Drolet Eco 65 and warping

[olmec]

Whats with the warping over the door on these stoves? Are the newer models doing it as well?

 

[hyfire]

A few people on the board have the newer model, and no one has complained so I assume they are OK. Mine warped and a few others on the board, I made a simple fix with a piece of Stainless steel, never warped since. If your having troubles I can make a bolt on part for you.

 

[olmec]

Thanks Hyfire! What causes them to warp? I saw one pic where the gap between the upper part of the door and the front panel was quit large. Im really wanting this stove as its well with in my budget. Looked at the enviro Maxx today. Very nice stove but its $3500 plus another $400 for the duct kit :0/

 

[Ambient]

Whats with the warping over the door on these stoves? Are the newer models doing it as well?

I haven't had any issues with warpage. Same mfr different name, Osburn 7000. The door glass gets dirty quickly is the only troubling issue so far. Although I've had it up to the max output, I didn't have it there long. If I need more heat just cranking it up half way gets it done.

 

[olmec]

I haven't had any issues with warpage. Same mfr different name, Osburn 7000. The door glass gets dirty quickly is the only troubling issue so far. Although I've had it up to the max output, I didn't have it there long. If I need more heat just cranking it up half way gets it done.

Do you have yours ducted ambient? That osburn looks really nice.

 

[Ambient]

Do you have yours ducted ambient? That osburn looks really nice.

No ducts, just ambient air heating the house. Sorting out available pellets and the combustion settings. Two different pellets can be adjusted to be burned for a bag a day. Others not so well.

I have a friend in town that has had a world of troubles with his pellet boiler. He is seriously considering swapping it out for a furnace type set up. I told him about the ability to duct this stove.

 

[olmec]

No ducts, just ambient air heating the house. Sorting out available pellets and the combustion settings. Two different pellets can be adjusted to be burned for a bag a day. Others not so well.

I have a friend in town that has had a world of troubles with his pellet boiler. He is seriously considering swapping it out for a furnace type set up. I told him about the ability to duct this stove.

Oh no kidding? I didnt know you could fine tune these stoves. Ive read hyfire make mention of doing such things but sounds like its kinda a secret. Id love to be able to tweak and diag via laptop. Im sure its coming tho! Im a diesel tech by trade and 90% of my time is spent with a laptop.

 

[Ambient]

Oh no kidding? I didnt know you could fine tune these stoves. Ive read hyfire make mention of doing such things but sounds like its kinda a secret. Id love to be able to tweak and diag via laptop. Im sure its coming tho! Im a diesel tech by trade and 90% of my time is spent with a laptop.

I've have a digital tablet to make my adjustments. The Osburn 7000 allows adjustments to the Auger and the Combustion and Exhaust fans

OSBURN 7000:

6.1.6.2 COMBUSTION ADJUSTMENT (Fuel Quality Adjustment)

The “COMBUSTION ADJUSTMENT” will allow you to modify default settings by ±5% for auger motor 1 and ±10% for combustion and exhaust fan.

Yours looks like this:
DROLET ECO 65:

5.1.3 Convection Fan Speed Control

The convection fan can be adjusted to 9 predetermined speeds. By pressing on AUX, the message FAN followed by a number between 1 to 9 will appear on the screen. It will be possible to modify the blower speed by pressing on the + or the -. Take note that not all fan ranges are available, but the speed of the convection blower is consistent with the requested burn rate.

5.1.4 Heat Level

By pressing + or -, you can set the pellet feed rate and hence the heat output of your stove. The levels of heat output will incrementally change and each LED indicates the level from 1 to 6.

5.1.5 Reset

The reset button has to be used to clear most warnings on the control panel and restart your stove (see Section 6.6: Operating the Stove Using a Thermostat and Section 8.3: Main Error Codes, Possible Causes and Solutions).

By making adjustments to these on the minimum setting, I can make the adjustment for the quality, or lack of in each type of pellet. I then take my paint pen and mark on the underside of the lid what each setting is. So if I need to switch to a previously used pellet I should be close to what it take to make it happy.

 

[olmec]

I've have a digital tablet to make my adjustments. The Osburn 7000 allows adjustments to the Auger and the Combustion and Exhaust fans

So the osburn is more adjustable and you can use your tablet? Thats awesome! I actually found a dealer near me who sells both stoves. Im excited to look at both this weekend.


Yours looks like this:
DROLET ECO 65:





By making adjustments to these on the minimum setting, I can make the adjustment for the quality, or lack of in each type of pellet. I then take my paint pen and mark on the underside of the lid what each setting is. So if I need to switch to a previously used pellet I should be close to what it take to make it happy.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Usually, the body will warp wherever there is flame impingement for a length of time in maximium run conditions. The easiest fix is of course fashioning an impingement plate as a 'sacrificial lamb' to deflect the flame and keep it from contacting the body of the stove, and/or you can add an internal gusset to strengthen the impacted area, which, is what I did with my USSC 39-41 after I noodled the body above the door which is the hottest part of the unit.

Took a bit of blue point tool work and body hammers to straighten and then an application od a 1/2 x 1/2" angle to the inside of the front wall above the door arch, not an easy weld because of the confined space but doable with mirrors and patience. I'd not recommend the latter unless you were a skilled welder and had pulsed MIG available.

In most instances a correctly placed impingement plate (which will become a consumable item) will work just fine.

 

[Ambient]

I called it a tablet, their official term for it is:
OSBURN 7000 TOUCH SCREEN BOARD (LCD) WITH HOUSING @ $325 replacement

 

[olmec]

I called it a tablet, their official term for it is:
OSBURN 7000 TOUCH SCREEN BOARD (LCD) WITH HOUSING @ $325 replacement

Ahh, gotcha!

