Looking for feedback of the PE Alderlea T6 LE

[tsh2002]

Hello. I'm starting to research a second stove for our home, we currently have a BK Ashford 30.2 on our main floor and love it, going on season 2 with it this year. I am now looking for a second stove in our basement and am considering a non-CAT this time. I've been looking at the Alderlea T6 LE since it has similar specs to the Ashford, and have read the literature and manual, but it doesn't go in to a lot of detail, so looking for some feedback of T6 owners if possible. Since I'm familiar with the Ashford 30 already, I'm wondering about the below:

1) What kind of air flow or damper system does the T6 use? I'm very much familiar with the Ashford's control which is excellent, but wondering how the T6 compares with this.
2) What are some of the real burn times experienced with the T6 (just in general, I know there are many factors)? I wouldn't expect it to be quite as long as the Ashford, but wondering how close it would/could be.
3) I would want to use an OAK with the T6, but where does it hook to, on the bottom, or back? I'm unable to find much info on an OAK for this stove, but assuming it just takes a standard 4" connection?
4) How exactly does the ash removal system work? It sounds like there's a hole in the bottom of the firebox (if so, it would be similar to the Ashford). The manual has instructions on how to use it, but it's hard for me to understand exactly how it works or what it looks like.

Again I really appreciate it, this forum is always very helpful.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I have a Summit LE which has the same internals as the T6. The air control is very simple. It has "boost" air which is not adjustable to feed the base of the fire near the door. This is a small percentage of the air flow. A lever on the front opens or closes the air intake holes underneath. There is no thermostat so you control the primary air manually.

It has an "EBT" system (extended burn time) which cuts some of the draft when the vacuum gets high enough. I can hear it quietly clinking under the right conditions.

Secondary air runs up the back wall of the stove into the stainless baffle. Holes in the baffle present that air to the top of the fire.

It is an easy breathing stove and we ended up installing a pipe damper for when it wants to run away. I also blocked the boost air. We have about 24 feet to the chimney cap.

I don't have the ash drawer, so I cannot speak to it.

We can get 8-10 hour burns with plenty of coals to start with even after 12 hours.

How do you plan to have an OAK in the basement? It cannot go up. It has to stay below the level of the air intake.

 

[tsh2002]

How do you plan to have an OAK in the basement? It cannot go up. It has to stay below the level of the air intake.

Unfortunately, our air intake comes in above where the stove would be in the basement, about 7 ft high and comes down and just behind where the stove would be. It is all metal duct to the outside and wrapped with fiberglass insulation, but yes I do understand that some stoves are required to have this below the stove. I have been looking at possible workarounds by adding an air gap in the duct just behind the stove or figure out a way to prevent backdraft.

 

[kborndale]

The only way to get around it and still pass code is to get a stove that specifically says it is ok to be higher. Any workaround you can up with would not meet code. I'm not saying it will or not be safe, just saying it won't meet code.

 

[begreen]

Unfortunately, our air intake comes in above where the stove would be in the basement, about 7 ft high and comes down and just behind where the stove would be. It is all metal duct to the outside and wrapped with fiberglass insulation, but yes I do understand that some stoves are required to have this below the stove. I have been looking at possible workarounds by adding an air gap in the duct just behind the stove or figure out a way to prevent backdraft.

The Alderlea is not thermostatically regulated like the Ashford. They are quite different stoves in terms of secondary combustion and air regulation. It is a much simpler stove. In milder weather we get 12-14 hr burn times with doug fir. Hardwood can be longer. In very cold weather this drops down to 8-10 hrs.

The Alderlea T6 has a sort of a built in air gap for outside air. The connection is on the bottom. The outside air (OAK) connection does not directly feed into the primary or secondary air. Instead the OAK feed into a plenum that is the ash pan housing. This is not a tightly sealed housing. On ours there is even a 1/4" x 4" space on the front lip of the ashpan that prevents a tight seal. My guess this is to prevent back drafting through the OAK.

The ash removal system is a spring loaded trap door in the firebox floor. It works, but after a few tries I stopped using it. The firebox holds a fair amount of ash and by burning Doug fir I only have to clean it out 2-3 times a season. We haven't used the ash pan for years.

 

[Woody Stover]

4) How exactly does the ash removal system work?

If it's the same as the 2019 T5, I like how it opens and closes, and you can prop a stick under the lever to keep the door open. But you have to make sure that when you close it, it's fully seated and not still partially open or you'll have a runaway stove on your hands. It's a dinky ash opening, so it's kind of a pain.
I took a 9x14x2" pan and a shovel over there a couple weeks ago to empty the ashes after I brushed her chimney, and it was a piece of cake. Much faster than the ash dump. I could get the pan inside the firebox and shovel ash into it easily. I had her shining a flashlight at the door opening, and I didn't see one speck of ash dust approach the door, even though it was over 50* out so not a lot of draft, and she has less that a 15' stack. That's a testament to how well these stoves draw. She was so impressed that she is going to start emptying the ash with shovel and pan. I neglected to mention to her that it's going to be a bit dicier when she has a stove full of glowing coals. 😏

 

[Woody Stover]

We haven't used the ash pan for years.

I thought you said you used it to toast your buns? 😉

 

[begreen]

I thought you said you used it to toast your buns? 😉

Not hot enough there to toast, but it is good as a warmer.

 

[Derf Summerfreeze]

I can't speak for the early version of the EBT , but the latest and simpler design actually increases the secondary air flow as the vacuum increases. It will modulate and eventually close most of the secondary air (there are fixed holes that bypass the moving flapper so it can't shut off the secondary air completely) once the flames subside and the vacuum degrades. This is the EBT (extended burn function). Reducing the ratio of secondary air to the main air supply prevents the stove and chimney from cooling off prematurely which would happen if the secondary air supply isn't controlled as the stove burns down overnight. While running, the EBT modulates and provides a much better ratio of secondary air to main air supply which helps keep the burn more efficient and counterintuitively it also makes the temperature more controllable. This despite the fact that the EBT is actually a positive feedback mechanism which one would think would make the burn rate unstable. It does the opposite however.
The latest EBT is designed for a chimney of a certain height. Too tall a chimney and the EBT flapper will be bouncing off the top limit constantly. I chose not to go with a key damper in the stove pipe and modified the EBT flow with a piece of thin sheet metal below the EBT inlet to restrict the flow. Once adjusted, this put the EBT flapper between the closed and open positions where it is intended to modulate. The EBT flapper is constantly moving except after the flames subside. A 'tink tink' sound indicates the flapper has hit the top limit and mine will do this occasionally in a gusting wind, and a 'tunk tunk' sound indicates it is bouncing off the lower limit. In normal operation it is silent now that I have it calibrated for my tall chimney. Derf