Sam try this can method next time you need to relight. It works great and it doesn't care which side you come down on politically.samhill wrote:I tried the sparkler route, it worked but took many sparklers. Being 67 now I was remembering when sparklers were well made & had a thick coat of material, still something that will work. I lost power a few nights ago & didn't realize it until the fire was cold so I just went on propain & back to bed. This morning I ran out & bought more coal mice, bury one towards the top & light, wait a little bit & plug the furnace in. No muss, no fuss & haven't failed me yet (knock on wood) 2 bucks for no hassles is worth it for me but it's always nice to know some other methods just in case.
Lighting a Stoker
- coalkirk
- Member
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- Joined: Wed. May. 17, 2006 8:12 pm
- Location: Forest Hill MD
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1981 EFM DF520 retired
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507 on standby
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal
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- Joined: Sun. Mar. 09, 2014 6:34 pm
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Hitzer Model 710
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
Hey guys,
I was just at Wilson Coal in Sparta NJ this morning (1/12) and they have the "mouse" fire starters in stock, $2/ea.
they also have the bag cheater starters in stock as well.
I'm not sure if they ship them, it didn't even cross my mind to ask. but you can call if you need and ask them
I was just at Wilson Coal in Sparta NJ this morning (1/12) and they have the "mouse" fire starters in stock, $2/ea.
they also have the bag cheater starters in stock as well.
I'm not sure if they ship them, it didn't even cross my mind to ask. but you can call if you need and ask them
Wilson Coal
201 Houses Corner Road, Sparta Township, NJ 07871
(973) 729-5555
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- Location: Orange County NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM AP520
- Coal Size/Type: rice
- Other Heating: Peerlerss oil fired 5 section boiler
What has worked best for me is to crumple some newspaper and put it in the bottom of the pot, then put a couple scoops of wood pellets on top of the newspaper, light the paper with the torch, and turn on the air. you can start feeding the coal in 5 minutes. My boiler is in a unheated garage, and the pellet method gets a draft going much faster than the charcoal, I find.
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- Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: keystoker 160
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CK, I made a can to try your method except it's a pumpkin filling can, I figure the wider the better so next time (hopefully not this season I'll probably give it a try. It never hurts to have more than one way to do most things, I even put the can in the same place I keep the fire mice so I can find it, getting less young sux.
- coalkirk
- Member
- Posts: 5185
- Joined: Wed. May. 17, 2006 8:12 pm
- Location: Forest Hill MD
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1981 EFM DF520 retired
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507 on standby
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal
Well hopefully you will stay in the 1 match club and won't need it this season. but if you do I think you will be impressed how well it works.samhill wrote:CK, I made a can to try your method except it's a pumpkin filling can, I figure the wider the better so next time (hopefully not this season I'll probably give it a try. It never hurts to have more than one way to do most things, I even put the can in the same place I keep the fire mice so I can find it, getting less young sux.
- Doby
- Member
- Posts: 475
- Joined: Tue. Dec. 02, 2014 9:57 pm
- Location: Elysburg PA
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska Kast console and Alaska Channing III
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: oil but not much
Yep that method does work well, no need to keep mice on hand and put up with duds and stored correctly
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- Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: A-150
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Fill grates with coal. Turn red feed nut back about 20 turns, so that no coal will feed when stoker is running. Turn stoker off. Light a road flare (fusee some people call them). Slide it up under the coal on the grate, so that the back (non lit end) of the flare goes up just into the area that the coal normally doesn't burn on the grate. After about 5 minutes you will see a small circle of hot coals starting. Turn furnace on. Turn thermostat way up so that motor keeps running. Once coal fire has spread most of the way across the grates, turn the feed screw forward about 12 to 15 turns. Once fire is all the way across the grates and not too far down towards the end, turn the feed screw forward the remaining turns to put it back to where you started. Sounds complicated but is actually very quick and simple. Works every time.
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I found "coal bombs" (mice) at a local hardware store that sells stoves. 1.25 a piece. Worked great, easy and very little smoke. Had coal glowing in about 8 minutes. No more smoky wood and paper fire starters for me!
