Fire Not Staying Lit

klotzy9 · Post by **klotzy9** » Sat. Aug. 24, 2013 1:28 pm

Fire not staying lit. Stove is an old Alaska stoker.

Rick,
Tried to fire her up outside for the first burn. I put coal in the hopper, it's came down to the grate and then I used a starter kit to light it. It light up a lil and I had orange coals in the middle of the burner for a good 10 minutes, but the hot coals never caught all the other coal on fire and it went out within 25minutes. What could be my problem? The only thing I can think is that the motor that blows air up through the grates isn't producing enough air flow? I really have no clue. He help would be appreciated as I need to get this up and running as I am getting hip surgery in less than a month.

blrman07 · Post by **blrman07** » Sun. Aug. 25, 2013 8:49 am

You appear to be on the right track. Coal fire needs three things, coal, heat source, air coming under the grate not over the grate. If your fire is not staying lit then the first thing to do is to check the air flow through the grate. Pull the blower motor that pushes the air through the grate and chances are excellent you will find a lot of fines under the grate blocking the air flow.

Check it and let us know.

Rev. Larry

klotzy9 · Post by **klotzy9** » Sun. Aug. 25, 2013 9:22 am

Air flow without the grate is fine... Some fine under the grate. Now I'm
Confused. Maybe the air flow is fine to me, but really isn't enough.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sun. Aug. 25, 2013 10:51 pm

Lots of ideas here:

Lighting a Stoker

klotzy9 · Post by **klotzy9** » Tue. Aug. 27, 2013 8:14 am

Thanks for the "tips" guys. Got her fired up last night and went through a bucket. I ended up taking out the fan and cleaning it up.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Tue. Aug. 27, 2013 8:24 am

Good stove maintenance goes a long ways towards trouble-free operation.