Surdiac hopper fed coal stove

Hello everyone.
I got a used Surdiac hopper fed coal stove (made in 1982) and I am not sure how to shake it to remove the ashes. There is only one "handle" on the right hand side of the stove towards the bottom (if you are facing the front of the stove) that is attached to only one of the 2 grates (the grate on the right hand side). If I pull out the handle it pulls the grate on the right hand side it thereby seperating the 2 grates (basically making a opening between the 2 grates), and the coal just falls into the bottom ash pan. The only other handle or knob on the stove is the knob to adjust the damper. The grates appear to be in properly, as far as I can tell anyway. When you look inside the stove at the grates, he handle simply grabs the one grate on the right hand side and I don't understand why the handle is only attached to this one grate. I would appreciate any advice on how to shake this stove. Thank you.

Well I just figured it out myself. I’ll post it in case anyone else runs into this. There are 3 slots in front of the stove, below the door, but above the ash pan. They line up directly above the grates. You take a flat bar and place them into the slots and move the flat bar from side to side (it end up to be directly above the grates), which shakes things up making the ashes fall into the pan.

I have been using my surdiac stove since 1981, every winter from Nov on. I think I know quite a bit about using my surdiac and woul dbe happy to help you with any questions you have regarding this fine stove
Coochy77@yahoo.com I'm in Long island New York

I too have been using a surdiac hopper fed coal burner this winter. I find that I have to shake the ashes about every 2 hours to keep a good burn going. If I leave it unatteded for 6 hours or more it looks as though the fire is out but the coal is actually still smoldering up in the hopper. Is this normal?
Tom

rouxzy wrote: I find that I have to shake the ashes about every 2 hours to keep a good burn going.

Most people get on a 12 hour schedule with a hand-fired stove. Once in the morning and once in the evening. I have yet to see a unit that wasn't capable of doing that, evwen the smallest ones.

If I leave it unatteded for 6 hours or more it looks as though the fire is out but the coal is actually still smoldering up in the hopper. Is this normal?

I'm not familair with that stove but no there should be no fire in your hopper. I'd suggest not using it and finding out why it's doing that. If it's burning in the hopper there's a good chance you can damage the stove or worse gases will back up into the house. CO is not something to mess with, Do you have a CO detector?

Can you post a picture of the hopper placement?

If you really want some help post a detailed description of exactly what you do...

Yes, I do have a CO monitor. The stove is actually a top feed hopper style stove. The bottom of the hopper is about 4" from the grates. When I say the coal is burning inside the hopper it is actually just smoldering just out of sight. I had inspected it to make sure everything was in place and the previous owner had replaced all gaskets. When I open up the fill door,(on top), I do not get any fumes or gasses. What I have suspected is that where the hopper is a 2 piece design I may be getting a leak where the two halves meet creating a continuous path for the exhaust to go up to the flue. I have fought with this thing all winter to the point where I have a Harman Mark III on order. But I would still like to figure this thing out.
Tom

That sounds like that is a design like the Framco Belge, the hopper is isnside the coal stove? That wouldn't be as dangerous as one with a hopper ouside but from I can tell you that people have ruined Frnaco Belge's when the fire gets behind the hopper wall.

Possiblt the coal is sub standard, I don't like to say that because I have had many instances with my own customers where they thought it was the coal and they were just doing something wrong or didn't have it adjusted right. Try a different brand if you're getting it in bags.

If it is the same design as a Franco Belge and the same size then 12 hour burns or longer are well withion it's limits. Post a picture if you can.

Hi I am responding to a post made in 2005 about a surdiac, Joseph needed help in knowing how to shake it down but figured it out. I can operate our stove just fine but am having trouble finding replacement grates. Our surdiac is stamped 715/515 and the grates are small, 8 x 8 approx for the left one not including the flange. Can someone help me find some suppliers, maybe even salvagers of old surdiacs, or a way to get their grates from the factory? I guess they don't have suppliers in the usa anymore...even their website link would be helpful.
Meanwhile I will keep searching. Thank you for your time and any responses would be appreciated!

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/default.aspx is one website. Hope this helps! We found a Surdiac 616 that we are trying to figure out how to use; my partner is downstairs now trying to get it going. He lit the coal, but there is smoke coming out the front and back of the stove. Any suggestions?

thanks!

Karen

Burn some newspaper in the stove first to get the chimney warmed up and a good draft created in the chimney. Once the chimney is drafting then light the coal fire. This will stop the smoke from coming out of the stove.

Another site is http://www.stovepartsplus.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc .

K

gambler wrote:Burn some newspaper in the stove first to get the chimney warmed up and a good draft created in the chimney. Once the chimney is drafting then light the coal fire. This will stop the smoke from coming out of the stove.

Thanks, Rick! ; will try that!

K

also, we sometimes open a basement door or window to let in some colder air to help force the draft up the stovepipe
it will start better on a colder day and a windy day (either one) and not so great on a damp overcast day

We use charcoal briquets on top of pasteboard egg cartons to start the fire (or coals from our woodburner but the woodburner messes with a good draft in the house so the egg carton and lump charcoal is a better start)

we have even been known to use our propane handheld gas flame to get the charcoals going, but it really only makes us feel like we are starting the fire quicker, in reality the little flame does little

takes us about 20 minutes to go from cold grates to a 1 inch base bed of hot anthracite and about 40 minutes to loading the hopper and closing the door and walking away...

Once you have a small base fire going (ie: 20 lit charcoals) you can handshovel some coal onto it in bits, closing the glass door in between.

My husband and I are divided on whether to leave the ash pan door open or not. If you do leave it open don't walk away from the stove, the heat builds so fast you will warp your grates...which is why I am looking for replacements, it only takes once, a warning to the wise...

we do get almost 12 hours out of our stove but often a midafternoon shake down helps out

thank you for the woodsmans website but I don't believe their grates work, we measured and looked at the pictures but they don't seem to match up

oops sorry for the back to back post, I just read about the fire burning up in the hopper.

Our surdiac hopper is inside the stove also

sometimes we get some coals burning up in the lower portion, in fact a bit of the hopper has burnt out so we have a concave rim on it

check and see if you can set the hopper height, we have two levels of notches. you will need to pull the hopper up out of the stove to see if you have the two levels of notches that the hopper bucket rests on

when coals are burning up into the hopper you can do these things

1. set the height of the hopper like described above
2. shake/poke the ashes down more frequently
3.close down the draft wheel on the back so the fire burns slower

You're quite welcome, Ellen. Sorry it didn't have the right part...we FINALLY got ours going; it's just going to have to take a little practice for a while, I think. Quite a sense of accomplishment when it did light off That's a good suggestion about getting some cold air in the basement to get the draft going. Thanks! All these suggestions seem so obvious in hindsight (Monday Morning Coalstoving? ). We do have to order some glass for the front, though; Jim accidentally broke 3 of the pieces while closing the door (I'm not asking).

happy Thanksgiving, all!

Karen