First Fire, in the Baltic!

[WriteNoob]

I know I dropped outa' sight, for most of the year. Between work and family, this year's been utter chaos. We've still got so much inventory in the shop that we can't park the trucks.

Anyway, finally got that Drolet Baltic in, this weekend. Watching the pallet burn, right now. First fire, other than a few little campfires, earlier, to cure the paint. Zero smell, BTW. Of course, it's been sitting in the warehouse, at work, so maybe that helped.

(broken image removed)
Firing up the pallet.

(broken image removed)
No open flame on the wood an hour in. Pure secondaries.

Haven't had time for the fancy hearth I'd planned. Maybe next summer.

Cheers, all.
Mike

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

how far are those corners to the wall? seems close to me

 

[WriteNoob]

how far are those corners to the wall? seems close to me

12" to each wall. The Baltic, being shielded, only requires 9".

Forgot the obligatory stovetop temp. Probe for the pipe is on its way.

(broken image removed)

I'm warm, and wood heat rocks!

 

[kennyp2339]

Writenoob - looks awesome..you have some cold weather to conquer for sure. Good luck

 

[webby3650]

I'm glad to see you back on the forum! That stove should do well and you will quickly find that there is no need for a fancy hearth. Especially after you heat for free for a few months!

 

[1750]

Looks good, WriteNoob. I'm glad you finally got it out of the box.

Burn on!

 

[smokedragon]

Beautiful, love to see the wood just glowing while there is a lightshow in to the top of the box.

Don't sweat the hearth, as long as you are safe and warm, that's what matters.

 

[WriteNoob]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. This weather caught a lot of us by surprise, around here. I think we got used to the late snows and long warm spells. You'd think I'd know better, after last year. But hey, I'm there, now.

Outside temp - 10 degrees
Inside temp - 72 degrees
No furnas running
Air control about one inch from closed

My lovely wife has gone from long johns and sweats, plus blankets, to a t-shirt and panties. Think I'm gonna like havin' this wood stove.


Stay warm, everyone.
Mike

 

[WriteNoob]

9 hours, on one 20 lb. package (6 bricks) of Eco Bricks. House is at 69 degrees. Outside temp is 9 degrees. Wife is warm and happy. Looks like the Drolet Baltic is gonna deliver the goods. I'm a happy boy.
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)

This was my overnight air setting. It's literally about one inch from fully closed.
(broken image removed)

 

[tarzan]

WriteNoob, are you planning to use Eco Bricks exclusively?

Sounds like you are getting pretty awesome results and I don't use the word awesome often.

 

[WriteNoob]

WriteNoob, are you planning to use Eco Bricks exclusively?

Sounds like you are getting pretty awesome results and I don't use the word awesome often.

No, but our winter here started off with about 3 days straight of freezing rain, iced with snow, and single digits, overnight. That, couple with my thoroughly sub-par wood stack location and covering means all of my wood (pine) has about a solid inch of ice on the front face, along with random snow/ice throughout the stack. I'll be supplementing with Eco Bricks, as needed. Just seemed easier to run the first fire on the pallet and the Eco Bricks. Guaranteed dry wood, for the break in.

Got a load of the pine in, right now. So far, less than stellar, but it's only been in for 15 minutes, so we'll see.

EDIT - About 20-25 minutes in, it seemed to have burned off the moisture enough to get the stovetop up to about 400. Closed it down to the same position, as before, and it's now at about 500, and cruising along nicely. Next we'll see how long this pine lasts. Box is about 3/4 full, and not particularly tightly packed. I'll post, when she drops out of optimal range.
(broken image removed)

 

[Huntindog1]

Noob,

My Drolet Myriad is exact same firebox design but doesn't have the side shields.

Its a different kind of stove as its kind of a hybrid of the old type stoves with new EPA design in it also.

I call it a happy medium of old stoves that throw alot of heat but yet meets EPA emissions.

Your side shields most likely buffer you from feeling how much heat these stoves radiate as your stove is more convective rather than a stove that radiates.

I like the bypass Damper that allows for quicker startups with the door cracked open.

I actually had a 13 hour burn out of it once and plenty of coals to start another load.

Another nice aspect is with how well it radiates heat that when the stove is down to coals it still is putting off some decent heat.

With other stoves that have more of their fire box insulated when at coals stages less heat radiates at that stage.

 

[WriteNoob]

Our cat, Deek. Forgot to mention, this stove has the "Deekers Seal of Approval".
(broken image removed)

 

[WriteNoob]

Noob,

My Drolet Myriad is exact same firebox design but doesn't have the side shields.

Its a different kind of stove as its kind of a hybrid of the old type stoves with new EPA design in it also.

I call it a happy medium of old stoves that throw alot of heat but yet meets EPA emissions.

Your side shields most likely buffer you from feeling how much heat these stoves radiate as your stove is more convective rather than a stove that radiates.

I like the bypass Damper that allows for quicker startups with the door cracked open.

I actually had a 13 hour burn out of it once and plenty of coals to start another load.

Another nice aspect is with how well it radiates heat that when the stove is down to coals it still is putting off some decent heat.

With other stoves that have more of their fire box insulated when at coals stages less heat radiates at that stage.

+1 on that, HD. The shields make a huge difference in how this stove feels, compared to a bare stove. Stove top's at 500*, and our love seat is, literally 3' away from one of the front corners, for now. I'm sitting on it, typing this. The only real radiation I'm getting is from the front glass. The rest is convective. Our house is made up of many small rooms, so a convective stove seemed the best choice.

I suppose they'll be regulated into changing this stove, eventually. That'll be a shame.

 

[WriteNoob]

Again, at about an hour in (7:45), and no real flame on the charge, just secondaries. Stovetop is at ~475, and draft is an inch from closed. Started with up to 1/2 inch of clear ice on up to 1/4 of most of these pine splits.

Hey, guys. Is it possible for a stove to actually be too easy to operate? This is my first time with an EPA stove, and even with ice covered wood, I just loaded, charred, shut it down, and enjoyed the heat.

 

[tarzan]

Sounds like you have done your homework and are escaping many of the problems that are common to new to EPA stove burners.

To answer your question, yes, once all the stars align it really is that easy.

Load it up, get it hot, shut the air down to the sweet spot and enjoy

 

[Jags]

Hey, guys. Is it possible for a stove to actually be too easy to operate?

No, but it sure is sweet when they play nice, nice.

 

[Huntindog1]

If you load on a huge load of hot coals it will take off pretty easy and over come a little moisture.

Whats your stove top temps at reload?

Here are you a couple of pics for these stoves that you might be interested in.

 

[WriteNoob]

If you load on a huge load of hot coals it will take off pretty easy and over come a little moisture.

Whats your stove top temps at reload?

Here are you a couple of pics for these stoves that you might be interested in.

View attachment 144615 View attachment 144616

Stove top was just over 100, on reload (don't know how accurate that is), but I had 3-4 tennis ball sized chunks of Eco Brick, to rake front. With both the draft and bypass open, it took around 5 minutes for any flame, and ten before the box was relatively clear of smoke. I then shut the bypass, and waited another 5 minutes to start closing down the draft. At 20 minutes, I was at cruising speed. I expected a steeper learning curve, or at least some quirks, even after over a year of study. Hearth.com helped tremendously, BTW, in all aspects. Thanks to all who took the time, last winter, to walk me through so many different things. It was, and is, greatly appreciated.