New Stove.

I have recently purchased a coal furnace for my basement. I've been operating it for about two weeks now. Last week my CO detector went off and I freaked out only to find out I had not been burning it hot enough. Today, my wife called and said it was going off again. Before I left for work this morning, I opened the ash pan door and let it heat up for 20 mintues or so, then shut all the doors and made sure the air regulator was set at about half way. Why would the CO detector be going off if I burned the gases off this morning? Please help...

Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of burning coal!

There are many reasons for the Co detector going off. Lack of draft, leaks in your system. More information on your setup and pictures would be helpful. Do you have a manometer, a baro? What is your draft? I know on my DS any reading less than .03" on my manometer and my draft inducer gets turned on.

shaunabrown23 wrote:I have recently purchased a coal furnace for my basement. I've been operating it for about two weeks now. Last week my CO detector went off and I freaked out only to find out I had not been burning it hot enough. Today, my wife called and said it was going off again. Before I left for work this morning, I opened the ash pan door and let it heat up for 20 mintues or so, then shut all the doors and made sure the air regulator was set at about half way. Why would the CO detector be going off if I burned the gases off this morning? Please help...

A lot of variables here. Was this a used stove when you bought it? Are all the gaskets good...do the doors shut tight... how's your chimney drafting...do you have a baro damper or a manual damper...have you checked your draft with a manometer? Try to upload some pics so we can see it. Other people will chime in to try to help you. Welcome to the Forum!!

Newstyle, That is a DS right?



Let us know a little more about your situation. Pics would be so great.

Welcome to the forum, Eric

How do I post a picture ? I guess I am a newbie.

Yes this is a DS. I have taken my furnace pipe out of the chimney and inserted the vent pipe for the coal furnace (after cleaning of course) Manual Damper. I don't fill the hopper, but rather just give it a half gallon pail of coal a day. How do I upload a picture?

Does the setup look correct?

How far into the thimble is the black stove pipe...
looks to be a funky angle but it is covered by the trim ring in the last picture...
Dont't be afraid to fill the hopper...
What is the MPD set to...
If you have a low draft situation and the MPD is not open you may be getting CO backing up...
The CO is produced whenever the fire is burning...

The stove pipe is about 4 feet past the thimble. The MPD is set at 3 currently. The outside temp has been about 60 during the day and about 30 at night. If I keep the MPD set higher, would that help the draft situation if it was poor?

How far into the thimble does the black pipe go...
Thimble is the horizontal part of your masonry chimney...
A MPD is in the black stove pipe...
When you say numbers I think you are talking about the dial on the side of the stove...
The dial controls the air intake...
Warm days will cause a lower draft in most chimneys...
Just how low depends on your chimney...
A Manometer will give you that reading...
If you raise the dial number on the stove you let in more air thus making a hotter fire...
This would raise the draft in the chimney due to more heat in the chimney...
I think this is what you were talking about when you said...

I freaked out only to find out I had not been burning it hot enough.

My apologies. The black pipe goes into the thimble about 4 Inches. I'm guessing since I do not run into this problem in the night it may be caused by how low I have the dial set. I do apologize for the confusion. I am very very new at this and just want a safe home for my family. As far as the freaking out thing. My wife has afriend whose Father has burned coal for 25 years. I had been filling my stove without letting it get hot and thats when I had the high CO readings in my house. He informed me to when I add coal, just open the ash pan dorr for 20 minutes or so and let it roar. When I see all red coal shut the door and keep it set around 3 or so for the day and I should be fine.

shaunabrown23 wrote:just open the ash pan dorr for 20 minutes or so and let it roar.

Great advise but don't forget to close it!! There have been a few members on this site that have forgoten to close the ashpan door and nearly had a fire because the stove got too hot. I know member "lowfog01" has a timer with a rope and hangs it around her neck so she doesn't forget. Good luck and welcome to the world of coal heat!

I think this alieviates the issue when I am home. But when I leave for work for 8 hours and leave it unattended I think I should set it at 4 so its burns a little better.

Using the hopper will also help keep the fire burning steady...
Every time you load without using the hopper you add 'cold' coal to a fire...
causing the temps to drop inside the stove...
If you fill the stove using the hopper...
The 'cold' coal never hits the 'fire' so the temps don't drop...
Just keep the hopper topped off...
Try The 'Hand Fired' section for more info on running your stove...
Most people take a while to get the hang of running a coal stove...
Soon you will have it down pat...