New Furnace Day: Drolet Heat Commander

[Gearhead660]

Those look to be the Mypin equivalent.

 

[andym]

Looks a lot like the Inkbird I have. If that limit control is separate from the alarms it would be very useful as a way to kill power to the draft solenoid when the fire is out.
One complaint I have about my Inkbird is that there is only one hysteresis setting and it applies to both outputs.

 

[brenndatomu]

Those look to be the Mypin equivalent.

I doubt that...I'm sure its way better...although the Mypins have been decent, especially considering the price...my guess is the Mypin is the Chinese knockoff of the Auber...

 

[Greg46m]

I've spent a disturbing amount of time peering in at the control shutters with a flashlight, trying to figure out the operating logic.

It seems that the "grill" shutter that feeds the ash pan grate opens about 30% during a reload and initial firing, closes completely for the main part of the burn, then opens progressively once temps drop during the coaling phase.

The primary air shutter is a lot more active, handling most of the fine adjustment, while the secondary supply is always fully open.

Seems to work well, whatever they did! :-D

Based on what you've described here, I think I have an issue with my controller. I've been burning fires daily for 2+ weeks now, using small splits (2-3") that I had split for my fireplace, having to reload every 3-5 hours. Sometimes on a reload I'll press the button and the shutters will open appropriately, but many times they don't respond at all, especially in the morning when the fire is gone from over night and the firebox is cool. I'll find the fire grate shutter completely closed and the primary shutter is sometimes open and sometimes 90% closed. Makes me wonder if it's working as optimally as it could during the burn as well. A power cycle seems to fix this every time and I can get a fire to take off just fine. The first email to SBI was answered quickly with questions about the status of the green light and saying that they may not respond if the firebox is already hot, but subsequent emails over the last 2 weeks haven't seen a response. Might be time for a phone call tomorrow.

Other than that, the furnace seems to burn real nice. I got a Fields BD installed over the weekend along with the Dwyer manometer and I've been able to get the draft dialed in pretty good. What others have mentioned about seeing a big difference between .04 and .06 is true, my flue temps steadied around 200 and I got a longer burn just by dialing it down to .04. I was worried about my masonry lined chimney on the outside of the house being able to generate enough draft, but there is around .10 with the damper closed tight, so plenty of room to work with on it. Even on cold starts there is enough draft to get a fire started without smoke spillage.

 

[trx250r87]

Based on what you've described here, I think I have an issue with my controller. I've been burning fires daily for 2+ weeks now, using small splits (2-3") that I had split for my fireplace, having to reload every 3-5 hours. Sometimes on a reload I'll press the button and the shutters will open appropriately, but many times they don't respond at all, especially in the morning when the fire is gone from over night and the firebox is cool. I'll find the fire grate shutter completely closed and the primary shutter is sometimes open and sometimes 90% closed. Makes me wonder if it's working as optimally as it could during the burn as well. A power cycle seems to fix this every time and I can get a fire to take off just fine. The first email to SBI was answered quickly with questions about the status of the green light and saying that they may not respond if the firebox is already hot, but subsequent emails over the last 2 weeks haven't seen a response. Might be time for a phone call tomorrow.

Other than that, the furnace seems to burn real nice. I got a Fields BD installed over the weekend along with the Dwyer manometer and I've been able to get the draft dialed in pretty good. What others have mentioned about seeing a big difference between .04 and .06 is true, my flue temps steadied around 200 and I got a longer burn just by dialing it down to .04. I was worried about my masonry lined chimney on the outside of the house being able to generate enough draft, but there is around .10 with the damper closed tight, so plenty of room to work with on it. Even on cold starts there is enough draft to get a fire started without smoke spillage.

Sounds exactly like the issues I experienced at first! If you unplug power to the furnace it will reset and all should work as it should. Ask SBI if they can give you a firmware update for this. I have tried 5 different versions with the latest version working pretty well for me.

