Napoleon 1900... I think I'm ready!

[HeatsTwice]

BTW, if ever someone has questions about how to deal with intake air manifold heat shield screws which have become stripped and need replacement, just let me know. I have a solution blessed buy the guys at Obadias.

 

[Rickochet]

BTW, if ever someone has questions about how to deal with intake air manifold heat shield screws which have become stripped and need replacement, just let me know. I have a solution blessed buy the guys at Obadias.

HT---- Ever since this was mentioned in an earlier post, I have not been sleeping well. I have pondered the repair and now you have the fix that may just allow me to get some sleep, and you didn't share it....... Come on, throw this ol' dawg a bone!! I sure could use some sleep

 

[HeatsTwice]

Three pictures are better than a bunch of words. Click on the pictures for enlargement.


First picture: These are the tools I used to drill the "key hole" in the manifold. The bolt is a 1 inch stainless steel. ($0.45 at home depo). The smaller diameter drill bit fits the shank of the bolt while the lager bit allows the bolt head to pass through to the interior of the manafold. The bolt head is 1/2 inch.

Second picture: This is the hole after successful drilling. I used a center punch to start the holes. This way the drill didn't wander.


Third picture: Here is what the final solution looks like. Notice the top of the fire box along the manifold shield where the threaded portion of the 1" stainless steel bolt protrudes. No manifold air escapes from this hole since it is filled with the bolt and covered by washer and nut. It is a good idea to let as much stainless steel bolt protrude as is shown. This way, when it comes time to replace the manifold sheild (2-3 yrs from now) and the nut won't turn without turning the bold, a set of vice grips can be snapped on the end to hold the bolt still while loosening the nut enough to slide the bolt through the key hole.
If you click on the picture you can see the fire brick I've substituted for the factory baffel. Notice no wear or cracks even after many weeks (months) of 24/7 burning.


So far so good. Its been two weeks. If I did not already have the angle drill, I would have rented one from the rental shop around the corner.

Of course, instead of any of this drilling, I could have just used a large heat resistant rivet.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Dang! All that thought. All that work. What a great solution which is still working even now - weeks later. An no reply/comments.

Anyways, the blower is a great thing. Putting it on my stove has kept its overall temperature down and the overall temp of the house up (by 4-5 degrees).

Thanks for suggesting it.

 

[KB007]

to get more heat out of mine I stuffed rope gasket in the back across the top of the rear shield. This makes all the air come out the front, puts out twice the heat.

How is this working out for you? Would it be the same for my 1450?? What size gasket did you use?

 

[VCBurner]

Hey VT, sounds like a heck of a stove for a good price. I'm not a huge steel plate fanatic, but if I had to buy a new stove I would most certainly consider this one. The big fire box, long burn times and high heat output sound ideal for any stove. Combined with the decent price I don't see how you could lose. Not a bad looking unit, for a plate steel job too!! Good luck, send us some pics when you get it installed!!

Specifications Model 1900
Emissions(grams per hour) 2.8
Width x Height x Depth (inches) 25 1/2 x 33 1/4 x 31 1/2
Firebox Chamber (W.H.D.) (inches) 18 x 12 x 22 1/2
Firebox Capacity 3.0 cu. ft.
Weight without bricks 285 lbs.
Weight of Bricks 114 lbs.
Approximate Area Heated* sq. ft. 1,000 - 3,500+
Heat output BTU/h** 11,800 - 34,000
Heat Output BTU/h (high burn)*** 85,000 BTU
Burn Time (low fire)* 12 hours
Catalytic combustor no
Mobile home approved no
R-2000 approved (Canada) yes
Max. log size 20"
Outside combustion air yes
Blower kit available yes
Flue diameter 6"

 

[Rickochet]

Dang! All that thought. All that work. What a great solution which is still working even now - weeks later. An no reply/comments.

Anyways, the blower is a great thing. Putting it on my stove has kept its overall temperature down and the overall temp of the house up (by 4-5 degrees).

Thanks for suggesting it.

HT-- What a tremendous idea Sorry I didn't comment earlier--- we've had lots of things happening in the past few weeks. However, the 1900 is keeping us nice & toasty! Glad you are enjoying the blower!

 

[EKLawton]

to get more heat out of mine I stuffed rope gasket in the back across the top of the rear shield. This makes all the air come out the front, puts out twice the heat.

How is this working out for you? Would it be the same for my 1450?? What size gasket did you use?

It was a peice of 5/8 that I had on the shelf. It forces more of the blower air out the front, if you feel on the back of the stove there is a gap where the sheild meets the top . Thats where I put it, I thinke it works great.

