Need Advice Hitzer/D.C Stove

 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Fri. May. 03, 2013 6:26 am

Rob R. wrote:I am not a stove expert, but I did have a few winters to test out a big Heatrola with a round fire pot and later a big squareHitzer. The grate system on the Hitzer was much more rugged and the bi-metallic thermostat held an even stove temperature over a much longer time period. The Hitzer I had wasn't much to look at, but it excelled at producing heat.
Could you achieve use and function in the Hitzer for a full 24 hour period without touching it (Fred had to tend his twice per day and he is pro)... can you recall how many times per day you went to go touch your manual hopper feed stove?

I guess one con would be to burn wood during the spring & fall you have to take out and remove that whole hopper monstrocity and find some HUGE closet to stuff it in (I don't see a lot of people doing that so they would simply never burn wood) the other problem I could see with the football field coal bed is you cant maintain a small, slow burn coal fire in it unless you try to make a 1 inch thick coal bed accross the entire football field of the D.C. (so I guess another con may be these are not real good spring/fall coal burners).

 
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. May. 03, 2013 6:44 am

My Hitzer did not have a hopper, just a huge rectangular firebox. In cold weather I tended it on a 12 hr schedule, in mild weather once per day. My particular stove was prone to puff backs if you added too much coal at one time.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. May. 03, 2013 6:48 am

Good Lord dc, I did NOT say "had to tend"--just that it was suggested I tend AM--PM--CONSISTENCY :) I could easily let my 50-93 idle for 36 hrs & have on maybe 2 occasions over the yrs--but WHY--One thing that I have seriously learned with the 50-93 and with life in general--is NOT to over-think it. I guess I'm fortunate that it takes a fair amount of time & energy to keep the old homestead going which leaves me little time for the concept of MENTAL MASTURBATION--plus over the years I've found all that to be an incredible waste of time anyway ;) Involved in that learning curve--myself & fastcat ( neighbor with a 50-93) have learned to idle these stoves to a point where 75* days & 30* nights are very workable--all it takes is asking questions & finding the combination for one's particular situation. I topped off my hopper for the last time last night & the old girl will probably be ready for spring clean out come Monday. Yeah, Yeah--I'm going to stove black her this year :clap: toothy

 
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LsFarm
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Post by LsFarm » Fri. May. 03, 2013 8:51 am

Lets see: negatives about Hitzer stoves.. According to DC, they're ugly, and since DC doesn't like sports, he doesn't like the 'football' field coal bed, , and ,, hmm.. OH ! the stove requires learning what your chimney's draft is and where to set the stoves air vents and for the Hitzer the bimetalic thermostat.. seems ALL stoves have these 'negatives'..

So I guess If the stove is ugly to your eyes, and you don't like sports.. I guess the Hitzer is NOT for you..
:shock: :lol: :P :D

All in jest, and having 'fun' .

But really, the Hitzer with the bimetalic thermostat air control and a hopper are pretty much the best design modern stove out there.
And the customer service from Hitzer is VERY good.
And some people just dont' want an old cast iron victorian frilly stove in their modern family room. so they opt for a modern 'box' stove..

Greg


 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Fri. May. 03, 2013 9:34 am

I LOVE football!... just not for burning coal with :lol:

from Wilderness Crier, "The side fills up with a lot of ash and unburnt coal (left and right of the grates, coal and ash seems to pile up on top of the top of the front fire bricks, and last year I even had ash build-up against the back firebricks and it turned into a real pain in the butt cleaning it out so it would burn well. Also, the ash pan is as wide as my galvanized trash can, so it's a messy dusty pain emptying the ash pan (I usually keep the can 3/4 full to keep the dust down)."
(this would be most likely be due from the large square football field with square corners in a coal stove) :lol:

from fred, "the stove really required me to do very little except get my draft setting right for my house & tend twice a day " (edit: Freds now back peddling like a Bi... from the previously stated "REQUIRMENT" of having to tend it twice per day like any other decent manual coal burner without that costly hopper :lol: )

from our freinds at hearth. "Dislikes: Shallow ash pan requires emptying every day in freezing cold weather.
Comments: An excellent choice for anyone wanting minimal work without depending on electricity. Fill the gravity fed hopper one or two times a day, shake the grates twice a day and emty the ashes once every day to day-and-a-half." (theirs that useless 18 hour day mentioned again) :lol:

OK... all in good fun, Whomever gets the last post in this thread is obligated to buy the first round of Coors at the meet :drunk:

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Fri. May. 03, 2013 12:21 pm

dc my friend, you're working on my nerves! Nowhere did I state it was a requirement in the context you are using it--stop with all the semantic BS If you or anyone really wants to speak knowledge wise on ANYTHING---make sure you've used whatever it is you're talking about--PS---GET a HOBBY my friend. This cyber crap is gonna make you crazier then ya already are :clap: toothy

 
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oliver power
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Post by oliver power » Sat. May. 04, 2013 6:39 am

Personally, I'd NEVER go back to a non-hopper hand fired stove. I too have found NO con's of the HITZER 50-93 for coal burning. Now that the 50-93 hopper is removable for burning wood, I see NO con's at all. I never wanted to burn wood in my 50-93. Some people think they want to in the off seasons. The removable hopper gives that option. The 30-95 on the other hand, has one con. The back wall of the fire box is slanted. Not a big deal but, if it had strait vertical side walls, ash build up would be less. All in All, both, the 50-93, and the 30-95 HITZERS are great stoves. No complaints from me. Oliver

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