Everything Drolet Tundra - Heatmax...

[Possumstomper]

I've got an idea for an emergency dump on the cheap. I plan on removing the 2 registers I've got mounted in the top of the second arm of the "plenum". Fabricating a door that is slightly bigger all the way around. Attaching said door to a piano hinge that allows door to swing in, effectively sealing ductwork into crawlspace off. Will use heat activated fusible link from granger, and also an appropriate spring to put tension on the door. The links are rated around 8 lbs of holding force. I think this will work as a poor man's heat dump. Thoughts?

 

[JRHAWK9]

Ok I feel kinda dumb but could someone post a picture of their wiring diagram for a Totaline P251-0083H head pressure control. Please. I've never been good at electrical period and especially don't have a clue about anything like this. Please help my slow ass

This won't be exactly what you need, seeing I don't have a Tundra, but it should give you some guidance on how to wire up the controller. I will be adding a second relay, as shown, so the power will switch from supplying power to the head pressure controller to the low speed winding's on the motor when my wood furnace blower is on AND LP furnace kicks in. This is to keep the LP blower from backfeeding the wood furnace blower during those few very cold mornings the LP furnace may kick in when the wood furnace blower is running very slow at the end of a burn. I noticed last winter this happened and due to how slow the wood furnace blower was, the LP furnace reversed flow on the wood furnace. This setup will autimatically kick the wood furnace blower on low to avoid this situation.

 

[brenndatomu]

I've got an idea for an emergency dump on the cheap. I plan on removing the 2 registers I've got mounted in the top of the second arm of the "plenum". Fabricating a door that is slightly bigger all the way around. Attaching said door to a piano hinge that allows door to swing in, effectively sealing ductwork into crawlspace off. Will use heat activated fusible link from granger, and also an appropriate spring to put tension on the door. The links are rated around 8 lbs of holding force. I think this will work as a poor man's heat dump. Thoughts?

Should work...I had thought of doing something similar but never found a fusible link that I liked. Just make sure it actually flows good when the door is open. The Yukon one is made so that the door is angled down and will simply fall open when the link melts

 

[Possumstomper]

Should work...I had thought of doing something similar but never found a fusible link that I liked. Just make sure it actually flows good when the door is open. The Yukon one is made so that the door is angled down and will simply fall open when the link melts

They way I've got it pictured in my mind it should work. I ordered a few links to give it a test run. I appreciate you pointing that out. Thanks

 

[Possumstomper]

My idea was going to go with a lower temp link. 165° since its about 4 feet away from outputs on furnace.

 

[Possumstomper]

The link I'm using

 

[DoubleB]

I'm not familiar with the fusible link heat dumps. What I'd also consider is a normally-open powered duct damper, put it on top of the plenum with a register over it. Closes when powered. Drawback is it always consumes a little power. Benefit is they're readily available, I can understand it, I can test it frequently, and I also can close a register over it for extended periods when I want to turn off power.

(I don't use this, but would consider it).

 

[Possumstomper]

Well night 2 was better. Still lots to learn and do to this thing to get it where I want it to be. House was at 65 last night, woke up to 73 this morning with a 28° night. Fired fresh load. About 7pm topped off about 9. Was nice coal bed at 5am this morning. I lowered fan speed and that really helped with heat consistency. Seemed like my secondary burn times were up as well. Next thing since I'm going into a crawlspace is to insulate my ductwork. I think it can only help.

 

[Highbeam]

Well night 2 was better. Still lots to learn and do to this thing to get it where I want it to be. House was at 65 last night, woke up to 73 this morning with a 28° night. Fired fresh load. About 7pm topped off about 9. Was nice coal bed at 5am this morning. I lowered fan speed and that really helped with heat consistency. Seemed like my secondary burn times were up as well. Next thing since I'm going into a crawlspace is to insulate my ductwork. I think it can only help.

Did you purposely not remove the stickers from the door glass before firing? Doesn’t that drive you nuts? You obviously appreciate the fireview.

 

[Possumstomper]

Did you purposely not remove the stickers from the door glass before firing? Doesn’t that drive you nuts? You obviously appreciate the fireview.

sad to say I get way ahead of myself sometimes. It has been on my to do list since the first small fire, but I usually only remember it after I got this thing going good. Yes it does obstruct the lovely view.

 

[KC Matt]

You're on your way now. That furnace will take some tweaking to get it working to your satisfaction. It looks like you have some substantial air leaks in that ductwork; if so, i strongly suggest you seal those. Also, if at all possible I'd figure out a way to attach the return air.

Main thing is you're up and running just in time for winter!

 

[brenndatomu]

Well night 2 was better. Still lots to learn and do to this thing to get it where I want it to be. House was at 65 last night, woke up to 73 this morning with a 28° night. Fired fresh load. About 7pm topped off about 9. Was nice coal bed at 5am this morning. I lowered fan speed and that really helped with heat consistency. Seemed like my secondary burn times were up as well. Next thing since I'm going into a crawlspace is to insulate my ductwork. I think it can only help.

