I need help on a Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 woodstove

[heater963]

Disclaimer: I am not a wood stove mechanic. I am just some average guy trying to keep his Family warm and safe. Thanks for your help!

I posted a thread on Wednesday 3/4/2021 regarding Pacific Energy not honoring their own warranty. As such, I am now left to troubleshoot my Alderlea T6 and figure out why the baffle box warped in the first place. I cleaned out my stovepipe, replaced the ceramic insulation and gasket on the baffle box. Upon testing the stove NOTHING is coming out of the baffle box ports, even with a very hot pile of wood and embers. ( I am concerned about overfiring the stove.)

I am wondering where the secondary air for the baffle box comes from and if it is somehow clogged. The gasketed port at the very back of the stove seems like it should be pushing air into the baffle box, when I place the air control lever to low , to get a secondary burn and some turbulence going. It does not appear like that is occurring as all the hot flames do are dance around the bottom of the baffle box, which tends to explain why it is now warped.

Since I cannot get a new baffle box (lifetime warranty) I need to work with what is in front of me. Nothing seems to be circulating as far as a secondary or extended burn and I am wondering if anybody who knows the in's and out's of the Alderlea T6 stove and can point me in the right direction. Is it possible for the port at the back of the stove to get clogged? Are there secondary air intake tubes that can be clogged?

I am bafflled, no pun intended. Thanks.

 

[Woody Stover]

On the T5, they have a flimsy fiberglass-type gasket that lays on the rail where the air supply tube for the baffle comes up. Some guys (Hogwildz, begreen) have fashioned a more permanent donut gasket by weaving together the ends of a piece of round gasket rope together. That might supply enough oxygen to get the secondary flames going. I was thinking a piece of flat gasket could be used somehow.
It's possible the tube itself might be clogged by ash or chimney sweepings. Can you put a piece of flexible tubing in the end of a Shop Vac and feed it down in there?

 

[heater963]

Thanks Woody. I spent the day figuring my stove out. On the T6 and perhaps the T5 there is a access port at the rear bottom of the stove held on by two screws. I removed that access plate and learned that it gives direct access to the bottom of the secondary air tube. I vacumed it out and put the plate and gasket back on.

The gasket that is located at the top of the secondary air tube is garbage. I fashioned a new gasket out of material they use to wrap headers on race cars etc. It clearly works far better than the garbage gasket PE has for their own stove. You can buy a roll of the stuff that will last a lifetime far cheaper than the price of a gasket from PE.

I can hear the EBT butterfly assembly closing and opening when I open and close my stove door. I physically see it move when I close the stove door. It is working properly.

After vacuming the secondary air tube out I do see evidence of the secondary (baffle box) working more like it should be working. The primary air is clearly working well. I think the secondary is about as good as it is ever going to get. I found metal shavings from the manufacturing process in the base of the tube, along with some very fine carbon.

For anybody servicing their Alderlea T6 I would not buy PE's gaskets or side rail ceramic insulation. It too is garbage. I located the same but thicker ceramic gasket material from a Company named, "Lynn" for a fraction of the cost in whatever thickness one desires. You cut it as needed and line the baffle box and side rails as needed. It sells for $20.00 or so on Amazon versus you going to a PE Dealer who will sell the PE garbage for over $100.00.

What I find interesting about PE Dealers is the fact they will sell you parts for the PE stove, BUT will not honor PE's own warranty ...unless you purchased your stove from their dealership. ( I mentioned this fact and advised other members about this practice in a previous post)

So, I now know how to service my T6 and hopefully my newfound knowledge will help other members. You can easily do a tune up on your stove with higher quality parts for a fraction of the cost that some PE Dealer will charge you. If you are worried about PE not honoring their warranty, because you did not use their parts, don't be. PE does not honor their own warranty anyways.

Thanks for your help, Woody.

Regards,
Heater963

 

[MongoMongoson]

I have a Summit, which has the same firebox as your T6... but I have a newer model. I seem to remember yours is around 7 years old or so, from reading your other thread.

