Not What You Want to See ...

... especially when you're headed off to bed and have an important early meeting the next day.

This was completely my fault. Somehow, after cleaning out the stove at the end of last season, I missed a couple handfuls of coal in the hopper. Didn't think anything of it until a couple of nights ago when the stoker started making some really bad crunching noises (imagine eating Grape Nuts ... or rocks, same thing.) I poked and prodded and then finally took all the coal out of the hopper. I found what you see in picture one.

Stuffed a makeshift sheet of steel into the hopper, got enough coal into it to make it through the night, and finally headed off to bed at 2 am. Dragged through the early meeting and the rest of the day. Pulled the hopper off that evening. In picture two, the band of coal closest to the top should be there; that's where it feeds. The pile below it is what fell through the hole and onto/into the pusher assembly and motor. Cleaned it out, and fashioned a better sheet of steel. Pop-riveted it to the hopper. It seems to work very well, and should last through the winter. Will replace or fix better in summer.

Picture three is one of my twin daughters putting a band-aid on my finger. She learned a little bit about cutting steel, pop-riveting, proper stove maintenance, and maybe a couple of words she shouldn't use I took a better picture but decided to not post it as it looked like I was giving her the finger.

Moral of the story: Clean out your stoves properly at the end of each season. That hopper was made in 1987. Until now, it was pretty much pristine. Not sure if I can even get one from Harman, if a Magnum hopper would fit, or if this will turn out to be a really expensive mistake either way.

Holy hoppers batman!!!.....have you thought about getting a man of the cloth in to bless your now holy hopper and exorcise the rust demons?

Oh man! At least you caught it before you woke up cold. Good lesson. Thanks!

Yep - I learned this lesson the hard way as well.

Horace, I can feel your pain about having an important meeting the next day and then something goes wrong unexpectedly. Murphy's Law I guess.

This is exactly why I am reluctant to completely eliminate my oil furnace. Even though it's not nearly as economical as coal, it is pretty reliable and makes for a good back up to a coal stove or boiler.

Mark

You will probably have to buy the Magnum conversion kit ($500) which will come with the new hopper.

the coal hopper is only tin make a new one speay it inside with undercoting that they use on cars ( i an no good at spelling ) I am going to sprey my hoper in spring. no rust yet.
Art52

Take your hopper to an HVAC/sheet metal fabricator guy and have him make you one out of stainless steal, no more worries. Upgrade while your down.

Boy, Smitty, and I thought I had it bad I'm very glad that it didn't jam the feed motor and burn it out - that was and is my main concern. After a couple nights everything seems okay. It wasn't a metalworking job worthy of Freddy, but not too bad in a pinch. I do have electric heat as a backup, but I would have rather stayed up than turn it on. Every time I hear one of the thermostats go off I feel something pulling at my wallet.

Good ideas everyone. I have a customer who is a metal fabricator and he does amazing work. After pulling the hopper off and looking at it, it seems pretty simple. I'm pretty sure that he could do it for less than $500. Never heard of a Magnum conversion kit, Chris. Wonder what else is in there that might be better than what I have. Considering that this stove is all original, as far as I know - blowers, motor, ashpan - it might be worth it is as an ounce of prevention.

Thanks again everyone and - CLEAN OUT YOUR STOVES!

Yes, especially if your stove sits in a swamp .... like mine.

And to add to the other great comments, you might have your metal fabricator make you a second ash pan as well...do the quick swap and dump at your leisure.

Horace wrote:Never heard of a Magnum conversion kit, Chris. Wonder what else is in there that might be better than what I have. Considering that this stove is all original, as far as I know - blowers, motor, ashpan - it might be worth it is as an ounce of prevention.

It converts the old ST-8 into a Magnum. Parts include the entire stoker unit, the computer, and the bin. I think it includes all motrs too, but check with your local dealor to get a complete list.
Really a good deal for what you get.


Glad you got it running again. Electric heat really sucks.

I attempted to avert my eyes in time -- but failed -- I saw that

Yes, especially if your stove sits in a swamp

That's not a swamp. It's a self-washing floor.