Well those are some impressive results for sure! You must have a smaller home, or it is really well insulated! I have never been able to raise the temp of the house more than 2, maybe 3 degrees on a load, and I consider it a success if it is time to reload and the house is not any lower than the temp I started with, I'd be over the moon happy with results like yours. I had to scratch and claw for every BTU out of mine...of course I guess that journey has helped a lot of others here now too...

 

[Possumstomper]

Yeah man its only little over 1100sf, couldn't say about insulation I've not had a wall open. Floor is pretty well insulated tho. When I ran the return it seemed like that stuff (fiberglass batt) was a foot thick. It's warmed up a bit today, it was reloaded around noon and five. Unfortunately it's pushing 85 in here now I had to open my registers in my rigged plenum to dump some heat off. I hope it continues to do this well. Still going to insulate my ductwork. Yes your posts have helped tremendously. Finally finished reading this thread this morning. My fan controller showed up today so hopefully I can get that going as well as all the other odd and ends.

 

[Possumstomper]

You're on your way now. That furnace will take some tweaking to get it working to your satisfaction. It looks like you have some substantial air leaks in that ductwork; if so, i strongly suggest you seal those. Also, if at all possible I'd figure out a way to attach the return air. Oh yes I've since sealed that up, it leaked like a sive. I'e
Installed the return air as well.
Main thing is you're up and running just in time for winter!

 

[KC Matt]

You're heading the right way just keep at it.

Well night 2 was better. Still lots to learn and do to this thing to get it where I want it to be. House was at 65 last night, woke up to 73 this morning with a 28° night. Fired fresh load. About 7pm topped off about 9. Was nice coal bed at 5am this morning. I lowered fan speed and that really helped with heat consistency. Seemed like my secondary burn times were up as well. Next thing since I'm going into a crawlspace is to insulate my ductwork. I think it can only help.

Yeah man its only little over 1100sf, couldn't say about insulation I've not had a wall open. Floor is pretty well insulated tho. When I ran the return it seemed like that stuff (fiberglass batt) was a foot thick. It's warmed up a bit today, it was reloaded around noon and five. Unfortunately it's pushing 85 in here now I had to open my registers in my rigged plenum to dump some heat off. I hope it continues to do this well. Still going to insulate my ductwork. Yes your posts have helped tremendously. Finally finished reading this thread this morning. My fan controller showed up today so hopefully I can get that going as well as all the other odd and ends.

Operating a wood burning device is a learning curve and no two installations are the same. Just keep pushing forward and you'll have it worked out by the end of the season.

 

[KC Matt]

With 1100 sf and running this furnace at the minimum effective load, your home should be uncomfortably hot. Keep working at it and when you get it dialed in your problem will be how to run your furnace without having the windows open. I'm heating 1500sf per floor, two floors and with outside temp at 0 or above keeping the house 72 degrees is effortless.

 

[Possumstomper]

Got a little more done today. Finally got my timer installed, very nice. I'e noticed on a few of the posts in this thread some use a nail to hold their damper door open slightly, well I've been playing with my adjustable setup today and seems to work well on keeping my fire hot, flue warm enough not to create creosote, and keep my burn times high. Been around mid 20 to low 30 all day here. Currently holding at 77 before night reload. Got a new toy today too that so far has been to fun not to test everything with.

 

[KC Matt]

Got a little more done today. Finally got my timer installed, very nice. I'e noticed on a few of the posts in this thread some use a nail to hold their damper door open slightly, well I've been playing with my adjustable setup today and seems to work well on keeping my fire hot, flue warm enough not to create creosote, and keep my burn times high. Been around mid 20 to low 30 all day here. Currently holding at 77 before night reload. Got a new toy today too that so far has been to fun not to test everything with.

The nail shim shouldn't be beneficial for you because you have the damper control. That was a crude hack that some of us tried in lieu of the controller. It actually cripples the stove somewhat since it limits the effectiveness of the secondary burn. I accidentally unhooked the damper control arm by lifting it just a little too much with a shim. What are your damper controller settings and where are you drawing the temp for it?

Your return air is very creative. If at all possible you will want to seal that return air where the starter collar meets the house and where the starter collar meets the ducting. Yes, insulation would be worthwhile on any of the duct you can access. So your supply has shared duct and the return is seperate? I wonder if you have some unintended flow through the unused return air. Might want to give it the match test.

Before I sealed that little bit of ducting in the pictures, my furnace could barely raise the house temp on a load of fuel and after, it can raise the temp easily and maintain a longer burn. I was baffled last winter by the volume of air pulling around the garage doors and figured it must just be the old crappy doors. Well guess what? It was the return air sucking outdoor air into the garage and subsequently into the furnace.

