Hows those Drolet Myriad, Austral, Baltic and Legend stoves doing?

I say this as all these stoves have the same firebox.

If you have the Version II chime in as well.

 

Still happy with mine, very reliable. The blower does tend to plug up pretty fast, though.

 

I picked up a Myriad a few weeks ago, it was a Craigslist too good to pass deal.

The stove had some light surface rust and I split the firebox from the pedestal to clean and paint it. The air controls were simple sturdy rod-lever-plate over primary air duct with secondary duct open and not controllable.

The baffle in the stove was welded in place stainless steel with integrated secondary air tubes, very rugged. The newer models look to use c cast or ceramic baffle but, I have not seen a newer model, just parts diagram.

After putting on a fresh coat of StoveBrite Metallic Black I cured the paint outside using a 8' test double wall pipe. The stove was slower to react than others I have run but, that's not a bad thing.
For two days I kept the stove running outside to test and keep me warm, it really kicked out the heat and held a fire better than what I experienced with my Alderlea T5 running outside.

The Myriad and the others like it seem to be effective radiant heaters and I am surprised they are not more well known on the forums. I would seriously consider an Austral original model with SS baffle repainted in some StoveBrite color.

While not an ugly stove, the focus appears to be bare bones, warm your bones.

 

Oh, here's some pictures of my redid Myriad.

 

My drolet el dorado (just a little kicker stove) is earning it keep during the cold snap we're in. The basement is actually too hot. 70f at the computer station (basement) while the stove is in the other room....

 

Myraid in the garage. Optima in the living room. Both on 3rd year and running good. Jen sometimes has a harder time getting the Optima lit.

 

Nice paint job Bushman, yes these Drolets mentioned in the subject line of this original post are one of the best kept secrets in the wood stove industry but they dont make them anymore.

EPA made them go to Version 2 of the stove so as to meet emissions. I have never ran one of those stoves.

The original version of these stoves were the best happy medium between a EPA stove an the old hot very radiant burning steel stoves of the past.

Very versatile stove and wide range of control made these stoves very easy to operate. With a bypass damper built in the back of the stove and the input
air control that you can really lower the input air for more control at low settings if needed.

See when you put all that insulating bricks and insulating baffle plate in stoves you get a cleaner burning stove but the stoves dont radiate heat like the old steel stoves
did in the past and if your used to having one of those stoves of the past and you burnt it with good dry seasoned wood like oldspark did its hard to be fully satisfied
with the newer emissions stoves. But these versions of Drolet firebox design is about as close as you can get.

 

The Drolet is working great, I would recommend this stove to anyone.

 

I've seen a couple Drolets at a place in Gaylord, and really like the handle latch. Seems to be a better design than what's on my stove.

 

It would be cool if someone could list the differences between v1 and v2 for each model.

Edit: I just contacted customer service, will see if they get back to me with anything useful.

 

From a visual inspection at Menards.

Than main changes For version "TWO" of these stoves as they all have same firebox.
Drolet Myriad, Austral, Baltic and Legend wood stoves.

More fire brick all the way up the sides of the stove.

Instead of the Stainless Baffle that the secondary air comes in to the fire box.
The new designed stoves use Tubes and on top of those tubes sit a C-Cast Baffle.
Then up above the baffle looks like another layer of C-cast up against the inner top plate
of the stove. The two layers of C-cast must be keeping the heat higher in that area of the stove
for a better secondary burn and better emissions performance.

In the diagram item 52 and 54 are the C-Cast pieces.

 

Anybody know anything about the HT 2000, not a fan of the way it looks but it has a bigger firebox I believe?

 

From a drolet rep:

Hello Grizz,



Glad to hear you like our products! And I like your name too... I am of the generation who watched Grizzly Adams on TV.



Sure, I can give you the info you want. By the way, if you like our Drolet Facebook page, you can get a lot of information about new products and promotions. Perhaps we can share content with you. Our Marketing Manager is copied.



