New to Coal, Some Direction Needed...??

 
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Carbon12
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Post by Carbon12 » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 2:23 pm

Do you know what a manometer is/does and can you get your hands on one. Indispensable in trying to diagnose coal stove problems.


 
Wanna Bee
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Post by Wanna Bee » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 2:23 pm

Edited with the link. You need to scroll up to see the hopper fed golden flame that burns wood too :lol:

 
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Crow Horse
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Post by Crow Horse » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:00 pm

I understand a manometer measures pressure differential. I've never used one and it sounds like it might be a good investment to make. Any recommendations? I'm kinda partial to digital...

4" from grate to bottom of firebrick............

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Carbon12
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Post by Carbon12 » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:11 pm

Many of us have this one
http://www.amazon.com/Dwyer-Series-Molded-Plastic ... m_sbs_hi_1

Amazon also has digital ones.

Anyone familiar with this stove see any reason he couldn't bank the coal really deep in the back of the stove? As long as there is fire brick and air circulating under all of the cast iron grates, it doesn't seem like it would be a problem. Coal likes a deep bed. The deeper the better.

 
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ShawninNY
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Post by ShawninNY » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:22 pm

Not all stoves have a fire fence, mound the coal up higher in back is fine! If there is a door on top of stove your missing the hopper? I have a similar no fire fence stove in my garage , are you running stove with air intake full open like pic?

 
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Crow Horse
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Post by Crow Horse » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:26 pm

No hopper, what you see is what I have. When it's fired up, flue is wide open and the vents on the ash door are closed........

 
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ShawninNY
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Post by ShawninNY » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:32 pm

Crow can you take a pic of both sides of door opening and we can see if you are missing the fire fence ! Is there any other name on stove other than golden flame ? I'm trying to look up the schematic ?


 
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Carbon12
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Post by Carbon12 » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:36 pm

Hmmmmm??? The vents are supposed to control the burn. Unless they're really loose, you should have them open at least a little. Coal needs nearly all of its air for combustion from beneath.

 
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Dennis
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Post by Dennis » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:40 pm

Crow Horse wrote:When it's fired up, flue is wide open and the vents on the ash door are closed........
try keeping the mpd half way open/closed for a start,a manometer will tell you how much draft you have and then you can adjust tyhe mpd to a desired draft and not allow your heat up the chimney and burn your coal up too fast

 
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ShawninNY
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Post by ShawninNY » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:46 pm

Close the mpd after fire is established that will keep more heat in stove ! Was this unit existing or did you install ? When you close bottom air intake does it start to snuff fire? Sometimes those sliders can be adjusted , you can check it with a lighter or match close them with a fire going and move flame around edge see if it gets sucked in

 
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Post by ShawninNY » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:50 pm

Carbons right ! I meant to not have them 100% open generally stoves run well at 1/8 to 1/4 but you need thermos to see what's happening

 
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Post by ShawninNY » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 3:57 pm

This is how mine looks full

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Crow Horse
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Post by Crow Horse » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 4:08 pm

OK, Sometimes I amaze myself as how absent minded I can be. There is a "door" on top of the stove. It just lifts off. Is this a hopper access?

I guess until I use an manometer I'll have to trial & error it. This is an existing stove I've used to burn wood and it does it well. Got tired of chasing firewood and learned that the stove can burn coal so I figured I'd give it a try. So far, despite the setbacks, and learning in a real way that a coal fire is a completely different animal than it's wood counterpart, I like it.

When I was burning wood, draft was never an issue. When I opened the damper, the fire lit up like the afterburners on a F16.

No other names or numbers on it other than made in USA (a rarity nowadays)
Just restarted it....

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Carbon12
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Post by Carbon12 » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 4:11 pm

Looks good! You may be able to add more coal to the back of the stove. As long as it's not falling out the front, you can add more.

 
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wsherrick
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Post by wsherrick » Sun. Feb. 16, 2014 4:13 pm

The design of this stove only allows a shallow bed of coal with about a 20-25 capacity. You might get 30 pounds in it by heaping it up in the back. It simply does not have the capacity to produce large volumes of heat for long periods because of this. You need a stove that holds more coal for long extended burn times.
You can learn a lot from using this stove about burning coal. It can be a good teacher.
If you are serious about using coal as a source of heat, spend next summer looking around for a good stove with a larger capacity. There are many, many stoves out there for you to choose from.
You are on the right track.
We are here to help in anyway we can.
And you have made a correct decision to lean about using coal.


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