Coalbrookdale Darby

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Liz570
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coalbrookdale Darby
Coal Size/Type: pea/nut

Post by Liz570 » Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 7:08 pm

We recently purchased a Coalbrookdale Darby with the intention of burning coal instead of wood. ( We have burnt wood for 30+ years). We have had the stove for almost 2 weeks.We have researched and have tried the recommended methods for burning coal. However we are doing something wrong.
We are using nut & pea coal. Finally mastered(?) getting the coal to start and can keep it burning overnight. The problem comes when we add coal, shake it, or remove ash pan. The fire always seems on the verge of dying back. The vent stack temperature runs around 200 or lower. There has been only one time that the stove actually felt like it was burning properly. Unfortunately we can't seem to duplicate the results. Both my husband & I are getting a bit frustrated. I think this is a good stove and I think it should heat our home (2500 sq ft). Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.
My husband wants me to add that we just can not seem to get any heat out of the stove & the ashes seem to build up quickly & don't seem to shake out.


 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 8:03 pm

The Darby is a great looking stove. The problem most have is with the shaker system. It is not too effective. Assuming you are filling the stove pretty full you should have good results with a fresh fire and poorer results as time goes on because the ash starts to obstruct the air. Nut coal should be better because of the larger air spaces between pieces.

When shaking you have to see a good glow in the ash pan to be sure you have gotten out most of the ash to insure a long burn before tending again.

You might try slicing down through the coal bed with a knife like poker with the thin side going through the coal to help things along without disturbing the coal bed too much. With pea coal you want a minimum bed of 5 to 6 inches and with nut 6 to 8 inches deep, covering the entire bed.

The problem could also be not enough draft. If it draws readily when starting a fire that is a good sign.

You can also put Darby in the search box in the forum to see what others have experienced.
Last edited by franco b on Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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D-frost
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Post by D-frost » Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 8:03 pm

Welcome,
There are a few members on this forum that have Coalbrookdales. They are a beautiful stove. At the top right of page you will see a search box. Type"Coalbrookdale" and you will find the threads relating to your stove. These may help you solve your issue, until someone jumps in to help. Again, welcome.
Cheers

 
coalnewbie
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Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 8:28 pm

I did play with the Derby and Severns many years ago in a land far far away. They work better with bituminous type coal of the UK fields. Watch that ash build up as XS heat will warp the grates and that is very expensive even if you can find the parts. A bitch to clean properly. I LOVE the look of those stoves though. The AGA group has great designers. 2500 sq ft, hmm I suppose it may be possible but I doubt it. Make sure it does not have water pipes unless you intend to use them. If you do intend to use them the BTU for US DHW is too low. If you succeed in mastering it post lots of photos.

 
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dlj
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Post by dlj » Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 10:44 pm

That is a beautiful stove! As it's already been said, they are a bit difficult to shake down, but you should get a good first fire. They need some practice though to keep going after a couple days to get the ash out. Have you tried burning wood in it? If so, how did it burn? How are you starting the coal fire currently? I agree with Coalnewbie that you will likely not heat a 2500 sq.ft house with that stove. But you should be getting good heat out of it, so something is not right...

dj

 
Liz570
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Location: Dillsburg, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coalbrookdale Darby
Coal Size/Type: pea/nut

Post by Liz570 » Wed. Dec. 10, 2014 6:11 am

Thank you all. You are confirming what we have believed all along. The problem is with shaking down enough ash & getting enough air to the fire. I always hear about over firing these stoves. Not a problem at this point. We read the online manual in regards to shaking down. 10-15 seconds is the recommended time. No where close to what it takes to remove ashes. We have tried gently slicing through the ash bed to allow more air in & ashes out. It helps. Thank you.
I will take your advice & check out the other Coalbrookdale owners comments.
I do like this stove and hope to successful master the burning technique. My husband on the other hand is ready to try a different stove! :)
PS: This forum is a stove & possibly a marriage saver! :D

 
Liz570
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Coal Size/Type: pea/nut

Post by Liz570 » Wed. Dec. 10, 2014 6:16 am

PSS: I forgot to mention we have not tried burning wood in this stove beyond the initial start up. I was actually tempted to yesterday when I was getting no heat but thought it would be defeating the purpose of buying this stove.


 
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D-frost
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Post by D-frost » Wed. Dec. 10, 2014 8:04 am

Folks,
Many of the forum members are 'converted wood-burners'! There is a learning curve, but with a little good luck, and help from this forum, I can say, "you'll get there". The 30 yrs. of 'wood burning' is just a memory to most of us. 'Been there-done that' I almost purchased a 'Severn' model, until I discovered the weight(500 lbs.)
The main thing is the airflow: Wood-very little air under the grate, more air above the grate. COAL(Anthracite)- air under the grate controls the burn rate. only a small amount of air over the grate is needed to burn off the gases. Wood-lots of tending to the fire. Coal- get it going, then don't even think about poking it! Stay with it. You'll get there.
Cheers

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Wed. Dec. 10, 2014 9:13 am

Liz570 wrote:PSS: I forgot to mention we have not tried burning wood in this stove beyond the initial start up. I was actually tempted to yesterday when I was getting no heat but thought it would be defeating the purpose of buying this stove.
I may be incorrect, but I think this was asked just as a sort of sanity check on your draft. If it drafted poorly with typically real hot wood fire exhaust, a cooler exhaust coal fire would really have issues. It is best to have a manometer to measure draft but this would eliminate one side of the poor draft equation.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Wed. Dec. 10, 2014 9:28 am

I will take your advice & check out the other Coalbrookdale owners comments.
Yes, but human nature is that we are a tad defensive about lifes choices so take those reviews with a grain of salt. A world class looking stove that is a pain to live with. This is how I would look at it. If heating that 2500sq ft all on coal is critical then up your game but that depends on many factors. If it just a helper stove, grin and put up with it and enjoy the fire. I need heat. Given average insulation and if you live in a cold place and you need all the heat to be coal, go for an all American 18" firepot base heater/back pipe monster and no inserts, put it into the body of the room. LOL. That is if you want a POH stove, there are other options.

