Saey 92 not staying lit

Just moved into a new home this spring and now that winter is here, I have been trying to burn coal with little luck. I have followed other threads instructions on slicing and shaking and have a hard time keeping the coal lit. Lights great, I'll add coal. and by the time I wake up in the morning the stove in just above room temperature and there is still coal remaining that has not burned. There is a type RC draft mounted vertically about 2 1/2' feet above stove. I am burning kimmel's anthracite pea coal. It burns wood great. Actually, I have a hard time choking the fire to keep wood from burning too fast. Any suggestions or hints would be great.
Thank you

Hello & welcome to the forum CC

You mention that you have an RC installed. Do you know what your draft is before the RC when you have your coal fire established? What draft is your RC set to maintain? Have you measured the draft with a manometer?

Sometimes it's easier to learn to burn coal with nut size. I'm not familiar with a Saey 92, but the larger size coal reacts a little quicker to changes in the amount of combustion air. Pick up a few bags to try out in your Saey.

You've mentioned burning wood in your Saey. Do you set your air inlets differently when you burn wood vs. coal? As you might have read, coal requires all of the combustion air to be fed at or below the level of the grates. Post your answers and we'll get back to you.

CountryChris,

WELCOME! I second Vig's suggestion to try a bag or two of NUT size coal and see what happens.

Let us know what part of the US you are located. There could be a member here willing to stop by a lend you a hand if they are near you.

As Vig said, one BIG difference between burning wood and burning coal is, for coal you have to entirely (or 95%) close the air inlets that are above the coal bed. Just let air in through the inlets that are below the grates. A SMALL amount of air above the coal is helpful in burning off the coal gases, especially just after loading new coal, but much much much less than you would use for wood.

Another thing you could try, temporarily, is to seal the baro with a sheet of aluminum foil. That will assure that the baro is not stealing too much draft -- pea coal generally needs a little stronger draft than nut coal, because the smaller pieces pack tighter together. But from what you have said so far, I doubt that is your problem.

Hi countychris and welcome to the forum.
Do you fill the stove to the fire bricks top? How long do you burn a full load 12 Hrs or more? If possible for you to give us a complete description of your starting the fire it could help, plus a few photos showing the stove, installation, grate...well all you can

99% of the time when someone has the problem you described, it is because they only have a few inches of coal in the firebox. You must FILL the firebox to maintain a coal fire, and the air must come up through the coal.

Do you use the hopper inside the stove? If you have the hopper, all it takes is to get the fire going and gradually add pea coal until the fire is fully established, then, fill the hopper to the fill line. Twice a day empty ashes, shake the grate and fill.

I have a Saey Hanover II (operates the same) The stove is designed for pea coal.