse and boost air are the center air holes. Same thing. They provide primary combustion air. My air control never completely covers the air intake because of the round hole in the slider.

 

[EbS-P]

Update for today. 32 degrees outside today, cold for us. Ice storm starting soon.

First load on a cold start top down not packed really tight.

Damper full closed
Air control full closed
1/3 doghouse holes plugged with screw.
Blower on medium high
Stove top center top 600 and 700 right where the jacket starts 575 where air blows out.
Appliance adapter is reading 330-400.
Flue temps at the collar/damper peaked 800-900
Door top door frame peaked at 450.

I don’t have any comparison to flue temps 18” up so I don’t have any real comparison to tell if this is still running too hot but this is about as damper down as I can get it. Secondary flames are not lazy but not blow torches. With a bigger load I bet they would be more active.


Opening the damper 30 degrees results in a drop in flue temps before combustion really picks up. Not sure what that says.

I’m calling this as low as I can cleanly burn based on what I am seeing. It seems to hot based on collar flue temps and stove top temps for a minimum burn rate.

Any other 1800i owners out there have any thoughts? Or anyone else have any ideas if this is about right? I’d like a little more turn down I think but it would be very slow to stay with damper full closed. 2020 emissions = hot stoves I think.

 

[davo1028]

Glad to see some conversation on the Drolet inserts. They're good, no nonsense heaters. I have a Drolet 1400i that I installed last year, January 2021. It's my first woodburner but I'm happy to share some info. It should be the same as your 1800i basically, just with a shallower firebox by about 3 inches. Also, I have 25 feet of insulated flex liner above the insert, no damper.

I measure temp with an analog magnetic stovetop gauge centered at where the liner attaches (see pic - I had previously run it offset but now keep it centered to reflect the hotter temp where the airflow is blocked).

If I run a nice full load with hardwood, (but not super tightly packed) I have to stay right on top of the air adjustment to avoid overfiring. Even still, many times with the blower running medium low or so I will see STT of 700-750 for a bit, maybe a half hour. As far as secondaries, I have a hard time getting lazy secondaries. If I shut down enough to achieve them, they usually die out in 20-30 minutes. I also rarely have strong secondaries at the front burn tube - usually the rear two are much more active. Maybe due to it being hotter farther back in the firebox.

If you pack the firebox tighter, it should get you a slower burn at a lower temp. Sometimes it feels counter-intuitive, but I've found that it works well to keep temps in check if you really pack it tight.

Do you have any wood short enough to load N/S? I have some real short pieces from scrounging (13" or less to fit my insert) and I've found the N/S loads tend to be a bit easier to control and keep the temp lower without smoldering.

I put a few pics of my setup here. I don't have a raised hearth, so my insert is recessed and I don't run the faceplate. As far as STT go, I have Roxul fully surrounding the insert and a block off plate with Roxul as well. Enjoy the new insert, and good luck getting it dialed in!

 

[EbS-P]

It’s good that you have enough control to snuff. Without a damper. 750 on the center top seems safe enough to me. I don’t have any problems with running my other stove that hot at the center. I burn a lot of sappy dry really dense pine. If I don’t have lazy secondaries and put a load of pine in things can get too hot quickly. All those VOCs start off gassing and you can’t get keep the temps in check.

So far I’m very please. If the ice gets bad tonight and we loose power we will still be plenty warm!

 

[davo1028]

It’s good that you have enough control to snuff. Without a damper. 750 on the center top seems safe enough to me. I don’t have any problems with running my other stove that hot at the center. I burn a lot of sappy dry really dense pine. If I don’t have lazy secondaries and put a load of pine in things can get too hot quickly. All those VOCs start off gassing and you can’t get keep the temps in check.

So far I’m very please. If the ice gets bad tonight and we loose power we will still be plenty warm!

Yeah, I'm not sure I really have enough control to snuff it... Kind of depends on how quickly I keep adjusting the air down. I also usually start from cold and pre-heat my flue with a propane torch, so it lights up real quick with the draft established. Definitely agree about the hot reloads, those can get crazy if you aren't down to a small enough coal bed.

Sounds like you've got it pretty well figured out - stay warm!