help with a new drolet heat max.

[bedrock1]

Oh, and you will have to cover the other blower intake grill(s) with some tin (or maybe some cardboard, just for temporary testing purposes)
Assuming you don't have the blower pulling from a cold air return duct here...

I have a cold air return duct

 

[brenndatomu]

I have a cold air return duct

Oh, OK. So you may hafta cut a filter slot in then...

 

[sloeffle]

yeah i did do that already adjusted the damper , the blower will stay going if the damper is open all the was.

The damper will need stay open a little bit in order to keep the fire going. You will also run into creosote issues if you leave the damper closed too much and let the fire idle. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[bedrock1]

The damper will need stay open a little bit in order to keep the fire going. You will also run into creosote issues if you leave the damper closed too much and let the fire idle. Don't ask me how I know.

I have mine open a bet but blower won't stay in long.

 

[DoubleB]

Also, have you checked if your baffle is pulled toward the front? Once or twice I have cleaned my tubes and forgotten to push the baffle back toward the rear, which bypasses some of the intended exhaust path (and I believe heat transfer).

 

[DoubleB]

And, in some of your posts you have mentioned burning 6+ cords already, and some asked if that's a face cord or full cord. Can you confirm that those are six cords that measure a full 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft?

I have already burned 4+ full cords this year, but that is some pretty low-density wood, including basswood and box elder.

 

[bedrock1]

And, in some of your posts you have mentioned burning 6+ cords already, and some asked if that's a face cord or full cord. Can you confirm that those are six cords that measure a full 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft?

I have already burned 4+ full cords this year, but that is some pretty low-density wood, including basswood and box elder.

Yeah its 6 cord 4x4x8

 

[brenndatomu]

Also, have you checked if your baffle is pulled toward the front? Once or twice I have cleaned my tubes and forgotten to push the baffle back toward the rear, which bypasses some of the intended exhaust path (and I believe heat transfer).

Yeah, that would make a huge difference!

Yeah its 6 cord 4x4x8

Wow. I would think at that rate you'd constantly have a firebox full of coals when you go to reload.

 

[bedrock1]

Yeah, that would make a huge difference!

Wow. I would think at that rate you'd constantly have a firebox full of coals when you go to reload.

Yeah u got that right.lol. I took out my Old radiation furnace because it was hard on wood now I have one that is burning a lot of wood not getting no heat because the blow won't stay in . I'm really thinking hard about putting in my old furnace no joke

 

[brenndatomu]

I took out my Old radiation furnace because it was hard on wood now I have one that is burning a lot of wood not getting no heat because the blow won't stay in . I'm really thinking hard about putting in my old furnace no joke

Well, give us a bit more time to help you get this thing sorted out before you do that. Once you get 'er burning right you will be really glad you persevered!
I never saw where you addressed the possibility that your wood is not dry enough. Sorry if you did, I missed it. Tundras REALLY like dry wood.

 

[bedrock1]

Well, give us a bit more time to help you get this thing sorted out before you do that. Once you get 'er burning right you will be really glad you persevered!
I never saw where you addressed the possibility that your wood is not dry enough. Sorry if you did, I missed it. Tundras REALLY like dry wood.

My wood was last year cut wood but it now really dry. My father got a new max wood furnace burning this year wet spruce only have 2 cord of wood gone he has lots of heat

 

[bedrock1]

Also, have you checked if your baffle is pulled toward the front? Once or twice I have cleaned my tubes and forgotten to push the baffle back toward the rear, which bypasses some of the intended exhaust path (and I believe heat transfer).

i have the the baffle put in place

 

[bedrock1]

I noticed about a month ago looking at a Tundra, the openings for the primary air under the damper were smaller than what I have. I figured it was due to the damper opening so far. I don't know if the damper is adjustable on the Tundra.

where is the primary hold to under your damper

 

[brenndatomu]

My wood was last year cut wood but it now really dry. My father got a new max wood furnace burning this year wet spruce only have 2 cord of wood gone he has lots of heat

Caddy Max? What kind of wood? Many hardwoods take 2-3 years cut/split/stacked to get dry enough to make EPA burners work really well.
Just as an experiment load in some kiln dried wood. Old 2x4 cut offs or bust up a pallet, some of those compessed sawdust bricks would work. Just mix in with some of your firewood, see what happens...if you get more heat, then it is the wood is not dry enough

 

[bedrock1]

Caddy Max? What kind of wood? Many hardwoods take 2-3 years cut/split/stacked to get dry enough to make EPA burners work really well.
Just as an experiment load in some kiln dried wood. Old 2x4 cut offs or bust up a pallet, some of those compessed sawdust bricks would work. Just mix in with some of your firewood, see what happens...if you get more heat, then it is the wood is not dry enough

im going to try that my father has some dry 2x4. one thing I don't under stand why they have the thermo disc about 5-6 inch away from the fire box it will take a lot of heat to set it off, u have it where the blower can cool it off.