 

[olmec]

Usually, the body will warp wherever there is flame impingement for a length of time in maximium run conditions. The easiest fix is of course fashioning an impingement plate as a 'sacrificial lamb' to deflect the flame and keep it from contacting the body of the stove, and/or you can add an internal gusset to strengthen the impacted area, which, is what I did with my USSC 39-41 after I noodled the body above the door which is the hottest part of the unit.

Took a bit of blue point tool work and body hammers to straighten and then an application od a 1/2 x 1/2" angle to the inside of the front wall above the door arch, not an easy weld because of the confined space but doable with mirrors and patience. I'd not recommend the latter unless you were a skilled welder and had pulsed MIG available.

In most instances a correctly placed impingement plate (which will become a consumable item) will work just fine.

That makes sense, thanks sidecar. That must be the plate hyfire is making.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Just keep in mind that any impingement plate will become a wear item as the metal erodes away from the oxidizing flame. Don't matter what it's made of though 3 sieres stainless will last longer than say low carbon mild steel, the price difference for the stainless versus the lo-carb isn't worth it. You can use anything, it just needs to be thick enough to resist warping, I'd recommend 0,125" or better.

 

[olmec]

Just keep in mind that any impingement plate will become a wear item as the metal erodes away from the oxidizing flame. Don't matter what it's made of though 3 sieres stainless will last longer than say low carbon mild steel, the price difference for the stainless versus the lo-carb isn't worth it. You can use anything, it just needs to be thick enough to resist warping, I'd recommend 0,125" or better.

Any idea if the new evo 65 (DP00060) has a plate to protect the front of it. I thought i saw mention about it but couldnt find any pics.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Don't know, don't have that brand. I was making a generalized statement.

 

[hyfire]

I don;t see any signs of wear on the plate I made its SS, but the flames do not go near it due to a mod on the burn pot. I have an older eco-65 so none of these mods would apply to the new version as its a totally different stove.

 

[Ambient]

OK for some reason I woke up this morning and was asking myself " Why did those stoves warp? What are the circumstances that led to the warping of your stoves? Could they be reproduced unintentionally on my stove?

Are they older stoves with thinner and less resilient steel?

 

[hyfire]

OK for some reason I woke up this morning and was asking myself " Why did those stoves warp? What are the circumstances that led to the warping of your stoves? Could they be reproduced unintentionally on my stove?

Are they older stoves with thinner and less resilient steel?

I would not say thinner steel, just maybe less supporting around the door. Extended burning on high feed rate I would say is the cause, over firing.

 

[Ambient]

I would not say thinner steel, just maybe less supporting around the door. Extended burning on high feed rate I would say is the cause, over firing.

SO before I got a handle on the minimum combustion settings I had this puppy cranking one day. The metal on the face of the stove above the door got over 850 degrees. I figured that was enough and shut it down. So we are talking temps well above that and a burn time in excess of 10 minutes...note to self: burning at 70K btu's may damage the stove.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Couple things going on.. One is the grade of steel and the gage. Most stove builders aren't large enough to command buying a specific grade and steel varies from heat to heat and master coil to master coil (depending on ingredients used). Stove builders will call their supplier and request say, 30,000 pounds of sheared to length 80X low carbon material. The supplier probably either has the material on hand in their warehouse or will shear it from a coil as close to the chemistry as the customer requires, but, because steel varies from heat to heat, it's usually a crapshoot on small orders. I know 30K pounds don't sound small, but it is. A typical order where the customer specs an exact grade usually is in the excess of 250,000 pounds. It takes volume to get exactly what you wants plus it takes patience. The material has to be cast at the mill into a billet, rolled, shipped, processed (levelled, edge trimmed, packaged and delivered to the customer) that all takes a lot of time. Typically, mills are running a year out on orders.

Sheared to length (also referred to as CTL material) is typically 48" wide x length. Master coils are usually 49 or 50 inches wide. Coils are edge trimmed to remove the mill edge and square the material.

So the small user takes what they can get thats close in chemistry to what they want and is available within areasonable time for a reasonable cost.

Second thing is localized heat. The steel don't just warp. It warps because there is a hot spot surrounded by cooler areas and those cooler areas are expanding (and contracting) at a different rate than the hot area, so, the not area is pushed and pulled by the cooler areas and thats what causes it to 'warp' or wrinkle or as I say, noodle. Different grades and thicknesses' of steel mitigate that occuring but then there is the compromise between what a fabricator can get in a reasonable time (availability), price and engineering considerations. You could build a stove from from .250 mild stell (A300) and it would probably stand up to any abuse the end use could dish out but it would be stupid heavy for one and not at all affordable (because steel is bought and sold by weight first alloy second).

The simple answer is mitigating flame contact via an impingement plate or structurally bolstering the impacted area (after fixing the issue of course).

I have a pretty good working knowledge of the steel industry, I worked for over 35 years for a major steel supplier and now I do custom fabrication as a retirement venture......

 

[hyfire]

So the question is, is the deflector I made a good idea, or is it better not to use one?

 

[SidecarFlip]

...and the real answer is...... If it works and the stove isn't warping, then it's all good.

 

[hyfire]

Temps will not exceed over the door 625F no matter how hard I fire it, with the deflector. I really can't see it being a hazard with it in place..so it stays

 

[olmec]

Just went to buy one from l&m fleet as they were the cheapest and found they pulled it from the site :0(. Everywhere else with shipping is over 3k. Might as well look at the enviro maxx now for that price.