Eric

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

This morning, I threw in a medium load of chunks, punks, and uglies, which aren't as dry as my splits. My firestarting was a bit rushed because I had hungry kiddos upstairs, so I threw in a match and dashed off.

20 minutes later, I came back to answer customer emails while sitting next to the furnace.

Today, the fire is struggling (because of the low quality wood) and it's impressive watching the furnace deal with it. As the fire starts to fade, the furnace senses it, then fully opens the primary shutter and about 1/3 of the grill shutter.

The fire starts to move and about 4 or 5 minutes later, the furnace closes the grill shutter and drops the primary shutter to a bit less than half.

Because this load of wood sucks, the fire slowly fades, the furnace senses it, and the process repeats.

I'd love to stay and see how the story ends (Will the Heat Commander manage to get good secondaries and a hot fire out of these punky, gnarled reject chunks?), but I have to get out to the shop and sew Christmas orders. I'm now wishing I had a camera pointed at the window of the loading door and a readout of the shutter positions so I could watch while I work . . .

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

Yup! The furnace won. I had to run back in the house to print a couple of patterns and checked the fire while I was there. Voila!

 

[brenndatomu]

Today, the fire is struggling (because of the low quality wood) and it's impressive watching the furnace deal with it. As the fire starts to fade, the furnace senses it, then fully opens the primary shutter and about 1/3 of the grill shutter.

Nice!
A much more refined version of the temp sensor mod on the T1 & II...except this doesn't "run out of time" like the mod could...

 

[SpaceBus]

I'm actually very impressed with this product. I guess it is a matter of time before all wood stoves have similar controls, cat or not. Perhaps it is not a bad thing.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Yup! The furnace won. I had to run back in the house to print a couple of patterns and checked the fire while I was there. Voila!

Welcome to the 21st century!

 

[Greg46m]

Sounds exactly like the issues I experienced at first! If you unplug power to the furnace it will reset and all should work as it should. Ask SBI if they can give you a firmware update for this. I have tried 5 different versions with the latest version working pretty well for me.

Eric

Happy to report that I received a response the day after posting this with the file and directions attached to perform the update you mentioned. Furnace now responds as I would expect every time I press Start. Another feature they must have added since the version mine shipped with is to shut off the blower when you press the Start button. Furnace is running great and I think getting longer burns from each load with more even stack temps throughout the duration of the burn.

I've also done like FixedGearFlyer has done and thrown a bucket of "junk" (basically all the bark and splinters I scooped up from under the log splitter) over a bed of coals to get some free heat for a few hours and it burned it just fine.

 

[trx250r87]

 

[maple1]

Sounds like I've been pronouncing Drolet wrong...

 

[JRHAWK9]

Sounds like I've been pronouncing Drolet wrong...

I thought the same thing. What French-Canadian company would pronounce Drolet with a hard 'T'? Maybe the video was done by an American marketing company who mis-pronounced it. Or they made the video specific for the American demographic and didn't want to tip their hat to being French-Canadian and "mis-pronounced" it on purpose to appeal to us Americans. Or maybe, just maybe, the accurate pronunciation is actually indeed Dro-leT.

 

[brenndatomu]

Is it me, or does the ATV scene at the end seem kinda random?

Or maybe, just maybe, the accurate pronunciation is actually indeed Dro-leT.

Man, I was sure it is pronounced Dro-lay...

 

[moresnow]

Is it me, or does the ATV scene at the end seem kinda random?

Man, I was sure it is pronounced Dro-lay...

Ditto on both topics. I am now google searching for the new Drolet 4 wheeler hmmmmm

 

[SBI_Nick]

Hi, another update on few more concerns

• Duct clearance

We are still doing continuous testing and improvement, as some of you have mentioned it has been determined that an error has slipped into the owner's manual. Supply duct clearances should have been 1 "instead of 0" after the first foot and along the length of the duct.