 

[gatesboy]

I love my 1900, bought it last winter from ventingdirect for $1306, free blower and the door was cheap too. talked them into free shipping. only problems seem quite common, the baffles are falling appart (thanks for the tip on the firebrick) and the firebrick on the sides falls into the firebox from time to time. anyone else have this problem? i think I am going to change all the brick out as suggested. This baby is always hot. We live in a very cold and snowy area and last year i only used 100 gallons of oil because of this stove. burned about 17 face cord

 

[HeatsTwice]

After installing the fan and burning for over a month non stop, I can see why a fan is a must for this type of stove:

1) Way more heat is blown out to the rest of the house.
2) By drawing away the heat from the stove to the rest of the house, the metal of the stove stays cooler meaning that I have not even once gotten close to over fire which in the past would have warped components of the stove.

Napolean should make the fan a mandatory component of every shipment as without it, the efficiency is far lower and the change for warpage through over fire is possible.

 

[Rickochet]

Glad that you are enjoying your new blower. We still love our 1900! Looking forward to beginning the heating season real soon!

 

[ControlFreak]

I think I've gotten my PhD on the Napleon 1900. Had it for 2 years now. If/when you need to replace the upper baffles just use 4.5"x9"x1.5" fire brick. The stove was origonally designed for these bricks but because some users were not running hot enough, they got more smoke than expected. The baffles solved this "low heat smoke" problem.

I've made this mod and its working out very well. The brick also adds to the thermal mass of the stove. I've noticed that less ash is produced also.

I definitely do not agree with replacing the baffles with fire brick. My 1401 originally came with the light firebricks at the top. After about 5 years of use, they cracked and disintegrated forcing me to replace them. I got the light two-piece baffles as a replacement and the secondary combustion was much improved. These light baffles operate like a glow plug in a diesel engine. They heat up very easily greatly aiding the secondaries. After adding the panels, the operating temp of the stove went up by 100 degrees and the burn time stayed the same. What I mean is this: after the fire is up to temp and I have the draft closed, the temp will continue to rise until it stabilizes. With the firebricks, the stove would stabilize at about 550. With the new panels, the stove stabilizes at about 650.

 

[Rickochet]

Thanks for sharing that info! My baffles are still hanging in there, but was really contemplating the bricks when it was time.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Hi,

Were the original baffles regular fire brick or as you say a light fire brick. I don't know what these are. As soon as the burn season begins again, I will perform your experiments and see what I find. I like the common fire brick baffles since they are so easy to find and maybe $8 to replace whereas the vermiculite replacement baffles are $65.

I agree with your analogy of the glow plug. Vermiculite has far better thermal characteristics than fire brick for this application.

Perhaps this is off topic but, I am thinking about adding a stove pipe in line blower and wonder if anyone have experience with these:

(broken link removed)

 

[HeatsTwice]

Forget the off topic post. Found this on in line stove pipe blowers:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3240/

 

[HeatsTwice]

Three pictures are better than a bunch of words. Click on the pictures for enlargement.


First picture: These are the tools I used to drill the "key hole" in the manifold. The bolt is a 1 inch stainless steel. ($0.45 at home depo). The smaller diameter drill bit fits the shank of the bolt while the lager bit allows the bolt head to pass through to the interior of the manafold. The bolt head is 1/2 inch.

Second picture: This is the hole after successful drilling. I used a center punch to start the holes. This way the drill didn't wander.


Third picture: Here is what the final solution looks like. Notice the top of the fire box along the manifold shield where the threaded portion of the 1" stainless steel bolt protrudes. No manifold air escapes from this hole since it is filled with the bolt and covered by washer and nut. It is a good idea to let as much stainless steel bolt protrude as is shown. This way, when it comes time to replace the manifold sheild (2-3 yrs from now) and the nut won't turn without turning the bold, a set of vice grips can be snapped on the end to hold the bolt still while loosening the nut enough to slide the bolt through the key hole.
If you click on the picture you can see the fire brick I've substituted for the factory baffel. Notice no wear or cracks even after many weeks (months) of 24/7 burning.


So far so good. Its been two weeks. If I did not already have the angle drill, I would have rented one from the rental shop around the corner.

Looking back on the implementation of this solution, I realize that I could have just used a large high temp rivet instead of doing the drilling.

 

[Rickochet]

Heats Twice--- what kind of problem were you experiencing when you replaced the manifold gasket? It seems like my 1900 isn't responding to the draft control as it used to. My door gasket, glass gasket and air control are in good shape. Do you think that the manifold gasket could be the problem?

 

[HeatsTwice]

Heats Twice--- what kind of problem were you experiencing when you replaced the manifold gasket? It seems like my 1900 isn't responding to the draft control as it used to. My door gasket, glass gasket and air control are in good shape. Do you think that the manifold gasket could be the problem?