 

[brenndatomu]

im going to try that my father has some dry 2x4. one thing I don't under stand why they have the thermo disc about 5-6 inch away from the fire box it will take a lot of heat to set it off, u have it where the blower can cool it off.

Isn't it right above the center heat exchanger tube?
Just for an example on the dry wood thing, my Yukon furnace almost doesn't care about dryness as long as it isn't green, but totally dry is still definitely better and easier to build a fire with by far. Now then, my lil EPA stove in the fireplace upstairs...almost refuses to burn wet wood, so so wood burns but has no real heat output. But wood that is good and dry (15-20% moisture content per meter) lights immediately, gets the firebox up to temp quickly with no screwing around with the air damper, and then will almost melt the stove into a molten puddle the first hour or two of the burn, serious heat output!
You don't have access to a wood moisture meter do ya? They can be handy to have around if ya burn wood. Can be bought at any of the big box stores for 20-$30, less online. I think I gave $15 for mine on Amazon, delivered price.
If you have a meter, take a piece of firewood that is up to indoor room temp (meter is temp sensitive to be accurate) re split it and then take a reading on the fresh split face in the middle, that will tend to be the wettest spot. Usually if the MC is 20% or less in the center, it is good enough.

 

[bedrock1]

Isn't it right above the center heat exchanger tube?
Just for an example on the dry wood thing, my Yukon furnace almost doesn't care about dryness as long as it isn't green, but totally dry is still definitely better and easier to build a fire with by far. Now then, my lil EPA stove in the fireplace upstairs...almost refuses to burn wet wood, so so wood burns but has no real heat output. But wood that is good and dry (15-20% moisture content per meter) lights immediately, gets the firebox up to temp quickly with no screwing around with the air damper, and then will almost melt the stove into a molten puddle the first hour or two of the burn, serious heat output!
You don't have access to a wood moisture meter do ya? They can be handy to have around if ya burn wood. Can be bought at any of the big box stores for 20-$30, less online. I think I gave $15 for mine on Amazon, delivered price.
If you have a meter, take a piece of firewood that is up to indoor room temp (meter is temp sensitive to be accurate) re split it and then take a reading on the fresh split face in the middle, that will tend to be the wettest spot. Usually if the MC is 20% or less in the center, it is good enough.

No mine is on the back of the furnace on left hand side when your looking from the back of the furnace. Not in a good spot to my liken . I don't have a meter but I am going to get one

 

[brenndatomu]

No mine is on the back of the furnace on left hand side when your looking from the back of the furnace. Not in a good spot to my liken . I don't have a meter but I am going to get one

Huh, that odd. Is it in the box with the 24v transformer and the damper control motor?
The current manual shows 2 thermodisc switches, and they are both above the center heat exchanger tube, in the middle of the two duct attachment holes. It looks like it has a 1" x 1" metal channel that is over top of the switches and the wiring to/from the switches runs through this channel back to the control box on the top left as you look at the back of the furnace.
How old is your furnace, maybe they changed things recently?

 

[DoubleB]

thermodisc is at the center of the top of the furnace on mine (August 2014) as well as recent models I saw at Menards, just as Brenndatomu says. Maybe they made a design change very recently, but it doesn't make sense to me that they would mount it to the rear, since the rear stays cooler than the center and front.

 

[DoubleB]

And, somebody mentioned coals...

On a cold day here the wife was home all day, I came home 10 hours later and she had gone through twice as much wood as other cold days, and she was complaining that the furnace just never got the house very warm. Firebox was nearly fully deep with coals up to the top. She just kept throwing in more wood to solve the problem, but that doesn't work, I think the coals buried the front and rear air inlets.

Point is that I've now noticed other people describing the importance of keeping the coal bed within a manageable amount, and you might devour wood with little heat otherwise.

