DS COMFORTMAX 75 First Review

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11ultra103
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Post by 11ultra103 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 8:18 am




I ordered the DS Comfortmax, This is my review so far.

I can tell you couple things I dont like, far too many fire bricks, the rear firebrick are a pain to get out and back in which will be required for spring cleaning. However, that is a once a year challenge. The only inlet air for under fire is controlled by the rear inlet, I may end up machining the ash door out like Hitzer in order to be able to have a manual adjustable air inlet, especially for warmer weather burning. Non detachable shaker handle. My only complaints so far.

What i do like:

Heavy duty construction, all hand made, quality fabrication and welding. The rear air inlet seems far Superior to Hitzer. The grates are heavy duty, the whole stove seems heavy duty. Beautiful metal work on the outter surround. Both wood and coal capabilities. Deep ash pan with FOUR sides. Seems like a very well built stove, but we will see once its up and running


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 8:43 am

Sounds good U, keep us posted!!!!!!!!!! :) Just remember--it's NOT the 50-93!!! Don't compare.

 
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Post by coalder » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:13 am

I have to agree, with you regarding the lack of some sort of idle air vent in the ash door. Maybe it's just me, but the thought of a coal stove being totally choked off for extended periods of time just doesn't set well with me.
Jim

 
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Post by Spacecadet » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:03 am

Thanks for the over view that definitely looks like a very well built stove.
As for the ash door vents, or rather lack of, I understand why your thinking you may need to add them, however they may not really be needed. but then again anything to fiddle with is fun - LOL. With my Hitzer s, my house stove, the 30/95 ash door vents are never opened and that stove idles along flawlessly at about 250. My 50/93, though, the ash door vents are cracked 1/2 moon. my 50/93 heats my garage and box temp is usually about 450.
Anyway great stove, great review - I like the way you went through the whole stove and showed everything.

 
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Post by jremington » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:40 am

Nice job. The front lever is your air wash/ over air. Keep that about half way to avoid blowback or to keep the fire barely burning when the weather is warm. The top side lever is for the reburn system. After the fires going good you close that and you’ll see the tubes will look like a gas grill. I learned coal burning on that stove and could keep it burning so low I could my arms on it. I miss having it. I sold it this year to make room for the Anthra glo stoker. I just remembered I never sent your receipt. Let us know when you get it burning. One last thing. I didn’t recommend the fan because it’s not powerful. It’s actually very quiet but for $280.00 you can mount one up high.

 
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11ultra103
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Post by 11ultra103 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:46 am

freetown fred wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 8:43 am
Sounds good U, keep us posted!!!!!!!!!! :) Just remember--it's NOT the 50-93!!! Don't compare.
Very true. The 50-93 is the only other hand fired stove I've used so I go used to how that stove operates and functions.

 
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Post by Hoytman » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:00 pm

Yes for $280 you can mount a fan in the ceiling, but.... (and I would do that as well)...

...but the ceiling fan won’t help you on those nights or mornings when the weather man has missed the forecast and you’ve been running low or at a constant setting and you want/need some quick additional heat without messing with the dial because it’s too slow to respond quickly. Plus it supposed to warm up outside and the stove should continue to run on the dial setting you had it set at...

...you just turn the blower on low for a minimum of 15-20 minutes to as long as you need the extra heat, then you just turn the blower off. Stove will then continue to run on the previous dial setting without fiddling with the dial. That is the convenience of having the blower. I normally heat with just the stove.

You will find that bi-metallic is super sensitive. I usually use a mirror and a flashlight to give me a good view of the dial...since Hitzer and DS want to put the thing in the most ridiculous spot, on the back of the stove, where it is hard to see. Sometimes a 1/4 number movement is all the is needed, sometimes even less. I use the furnace thermostat on the wall to help me set the dial to help get the stove to the desired room temperature and I try to do this when the temperature is stable outside as well. By doing this I am not chasing the dial.

You’ll figure out what you need to do.

By the way, you may have to place a light inside the stove and set the camera inside looking back at you to see that air control better.

Once you figure the stove out some after you get it burning you know the airflow inside the stove better and can then point that out to us a little better.

As I stated in an earlier thread about this stove...it is made well enough that I would not hesitate to have bought it. In fact, the Comfortmax “is” the stove I had in mind to buy before finding my Hitzer 354 wood/coal...which is most comparable to your stove. We will both know more when you get some coal and wood use underneath your belt.

Bricks...
Tractor Supply has bricks cheap. Buy extras now...I bought a full set plus enough to cover my grates when I want to burn wood. I don’t have to cover them, but covering them will allow me to burn wood exactly like in my wood stove which also has bricks in the floor of the stove. Once I actually start burning wood I will experiment burning on the grates leaving some ash to protect them as well as using the bricks I cut.

I rented a wet saw for 1/2 day, only needed it 1.5 hours, and I cut all my spare bricks. Now I don’t have to order and then wait on shipping. With a little studying and measuring you will determine if you need to cut bricks if you wanted to, or if you want to get and use that plate, or if you just want to keep some ash over the grates. I know one person burning a large Baker coal stove, he only burns wood in it, and he does not cover his grates with anything and he loves burning wood in that stove and says the grates and shaking works good for him and wood burning.

