Holidays and Keeping the Fire Burning

Post Reply
 
bsilver
Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun. Dec. 13, 2009 12:41 pm

Post by bsilver » Wed. Dec. 23, 2009 3:21 pm

Hoping people can lend some experience here...

I have, as the profile outlines, a Hitzer 82 without a hopper. I've been trying to refill it and shake out ash about every 8 to 12 hours.

The thing is that I'm going on a trip to my parents house for Christmas Eve/Christmas. I'm a little worried that the fire will die out while we're gone.

The plan last I knew is to leave around 5ish or so and we wouldn't be back until at the earliest 6 the next day. I'm thinking that's way too long...24 hours+ and wouldn't it go out?

I might have to make a run home to try "fixing" the fire a bit. They're 20 minutes away, but it's just a pain to get up in the morning and make a run to the house and back just to do the stove thing.

How long can you have your fire going unattended, if you're not relying on it at the time to keep your home from freezing (we have propane, the coal is supplemental heat to try keeping from burning through propane costs)? What can I do to extend the burn time of the coal bed when I fill it before going out? Or am I just going to have it die out on me and I'll have to empty it and restart the fire from scratch?

 
Stanb999
Member
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon. Aug. 17, 2009 1:43 pm

Post by Stanb999 » Wed. Dec. 23, 2009 4:23 pm

I have a mark II so it may be different but I can keep the stove going for 48 hours. Did it many times in early fall. Just get it burning real bright. Shake,rake, poke, and prod till all the ash is out. Then fill it up. Get it nice and glowing. Damp it way back. For mine it was a temp of around 125 for the stove.

P.S. this is my first year with it so maybe some of the pros will chime in.

 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Wed. Dec. 23, 2009 11:42 pm

A 20 minute drive is nothin' for me...
But you could load it up and cut the air back so the fire stays at 125-175...
You should get 24 hours out of that...
Or play it safe and give up an hour to tend the home fire...
And have a toasty warm house when you get back...


 
User avatar
lowfog01
Member
Posts: 3889
Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Springfield, VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea

Post by lowfog01 » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 2:49 am

Shake the stove really well and load it up. Then turn down your air as low as you can. What's the worse thing that could happen - the fire go out. Big deal - set your whole house furnace to come on at 55* just in case and forget about it. If your fire doesn't go out, even better. You'll have something to brag about on the forum. Last year I got a 36 hour burn on my Mark II. Yeah, the fire was on its last leg but I was able to revive it with little effort and maintain my membership in the one match club. Go for it, you'll never know until you try. Lisa

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17965
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 6:38 am

"Crown" the coal bed so the center is higher than the firebricks, turn the automatic damper down to #4-5, and let the propane kick in if needed.

 
User avatar
SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12496
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 6:46 am

Yep, what everyone said: just shake well, load up to the brim ... then throw another shovelfull in ;) , turn it down & you should be set.


 
User avatar
grizzly2
Member
Posts: 844
Joined: Tue. Feb. 12, 2008 7:18 pm
Location: Whippleville, NY
Other Heating: Oil foilfurnace, Jotul#3 woodstove,electric base board.

Post by grizzly2 » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 7:23 am

All good advise so far :!: Just remeber, the more you cut back on draft, the more likely the fire is to smother in ash buildup. I would rather come home to a stove that has burned up all the coal than to a stove full of ash and unburned coal that has smothered, what a mess to clean out :x .

I also keep the paper, kindling and small chunks of oak I use to start a new fire by the stove so starting a new coal fire is less of a big deal.

Good luck and Merry Chrismas. Let us know how you make out. :)

 
sharkman8810
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

Post by sharkman8810 » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 9:39 am

Shaker her super good, and load it to the top. For me I set it at number 8 or so, which is about 200f on the firebox. Holding 24 hours isn't unheard of, I've done 4 pm friday to a 3 pm sunday with mine.

 
bsilver
Member
Posts: 41
Joined: Sun. Dec. 13, 2009 12:41 pm

Post by bsilver » Thu. Dec. 24, 2009 9:50 am

When shaking down, I normally shake until red ash embers are seen falling into the pan; I figure then when the still-burning bits are at the bottom, it's time to stop. I also don't want to risk the grates getting "stuck" under a hot coal bed.

Is this adequate when people refer to shaking it down well?

Post Reply

Return to “Hand Fired Coal Stoves & Furnaces Using Anthracite”