Venting A Russo C55 to a Fireplace(CAN IT BE DONE?) Im cold!

Jash · By: **Jash** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:55 am

First off This Forum is GREAT!
It's members have taught me so much about heating with coal that I'm picking up my first coal stove this Friday. A Russo c55 for what I think is a good price $100.00 the grates aren't warped some surface rust on the top but it appears fully functional.
I want to connect it/put in front of and vent to a masonry fireplace/chimney which is in great shape. My thoughts were to remove the fireplace flu/dampener completely put a block off plate of Steel and seal it to the front of of the entire opening of the fireplace (except a 6" hole to except the flu pipe coming out of the back of the stove). I grew up heating with wood and both the stove's were hooked up to fireplaces in the same fashion, But they were wood stoves NOT coal will this work for my coal stove to be?
the length of the pipe from the back of the stove to the front of the fireplace "faceplate" would be horizontal and 15" long( I can position the stove to make the pipe longer if needed) also I'm thinking bara dampener good idea or bad one?
Any helpful insight will be much appreciated
Thanks in advance :shock:

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:14 am

If you have enough chimney for a good draft it should work just fine. 20' should do it (if the chimney is in the homes interior and not exposed it could be shorter), just make sure the damper is sealed extremely well. You need about .06 of draft (MAX) for a coal stove. Don't forget to install a barometric damper.

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:18 am

Hi Jash, welcome to the forum. What you are describing is the perfect way to vent into a existing fireplace.

You may want to leave room in the horizontal piece of pipe so that you can add a Baro damper or a hand damper in the future.. Depending on how your chimney draws, and your stove burns, you may need one. Once you start burning, you will figure it out.

Can you post a photo of the stove, it's ash pan door and air control, and the firebox showing the grate and firebrick.. This will help us know what you have and how to help answer your questions.

I've done a search for the Russo stoves, but all links are back to this site. We need to see how the stove built and put together to help more

Greg L.

.

tstove · By: **tstove** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:09 pm

I have a c55, just got it about 3 weeks ago.Paid more than 100 for it. That's a very good price for that stove, If I were you I would go grab that thing up before someone else does :!:

If your 's has a blower like mine your'e gonna need enough room between the back of the stove and your plate on the fireplace opening, about 12 inches.As Ls said your gonna need some room anyway if you plan on installing a hand or baro damper.I burn nut coal in my stove but some of the smaller peices tend to get jambed between the grates when I shake it down :cry:

I'm gonna try some stove size next time I buy :!:

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:38 pm

If it has a blower you need to be very careful installing the baro... CO2!
Stove size coal will increase the heat output.

Yanche · By: **Yanche** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:55 pm

The barometric damper needs to be sized to the size of the chimney flue. Keep this in mind if you happen to have one of the giant sized fireplace chimney flues. Most times the chimney flue and the stovepipe are of similar sizes and just sizing the barometric damper to the flue pipe diameter will work. See the Fields Controls web site for sizing and installation guidelines.

Yanche

Jash · By: **Jash** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:29 pm

Wow, you guy's answered back in a flash (Ok Bad Joke)
Thanks for the insight and useful info. To answer a few of the questions asked of me and project schourcher the stove does have a blower in back it doesnt run however I plan on putting a new motor on it first thing. Coaledsweat ,The chimney is a interior one.
Yanche, the dampner opening is a 7" long by 4" wide opening the dampener is a slide style and removes from the opening.
Tstove, I was considering a hand Baro as I have exprience with them from wood stove operation. Thanks for the tip on burning stove coal, now I just have to find out who sells it in my area.
LSFarm I'll send pic's ,I also contacted Russo Stoves in Randolph Ma. at 781-963-1182 in trying to buy a replacement blower motor.

LSFarm/All , I figured 1/4" plate gasketed and using 1200 degree RTV silicone sealant, then using red hat masonry/concrete anchors to squeeze the plate to the face of the fireplace should do the trick. what do you think?
the fireplace opening I'm covering is 25" X 25" .

Thanks again
Joel
:idea:

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:53 pm

Hi Jash, if you do a neat job, you can use a strip of fiberglass insulation to seal the plate up against the front of the fireplace, clamped by the anchoring screws. The flue pipe needs the high temp sealant.

