Best Way to Shut Down Stove for Repairs?

I have some planned repairs coming up on the 24'th as it will be in the 50's so a perfect day. It is for the controversial secondary air inlets on my Crane 404. and not debating the merits of that here. I look at it as my stove my experiment, being an engineer there is always one more tweak that may or may not just be a brain fart.

I am thinking running it hot and shaking poking every couple hours so the least to deal with in fire box. Make sense or no?

Yeah, when I purposely do a burn out for a shut down, I'll shake it down (towards the end of a burn cycle) and mound whatever is left towards the center. Then turn up the primary a bit. Several hours later, shake again and mound in the center, turn up the primary more. At that point, it will become depleted of burnable coal and start to cool down, I'll shake and stir and shake and stir which kills it.. I'm left with not really enough to worry about saving.

I, like yourself, enjoy experimenting.. You'll have fun with the secondary air addition..
Just make sure you measure three time and cut once, and be confident to the best of your ability they are placed where you want them. You will want a way to regulate them too.. I used caps from metal electrical conduit to control my secondary air.. Works great.

Lightning wrote:I, like yourself, enjoy experimenting.. You'll have fun with the secondary air addition..
Just make sure you measure three time and cut once, and be confident to the best of your ability they are placed where you want them. You will want a way to regulate them too.. I used caps from metal electrical conduit to control my secondary air.. Works great.

I have CNC milling machines lathes etc. and not afraid to use them LOL. They pay the bills around here and may have to pull a job off one for an hour to make the parts. My present to me the day before Christmas and real work pointless. I am going to measure very carefully so they are as close to perfectly inline so I can change to a secondary air tube should the simple spinner not do the job. If that causes another shutdown I have become the champion of lighting a 404 as plenty of practice all the lost fires my bone head moves. The last falling asleep with a bit too much wine watching TV and my 8-10 hour service went to 15 and a couple of meager coals still alive so just let it burn out.

Eventually I need a stove with grates that need a lot less poking and slicing and larger as I have to run the 404 600 stove top when in the 20's and if it goes to 700 I don't panic either 750 I get nervous though. I think that sounds like a base burner and have connections with a place that can water jet parts and a weld shop quite reasonable and just have it mig welded rather than tig welded that would be very expensive overkill. I am thinking the whole job can be done for 1k maybe 1.5 so cheaper than buying an overpriced used one and then a pile finding rare parts or expensive reproductions. I have a bunch of ideas of things to do to scavenge more heat that the old timers missed. I am thinking body made out of cold rolled 1018 and grates 4340 with cast iron gears off the shelf from browning gear.

Ok off to relight the 404 furnace came on and needs to be silenced!

Shaking it a few times throughout the burn down process helps the ash go up and out instead of settling in the house.