I ruined the original baffle gasket the first time I cleaned the stove, so I purchased a set of 3 aftermarket gasket which seem to be much more robust.

Mine has a vertical stainless tube running up the back of the firebox. I plan to clean my stack running rods up through the stove, so I cover the outlet of that riser tube with something while I'm sweeping. If you pull your baffle and clean from inside the stove, you might have dumped some junk down your secondary tube.

My baffle had a bunch of crap on top of it, even though this stove is pretty new. If you didn't pull your baffle for years and then finally did, it is possible you dumped some stuff down the tube while you were trying to get your baffle out.

My stove has the EBT2 system. I can hear it "ting ting ting" when the draft is going pretty strong. I'm not sure if yours has the same system. I have not vacuumed out my secondary air channel, and before I did I'd just want to understand how that EBT2 system works. I'd hate to put my mega shop vac on the secondary tube and damage something.

I do not have the ash tray option, so if I remove the sheet metal plate on the front of the stove I can clearly see the primary inlet (the one with the cover moved by the air control lever), the secondary inlet (the next largest hole) and the boost air inlet (the smallest of the three holes).

I will, at some point, run my endoscopic camera up the secondary air hole to see what it looks like. I haven't done it yet, though. That's something you might want to consider, too. You can get an endoscope on Amazon for around $20 or so and it will work with a tablet or smart phone. That will let you take a look at stuff. You will be able to look inside the baffle and down the secondary air riser in the back of the stove.

 

[heater963]

Hey MongoMognoson,

There is a post in the chimneysweeponline within Hearth.com that talks about the EBT Series B device. It is evidently a patented device and is simple. A piece of sheet metal pivots much like a teeter totter based on the flue vacum created by secondary heat. It shows pics etc. etc.

In my research I located the article I speak of and saw the access plate at the rear of the EBT device. I gave it a try and clearly the access plate I saw in the article is the same one I removed. I don't think you need a mega suction vacum cleaner to clean out the secondary. You can place your finger in the opening and scrape whatever garbage is at the base out or loosen it. Vacum it out and you should be good to go.

I do think removing my baffle allowed some debris to fall into the secondary tube. Since the teeter totter type plate rocks back and forth, a little debris could likely cause the device to not run it's full range of travel. If you hear it moving when you open and close your stove door it is clearly rocking to and fro. The question of course is the device moving up and down it's full length of designed travel, or is it hitting some debris and failing to do what it is designed to do.

Another option, which I did not employ, is opening the access plate and running some compressed air through the horizontal tube and out the access port. This could obviously be somewhat messy as the debris is likely very fine carbon etc.

Thanks for your response.

Regards,
Heater963

 

[Woody Stover]

I located the same but thicker ceramic gasket material from a Company named, "Lynn" for a fraction of the cost in whatever thickness one desires. You cut it as needed and line the baffle box and side rails

What thickness did you get for where the supply tube goes into the baffle? You may have a bit more bow in your T6 baffle, since it's wider than my SIL's T5 baffle, but I don't think either one would need anything too thick there. Maybe some of the 1/8 or 1/4-inch thick "paper?"
First time I took out the T5 baffle, I just cut a makeshift gasket out of some interam gasket, but that stuff crumbles when you disturb it. Heck, it may have crumbled apart just from expansion and contraction of the baffle, I couldn't really see. I put some flat gasket in there last year but I won't know how well it stayed in place, until I sweep her chimney this spring.
What do you think the purpose of the side rail insulation is? My first guess was that it prevents smoke from escaping between the baffle and the side wall, so that all the smoke is routed past the baffle holes for a cleaner, more complete burn. But the OEM "V-insulation" doesn't really seem to seal off that gap all that well. Did you try to make the insulation you installed seal that gap better?
You said there's insulation inside the baffle? I haven't taken it apart yet. I guess that would keep heat from escaping out the top of the baffle, like the insulation above the baffle boards in a tube stove. Hmmm, so maybe the side rail insulation also serves to keep the baffle hotter..?
I see there are different densities of insulation blanket..8#, 6#, 4#. What did you go for there? I wonder if it makes all that much difference? Maybe denser stuff would let less smoke through the side rail blankets?

