Hopper Fed Stoves? Hitzer

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:10 pm

Pardon my ignorance. How do the Hitzer hopper fed or any other stove with a coal magazine work without all of it going up? I have watched several Hitzer videos also some Base Heater posts were "coal magazines" are mentioned. I guess I just don't understand how it feeds.

Thanks

Post by **franco b** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:25 pm

ASea wrote:Pardon my ignorance. How do the Hitzer hopper fed or any other stove with a coal magazine work without all of it going up? I have watched several Hitzer videos also some Base Heater posts were "coal magazines" are mentioned. I guess I just don't understand how it feeds.

Thanks

Coal needs air to burn and the coal in the hopper is air starved, so only burns a little at the bottom.

It feeds some coal as the burning coal below turns to ash and collapses, but the major feeding happens when the bed is shook down and the ash is removed allowing room for more coal.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:35 pm

franco b wrote:
ASea wrote:Pardon my ignorance. How do the Hitzer hopper fed or any other stove with a coal magazine work without all of it going up? I have watched several Hitzer videos also some Base Heater posts were "coal magazines" are mentioned. I guess I just don't understand how it feeds.

Thanks
Coal needs air to burn and the coal in the hopper is air starved, so only burns a little at the bottom.

It feeds some coal as the burning coal below turns to ash and collapses, but the major feeding happens when the bed is shook down and the ash is removed allowing room for more coal.

More specifically, "anthracite" coal burns primarily with air entering from beneath the ashes. Never use bituminous (bit) coal with a hopper feed.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:40 pm

Gravity my friend:) The rest has already been explained about the air.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:49 pm

"stove envy" definition: I would to have a hopper for my Vigilant 2310

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:50 pm

Well I guess that explains it.

Thank You,

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 12:54 pm

I am just thinking in terms of my Wife. It would be easier for her to shake down the stove before she goes to work and again when she get's home on the days I work my 24hr shifts. I could dump the ash and tend to other issues reload the hopper on the days that I am home. What size coal do the Hitzer stoves like? Looks like chestnut.

Gian4 · Post by **Gian4** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:04 pm

Hi
Hitzers use nut or pea sized coal. I have a 503 insert and run nut in mine. I get 20 to 24 hour burns with mine. Many tend there stoves every 12 hours. Your wife should be able to tend the stove depending upon her level of comfort with the process. The shake down system on the insert is a little tricky and has a bit of a learning curve to get the "touch" down so as not to dump the fire. I'm not sure how tricky the free standing Hitzer shake down system is. Not rocket science but requires a little finesse.
Gian4

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:15 pm

The house I live in now is around 1300sqft so if I was to burn pea or a nut pea mix It sounds like would probably get longer burn times.

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:17 pm

My Bride wants very little to do with a Coal stove, she remains very skeptical. So if all she has to do is shake it down two or three times a day that works for me.

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:25 pm

It sounds like some of the old coal Base Heaters have hopper/magazines available as well.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:32 pm

ASea wrote:My Bride wants very little to do with a Coal stove, she remains very skeptical. So if all she has to do is shake it down two or three times a day that works for me.

Why not take a short ride over to Dave Erickson's Stove shop in Littleton, he may have something the wife likes!
http://www.ericksonsantiquestoves.com/

ASea · Post by **ASea** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:39 pm

michaelanthony wrote:
ASea wrote:My Bride wants very little to do with a Coal stove, she remains very skeptical. So if all she has to do is shake it down two or three times a day that works for me.
Why not take a short ride over to Dave Erickson's Stove shop in Littleton, he may have something the wife likes!
http://www.ericksonsantiquestoves.com/

15 minutes from my house. Never even thought to stop in just assumed it was cook stoves. Awesome!

Thanks for the suggestion michaelanthony

Stoker6268 · Post by **Stoker6268** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:42 pm

ASea wrote:I am just thinking in terms of my Wife. It would be easier for her to shake down the stove before she goes to work and again when she get's home on the days I work my 24hr shifts. I could dump the ash and tend to other issues reload the hopper on the days that I am home. What size coal do the Hitzer stoves like? Looks like chestnut.

You are going to have to fill and empty ash min every 24 hrs.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Thu. Jan. 01, 2015 1:43 pm

ASea wrote:15 minutes from my house. Never even thought to stop in just assumed it was cook stoves. Awesome!
Thanks for the suggestion michaelanthony

You got it bro, I am a transplant and grew up near Boston, my sister went to Fitchburg State '78-'79, nursing student, I would drive her back and forth on the week ends...I spent a month there many a week end