Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

[JRHAWK9]

anyone else ever have any cracks form on the front of the tundra?? There were A bunch of us around where i live that put in tundras over the summer and i know of at least three of them that have this problem. Anyone that is running these should look them over very closely.

Did you take the paint off in spots or did it burn off already in just one winter?

A couple months back I happened to be in Menards so I stopped and took a look at them. I was not impressed. Guessed they would have around a 5 year service life or so. Looks like I may be wrong. But hey, they are made for the DIY'er and obviously for those who like putting in furnaces every few years....lol At $1,100 a crack, you can put in 5 of them for a total of $5,500 and still not get the life out of them as you would one Kuuma. I've learned a long time ago you get what you pay for and in most situations trying to do things cheaply will only cost you more in the long run. Then there's the whole safety aspect of it as well; coming from that point of view, this is not cool.

 

[bpwelding2005]

no the paint is all there yet it just looks that way from the lighting

 

[JRHAWK9]

no the paint is all there yet it just looks that way from the lighting

Has anyone contacted SBI or Menards about the issue yet? What have you guys decided to do about it?

 

[bpwelding2005]

we actually got ours threw a dealer because of a wood burner exchange program last spring threw wps and the lung association so the dealer contacted SBI and they wanted pics so i sent him the pics i took this morning and we will see what happens. ill post anything i find out to keep everyone in the loop in case there's others out there with this same issue

 

[JRHAWK9]

we actually got ours threw a dealer because of a wood burner exchange program last spring threw wps and the lung association so the dealer contacted SBI and they wanted pics so i sent him the pics i took this morning and we will see what happens. ill post anything i find out to keep everyone in the loop in case there's others out there with this same issue

Going through a dealer will help you lots I'd imagine. Just out of curiosity, were all you guys running barometric dampers and had it setup according to how the instructions state? I can see them coming back stating how it was overfired or something in order to put the blame on you.

 

[bpwelding2005]

i have a baro on mine so max draft was set at .06 which is where its was supposed to be so i know at least mine is in the clear from over drafting

 

[brenndatomu]

anyone else ever have any cracks form on the front of the tundra?? There were A bunch of us around where i live that put in tundras over the summer and i know of at least three of them that have this problem. Anyone that is running these should look them over very closely.

bottom right corner heat exchanger clean out door (sorry pic is turned 90*) (broken image removed) bottom left corner heat ex clean out

bottom left corner main loading door (glass door) (broken image removed) bottom right corner loading door. first time trying to post pics so sorry if they suck plus there from my flip phone wish i could do better

So this crack is on the heat exchanger clean out door itself or on the body of the HE?

 

[brenndatomu]

Did you take the paint off in spots or did it burn off already in just one winter?

A couple months back I happened to be in Menards so I stopped and took a look at them. I was not impressed. Guessed they would have around a 5 year service life or so. Looks like I may be wrong. But hey, they are made for the DIY'er and obviously for those who like putting in furnaces every few years....lol At $1,100 a crack, you can put in 5 of them for a total of $5,500 and still not get the life out of them as you would one Kuuma. I've learned a long time ago you get what you pay for and in most situations trying to do things cheaply will only cost you more in the long run. Then there's the whole safety aspect of it as well; coming from that point of view, this is not cool.

Not everybody can afford a Kuuma. Some people are just doing the best they can with what they have at this point in time...and I'd like to see where you found one for $1100

 

[bpwelding2005]

there on the sheet of flat steel that makes up the whole front of the stove, where the clean out and loading door are cut into

 

[bpwelding2005]

maybe this will help visualize whats goin on a little bit better.

 

[JRHAWK9]

Not everybody can afford a Kuuma. Some people are just doing the best they can with what they have at this point in time...and I'd like to see where you found one for $1100

I understand, but one's safety has to come into play here somewhere. There are some who can't afford to refill their LP in the dead of winter either, so they leave the electric oven on for heat. Is that now OK because they can't afford to do things the safer way? At what point do we say, "OK, this is not worth the risk". The majority of time when our wood furnace is running, there is nobody home. I needed something I felt safe leaving home unattended. When I first started out looking for a furnace, I started online at the big box stores. It didn't take me long to realize it was not the direction I wanted to go. I then found this website and the rest is history. It was going to cost me $3,500 for an ICC/Excel chimney, why on earth would I then skimp on a furnace. I now have a setup I can enjoy for many years and don't even have to worry about cleaning my chimney. I just find it very hard to believe these cheap furnaces out there will last even 10 years. When it does fail, will it give the homeowner a sign before it sends the house up in flames....or will it have a catastrophic failure all of a sudden with no previous signs of failure? When in Menards, the Daka sitting next to the Tundra at least looked like it was well built. Sorry....end of rant....lol