Hi, Sorry for the late reply. I have not had the problem you mention. I have looked around at this document and can't see which component of the stove might be
causing this effect.

(broken link removed to http://www.napoleonfireplaces.com/Tech/installation_manuals/EPA.pdf)

It might be that I don't fully understand your description. The manifold on my stove is the north/south running horizontal steel tube on the top of the fire box and serves as a support to attached the manifold flange which supports the baffles/fire brick and lets air in from the primary vents. Could it be that the holes in the manafold flange (which let in the primary air) are clogged and only have to be cleaned out by pokeing them with a screw driver?

The best idea is to call Woody at Obadia's. He knows everything about this stove and has helped me greatly in the past. He always has time to chat.

Obadiah's Dealership contact
Obadiah's
249 Silver Dr.
Troy, MT 59935
(406) 295-9000
(800) 968-8604
Woody/Nicolette/Annet/Sara

 

[Rickochet]

Heats Twice--- what kind of problem were you experiencing when you replaced the manifold gasket? It seems like my 1900 isn't responding to the draft control as it used to. My door gasket, glass gasket and air control are in good shape. Do you think that the manifold gasket could be the problem?

Hi, Sorry for the late reply. I have not had the problem you mention. I have looked around at this document and can't see which component of the stove might be
causing this effect.

(broken link removed to http://www.napoleonfireplaces.com/Tech/installation_manuals/EPA.pdf)

It might be that I don't fully understand your description. The manifold on my stove is the north/south running horizontal steel tube on the top of the fire box and serves as a support to attached the manifold flange which supports the baffles/fire brick and lets air in from the primary vents. Could it be that the holes in the manafold flange (which let in the primary air) are clogged and only have to be cleaned out by pokeing them with a screw driver?

The best idea is to call Woody at Obadia's. He knows everything about this stove and has helped me greatly in the past. He always has time to chat.

Obadiah's Dealership contact
Obadiah's
249 Silver Dr.
Troy, MT 59935
(406) 295-9000
(800) 968-8604
Woody/Nicolette/Annet/Sara

For some reason, this season the stove seems to not respond to the draft control as it has in the past. When I have a nice hot fire going, I could previously shut the fire down fairly quickly. By this I mean the flames can be roaring with the draft control open, and when it is closed, the flames would die down to a nice secondary burn with the licking type flames within a minute or so. Now with the same situation it takes 5 minutes for it to die down to a similar fire situation. Even then it doesn't seem to die down to the licking flames that I am used to seeing. How about you--how does your stove respond to this type of operation?
Thanks!

 

[HeatsTwice]

Hi,

My stove responds instantly. If I push in the control lever, I instantly see a slowing of the burn rate.

 

[begreen]

For some reason, this season the stove seems to not respond to the draft control as it has in the past. When I have a nice hot fire going, I could previously shut the fire down fairly quickly. By this I mean the flames can be roaring with the draft control open, and when it is closed, the flames would die down to a nice secondary burn with the licking type flames within a minute or so. Now with the same situation it takes 5 minutes for it to die down to a similar fire situation. Even then it doesn't seem to die down to the licking flames that I am used to seeing. How about you--how does your stove respond to this type of operation?
Thanks!

Check the baffles to make sure they are in place correctly.

 

[HeatsTwice]

Also make sure the gasket rope is in good repair. I normally replace mine once every two years.

Also make sure the door latch has not been bent by accidently slamming it. My kids did that once. I replaced it for about $2.00 with one I bought from Obadiahs.

 

[HeatsTwice]

I just realized something. If you "eventually" get the effect of shutting down the air intake, then you definitely have an air leak. Probably in the door gasket. The air leak should be a constant source of air where as shutting down the intake's effect should take time. Kind of like a shunting capacitor in parallel with the load in an electrical circuit.

Just been thinking about your problem.

 

[ScotO]

great thread here guys, we've had our Napoleon 1900 for over 4 years now and we couldn't live without it...we liked it so much we went and bought a Napoleon NZ3000 for our living room....we have a 3000 sq ft. house and I haven't turned my furnaces on in over 4 years (other than to make sure they were in good working order)....this thread has given me many good ideas, we just changed out our firebrick for the first time, used the heavier brick, seems to be burning great......also had one of the top manifold bolts strip out, I ended up welding the original hole shut, redrilling a new hole in front of it, tapping it and using a new stainless bolt....I also removed, retapped and replaced the other bolts with stainless.....nice and tight now, also got the new, thicker top baffles, going to put then in here sometime this week...keep this post going for all those Napoleon users out there!

 

[HeatsTwice]

Ha, it looks like you do what I do - boil artichokes/beets/potatoes.

I do spaghetti sauce also but on a lower burn temp.

I even use the same size pot.

Beautiful setup! Nice hearth.

Where's the other shoe?