 
Liz570
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coalbrookdale Darby
Coal Size/Type: pea/nut

Post by Liz570 » Thu. Dec. 11, 2014 6:30 am

Coalnewbie, thank you. My husband agrees with you. The stove is a pain in the butt to run, very nice to look at but more fickle than anything I have ever encountered. So, last evening, I shook the ashes down, stabbed the ash bed a few times and filled the stove with coal as recommended. I was amazed. The fire began to burn in earnest and then the next thing ,it was setting the smoke detector off. We assumed it was because of the paint fumes finally burning off this stove. I closed the stove back which was difficult ( logically) to do because it was finally giving off some heat! The house was finally the warmest it's been in weeks...65degrees.
This AM I came downstairs and the fire is completely burnt out, the stove is cold. Needless to say not too impressed. We bought this stove used and it appeared to have been used hard ( we did not know that @ the time of purchase- another story). The man that sold it to us refurbished the stove adding new glass & gaskets & paint.
My husband wants to add a baro damper. If that doesn't help we are thinking about a NEW stove. Maybe the one we purchased is just too defective or inadequate. You suggested to an All American stove 18" firepot base heater. Do you have any makes/models in mind?
Honestly, my husband thought & claimed coal would make heating this house easier and to date it has been nothing but a hassle. I am ready to have someone ( w/coal burning experience) come & check out this stove. I'd like to think I am not that old of a dog that I can not learn a new trick. I appreciate this forum but more times than not I leave with more questions and doubts as to if I am doing the right thing. I guess I am a visual learner.
Thanks for listening. Time to clean out the ashes & start a fire.

 
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blrman07
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Post by blrman07 » Thu. Dec. 11, 2014 6:49 am

If you fill out your avatar as to you general area there might be a forum member close by that would be willing to make a "house call." As one forum member says we haven't had anyone stolen yet for putting the general area where they live!!

 
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blrman07
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Post by blrman07 » Thu. Dec. 11, 2014 7:19 am

I checked out this stove and from what I can tell it is in the 50,000 BTU range which is going to make it small for 2500 sq ft. Probably the best your going to get from it is supplemental space heating in about 50-60% of that sq footage if your looking for a 40 degree spread between outside and inside. 30 outside it should hold 65-70 inside for about 1/2 the house. That in and of itself ain't nothin to sneeze at!!! However it is a space heater, not a whole house heater. Don't expect a space heater to sufficiently heat a whole 2500 sq ft. It will do a wonderful job of supplementing your existing primary heat source though!!

This stove looks very much like a VC 2310 just fancied up quite a bit. The reciprocating grates look and act similar and the fire box shape looks similar. The stoves should react pretty close to the same.

If your burning it hot, try a refill schedule of no more than 8 hours and shake and de-ash around every 4-6 except for that overnight run. Make sure that you have the firebox COMPLETELY full with it banked to the rear and sloping toward the front to the point coal is ready to fall out. Not only shake but if you can get to it run a knife between the grates to get a lot more ash out. This stove likes to breath. Keep it de-ashed and you should be all right.

Can you post some photo's of the stove in operation with the doors open and closed? Looking at the fire will help us help you.

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Dec. 11, 2014 8:34 am

OR, check out the Hitzer 50-93,it is a well liked stove used by many on this forum,& it should be a very capable unit for your house. Someone else with experience can chime in with a recommendation of one of the antique units that would work too.

 
Liz570
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Joined: Tue. Dec. 09, 2014 6:42 pm
Location: Dillsburg, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coalbrookdale Darby
Coal Size/Type: pea/nut

Post by Liz570 » Thu. Dec. 11, 2014 8:36 am

Thank you. I will post some photos. This AM we are still without heat as we are cleaning out the Coalbrookdale. In the process we are checking out the firebox , doors & gaskets. I suspect that the Darby is getting air from above the ash pan somehow. The doors have not seemed to work properly from day one. We were told that it was the new gaskets setting themselves. We have since figured out that it was the plate in the back of the door ill properly situated. Now that that is remedied, the doors close easily & tightly. TG
My husband is uncertain as to the advantages or need to install a baro damper. We have always used a manual damper for wood and have never had a problem. We are still uncertain as to the benefit as we have a good draft 99.5% of the time. Any thoughts or shall we just try going on as is? ( now would be the time to add one since the stove is out)
In regards to heating capacity, our wood stove heated the lower part of the house to around 65 which is quite adequate. The upstairs sleeping areas are of course much cooler but we like it that way. So maybe I have misled you in thinking we are trying to heat the whole house uniformly. Right now the outside temp is 33 and inside 60 and dropping.
I will post some picture of the stove's interior and perhaps someone could let me know if this is what they are suppose to look like?
Thanks in advance. liz570


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