Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

[Lcback]

I saw that. No pricing information that I could find yet. I like the looks of the tundra 2 though.

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[brenndatomu]

I saw that. No pricing information that I could find yet. I like the looks of the tundra 2 though.

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That's how it was when the Heatpro came out...even though there was a Menards SKU it took a bit for them to have pricing at the store, and even longer for it to show up on the website. I suppose they will be ready to roll by fall.
I agree, I think it will be a good unit, lotta bugs have been worked out by now (on the base unit). Too bad the variable speed selection for the blower is 1-4 instead of infinite. I have been very happy with the infinite variable speed blower mod I did back in February. (page 55)

 

[Lcback]

So far no sale on the regular tundra. But I saw fireplace products or where ever it is. Has the heat pro on sale for 2300 delivered.
Also saw the spec change from 500-2500 to 1,000-2500. Also a slight up on efficiency.

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[Builderml]

Update: I have yet to return the Tundra. I still have it in use seeing how its still in the 50's every night. I have been doing some thinking and talking to the wife over the past couple of months about our future plans. What it comes down to is i may be getting a replacement Tundra and not upgrading to a Max. Reason being we may be selling in the next 3-5 years and we are not sure if we want to invest in the needed upgrades converting to the Max. I figure about $3000-$4000 to upgrade includes Max itself and new duct work. My duct guy should be out in the next week to give me an exact price on new duct work. I was actually pretty pleased with the overall performance from the Tundra with it being undersized. It was a pretty warm winter also.
With the wood furnace and warmer winter i went from 1500 gallons the year before to roughly 650 gallons of heating oil this year. Even if we did upgrade to the Max it should still pay for itself over a 2-3 year period. The Tundra pretty much paid for itself in one year. Once i figure out what i do on my end i'll be sure to post again. Happy Summer folks.

 

[brenndatomu]

Well, I was nosing around on the Drolet site (which they have updated) and I see they have the MSRP listed for the Tundra II now. A $500 increase (more or less) for the Tundra II ($2299)(that is, from the original Tundra price) VS the Heatpro at $2799...or another way to look at it, $500 more buys you the Heatpros 1/3 larger firebox and firepower, hmmm. Of course those are MSRP prices, so we will have to see how things play out price wise once they actually hit the stores.
They have all the tech specs and owners manual listed now too, have a look. (broken link removed to https://www.drolet.ca/en/products/furnaces/)

 

[Highbeam]

It's too bad they don't list a grams per hour rating. Until they do, they continue to be illegal in WA. A couple of wood boilers have become legal in WA because they not only list a lb/mmBTU but also a GPH. EPA certified isn't good enough.

 

[DoubleB]

FYI Tundra I on sale for $1469 at Menards through August 13. Don't know how much longer Tundra I will be available until Tundra II takes over, still showing MSRP $2299.

 

[Builderml]

Tundra update: Final verdict for now is the Tundra will be staying and used for another season. With that said i now needed to have the cracks repaired. Some pictures for you guy to see the repairs done. I noticed the center heat exchanger tube was also cracked once i took to door off to have the other cracks fixed so while he was here i told him to also hit the center tube. Keep in mind this is only after one season of burning. OK to be fair i may or may not have run it hard. After all how do you run a stove hard? Should it not be built for worst case? I think all the cracks repaired are from the front face being welded to the heat exchanger box. I would like to believe that with the "new" units that are no longer welded you should be ok. Others with the new units should be able to answer that in the coming years. I am not sure who on here just installed an older unit with that front face welded but i strongly advise you to grind those tack welds down otherwise you'll be in the same boat. Yes it may void warranty but its that or deal with a bunch of crap down the road. So now for some pictures. I don't think with the way he stitched across the cracks it will fail in the same spot.
RIGHT SIDE REPAIR
LEFT SIDE REPAIR
CENTER HEAT EXCHANGER

 

[brenndatomu]

