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man, I would think you could get away with one stove. im a contractor, and that much dry heat (84 to 93 degrees) can be bad for your house. I can understand that you don't want your pipes to freeze. but think, freezing point is 32 degrees. and in a drafty house, it could freeze slightly higher than 32 with a constant drafty wall. do you really think that your house will get that cold? my suggestion is to cut it back to one stove and just use the other for back up when it gets 40 below out. my ranch (great attic insulation, so so wall insulation, junk windows, drafty basement) is in the middle of a field and catches all sorts of wind. wind chill is 0 right now, got my 119,000 BTU furnace idling, and house is comfy 70.[/quote]
If I can't get the room temps down into the 70's then I may try one stove.I grew up in this house and my dad had to wood stoves in the exact same places.Getting up in the morning was quite a shock as was just being in your bedroom all day.When you would wake up you found your head under the covers.There was never a time of day that you couldn't see your breath in my and my sisters room.Look out the windows...no way,too much ice build-up .Needless to say I vowed never to live that way again so if it has to be in the 80's or more in here then so be it.As for the dryness my indoor humidity usually reads around 30%.There's alot of mosture in the cellar from the spring being there.Thanks again for your help and suggestions.
Mike
Who Else Sweats Profusely When Tending Their Handfired?
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- Member
- Posts: 360
- Joined: Wed. Mar. 05, 2008 7:27 pm
- Location: south central pa
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: hitzer 82 ul
- Coal Size/Type: nut
Normally I find 250 to be about the minimum to run my hitzer with nut coal. Try getting one to 250 or so, then the other. Pea coal on top can help getting a stove to slow down and idle good too.
Then this idea occurred....
If your running both stoves say at 350F, and getting 90F in the house. If you cut your stoves output by 20% that puts you at 72 degrees house temp, and a stove temp at 280F. Most stoves will idle at 280F degrees. Maybe try this, and post back, i'm curious if my logic is close to right or not.
Then this idea occurred....
If your running both stoves say at 350F, and getting 90F in the house. If you cut your stoves output by 20% that puts you at 72 degrees house temp, and a stove temp at 280F. Most stoves will idle at 280F degrees. Maybe try this, and post back, i'm curious if my logic is close to right or not.
Idle the stoves down! I burn bit so it's obviously different but I can shut my Hitzer down and get 3+ day burns, barely know its burning. That is why I love coal over wood, the ability to maintain the fire at low temps. I am thinking of going to a two stove setup like yours to maintain a more even temp, I am confident that I can idle two stoves in early Sept. and late May and not be uncomfortable.
Regarding freezing pipes: I am a small landlord and in the winter time I find that in a poorly insulated home I don't need to worry about it (with no heat) until nightime temps reach 25 or so. At that point the themostat goes to its lowest setting usually 45-50. When night temps get to single digits and lower are the only time to worry. At that point I try to use heat in the areas where the pipes are, a 25 watt light bulb will keep a bath vanity very warm. Buy some cheap made in China thermometers and place several in the area of your pipes to figure out how to keep them above 32 without making the home uncomfortable.
Josh
Regarding freezing pipes: I am a small landlord and in the winter time I find that in a poorly insulated home I don't need to worry about it (with no heat) until nightime temps reach 25 or so. At that point the themostat goes to its lowest setting usually 45-50. When night temps get to single digits and lower are the only time to worry. At that point I try to use heat in the areas where the pipes are, a 25 watt light bulb will keep a bath vanity very warm. Buy some cheap made in China thermometers and place several in the area of your pipes to figure out how to keep them above 32 without making the home uncomfortable.
Josh
- mkline
- Member
- Posts: 217
- Joined: Fri. Sep. 04, 2009 6:27 pm
- Location: Lewisburg,PA
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Alaska Kodiak x 2...Old and New
- Coal Size/Type: Nut and Stove/Anthracite
Ok after running them all day with the draft sliders cut down to the width of a dime I got the stoves to run 250*.The downstairs house temp was 84* all day.As I was typing this my wife came down from her smoking and computer room and said she was getting cold.This room is directly above the stove in the living room.She is cold even when it seems too warm to anyone else.I guess it'll just have to be hotter downstairs as she keeps the door closed so I don't have to breathe in her smoke.I did put in a floor register but with her keeping the door closed there's not going to be any circulation.I guess I can run them at the lower temps all day then open them up a bit in the evening for my loving wife .On a positive note,I did use about 1/3 less coal that I was burning .
Mike
Mike