Cold Chimney?

Update: I started the stove today with the different coal. It took a few tries, I finally got a real hot fire going with lots of kindling from the wood shed. The first try didn't seem to get the chimney warmed up. I ran the stove on wood until the pipe temp got to 350 degrees F and added coal slowly, maintaining the temperature. I just loaded the stove and let the new coal ignite, but I had to cut the draft way down, the temperature in the house is way too warm. I'm going to stay with this brand of coal for now. After getting the stove hot I'm still getting an odor from around the seams in the pipe elbow. I suspect it's the chimney cooling off and the draft dropping somewhat. We'll see if it burns through the night.

Outside temp is 22 degrees, I had to cut the draft to one turn and shut off the fan, It was getting too hot in here. I guess good coal makes a big difference!

Yesterday I picked up the two tees from the dealer and installed them, as well as the Barometric Damper. I fired up the stove and then set the baro to hold about .07" WC. The stove is burning much better now, hopefully the amount of coal I'm using will be a little less, with less heat going up the chimney. Now, if I can only get to the stonework...after heating season, of course!

Additional pic of Manometer, full fire burning. Was as high as 1.6" WC.

Wood'n'coal...

Your set now. You should be able to run your fires much more steady now. I have the same manometer, and no baro yet. That will be fixed in the fall.

It's good to know you have a good draft, that comes in handy when you’re first firing up your stove. You know, most people here say anything over -0.06 the heat is just going up your chimney. Personally with it being warmer, I've been running at -0.04 most of the time, and only -.05 or -0.06 30 – 60 min before I put a fresh load on, and maybe another 30-60 min with the fresh load on. I'm down to about 40 lbs a day, 12 hour burn cycle. When the gas man reads my meter April 8th, if it doesn’t look like it’s going to be cold again my fire is going out and I’ll turn my gas furnace on again.

Take your time with your stone work and do it nice Send pictures…

I heard different results of the baro set point vs what the Manometers say. How close does your meter stay to what you have your baro set for? Your meter shows (-).07.

I was also curious about the manometer reading vs. the baro setting, that's why I reconnected the manometer when I installed the baro. With the gauge reading .07 WC I have the adjustment on the baro set just a little higher then the .04 mark. Therefore I would say it is important not to rely on the baro setting as an accurate indicator of the actual draft.
I'm still having some problems getting a long burn time, but it's been warmer and I haven't filled the stove to capacity. With the coal from the previous dealer I had similar problems, even with a full load in the stove, and lots of trouble getting the stove going. The first night with the barometric damper I did fill the stove completely and it was still burning in the morning. It is very easy to get started now, I just fired it and I'm building the coal bed up for the night.

Wood'nCoal
I have a big firebox on my stove and I haven’t been keeping it full to the top of the firebrick with it being warm. I bank it.

I put a full 20 lb bucket in the morning and at night.

I pull the coals forward to the front of the firebox so the fire can burn its way up though. I always try to keep some red coals in the back of the fire. Shaking the fire down is a little different like this but you can do it. I have no problem doing it like this with 12+ hour burn times.

I understand, I've been banking the coal to the front also. Since the firebox is smaller on my stove, I can usually fill it and with the Reading Anthracite I can now get a long burn time if I set it up right.

I ran out of it yesterday, I mixed the remainder of it with some of the poor burning coal I have left, now the stove isn't doing as well, but we don't need a lot of heat right now.

I also found some chunks of coal out in the barn, they must have been there for years, probable left over from long gone coal stoves, I threw them in the stove and they burned very well.

I'm going to be working in the Daleville and Mt. Pocono areas of PA this week, I'm going to try to get some bagged coal out there.

John

I thought I would post on this thread so it goes back to the top of the list. It deals with the issues I was having last season and I thought it could help some of the members with questions.