Tundra update: Final verdict for now is the Tundra will be staying and used for another season. With that said i now needed to have the cracks repaired. Some pictures for you guy to see the repairs done. I noticed the center heat exchanger tube was also cracked once i took to door off to have the other cracks fixed so while he was here i told him to also hit the center tube. Keep in mind this is only after one season of burning. OK to be fair i may or may not have run it hard. After all how do you run a stove hard? Should it not be built for worst case? I think all the cracks repaired are from the front face being welded to the heat exchanger box. I would like to believe that with the "new" units that are no longer welded you should be ok. Others with the new units should be able to answer that in the coming years. I am not sure who on here just installed an older unit with that front face welded but i strongly advise you to grind those tack welds down otherwise you'll be in the same boat. Yes it may void warranty but its that or deal with a bunch of crap down the road. So now for some pictures. I don't think with the way he stitched across the cracks it will fail in the same spot.
View attachment 182954 View attachment 182955 RIGHT SIDE REPAIR
View attachment 182956 View attachment 182957 LEFT SIDE REPAIR
View attachment 182958 View attachment 182959 CENTER HEAT EXCHANGER

Wow, welded the heck outta 'er, probably weighs 5 more pounds now!
Did you remove any of the bodywork to check for other cracks on the HE tubes?
So the plan is to give it another year to decide what you wanna do exactly?

 

[Builderml]

Wow, welded the heck outta 'er, probably weighs 5 more pounds now!
Did you remove any of the bodywork to check for other cracks on the HE tubes?
So the plan is to give it another year to decide what you wanna do exactly?

I didn't take any panels off yet to look any further.....I'm kinda scared.... Fabricator didn't give me much warning before he came over so i had him fix what i knew of. Luckly he only lives about 5 minutes away. You can tell by his welds he doesn't mess around. I think i may just take things apart here some more next week.
Receiving the full refund on the Tundra i decided to patch it together and see how long she last. I told the fabricator i might need him back every spring to put more bandages on. I think with the front no longer being connected she may do pretty well now.
All in all last year i was really pleased with what the Tundra could do.

I am not a welder but i wonder if i should have had him run a complete bead around all 3 heat exchanger tubes from the inside. Insurance policy kinda. What do you guys think? I may talk to him about that.

 

[DoubleB]

What do you guys think?

For me, this falls into if it ain't broke, I wouldn't fix it. I contemplated having my cracks welded after the 1st winter, but I didn't. They didn't creep further the 2nd winter, so I still haven't had them welded. Might not ever if they don't cause perceptible problems or a foreseeable risk of problems.

That's just me.

 

[brenndatomu]

What do you guys think

I agree with DB, if it aint broke don't fix it. Sometimes welding things can cause a whole new set of problems...
I too have not had the cracks on the front grow any further after drilling the root of the crack...('bout an 1/8" hole) then I sealed the crack and hole with furnace cement...working great so far.

 

[Builderml]

I wish I would have drilled the cracks before the one on the right side got big. I wasn't taking a chance before the warranty was resolved. Hind site now I would have.
I am not sure if I listed the end result of my warranty claim. I was in the end issued a full refund of my purchase price. When warranty was first started I was asked to return the unit but after I finished out the season with it I was only asked to return the label. Which is why unit is still in operation for me.

 

[3fordasho]

Menards is running a $300 rebate on the regular Tundra starting tomorrow- puts it at $1169 after rebate.

 

[Builderml]

I wonder if they have different prices in diffferent areas? On website I get $1689 -$300 rebate final price $1389.

 

[brenndatomu]

Menards is running a $300 rebate on the regular Tundra starting tomorrow- puts it at $1169 after rebate.

I wonder if they have different prices in diffferent areas? On website I get $1689 -$300 rebate final price $1389.

Good find 3fordasho, I just looked at this the other day and no sale (was $1689, which is still down from the "regular price" of $1759 they had been for years before) but now I just looked again and yup, on sale, plus rebate, $1169 final price. wow

 

[Builderml]

Sure enough looking this morning the price is $1169. Heck if I know what happened. At that price it's worth taking a gamble on it.

Side note: been doing some firewood and was given some large round hickory 36"-40", wtf, now I know why it was given to me. Who in there right mind would want to work with this stuff. Tried just splitting like any other piece loading it on splitter with tractor. Forget about it, I think splitter had some choice words for me. In the end pieces needed to be cut in halves and and quarters with the saw before splitting. Can't say I'll miss this stuff when it's done

 

[brenndatomu]

Sure enough looking this morning the price is $1169. Heck if I know what happened. At that price it's worth taking a gamble on it.

