Images of the Long Awaited woodstove
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As the day has gone on I have been tinkering with the draft. There have been three main wood heat appliances in my life.... A Fisher Baby bear, a Fisher Mama Bear and an Olsen Coal/Wood/electric furnace.
This small stove is going to take some getting used to. All three units I have heated with in the past have drafted from the bottom while this little drolet has a very small draft from the top as an airwash. We are burning nicely seasoned birch but the splits are a little large and odd lengths.
So far so good on the heat but I am building up a bit at a time towards a full on roaring burn cycle.
Having a well controlled draft with good wood means we can actually have a burn cycle. In our old house the furnace was a wood vacuum and a burn cycle was simply fill it every chance you got. It is incredible to feel the heat move out from the stove and to know that our power bill is now growing at a lot slower rate. This afternoon my son and I loaded the large wood box you can see in the photo.
Will keep you posted as I re-learn.
This small stove is going to take some getting used to. All three units I have heated with in the past have drafted from the bottom while this little drolet has a very small draft from the top as an airwash. We are burning nicely seasoned birch but the splits are a little large and odd lengths.
So far so good on the heat but I am building up a bit at a time towards a full on roaring burn cycle.
Having a well controlled draft with good wood means we can actually have a burn cycle. In our old house the furnace was a wood vacuum and a burn cycle was simply fill it every chance you got. It is incredible to feel the heat move out from the stove and to know that our power bill is now growing at a lot slower rate. This afternoon my son and I loaded the large wood box you can see in the photo.
Will keep you posted as I re-learn.
Sunday Morning update
When I went to bed I loaded up the stove and set the draft to allow for what I figured to be a steady burn. Good news was, lots of coals left this morning, stove top still too hot to touch.... Bad news.... Glass smoked up a bit and lots and lots of coals left.
It is definitely going to be an adjustment to have a top draft stove with such a small firebox. I am thinking that I am going to need to experiment with North-South loading to see if that will allow a more complete burn. I am trying hard to not overthink this process as I have absorbed so much information from hearth.com as I have (in my wife's words) obsessed over this install.
Even though the stove is not an EPA unit it is blowing me away how it nibbles on wood compared to our furnace and the Fisher's I grew up using. I can only imagine what a large firebox EPA unit will be like when we get there.
This morning the best part for me was that both of my younger two children (we have four of them) came into the rec room as I was tending the stove this morning. They both perched themselves close enough to watch but not in the way. They both had lots of questions and observations but the best one came from our 11 year old son.
"Dad, this woodstove doesn't need wood added to it all the time like our fireplace....Right?"
Absolutely son, absolutely.
We will be away from the house for much of the day so I am trying to time the loading this morning to carry the heat much of the day. Please be patient with me fellow forum members as I continue to obsess for the rest of this heating season.
When I went to bed I loaded up the stove and set the draft to allow for what I figured to be a steady burn. Good news was, lots of coals left this morning, stove top still too hot to touch.... Bad news.... Glass smoked up a bit and lots and lots of coals left.
It is definitely going to be an adjustment to have a top draft stove with such a small firebox. I am thinking that I am going to need to experiment with North-South loading to see if that will allow a more complete burn. I am trying hard to not overthink this process as I have absorbed so much information from hearth.com as I have (in my wife's words) obsessed over this install.
Even though the stove is not an EPA unit it is blowing me away how it nibbles on wood compared to our furnace and the Fisher's I grew up using. I can only imagine what a large firebox EPA unit will be like when we get there.
This morning the best part for me was that both of my younger two children (we have four of them) came into the rec room as I was tending the stove this morning. They both perched themselves close enough to watch but not in the way. They both had lots of questions and observations but the best one came from our 11 year old son.
"Dad, this woodstove doesn't need wood added to it all the time like our fireplace....Right?"
Absolutely son, absolutely.
We will be away from the house for much of the day so I am trying to time the loading this morning to carry the heat much of the day. Please be patient with me fellow forum members as I continue to obsess for the rest of this heating season.
It's a non EPA stove? I looked at the Drolet web site and they don't have a Jasper model, is yours an older used model?
I only wish it was used! Then it would have been me using it. I bought it on clearance three years ago and it has taken this long due to my much discussed insurance company battles.
We are going to ride this stove for a while and once the savings on the electricity bill start to add up then I will be shopping for a bigger EPA unit. I have already put the word out with my installer to keep an eye out for the right unit.
Interestingly enough close friends of ours work with the same installer and he found them a two year old stove rated for 2500 square feet for $400. I believe it was an Osburn and it was being swapped out for a pellet stove of all things. Some people are into convenience I guess.
We are going to ride this stove for a while and once the savings on the electricity bill start to add up then I will be shopping for a bigger EPA unit. I have already put the word out with my installer to keep an eye out for the right unit.
Interestingly enough close friends of ours work with the same installer and he found them a two year old stove rated for 2500 square feet for $400. I believe it was an Osburn and it was being swapped out for a pellet stove of all things. Some people are into convenience I guess.
Smoked up glass says your wood is not dry enough.
It looks nice and I hope it serves you well and for a long time. I doubt if there is a very strong learning curve to it either. You'll do fine.
Good luck.
It looks nice and I hope it serves you well and for a long time. I doubt if there is a very strong learning curve to it either. You'll do fine.
Good luck.
Yessir. That is the one. Tonight the temperatures are forecast to drop to -29 c/-20 f.
This should be a real good test.
Another funny moment occurred last evening as my 16 year old who has been chirping me about my wood stove obsession happily lead the young man she is dating down to the rec room saying.....
"You won't believe how warm it is!"
Ah, I love it when a plan comes together.
This should be a real good test.
Another funny moment occurred last evening as my 16 year old who has been chirping me about my wood stove obsession happily lead the young man she is dating down to the rec room saying.....
"You won't believe how warm it is!"
Ah, I love it when a plan comes together.
BrotherBart said:
Hell, I'm thinking about getting the Drolet Legend. According to the specs it can heat up to 21,000 sq ft. ;-P
(broken link removed to http://www.drolet.ca/product.aspx?CategoId=1&Id=213&Page=spec)
lowroadacres said:
Did you show the young man the size of the firebox and explain that he is considered biomass and you would be glad to prove it if he touches your daughter? It's good to be filing the edge of your Fiskars during that conversation whilest glancing just below his belt.
We have had appropriate conversations about the young man's intentions 
The cool thing about this young man is he actually had the backbone to man up face to face to ask for permission to date our daughter.
With that in mind we still keep a close eye and open communication. Learning curve for dear old dad is still pretty steep though. I am seriously considering inviting him out to the bush this spring to stack wood and if he proves himself at that we will see about letting him split wood. The chainsaw will be off limits though.
The cool thing about this young man is he actually had the backbone to man up face to face to ask for permission to date our daughter.
With that in mind we still keep a close eye and open communication. Learning curve for dear old dad is still pretty steep though. I am seriously considering inviting him out to the bush this spring to stack wood and if he proves himself at that we will see about letting him split wood. The chainsaw will be off limits though.
Well well, good for that young man and good for you too. Sure, bring him out there. Good to see a fellows work ethic considering he may be one day providing for a family.
I need you to clarify.... Are you suggesting that it did not keep you away from the daughter of a wood heating father? Or that it didn't work to keep the boys away from your girl?
lowroadacres said:I need you to clarify.... Are you suggesting that it did not keep you away from the daughter of a wood heating father? Or that it didn't work to keep the boys away from your girl?
It never bothered me when the father was in the living room cleaning his firearms when I came to pick up his daughter. (I'n from south Florida, not many wood stoves) I wasn't as ass, though, either.
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