As far as the price. I thought I remembered reading that's what some paid for them after their 11% rebate or something. I could be wrong on the price.

bpwelding, keep us informed. I hope things turn out well and they step up to the plate. It may not hurt to direct them to this thread and point out to them there are plenty of people watching how they handle this situation. May even want to get the others you know who have had their Tundra's fail on them on here as well.

 

[bpwelding2005]

lucky for the 3 of us that i know of that have had the cracking problems in my area all came from the same dealer so he is pushing them threw SBI as a group. time will tell what they say, when i hear something ill be sure to post it.

 

[JRHAWK9]

BTW, where in NE WI are you? I grew up in GB.

 

[bpwelding2005]

i grew up between green bay and kewaunee just off hwy 29east in the lil town of poland now i own a home just off I-43 on hwy29 east. guess its a small world on the world wide web some days

 

[JRHAWK9]

Did you go to Kewaunee HS?? Good friend went there (graduated in '90) I dated a girl who lived in Stangleville years ago.....lol

 

[bpwelding2005]

no i went to denmark but i didnt graduate till 2004 so i would of been way behind anyone in that group lol

 

[Wisneaky]

I've read every single comment on here and on AS about the Tundra and this is the first time I've heard anything about any cracks in it.

Second year burning with mine and still no major issues.

 

[brenndatomu]

When it does fail, will it give the homeowner a sign before it sends the house up in flames....or will it have a catastrophic failure all of a sudden with no previous signs of failure?

I don't remember hearing of anybodys house burning down because of a Tundra. No sense in sounding an alarm that doesn't need rung (at least not yet) There are thousands of these things out there plugging away with no problems. And from what I have heard, most people that have had problems, were promptly taken care of by SBI.

As far as the price. I thought I remembered reading that's what some paid for them after their 11% rebate or something. I could be wrong on the price.

$1250 after rebate...

I understand, but one's safety has to come into play here somewhere. There are some who can't afford to refill their LP in the dead of winter either, so they leave the electric oven on for heat. Is that now OK because they can't afford to do things the safer way? At what point do we say, "OK, this is not worth the risk"

Buying the Tundra that you can afford instead of the Kuuma that you can't, is not the same as heating with the oven. I am all about safety, heck I get a bit overboard with it sometimes when it comes to fire risk. But I'd still rather "risk" the .001% chance of something going wrong with a heater that I can afford, to having a 100% chance of freezing to death by just sitting around wishing I had the funds to drop on a $3500 chimney and a $5000 furnace. No chance that it matters if your furnace can last 10 years or not if your frozen
And what is so bad about heating with an electric oven? I realize that is not an ideal situation, by any means, but it's not the same as using a gas oven (or stove), I think that is probably what you meant.
Anyways...getting this train back on it's tracks...

maybe this will help visualize whats goin on a little bit better.

Yep, sure does, thanks! And keep us posted...

 

[Wisneaky]

So I was curious so I went and looked my Tundra over with a flash light and there is cracks in mine also. I wonder what this is caused from. I will be emailing SBI also. I'm not sure if these would actually effect anything because it looks like its the outside steel, but I see some of my welds are cracked also.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I've read every single comment on here and on AS about the Tundra and this is the first time I've heard anything about any cracks in it.

This is not directly related to this situation, but in general. I've been on numerous online forums since the late 90's from cars to ATV's to computers, etc. One thing I have learned and have actually been burned on in the past is basing purchases solely on reviews from online forums. Lots of these forums are owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (who just bought out Internet Brands). They have strict policies regarding ANY negative reviews and/or comments about products sold and/or manufactured by any sponsors of their forums. On some of the forums anybody posting anything critical of any sponsors products will have their post physically removed. To this day, on the Corvette forum, there is one tuner who gives LOTS of $$$ to be a sponsor and he has blown up numerous Corvettes due to his bad tuning. You can't post about it on the Corvette Forum (CF) though, as it will be removed. See -HERE- The result of this is filtered reviews. You only get to read about the positives and not negatives. This makes for researching products solely through online forums very hard, as you don't know who's a sponsor and who's not.

