how much air

just curious i have a harmon sf 250 i have had a coal fire in my stove bought 4 bags of nut . well it sure put some heat out although im not sure if i was even making the stove work to its potential the blue flames were about 2 inches high and the baro metric damper wasnt even drawing any air and it was very warm in my home. could someone tell me how big of a coal fire you can have in your coal stove. anyone with a sf 250 could tell me how many turns open they would put theres when its doing its best. thanx.

never mind i found out the answer .

BigChunk--

I missed this post last Friday. I have the SF-250 too. But I reduce the firebox 50% this time of year. But typically I will open the damper anywhere between 1.5 turns thru 3 turns. Now, if it is warm and damp out, much more air will be required to maintain the fire.

Obviously you can build a really hot fire in this stove. But is is necessary? I allow my stove to simmer along therefore I have greatest efficiency. Right now, 50F ambient, 50% reducer installed, hot air out is 175F at the heat accumulator. Flue temp is 125F just below the baro which happens to be closed. 1.5 turns open on the damper.

If I want 300F hot air, I'll have to introduce much more air. But the flue temps will probably exceed the hot air. This takes me to the negative side of the efficiency chart, hot air vs. flue temp. Will be filling the box every 6 hrs too.