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where are you located?johnfoster75 wrote:I found "coal bombs" (mice) at a local hardware store that sells stoves. 1.25 a piece. Worked great, easy and very little smoke. Had coal glowing in about 8 minutes. No more smoky wood and paper fire starters for me!
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- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: firetender mountainman 85
This has been a mild winter here in western Colorado so no need to keep my FireTender ( stokermatic ) going. I start it at 5am run it till about 10am when the sunny day coming in through the windows carries me to about 4pm when I use my small wood stove to keep the heat up for the evening. Normally the stoker fire is kept lit with the "hold fire " mechanism of about a 2 minute run every 20 minutes. Well, I didn't see a need to "hold fire" for 19 hours so I can throttle it up at 5 the next morning. I just turn it off ( after cooling down ). I have modified my FireTender with separate toggle switches for the auger motor and the combustion blower. Here's my lighting a stoker routine: Clean out the ashes especially inside the turyea ring. I use a small coal shovel to put stoker coal ( 3/4-1 1/2 inch sizes ) inside the ring. I have a bucket of wood pellets soaked in diesel and I place ( using a homemade scoop from a 13 oz canned chicken can ) two scoops of these pellets on the coal in the turyea ring. I then light with a match and newspaper and let burn for about a minute. Then I add 2-3 pieces of 6" kindling and start the combustion blower. The fast burning wood pellets ignite the kindling which inturn ignites the coal in the ring. I let this burn for about three minutes and then I switch on the auger. I found that switching on the auger too early would shove out the coal in the turyea ring too soon and I would lose my fire. I get some good heat in about 15 minutes on a chilly morning.
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- Member
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- Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 2:23 pm
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: Baseboard Electric Backup
Coal Mice are my method of choice. LIght a wick... starts in seconds.. walk away.. never look back.
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Wish I could grasp this! Seems to take me at least two coal mice to get mine started. Have no idea what I'm doing wrong (putting them up too high/not high enough on the grate, plugging the stove in too early/late, burying it with too much coal/not enough, etc...). Have had friends come up, pop one of the mice in and start it, so its definitely me!n0useforaname wrote:Coal Mice are my method of choice. LIght a wick... starts in seconds.. walk away.. never look back.
Of course I'm new to this. Bought the house in December and inherited an Alaska Channing in the basement. Really only use it to heat my man cave down there. Currently shut down because of the warm weather here, but plan on cleaning it out and restarting it for the weekend, tonight.
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Just make sure you are putting it over the holes in the grate.. then putting coal around/on top of it with only the wick sticking out. Turn the stove on so your air is blowing.. then light the wick and close the door. That's all I've ever done, works great.raiderfan wrote:Wish I could grasp this! Seems to take me at least two coal mice to get mine started. Have no idea what I'm doing wrong (putting them up too high/not high enough on the grate, plugging the stove in too early/late, burying it with too much coal/not enough, etc...). Have had friends come up, pop one of the mice in and start it, so its definitely me!n0useforaname wrote:Coal Mice are my method of choice. LIght a wick... starts in seconds.. walk away.. never look back.
Of course I'm new to this. Bought the house in December and inherited an Alaska Channing in the basement. Really only use it to heat my man cave down there. Currently shut down because of the warm weather here, but plan on cleaning it out and restarting it for the weekend, tonight.
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[/quote]Just make sure you are putting it over the holes in the grate.. then putting coal around/on top of it with only the wick sticking out. Turn the stove on so your air is blowing.. then light the wick and close the door. That's all I've ever done, works great.[/quote]
Ok. I know I have definitely been lighting the wick BEFORE plugging the stove in, so I'll try to plug the stove in first this time around. Thanks. (I could have very well been putting the mice to high up on the grate - above the holes - as well). I'll have to keep an eye on that, too. Thanks again.
Ok. I know I have definitely been lighting the wick BEFORE plugging the stove in, so I'll try to plug the stove in first this time around. Thanks. (I could have very well been putting the mice to high up on the grate - above the holes - as well). I'll have to keep an eye on that, too. Thanks again.