Cant Keep Franco Belge 144.08.08 Stove Lit or Get Real Good?

I just bought a used Franco belge model 144.08.02 coal stove last week and I cant seem to keep it lit for more than a few hours at a time. I took it apart and cleaned the exhaust ports out and the intake port to get all fly ash out. I have the gravity fed hopper on the second notch up to allow for a thicker bed of coals. I have been running the intake at 6 and shaking it every couple of hours. On the exhaust side I have a manual pipe damper closed roughly 75% of the way and also a baro damper set at 2. On average the stove will burn about 4-5 hours before it burns out on me and isnt even throwing enough heat to heat my basement. Before I went to work today I set the intake at 3 and the mpd to full open and it was out when I got home. Can someone guide me to what I am doing wrong? How to get some good heat out of this thing?

04freedom wrote: shaking it every couple of hours.

That doesn't sound right, you should only have to shake it twice a day in this weather. Are you filling it up completely up to the top of the firebrick after you get a good fire going?

I shake it before I leave for work, bed and when I restart it.

missed the second part. it doesnt have firebrick but I do keep the hopper full.

Is the coal burning to ash or just going out? What size coal are you using? Are you filling your hopper or just the firebox? The lower hopper should be set to the highest setting. I don't think you should use a manual damper on these stoves. The higher you set the thermostat the faster it will burn and you can overfire and warp the cast iron. I never set mine above 4. If you can PM me, I can send your some info on the stove and operating tips.

perky pm sent

I am using pea coal. I am filling the hopper on the middle notch. The guy I bough it from had the mpd in so I just left it in the pipe work he gave me.

Set the hopper all the way up, the highest position. The fire basket is only 3 inches deep. You need the extra 3 inches a high hopper will give for a longer burn. What is the chimney you are venting into? Size and whether if on an outside wall or inside. Damper fully open. Can you hold your hand on the smoke pipe about a foot higher than the stove top without being burnt?

Is your basement insulated and finished or just masonry walls?

How did you seal the exhaust ports after cleaning? Draft loss here would kill the fire as would a too leaky upper door.

Richard

i just moved the hopper up to full open this morning. the chimney is outside and is a clay style chimney roughly 25' high. the weather outside has been 30-40 last night when it went out it was rain/snow. I cant hold my hand on the smoke pipe at all it gets hot enough to instantly boil drops of water.

basement is masonry walls

resealed the exhaust ports with furnace cement.

I have this a same exact stove and At first I did have issues and here is what I have found.

1. I need to have a window cracked I the room it is in for some air as I BELIEVE MY HOUSE IS VERY AIR TIGHT. I only have it opne maybe a 1/8 of an inch if that
2. I do not have a manual damper just a Baro set at -.04 on the draft according to the manufactuer
3. I have hopper set to the highest
4. I shake no more than ever 8 hours . I never poke the coals in the bed. before I shake I slip the poker in the 3 slots at the shaker and loosen everthing. Then shake till I see red in the slots. then I slide the poker along the front edge of the bed. I never leave right after shaking I always wait about 15 mintues before leaving the stove alone as on occasion it looks as thought it wants to go out.
In this case I open the ash pan door, empty ash. then put a fan in front of the stove to help it relight. If when you shake down you cannot see red coals chances are it want to go out.
I have also found with this stove that over tending is a no-no as it does notlike to be tended... just wants to be loved few times a day..
5. About ever two days I clean the glass, vacuum the bottom where the ash pan is. and I slip the vac in the two exhaust ports ( be sure that you do not grab hot coals when doing this, and always check the vacuum when finished for hot coals)
6. I have a thermometer on the stove pipe and get a usual reading of 175- 200. and another on the front left that usually reads the same.
7. I usually empty the ash pan twice a day.Once in the morning then before bed and it usually is very fine ash. and fill hopper once a day. I also found if you pack the hopper it will make it want to go out to so just fill it and close it up.
8. I usually get a good 10 hours out of it overnight.
9. I keep the setting around 3 3/4 - 4.. and on occasion if it is real cold I turn it to 5 or 6 but no longer than an hour then back to original setting.


This stove was a real challaenge for me at first but now that I have been with it for a few months it heats my house nicely.

I have attached the manual for you use.

Another thing I remember the last time mine went out...

I took the stove completely apart took all grates out and found that in the back there was an air port (I believe thats what it is) that was full of ash....

since I cleaned that out I have had no issues.

04freedom wrote:basement is masonry walls

You should get longer burn times with the hopper high. You can even try putting it higher still, right on the top of the supports. Heating an uninsulated basement will suck up a lot of heat. The stove really will do best upstairs in your living area. Smitty found that he had to go to a much larger stove than the Mark 1 Harman he started with to the Mark 3 to get satisfactory results with the stove in the basement. The larger stove puts out more heat but also needs more coal.

Even though 400 pounds may seem like a big stove it really is not. The grate area is only about 100 square inches. The Franco Belge stoves are well made and very efficient when burned in a range that the stove can cope with. A low fire will burn about 23-24 pounds in a day, putting out between 10,000 to 12,000 BTU per hour and can go 12 to 14 hours easily between shakes . A high fire will consume about 40 pounds tops, maybe a bit less for an output of around 20,000 BTU per hour. The stove will be uncomfortably hot and will just about make it to an 8 hour burn before shaking. In 20 degree or lower weather the stove will not keep up trying to heat the uninsulated basement and upper floor, nor should it be expected to take the place of an insulated boiler or furnace capable of putting out 100,000 BTU. Even getting that heat upstairs is a problem with a stove twice as large.

A barometric damper will help to lessen high stack temperatures which, using one of the magnetic thermometers placed about a foot above the stove on the smoke pipe, should read about 200 degrees tops.

One hundred years ago stoves with a certain amount of eye appeal like your Franco were called parlor stoves because that is where they were expected to go and where most people put them. The basement was for storing the coal. Bedrooms were cold; a popular item was a night cap which you wore and not a drink.

If you can, move the stove upstairs and you will love it, otherwise I think it will disappoint you.

Richard

I have a FB Normandy , had simialar problem, couldn't keep it burning more then 20 hours, the ash choked it to death I think, tried a couple different coals, finally found this breaker; DiRenzo Coal Co in Pottsville off of 209, great stuff. Jim

I have the same stove and love it. Right now I am using my Coalbrookdale Darby but I used the Franco all of last year and it did very well. I was getting 12 to 18 hour burn times out of the stove and went through a coal bucket a day even when it was in the teens out side. While I like my Coalbrookdale and love it's "look" the Franco was more effecient and just easer to use on a daley baises.

My 2 cents,
Glenn