Anyway, when doing my research on the Kuuma I physically called and spoke to a handful of owners of the furnace. I found their reviews on Kuuma's site, used Google to find their phone number and gave them a call. Yeah, I pretty much stalked them....lol Everybody was very accommodating though and didn't mind me contacting them.

 

[brenndatomu]

This is not directly related to this situation, but in general. I've been on numerous online forums since the late 90's from cars to ATV's to computers, etc. One thing I have learned and have actually been burned on in the past is basing purchases solely on reviews from online forums. Lots of these forums are owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (who just bought out Internet Brands). They have strict policies regarding ANY negative reviews and/or comments about products sold and/or manufactured by any sponsors of their forums. On some of the forums anybody posting anything critical of any sponsors products will have their post physically removed. To this day, on the Corvette forum, there is one tuner who gives LOTS of $$$ to be a sponsor and he has blown up numerous Corvettes due to his bad tuning. You can't post about it on the Corvette Forum (CF) though, as it will be removed. See -HERE- The result of this is filtered reviews. You only get to read about the positives and not negatives. This makes for researching products solely through online forums very hard, as you don't know who's a sponsor and who's not.

Anyway, when doing my research on the Kuuma I physically called and spoke to a handful of owners of the furnace. I found their reviews on Kuuma's site, used Google to find their phone number and gave them a call. Yeah, I pretty much stalked them....lol Everybody was very accommodating though and didn't mind me contacting them.

Thanks for the heads up on the online reviews. I don't believe that SBI is a sponsor here or on AS (I believe they were a minor sponsor on AS at one time?) And I don't believe that Hearth or AS "cleans up" negative posts on sponsors products, especially if it is a widespread problem and not just some random rant from one or two POed posters. If you are saying that I'm affiliated with SBI, I can assure the closest affiliation I have with them is the new Tundra sitting in my garage awaiting install at my sisters house (and it may stay there a bit longer 'til we see what up with this crack stuff) I have never directly communicated with them in any way.
I agree, Kuuma is top notch, I emailed them a while back, they sent me a list of people (Kuuma furnace owners) and their contact info...never contacted any of them...yet.
But, alas, this is the Tundra thread, not the "why Kuuma is the best" thread so....

 

[JRHAWK9]

Thanks for the heads up on the online reviews. I don't believe that SBI is a sponsor here or on AS (I believe they were a minor sponsor on AS at one time?) And I don't believe that Hearth or AS "cleans up" negative posts on sponsors products, especially if it is a widespread problem and not just some random rant from one or two POed posters. If you are saying that I'm affiliated with SBI, I can assure the closest affiliation I have with them is the new Tundra sitting in my garage awaiting install at my sisters house (and it may stay there a bit longer 'til we see what up with this crack stuff) I have never directly communicated with them in any way.
I agree, Kuuma is top notch, I emailed them a while back, they sent me a list of people (Kuuma furnace owners) and their contact info...never contacted any of them...yet.
But, alas, this is the Tundra thread, not the "why Kuuma is the best" thread so....

I figured we'd soon find out if this forum is ran like some others. Posts will start disappearing if it is. I never once thought you were affiliated with SBI, you say too many nice things about Kuuma

I just thought I needed to post what I did....it's the whole caveat emptor and wasn't targeted towards one person or company. Just an FYI.

Will be interesting to see what SBI says about those cracks. If it is indeed the outer shell like Wisneaky says, they may just simply say it's not a big deal and that's that.

 

[bpwelding2005]

i know the cracks on the bottom around my loading door are a cause for alarm, only reason i noticed them the other day was because i went down stairs with the lights off and could see the orange glow of the fire comeing threw from the fire inside the box. my feeling is SBI may have been shipped a bad batch of steel that can take to hot and cold cycles of the fire and is cracking rather that flexing because steel always expands and contracts between heating and cooling cycles. just my $.02

 

[BrotherBart]

Been riding herd on this beast for ten years and have never seen sponsorship having anything to do with deleting or not deleting posts. In fact we have lost at least three major sponsors that I suspect had gotten a bad taste from some threads on their products.

Oh I have deleted a bunch of posts over that time. But the posters knew why. Nothing to do sponsorship.

 

[BrotherBart]

Lots of these forums are owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co

Hmmm... Maybe if KKR ponied up enough. Believe me if KKR or any other corp. owned the joint the Mod Squad would not be doing this for free.