Really temperamental stove/draft !!

This could be it! I think, I've run out of options.

I haven't been totally idle in regard to "perfecting my system". As I said at the onset of this thread, my house is strange! Where you would expect heat to normally rise, mine goes down or "just disappears", to somewhere. ... I guess, it's in the house.

I played around with the fans, blowing in, blowing out, blowing across, sucking up, down and across. Nothing changed the outcome too much. Finally I got low on Pea coal, so put in a load of Nut. It looked "so-so" ... some was dull, some was about the size of Egg (Egg was a size available years ago), some was OK. It seemed to burn good, however I wasn't getting much ash. ??? Finally, I got a chunk stuck in the grates, so let it go out (during one of those cold days). What I found was, there were a bunch of large, hard pieces of ash, which just kind of rattled around in there, but wouldn't fall through or break up. As time progressed, their accumulation did, also. Since, I've been trying to catch the big pieces and break them up before burning them.

During those cold days the stove room, was in the area of 95*, with the ceiling above the stove at about 109*. So, I decided to put in a ceiling/floor register to the first floor. I came up with a 10" X 12" with ceiling grill, floor register and slip plenum, all in one package. I installed that and would you believe, you could barely feel any heat coming up to the first floor?!! The stove room was still as warm as ever!

Finally, I broke down and fabricated a plenum with 6" pipe going through the ceiling grille. Now, I'm getting heat to the first floor!





The stove room is now running two to three degrees warmer than the middle area of the first floor. I can live with that.

I'll probably never know why this house is so hard to figure out. It might be, because it's on solid ledge and has a fair amount of water running under it. I don't think, it uses a lot of heat, it is just unpredictable where it's going to go.

Very nice job on the custom ductwork/plenum !! Neat, clean install and very professional looking.
Is the distribution fan on the stove forcing the heat through the plenum and up the duct to the upstairs??
Have you tried any ductwork into the intake of the distribution fan?? Often if you can pull air from someplace other than the floor behind the stove [usually pretty cold air] you will get overall higher heat output from the stove. Unless you want to pull the cold air off the floor of the stove's room to keep your feet warmer.

Can you sketch up some plans and post them for others to follow or get ideas from.??

So you went from 95-100* temps downstairs and what temps upstairs?? To now having what ? downstairs*/ Upstairs * ??

Greg L

LsFarm wrote:Is the distribution fan on the stove forcing the heat through the plenum and up the duct to the upstairs??
Have you tried any ductwork into the intake of the distribution fan??
Can you sketch up some plans and post them for others to follow or get ideas from.??

So you went from 95-100* temps downstairs and what temps upstairs?? To now having what ? downstairs*/ Upstairs * ??

Greg L

Thanks for your recognition of quality work. Actually, I think, it looks better "in person".

Yes, the distribution fan is doing a good job at shoving the heat to the first floor, through the plenum/duct work. I haven't tried any ducting into the fan, which is about 2' off the floor. "Sketch plans"? .... basically, it's an "L" shaped piece, with the sides bent down 2-1/2" to meet the stove-top and the front bent down about 8" to cover the front ducts. ... and then under. Then a 6" x 8" cutout for a takeoff to 6" round.

Before, temps of 95* in the stove room, would maintain about 74* on the middle of the first floor, with the far end being about 69*.... 26* diff from stove room to far end of the first floor.
Now, temps of 80* in the stove room, will maintain about 74* on the middle of the first floor, with the far end being about 70*.... 9* -10* diff from stove room to far end of the first floor.

Basically, what I've tried to do, is go from a "one room stove" to a "whole house heating system". ... without the "system".

Again, nice job. What I meant was either use one of the computer software programst to 'draw' a template of the pieces before bending, or what I do in a pinch. Draw a sketch with a dark marker and photogragh the sketch... Both are a bit of a pain...

Anyway, sounds like it works well, congrats on finding/creating a fix !

Greg L

Dallas Egg was a size available years ago), Egg is a size use More for Canal / River Coal & Bit Coal I do not think they ever used it for Anthracite coal sizing

coal berner wrote:Dallas Egg was a size available years ago), Egg is a size use More for Canal / River Coal & Bit Coal I do not think they ever used it for Anthracite coal sizing

I've never been exposed to anything but Anthracite, and have heard of it. Maybe you don't go back far enough.

http://books.google.com/books?id=yicKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380&dq=anthracite+egg&source=web&ots=Bs6OEgsxhv&sig=16-R1kT9B2d7rinhNiy5rzg5-Sw

Here is another site, which refers to Anthracite Egg.

http://www.sizes.com/materls/anthracite.htm

Dallas wrote:

coal berner wrote:Dallas Egg was a size available years ago), Egg is a size use More for Canal / River Coal & Bit Coal I do not think they ever used it for Anthracite coal sizing

I've never been exposed to anything but Anthracite, and have heard of it. Maybe you don't go back far enough.

http://books.google.com/books?id=yicKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA380&lpg=PA380&dq=anthracite+egg&source=web&ots=Bs6OEgsxhv&sig=16-R1kT9B2d7rinhNiy5rzg5-Sw

Here is another site, which refers to Antracite Egg.

http://www.sizes.com/materls/anthracite.htm

Well here is a company That goes back to 1871 http://www.readinganthracite.com/mining_sizes.html And has no Egg size in the standard size for Athracite all of the old Timers around here say Egg is a coal size Term used for Canal / River coal & Bit coal Who knows

Nice job on the duct work Dallas!

Thanks guys! It seems a little warm in here. I'm in "test mode".

Found this on Ebay. It's a 1918 coal price list which lists egg coal as a size larger than stove.

You'll also notice, they don't list the little stuff (rice, buck, barley). I think, this was dumped, back then.

Dallas wrote:You'll also notice, they don't list the little stuff (rice, buck, barley). I think, this was dumped, back then.

A lot of the big collieries dumped Pea also, those so called waste piles aren't always pure junk before the big refuse / reclaimed coal market took off around here all you had to do was head out to an old colliery site with some screens a pickup and in a little bit a time you had all thee free coal you could use . The good deep mined stuff from back in the day .

Don't forget The R & R Tracks Expecially around the bends lots of coal would fall off the Train cars When I was Young I used to go out with my uncles and pick up coal for miles on the tracks fill bags buckets sacks wagons wheel barrel whatever you could Pull Push or carry Lots of Free Coal Miss Them Days Lots of Fun They where Both Deep miners aswell was the other 3 uncles and both Grandfathers and Great Grandfathers on Both sides of The Family also worked The mines So Now you know why I always Defend and Support The Independent Deep Miners and Also Because They Have The good Stuff

OK, so here is "one piece" of coal, which I came across in my latest load of "Nut"! It measures 4" across the widest point. "Egg" only went to 3-1/4"!

By the time NUT coal goes through two or three handlers and gets to Wisconsin there is a LOT of smaller sizes in a load. I am going to look for Stove size next year.
drujinin