Side note: been doing some firewood and was given some large round hickory 36"-40", wtf, now I know why it was given to me. Who in there right mind would want to work with this stuff. Tried just splitting like any other piece loading it on splitter with tractor. Forget about it, I think splitter had some choice words for me. In the end pieces needed to be cut in halves and and quarters with the saw before splitting. Can't say I'll miss this stuff when it's doneView attachment 183238 View attachment 183239

But it is so worth the trouble IMO, Hickory is my number one favorite firewood for the cold days.
That is where a horizontal/vertical splitter comes in handy...bust those bigguns up on the ground.
With no H/V splitter available, I'd lay the round on its side, cut a lengthwise kerf 3" deep, drive a wedge in there, it'll usually pop right open. Rinse and repeat until you have manageable pieces.

I agree on the Tundra gamble...considering the price increase on the TII, makes it almost double this price...

 

[Buzz Saw]

makes it almost double this price...

Gotta pay for all the free ones they gave away the past few years.

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[brenndatomu]

Gotta pay for all the free ones they gave away the past few years.

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Yeah, it would be interesting to know how many they actually warrantied.
I don't think the TII is overpriced considering the added electronics and that it comes with a plenum. It will be interesting to see Menards price on TII...

 

[Lcback]

I am still interested in watching the prices. I ended up changing my mind and going with a totally different furnace. But I'll still be watching I just didn't feel the tundra 1 would be able to heat my house at 250psqft. And not worry about over firing it

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This price at $1300 or what ever is quite a bargain. I hope most of the people looking at the green monsters at tractor supply this year hear about the drolet on sale.

 

[crewchief264]

So I have been following this thread and read just about all 62 pages... That being said I have been using a Hotblast 1500 that I modified after the first fire I put in it... I was used to my regency insert which is really efficient and the hot blast went through wood like a California Pyro sets wild fires.....

Also for all you cracked guys, I only have a Lincoln SP135 plus MIG and I had no problems welding up my Hotblast after drilling a hole through the front, and I also welded steel into the sides of the firebox to support extra fire brick. That was 3 years ago and its still going strong. I even welded some left over angle iron had on the door for even more firebrick. And not Problems. So I wouldn't be a bit worried about cleaning up those cracks stop drilling them and laying some weld in there!

Edit the price tag I posted is jacked up.. the price is only $1169.00

That said thanks to brenndatomu for the information on this thread and also the heads up on the Tundra Sale. I purchased the Tundra yesterday.... Serial Number 734. It looks to have had the air intake modification done.. The center holes were larger than the two side holes and it didn't have a the after thought clip on plate installed. It didn't have the firebrick for the front... Anyways they are ordering one for me and it will be a few weeks before it is in....So a $300 rebate and another 2% rebate with using my Menards card and getting rid of about $150 in menards rebates.... I am excited about buying the rest of the toys to make this new tundra run like my regency insert but with a larger heating capacity....

 

[Builderml]

Crewchief, Tundra is hard to pass up at that price. The only question i have is did you have the option of having them order a new one with all the revisions? I believe what is going to save the new ones from cracking is the fact that the front face and heat exchanger are no longer welded together on new models. Also the firebrick they end up sending for the front face is junk. Its soft stuff and gets beat up bad loading and moving the wood around. Cutting an angle iron to cover the edge of the firebrick would be best. Mine were finished by seasons end. The top baffle cracked down the middle on mine and i am going to us that to make the firebricks for the front face this year. The guys on here are first class when it comes to helping someone out so ask away if you have any questions.

 

[Builderml]

I can't tell looking at your first picture...Does the bottom of the heat exchanger have tack welds to the front face?

 

[brenndatomu]

I purchased the Tundra yesterday.... Serial Number 734

You have it already or they had to order one for you...I'm not sure I follow you? Was it a display model? The display model at out local Menards has been there for 2-3 years. What is the build date?