Be gentle loading coal or wood and you should keep your original bricks in new condition for a long time. That is, you shouldn’t need the spares, but you will have them if needed.

I’ll likely shut coal down soon and burn some wood. We’ll see.

All this thread needs now is lots of pictures and your experience as you learn the ins-n-outs of this stove. Might take you the rest of this burning season and all of next, but this thread will work itself out and will be a great review on the DS Comfortmax stove. I’m already anxious to see how it ends for you.


 
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11ultra103
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Post by 11ultra103 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:48 pm

Spacecadet wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:03 am
Thanks for the over view that definitely looks like a very well built stove.
As for the ash door vents, or rather lack of, I understand why your thinking you may need to add them, however they may not really be needed. but then again anything to fiddle with is fun - LOL. With my Hitzer s, my house stove, the 30/95 ash door vents are never opened and that stove idles along flawlessly at about 250. My 50/93, though, the ash door vents are cracked 1/2 moon. my 50/93 heats my garage and box temp is usually about 450.
Anyway great stove, great review - I like the way you went through the whole stove and showed everything.
Thank you! The stove may work well as designed, Ive only really used the Hitzer for burning coal so thats what I'm used to, I just feel their should be some type of air flow always coming into the firebox

 
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Post by Hoytman » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:57 pm

My 354 does not have air vents in it. The stove works fine with just the bi-metallic....and I only open spinners upon tending and close soon after.

At times when the flapper closes there is no air going into the firebox other than what may leak into places...damper handle, shaker handles, and any other unknown places.

Even with the two known places leaking...when that flapper closes the fire and stove temp drop quickly and will reopen a few minutes later. This will go back and forth, sometimes, depending on outside conditions the flapper will remain cracked open most of the day, or you will hear it open and close some.

Vents in the ash pan door give you back manual control of the stove while burning coal should the bi-metallic thermostat ever fail.

 
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Post by 11ultra103 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:58 pm

jremington wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:40 am
Nice job. The front lever is your air wash/ over air. Keep that about half way to avoid blowback or to keep the fire barely burning when the weather is warm. The top side lever is for the reburn system. After the fires going good you close that and you’ll see the tubes will look like a gas grill. I learned coal burning on that stove and could keep it burning so low I could my arms on it. I miss having it. I sold it this year to make room for the Anthra glo stoker. I just remembered I never sent your receipt. Let us know when you get it burning. One last thing. I didn’t recommend the fan because it’s not powerful. It’s actually very quiet but for $280.00 you can mount one up high.
The stove is burning wood right now, burning off the paint. I used a piece of sheet metal for the bottom to cover the grates and left the sides open. I am getting some smoke out of my chimney, Im going to make the correct plate with the slot in the center, maybe that will work better. This stove seems more of a coal stove than a wood stove, which is a very good thing. I just dont need to burn coal in it anymore this year, going up to 65 degrees here tomorrow. I apologize that I misspoke about the blower. It may have been someone on facebook who said it was noisy. I've talked to quite a few people about this stove, cant keep track of where information comes from. Thanks again for giving me a great deal on the stove. Its going to heat my house quite well I think. Really is a quality piece

 
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Post by 11ultra103 » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 8:38 pm

Burning some wood in the stove. Stove top is over 600 but it doesnt look like the secondary tubes are doing anything. Maybe not enough wood? I dont want to put too much in, overfire the stove and then have to turn it down and make the wood smother

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Post by jremington » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:19 pm

The tubes are for reburning coal gassed. I’m unsure if wood has those gasses. Wood stove normally use catalysts to limit particulate emissions. That’s why all of the coal companies could only sell their stoves as coal stoves. They are not catalyst systems. Do you have the top side lever all the way in?

 
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Post by jremington » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:21 pm

I wish you’d have gotten a coal fire going, closed the back air inlet and opened the front air lever all the way to the right and seen how low you can keep it going on.

 
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Post by lsayre » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:59 pm

You simply can't run EPA stoves on wood the way you always ran pre-EPA wood stoves. The correct (and only?) way to run an EPA wood stove (which the ComfortMax was until relatively recently) is to burn less wood more often. They will put out way too much heat if you try to treat them like non-EPA stoves and really load them up with wood. Either treat them like EPA stoves must be treated, or they will also give you puff-backs. These stoves are amazingly air tight. I've never seen a pre-EPA wood stove get a puff-back, and in our previous house wood was our primary heat for 15 straight years. Until I got the EPA method down pat for the ComfortMax I got a number of puff-back experiences on wood. Close the over the fire air down too much and it is puffback city when the rear bimetallic damper is also closed. When I contacted DS over this, the first thing they asked me is if I was over-filling the firebox with wood. Then they said to never close down the airwash lever too much when burning wood. And certainly not all the way.
Last edited by lsayre on Mon. Mar. 09, 2020 11:20 am, edited 4 times in total.

 
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Post by lsayre » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 10:01 pm

jremington wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 9:19 pm
The tubes are for reburning coal gassed. I’m unsure if wood has those gasses.
It will reburn wood gasses just fine also. Or at least mine does.


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