Take care, Greg L

Yanche · By: **Yanche** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:16 pm

Jash wrote:Yanche, the dampner opening is a 7" long by 4" wide opening the dampener is a slide style and removes from the opening.

What's the size of the chimney flue? The part above the 7x4 damper. I assume there is a chimney clean out. Right? You will get some fly ash to clean out.

Yanche

JerseyCoal · By: **JerseyCoal** On: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:34 pm

Hello Jash, and welcome to a wonderful forum. I did the exact same installation with a Franco-Belge coal burner. all of the foregoing advice seems to be right on target. In order to get a long, consistent burn with coal, you should have a barometric damper as oppposed to a hand damper. I would suggest using a "T" when making the turn up the chimney and capping off the bottom opening. That will give you easy access for cleaning out fly ash from the chimney and the horizontal pipe from the stove. I left the fireplace box completely open; it gives me a handy yet out-of-sight place to store tools and other stuff ( all non-flammable of course). Enjoy the heat!
John.

Jash · By: **Jash** On: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:00 pm

Thanks for the good info fellas the chimney pipe looks to be 6" square/round above the adjustable fireplace flu, thats a 7x4 rectangle it must tapper up to the 6" round/square chimney pipe.

as best as I can figure there is no clean out. Im a bit concerned that the fireplace chimney is tied into the furnace . almost like an upside down "Y" configuration.....not sure will investigate further......

Thanks for the "T" idea JerseyCoal I'm going to run with that idea rather then my steel faceplate idea.

Jash · By: **Jash** On: Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:46 am

Well I picked up the stove tonight, and it's in even better shape then I thought some minor surface rust on top, nothing a wire brush, some sand paper and hi temp stove paint cant fix.
I have the stove all put together but have one extra piece that I've yet to figure out where if at all does it go in the stove.
see the pics I have it in my hand no clue what it does did or where it went?
Never mind the wet spots on top of the stove and the floor I spilled my adult icee beverage on it while putting it together so it's been christened the proper way ..... the USS Heatmaker
Any insight would be much appreciated
Joel

I'm not exactly sure how to get pics on here so bare with me.

tstove · By: **tstove** On: Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:23 am

Looks like mine except mine has a solid brass door and brass trim around the air outlets.That channel looks like the one that goes over top of the fire brick inside the door opening.Make sure your firebrick isn't missing :!:

,it just sits on top of the brick and the the steel angle at the door opening,also I said earlier that I was having trouble with nut size coal.It's not the nut size peices I have trouble with it's the little peices 1/2" or smaller that get stuck in the grates,good luck

Jash · By: **Jash** On: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:31 pm

Hello All,

Per the request of LsFarm the following are the pic's of the Stove's first burn in tonight, I have about 20lb's burning/glowing in the stove now the stack thermometer is reading 350 and has for the last 3 hours or so.
When I first started the stove up it ran up to 475-480 then I added pea to the bed of coals opened the clean out door left it open for about 10 min to get everything to catch. When I adjusted the dampener to 1/2 open and adjusted the front stove vent to 1/3 open I lost my blue dancing flames, lost my temp down to 300.
Opened them back up ,dancing blue flame came back, temp up to 350 again.

QUESTION how do you know when to shake the grates and clean out the pan,add more coal,leave door open, get hot, then throttle back? I cant get the heat any hotter then 350 now? not sure what im doing wrong all vents open all the way, hand dampener open all the way only 350??

I cant get the stove to belt out any serious heat.
my coal bed is about 3" deep. and a nice glowing orange

As usual any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Ps. I just stoked ot and cleaned out the pan (maybe a bit too soon) added pea coal blue fames dancing around black coal??

workin on it....

coaledsweat · By: **coaledsweat** On: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:40 pm

3" doesn't sound like there is enough coal, you need to fill it to the top of the firebrick. You need a deep bed for anthracite, about 7" to 12" for a good fire.

Venting A Russo C55 to a Fireplace(CAN IT BE DONE?) Im cold!

Venting A Russo C55 to a Fireplace(CAN IT BE DONE?) Im cold!

Russo to fireplace hookup

Re: Russo to fireplace hookup

Venting a Russo

Russo c-35!! folow up and pics

The Russo C35 Is Burning coal again "IT'S ALIVE!"