This stuff is awesome for sealing those odd shaped leaks:


https://www.reddevil.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1557

 

[Possumstomper]

I haven't gotten around to wiring either controller in yet. As soon as I get more time those are on my list. Creativity is an offspring of being stubborn and mostly cheap. It is a 12 inch flexible duct run out the back of one of my kitchen cabinets, down through the crawlspace, back up through the vanity in my bathroom and then out the wall into the garage to the stove. It is sealed in the garage to the stove. It is not sealed in the house since all it can draw is inside air. Loaded last night about 10, it's about 9:15 now and still putting heat out. It' a nice 72 in here at the moment. Yes they share duct runs. I tied into the existing trunk in the crawlspace, I lucked out and it was metal so I figured why not. I originally intended to run two totally separate systems of duct but space issues in crawlspace prevented me. (Couldn't get my big butt in there) since that wasn't a possibility it took off main feeds from lp furnace and installed dampers in them to prevent backflow. I' lucky I suppose there to since the existing furnace was downflow everything was accessible. My new toy measured 132° duct Temps last night at the peak of the surge. Not sure on how accurate it is but I like that. Until I get around to the control wiring in I'm gonna rum that screw. I' happy how it performs at the moment

 

[Possumstomper]

This is the mastic I used to seal I the crawlspace, I used tape in garage

 

[KC Matt]

I haven't gotten around to wiring either controller in yet. As soon as I get more time those are on my list. Creativity is an offspring of being stubborn and mostly cheap. It is a 12 inch flexible duct run out the back of one of my kitchen cabinets, down through the crawlspace, back up through the vanity in my bathroom and then out the wall into the garage to the stove. It is sealed in the garage to the stove. It is not sealed in the house since all it can draw is inside air. Loaded last night about 10, it's about 9:15 now and still putting heat out. It' a nice 72 in here at the moment. Yes they share duct runs. I tied into the existing trunk in the crawlspace, I lucked out and it was metal so I figured why not. I originally intended to run two totally separate systems of duct but space issues in crawlspace prevented me. (Couldn't get my big butt in there) since that wasn't a possibility it took off main feeds from lp furnace and installed dampers in them to prevent backflow. I' lucky I suppose there to since the existing furnace was downflow everything was accessible. My new toy measured 132° duct Temps last night at the peak of the surge. Not sure on how accurate it is but I like that. Until I get around to the control wiring in I'm gonna rum that screw. I' happy how it performs at the moment

LOL that's dedication! Good work.

This is the mastic I used to seal I the crawlspace, I used tape in garage

Same stuff, different label and in a tub instead of a tube. You've already avoided the year I wasted struggling with an unfinished install. Get that damper control in and you'll be off to the races.

This conversation has got me thinking that I should redo the setup on the fan on controller. Instead of using the normally open side of the relay, I'm going to switch the fan to the normally closed side and run the controller in cooling mode. That way if everything fails, the fan just comes on and stays on. Everything else is set to fail to safety and I'm not sure why I didn't think about wiring the fan circuit that way before.

What does the motor do if that fan speed controller fails?

 

[brenndatomu]

This conversation has got me thinking that I should redo the setup on the fan on controller. Instead of using the normally open side of the relay, I'm going to switch the fan to the normally closed side and run the controller in cooling mode. That way if everything fails, the fan just comes on and stays on. Everything else is set to fail to safety and I'm not sure why I didn't think about wiring the fan circuit that way before.

I planned on wiring the high speed leg of the motor to the factory switch setup (well, actually an aftermarket adjustable switch set to a higher temp) so that if the speed controller ever failed the switch would kick the fan on high at some point

 

[KC Matt]

The logs and it's already been claimed. A guy is coming on friday to grab the trees.

I planned on wiring the high speed leg of the motor to the factory switch setup (well, actually an aftermarket adjustable switch set to a higher temp) so that if the speed controller ever failed the switch would kick the fan on high at some point

What would happen if the high leg called for power while the variable speed controller was also calling for power? I ask because I don't know.

 

[brenndatomu]

Yeah I dunno either...but I figure it wouldn't be pretty. There would be a good gap between the normal operation range and the "over temp, emergency cooling" feature...I suppose anything can malfunction though. It wouldn't be hard to wire in a relay to disconnect power from the speed control if the high temp switch activated...probably a real good idea actually

 

[JRHAWK9]

It wouldn't be hard to wire in a relay to disconnect power from the speed control if the high temp switch activated...probably a real good idea actually

funny. This is the exact thing I'm doing now. I'm going to have three relays now with the addition of this speed controller.

One uses the snap switch (set at normal temp on) to turn off/on the controller via 24V.

The other I'm using both NO and NC terminals to either power the controller OR the low speed winding on the wood blower motor. It powers the low speed winding ONLY when the LP furnace runs. Did this because if the LP furnace runs, it will always be at the end of a burn, which means the the controller will have the wood blower turning very slowly and this causes the LP blower to backfeed the wood blower (the powered damper is open because the low limit (snap switch) is met). This way when the LP blower kicks in, the wood blower then goes on low speed (not using the speed controller) which is enough to keep that from happening. Once the LP turns off the speed controller is now back to being active......as long as the low limit is met

The 3rd relay I'm using how you mentioned above. I have the second snap switch installed, wired and set at a much higher kick on temp. Just need to finish it. If the controller ever fails, the second snap will turn on when plenum temps reach that higher temp and then the low speed winding will be powered and continue to cycle at a higher temps of the second snap switch.

I also have a relay to control the powered damper to close when the LP blower is the only one running.