 

[bedrock1]

Huh, that odd. Is it in the box with the 24v transformer and the damper control motor?
The current manual shows 2 thermodisc switches, and they are both above the center heat exchanger tube, in the middle of the two duct attachment holes. It looks like it has a 1" x 1" metal channel that is over top of the switches and the wiring to/from the switches runs through this channel back to the control box on the top left as you look at the back of the furnace.
How old is your furnace, maybe they changed things recently?

Mine has in on the left side on the rear ,where dear is not much heat, mine is in a 2 " round pipe and it tough the fire box and its 5 " away from the thermdisc. I have it out yesterday check ing the thermodisc out I hard a good fire I put my finger in the hole it was only warm that I thing is the problem my blower don't say in. I have a picture of the box.

 

[brenndatomu]

Wow, yeah, a pictures worth a thousand words. That is definitely different than the one my sister just bought.
You very well may have put your finger on the problem here (pun intended)
If you could put your finger in there for more than a split second without pain then it is gonna take a lot lower temp switch than 140* to make the switch close! I bet the new switch SBI is sending is a lower temp than the one you have now. If the new switch is the same temp range and you have the same results, I'd be on the phone with SBI about it again post haste. From what I hear SBI (drolet) has been pretty good to work with when people have had problems.
If it were mine, I'd wanna to fix it today, I would jumper the thermoswitch and make it run as long as there seems to be warn air coming from the vents, that would be a quick/easy test to confirm your theory. Just clip on a jumper wire (something heavy enough to take 5 amps or so, (14-16 gauge wire would be fine) or you could even wire in a light switch so you can easily flip on/off as needed until you get this sorted out.
The switch you had out yesterday had white wires on it, yes?
If it had red wires then that is the high limit switch, (according to the current manual)(there should be an electrical drawing in the back of your manual) it cuts power to the damper control motor if things get too hot until the blower can cool things off. The high limit switch would be NC (normally closed) until it gets to 160*, then it opens up.
The fan control switch is NO (normally open) until it gets to 140* (or whatever temp switch you have) then it closes until the blower cools it back to 120*. Do you have a multimeter that could be used to test the switches? I would think you could use a hair dryer to heat the switch for testing

 

[brenndatomu]

From reading the big "tundra" thread over on AS, yes it sounds like the new Tundras have a different switch location than the older ones. Also, there have been others with the same problem as you, SBI sent them a new lower temp range switch, it fixed the problem for them.

 

[bedrock1]

Wow, yeah, a pictures worth a thousand words. That is definitely different than the one my sister just bought.
You very well may have put your finger on the problem here (pun intended)
If you could put your finger in there for more than a split second without pain then it is gonna take a lot lower temp switch than 140* to make the switch close! I bet the new switch SBI is sending is a lower temp than the one you have now. If the new switch is the same temp range and you have the same results, I'd be on the phone with SBI about it again post haste. From what I hear SBI (drolet) has been pretty good to work with when people have had problems.
If it were mine, I'd wanna to fix it today, I would jumper the thermoswitch and make it run as long as there seems to be warn air coming from the vents, that would be a quick/easy test to confirm your theory. Just clip on a jumper wire (something heavy enough to take 5 amps or so, (14-16 gauge wire would be fine) or you could even wire in a light switch so you can easily flip on/off as needed until you get this sorted out.
The switch you had out yesterday had white wires on it, yes?
If it had red wires then that is the high limit switch, (according to the current manual)(there should be an electrical drawing in the back of your manual) it cuts power to the damper control motor if things get too hot until the blower can cool things off. The high limit switch would be NC (normally closed) until it gets to 160*, then it opens up.
The fan control switch is NO (normally open) until it gets to 140* (or whatever temp switch you have) then it closes until the blower cools it back to 120*. Do you have a multimeter that could be used to test the switches? I would think you could use a hair dryer to heat the switch for testing

 

[DoubleB]

I agree, the picture is very helpful.

I can't see for sure, but there appears to be something on top of the furnace at the very center. Is there something there, and if so, can you describe it, or take a closer picture? Did you buy the furnace brand new and install it yourself, or is there a chance that someone else has modified your furnace? I ask only to rule out the chance, especially since your picture is not consistent with the Drolet manual available online as Brenndatomu has indicated, especially since it is dated Dec 17, 2014 which is not long ago.