Not Enough Heat after Cleaning Coal Stove

Right after Christmas, I shut the stove down and gave it a good cleaning. For whatever the reason, not sure what I could of down wrong, I simple let the fire go out and vacuumed the stove out and then relite the fire.

For some odd reason, I cannot get the stove "hot" without leaving the ashpan door open. Even at the most open setting, I am only getting around 300 and my downstairs is 74 degrees where typically it maybe around 80.

Any suggestions? Not sure if I got a bad load of coal or I did something wrong, but not sure what.

Thanks in advance,

Dan

Did you change coal sources at the same time?

Check the smoke pipe and chimney?

I'm not familiar with your stove but if it is a combo wood / coal, the ash build up could have been blocking air from going around the grates instead of through them.
Do you have a baro that you cleaned and the weight isn't set properly?

Lack of draft is the first thing to suspect. Remove the smoke pipe and check base of chimney . If the chimney has a clean out door check that. If open or leaky it could kill draft also.

michaelanthony wrote: I'm not familiar with your stove but if it is a combo wood / coal, the ash build up could have been blocking air from going around the grates instead of through them.
Do you have a baro that you cleaned and the weight isn't set properly?

I assume that the cleaning included cleaning the grates. My question: are the ashes any different than before? More clinkers or unburnt coal in the pan now v. before?

When I shut it down, I cleaned everything (fire box area, grates, ash pan area).

I see no color or size difference in coal ashes.

I am checking my pipe from the stove to the chimney.

Well, I had three elbow surgeries from November 2013 to July 2014.

I had failed to completely break down my stove which includes taking the stove pipe out and cleaning it to the chimney.

The pipe from the stove to the chimney was 3/8 full from the bottom. I would of never guessed it would of been that much in that pipe. But maybe after just two seasons....

I'll keep you posted, but it stoked up quicker just now and I also cleaned up the barometric damper and releveled it, a little off, but wasn't "dead nuts."

Thanks everyone...

check the outlet pipe flange, and flue pipe to the chimney, and the chimney itself. if you have a cap or hat on the chimney, make sure it didn't fall down and partially block it. the few times that happened to me, once was a chimney cap rotted and fell down, another time it was lousy coal with a lot of slate and dust in it, that didn't want to burn easily. if you get a load with a lot of dust and slate, it needs lots of draft to keep going.

I've got to clean my horizontal pipe and the T at the bottom of the vent at least 2-3 times per season. An depending on the coal you burn maybe more than that. I'm burning Direnzos now and very pleased with it but it does produce more fly ash than any coal I've ever burned. When YOUR elbows are healed, consider replacing the stoves elbows with T's. It makes it quick and easy to clean the vent pipe without even requiring you to shut down. The T's do not hinder the draw at all. There is a second T at the bottom where the vent connects to the unit.