As you know, the Myriad II, Baltic II, Legend II and Austral II all share the same firebox. They have different aesthetics and some have blowers and side shields included. But essentially, same heater. The different with version “II” is mainly the baffle. When we re-certified the unit to be under 4.5 g/h, we opted for a removable C-Cast baffle (with air tubes underneath). The previous baffle was a fully welded piece of stainless. The new baffle allowed us to maintain firebox temperatures a bit higher, resulting the a cleaner burn. Okay, we know that +/- 1.0 g/h is meaningless (by that, I mean that going from 5.1 g/h to 4.5 g/h is not significant, especially at these already low levels, due to the inherent variability in the test method). But we had to come-up with a way to reduce emissions to less than 4.5 g/h in light of the updated 2015 EPA regulation (especially since this firebox is very appreciated by homeowners). C-Cast is a great material, very heat resistant (more so than vermiculite). We also had a few complaints every year that some people would like to remove the baffle instead of lifting the pipe upon cleaning their unit. So with this design, they can do that. We have kept the bypass damper, which is something that homeowners like a lot when they start the unit or reload.



That’s it my friend! I hope it helps. Keep-up the good work promoting our industry!



All the best to you and your team for 2017.



Marc

 

I was at Menards this weekend and took some pictures.

The second row of fire brick is not there but you can see the brackets
on the sides above the first row of firebricks that are used to hold the second row.

I couldnt get a pic of the Ccast insulating layer the sits on the bottom side of the top plate but
you can see the thick size of the c-cast baffle that sits on the tubes.

Notice that the bypass Damper even has c-cast inserts for a better insulating and higher
firebox temps for a cleaner burn.

I didnt get a picture wish I had but the new handle latch design is basically the same
but it now has a stop to keep a person from over tightening the handle latch on the door.

 

That insulation or whatever it is on top of the secondary burn tubes sure is think! What material is it? Heavy?

 

Its called C-Cast:



Superior chemical resistant insulation materials for applications up to 2300°F
The C-Cast® product line was developed specifically for applications where refractory ceramic fiber alone rapidly degrades. It boasts superior chemical and abrasion resistance when compared to other ceramic fiber products.

C-Cast® products are formed using a composite of alumina-silicate fibers, high performance components, and include both inorganic and organic binders for excellent handling strength and material integrity at high temperatures. C-Cast® is suitable for applications up to 1260°C (2300°F).

Applications include:

• Secondary Combustion Chambers
• Refractory for reducing atmospheres
• Refractory for chemically abusive environments

 

Love the Drolet Myriad (and the other Drolets I have).

I have two of the version 1 Myriads (one in the basement of my cabin and one in the basement of my house next door where my dad lives). Very easy to fire from a cold start and provides plenty of heat for overnight burns. I am very impressed with the amount of coals present after an overnight burn, with easy restarts from these coals. I am on the 3rd year with the Myriad in my cabin and dad is on the 2nd year.

Two small complaints: (1) the bypass damper (which I do not use much) must be watched closely on reloads, as it can be opened if you hit it with a split during a reload. Simply be very vigilant and check it after reloading the stove. (2) the door does not open 180 degrees but only has about 100 degree swing.

My youngest son has a Drolet HT 2000 and loves it.

I also have a Drolet 1800i insert in my masonry fireplace on the 1st floor of my cabin and heat the cabin with it until the outside temps are in the low 20s. It also does a bang up job, with plenty of coals for restarts after overnight burns. The firebox on the 1800i is listed as 2.1 cu. ft.

I also have a Drolet Savannah, at dads house (upstairs), as he is 88 years old and likes the upstairs to be about 80 deg. most of the time. It does have a smaller firebox, but does very well at keeping the temps to his liking. It does not seem to coal as well as the other stoves, after an overnight burn, but he does not load it full enough for a good overnighter, as the upstairs would probably be too warm with the Myriad going in the basement.

These Drolets have been good quality stoves, at a reasonable price point thus far, in my opinion.

 

HT2000

Fire box is 22 7/8" Wide by 20 5/8" Deep 13 1/2" Height 3.7 cuft volume of firebox.

Has 3 secondary burn tubes with a Baffle on top tubes then a blanket of insulation on top of the baffle.


Cribbed Ends can your son give us an idea of burn times?
And does he load North/South or East/West?

 

HT2000 is a great unit. Super easy air slide control that works amazingly well. Helped put one in a buddies basement last summer. His first year burning now. I think he is spoiled. Starts easy. Tames down easy. Easy 10 hr burn. Wow. No refilling in the middle of the night. No restarting cold in the AM. He actually burns 24/7. He is thrilled. FWIW.

 

I wish the HT2000 was a little more "conventional" in both looks and longer then wider, but if it works it works, I like the idea of a little larger firebox.