• Barometric damper and draft

In every furnace we made we recommend a maximum draft of 0.06’’, the nice thing with the automation is that in case things get crazy the shutter will be closed and prevent over firing. Having a damper properly adjusted will prevent overfire, premature wear, better heat transfer, ensure longer burn time and better combustion. We do recommend it, with our experience 0,06’’ in a 6-inch diameter chimney it is the right value for almost every installation and wood (type, humidity, …). What I mean is if you have really dry would 0.04'' is probably sufficient, but this isn’t the case for most of the users. Another thing that is important to get a good efficiency is also to have the right plenum static pressure.

• Coal burner/ Air through the grate

This a new function which we are really excited about, it is a big improvement over the Tundra. Coal build up was a complaint from users, adding this feature reduce the coal build up and increase heat output delivery at the end of the burn, in order word it increases overall efficiency.

Reload button Update

Like we have discussed about it previously, the furnace will not react the same way if you press the button when it is cold or hot. According to internal temperature it will determine what is the best thing to do, you will probably hear the shutters move and adjust to obtain optimal combustion. I think most of view have received the software update, in this new software we have implement feature which disable blower for a period while you are loading. This should prevent smoke spillage

Thanks,

Nicolas

 

[Highbeam]

So impressive to see and be made aware of real time design upgrades.

 

[Gbawol42]

I keep going back and forth upgrading my Heatmax 2, but man a couple of these upgrades sound amazing!

 

[sloeffle]

I keep going back and forth upgrading my Heatmax 2, but man a couple of these upgrades sound amazing!

I agree, some of the new bells and whistles would be nice to have.

 

[brenndatomu]

Uh oh...new furnace fever...I heard that is a symptom of CV19...

 

[trx250r87]

Uh oh...new furnace fever...I heard that is a symptom of CV19...

COVID was part of the reason I decided to upgrade this year. I spent more time cutting firewood and will be home more to install, tinker and burn!

Eric

 

[Gbawol42]

COVID was part of the reason I decided to upgrade this year. I spent more time cutting firewood and will be home more to install, tinker and burn!

Eric

Haha I hear ya. I have 3 seasons worth c/s/s now, which isn't a bad thing.

 

[laynes69]

COVID was part of the reason I decided to upgrade this year. I spent more time cutting firewood and will be home more to install, tinker and burn!

Eric

Not us! The company I work for is working on the vaccine and compounds, and my wife is an ICU nurse fighting on the frontline! Been busy for the both of us!

 

[brenndatomu]

Hi, another update on few more concerns

• Duct clearance

We are still doing continuous testing and improvement, as some of you have mentioned it has been determined that an error has slipped into the owner's manual. Supply duct clearances should have been 1 "instead of 0" after the first foot and along the length of the duct.

• Barometric damper and draft

In every furnace we made we recommend a maximum draft of 0.06’’, the nice thing with the automation is that in case things get crazy the shutter will be closed and prevent over firing. Having a damper properly adjusted will prevent overfire, premature wear, better heat transfer, ensure longer burn time and better combustion. We do recommend it, with our experience 0,06’’ in a 6-inch diameter chimney it is the right value for almost every installation and wood (type, humidity, …). What I mean is if you have really dry would 0.04'' is probably sufficient, but this isn’t the case for most of the users. Another thing that is important to get a good efficiency is also to have the right plenum static pressure.

• Coal burner/ Air through the grate

This a new function which we are really excited about, it is a big improvement over the Tundra. Coal build up was a complaint from users, adding this feature reduce the coal build up and increase heat output delivery at the end of the burn, in order word it increases overall efficiency.

Reload button Update

Like we have discussed about it previously, the furnace will not react the same way if you press the button when it is cold or hot. According to internal temperature it will determine what is the best thing to do, you will probably hear the shutters move and adjust to obtain optimal combustion. I think most of view have received the software update, in this new software we have implement feature which disable blower for a period while you are loading. This should prevent smoke spillage

Thanks,

Nicolas

So I assume the Heat Commander is just the first of the new fleet of smart wood furnaces to come...Heatpro, Heatpack, the Caddy line?