 

[MongoMongoson]

You said there's insulation inside the baffle? I haven't taken it apart yet. I guess that would keep heat from escaping out the top of the baffle, like the insulation above the baffle boards in a tube stove. Hmmm, so maybe the side rail insulation also serves to keep the baffle hotter..?

When I bought my stove back in January, the stove shop had a display baffle that was cross-sectioned. It had insulation (similar to the white side rail insulation) inside of it. If I remember correctly, it had three layers of stainless. You had the open chamber on the bottom, then the insulation layer, then the top layer of stainless. That's probably what he has going on.

My baffle, on a newer stove, is not like the display cross-section. I was surprised when I saw my baffle was the stainless chamber with the holes coming out the bottom and front, and then a piece of some kind of baffle board attached to the top. I guess they changed it for the 2020 model, which is what I have.

 

[Woody Stover]

When I bought my stove back in January, the stove shop had a display baffle that was cross-sectioned.

Can you put your stove in your signature? I'd like to pull up the manual.. Thanks!

My baffle, on a newer stove, is not like the display cross-section. I was surprised when I saw my baffle was the stainless chamber with the holes coming out the bottom and front, and then a piece of some kind of baffle board attached to the top. I guess they changed it for the 2020 model, which is what I have.

Yeah, that would keep more heat in the baffle...

 

[heater963]

The secondary (gasket) tube material I used is made by a company named "Ledaut." The material looks like a 2" strap and comes in a roll. It is about 1/16" thick, so I doubled it up around the upper baffle tube where it inserts into the baffle. It splinters when you cut it so it had a few stray threads hanging out after install. It has had direct flame contact since yesterday on the stray threads and it seems to be standing up to heat just fine. It is not that great of a design as my baffle where it inserts into the secondary channel has scant room on one side for any gasket. That is another reason I layered the gasket material I used. I have seen headers get red hot on race cars and the stuff handles that with no issues, so I think it will do just fine. Is it airtight? No. Is it working? Yes.

I used 1/2" thick ceramic insulation on my side rails. It sits perfectly in the space between the side rails and the first of two exterior pieces of the stove. Clearly, the insulation protects the outer portion of the stove from heat, so it stays nice looking, as well as, providing a channel for the flame to follow to the flue. The flue gases/flames are channeled by a steel plate with a welded 1" steel bent to direct the flue gases and flame. The insulation likely helps the channeling process??? Some of this is speculation, but at the end of the day I am a big fan of if it works, do not fix it.

My baffle has an approximate1/2" to 3/4" thick ceramic board on top of it. I did not see any insulation in or on the sides of the baffle itself, or inside of it. My baffle box HAD 3 internal welds to strengthen the sandwiching of the two steel plates and limit it's warping. One of the 3 internal welds broke, but PE is out to lunch on their own warranty. So, I can only work with what I have in front of me.

When you take your stove apart, just cut the new insulating ceramic fiber material to the size of your old insulation. It fits in the side rails and the remainder literally just folds or bends to the top of your baffle. The ceramic insulation from Lynn Manufacturing is good stuff. Be sure and wear a mask and gloves if and when you deal with it. Ditto for the other gasket material. You do not want any of that reaching your lungs or getting on your skin. It is nasty stuff!

I hope this helps you and others. I am not buying a thing from PE and if necessary will use their baffle box as a pattern to make a new one out of stainless steel.

Again, I am not a stove professional or anything of that nature, so as they say in disclaimers, "my info is for entertainment purposes only. "

Again, I hope this helps as many folks as possible. Also, I am humble, so if anybody can teach me a thing or two about my stove or theirs......I am open for business.

Regards,
Heater963