where should the flame be in a magnum stoker

Hi All,

I have been appreciative of the input and suggestions from all you "coaltimers" I have another question concerning my magnum stoker. I have figured out alot but still puzzled that the coal that is ignited is in the back part of the stove where the grates begin and. The flat top surface of the grates are where the burnt out coal sits until the feeder moves it towards the drop off(to the ash pan below) My question would be is this normal for the burn row to be towards the back and the top surface of the grates just holding the burnt coal until it drops. It seems that the burn row creates sort of a burrow towards the back heaving the burnt coal forward during the feed( the glowing red coals\blue flames are only visible toward the back). The air coming out of the distribution is hot settings are 3 dots at 15off 1 on and combustion all the time

on mine i can have a little fire of about 1/2" which will remain at the front of the grate where just over the radius of the grate. as i increase the feed rate the fire will get longer and if the feed rate is continously increased it will eventually fall off the rear while not being completely burned up. this you dont want to do because you will burn the grates and waste coal.

when running manually with the thermostat jumped out to run continously you can play with the stroke adjustment and see what a full turn will make in the appearence of the fire and how long it got from the previous setting. this i had to do for a year before i hooked up the thremostat. i had times where i was roasting and times where the house was chilly. by operating like this for a year i was able to see at what the results were by changing the stroke adjustment up one or back one turn.

what i had to learn after hooking up the thermostat was at what stroke setting was the best for me. if set too slow at time when the thermostat was satified the fire would just about go out. if set too high i was just wasting coal. i had to find a happy medium to cover both outcomes. when i lite mine (next week) i set it up so that the fire is just less than half of the length of the grate and leave it. as the outside temps start to really drop the feed rate i have is not enough to keep me warm and then i turn it up one turn and leave it that way until the cold snap is over. i actually have it down to the point where i use half turns for the feed rate.

if you want to venture with it run it manually for about a week and note the changes in the fire position to relationship in the feed stroke adjustment, i garrentee when you put it back on the thermostat you will know where to set it and how long the fire will be to keep you warm

one other thing i had to do was to keep track of how many turns gave me the desired results

currently that is where my burning coal is.About 1/2 inch in width all the way across the grates at the top of the grates.I don't use the thermostat.I have the blower fan and combustion fan plugged into a power strip so they run non-stop.
I have the timers set so the feed motor runs for 3 min then shuts off for 15.It's currently pushing 1/2 a dot of travel.Just enough heat to keep the dampness out of the house.When the cold weather finally sets in i'll just turn up the feed rate. For me this works best.You have to try different things till u find the right settings for your house and what u like for temps

I do have the fire at the back area of the stove and all the way across the flame is visible but the red coals you need to look closely as they are burrowed in the back with a thick layer of ask\burnt coal that then gets steadily moved over the top of the grates towards the ash pan during the feed process. I just wanted to make sure that I should not see more real estate on the grates with red coals. the burn row is the row just towards the top of the grates before it reaches top flat surface.

My mag is burning the same as yours. If you look at the manual it has a diagram that shows low burn (at the back of the grate) Mine has been burning this way for 3 weeks and keeping us toasty. Taken me since last Dec. to figure this stove out and I still learning.
Stay warm Jimmy

I know Harman is a great stove,but I hear a lot of you say they take a lot of tinkering, My new alaska channing has been plug and go,just a few minor adjustments and it heats the entire house on low.


Is the harman that contrary?

BK

i have a harman magnum. when i first bought it i ran it manually for a year and other than having to turn it up or down slightly based on the amount of heat i needed it was plug and go. now that i use it on the thermostat i can set it up so that it will be plug and go however i use it in a manner that i can get the best effiency with out wasting any coal. there are times when its warm and i can turn the feed rate back to conserve fuel but also meet the heating demand or i can increase the feed rate to increase the heating demand due to outside temps in the dead of winter. my adjustments are few because i know what the span of my adjustment will make. so to me its plug and go.

my father has an alaska stoker of some sort i dont know what model it is but he also makes minor adjustments for his heating needs.

i dont think any stove is a hands off operation due to all the variables that were confronted with. what i found is the better the quality the less fussing i have to do with it.

i know years ago with some of the stokers of the era were plug and go but then also wasting was not a concern at $25-30 a ton and effiencey and conservation i dont think ever came into play as so today.

Hey Barley,

The thermostat, are you using the one provided or did you get a digital. If a digital will any digital work. I have not used the thermo. I just make adjustment to fee rate. BTW I can go from 1 dot to 4 if I adjust back n forth but I the bar shows 6 dots and I turn all the way that it will go counter clock wise to get the 4 dots but it doesnt go any further. I didnt want to force it. any suggestions. 2 dots 15off 1 on will keep a small flame and stove still operating 3-4 dots will put a nice medium flame and nice even warm air out the front

the one that was supplied is a white-rodgers analog type thermostat. i tried using the dots when i first got it but i had a hard time seeing them. instead i use the feed adjustment as my guide. from no stroke to full stroke is seven turns. i start out using four turns as my starting point and it suffices my normal requirements when it gets colder ill just turn it one more and unless it gets down into the teens or less i might go up another half to full turn.

hope this helps.

How do you get the hopper to pull more than 4 dots. that seems to be the max as I wind the lever clockwise. then counterclockwise I can get down to 1 dot. When I first fired it up (Mag) last month for the first time the pusher block from the factory must have been set wide open. the fire inside the stove was a roaring inferno. it ran that way for about 2 days (good burn in I supose)then I shut it down. I emptied the hopper and kepts pushing the push block assembly in\out horizontally then it now goes from 1 dot to 4 but cant get it to open more than that.

yea, gotta jump on the wagon with you...i can't get more than 4 dots either.

i was curious that when i make these adjustments, do you have to loosen the wing nut each time or can you leave the wing nut tight and turn the entire assembly (lever and threaded bolt)?

just loosen the wing nut and turn the tab in or out to increase or decrease the stroke. just snug the wing nut. i have had mine work its way off the threaded rod when i didnt snug it. what i also do it when i do a half turn up is to set the tab just before top dead center and snug wing nut. that way if it sould loosen up the weight of it will slow it back down that half turn instead of increasing it a half turn and wasting coal.

i dont use the dots but if i remember i could only get four of them when maxed out. for me keeping track of the turns on the feed tab is easier than looking at those little dots even after i painted the pointer plate white for better visibility