Keeping Franco Belge Going

jasius wrote:very interesting... so I should not pay attention when this air port is open or closed at which dial position. I want to run hot, I run it on 6, for the night, I just dial it down to 2 and everything else will work out "automatically"?

No. 2 might be too low to maintain the fire. Between 2 and 6 is too wide a swing. Pick a setting and let it run 24 hours that way. Adjust a little higher or lower by small amounts until you get a feel for the thing.

wow. nothing like I expected, I learned something today. thank you very much

After fighting it for a week I must publicly admit a defeat. I can't sustain it. I managed to get it going everytime now with a thick layer of Matchlight. I then load up coal layer by layer and get a nice thick glowing coal bed. That work for at least 12 hours or so. However, seems like whatever I load into the hopper does not sustain the fire, in the morning I find it cold. In the evening I shake the grate before I go to bed it's still nice and glowing. Very frustrating exercise
JB

jasius wrote:After fighting it for a week I must publicly admit a defeat. I can't sustain it. I managed to get it going everytime now with a thick layer of Matchlight. I then load up coal layer by layer and get a nice thick glowing coal bed. That work for at least 12 hours or so. However, seems like whatever I load into the hopper does not sustain the fire, in the morning I find it cold. In the evening I shake the grate before I go to bed it's still nice and glowing. Very frustrating exercise
JB

You have to slice the coal bed with the flat poker through the 3 slots, as well as shake to adequately clear ash.

This is new to me. I thought that no one can affect integrity of the bed or else fire will go away! Could you elaborate on " through the 3 slots"

JB

jasius wrote:This is new to me. I thought that no one can affect integrity of the bed or else fire will go away! Could you elaborate on " through the 3 slots"

JB

When you move the shaker handles to the left you will see 3 slots uncovered that are just above the grate level. They are to insert the flat offset poker which is worked back and forth while inserting deeper. Work the poker in all 3 slots and then invert the poker and do it again. Finish by shaking the handles and be sure to recover the slots by moving the shaker handles to the right. Failure to do this will result in air going in those slots and too hot a fire which will not be controlled by the thermostat.

Here is a picture of the poker.

Sometimes the shaker handle becomes jammed, in which case just smack with the palm of your hand on the flat of the shaker tool .

Live and learn. I have this tool left by the previous owners but never know what it's for. So do I poke from the top to keep those openings clear for soot to come out? So far I would randomly jiggle the handles and think that it's sufficient. It's a lot of science involved...

jasius wrote:Live and learn. I have this tool left by the previous owners but never know what it's for. So do I poke from the top to keep those openings clear for soot to come out? So far I would randomly jiggle the handles and think that it's sufficient. It's a lot of science involved...

Poke from the top along the front edge and front corners and then work the tool through the slots. Finish with a shake Be sure to close the slots when done by moving shaker handles to the right.

By pulling the shaker handles straight out it will open a one inch gap in the grates which is intended to help dump the fire pot at end of season for cleanout. Be aware of this because if you pull out on handles you will open that gap and dump some coal. Finish your shake by giving the shaker handles a push in with the tool and heel of your hand, which you will also do if the shakers are jammed.

Jasius, it does take some trial & error to learn your stove and burning coal generally. My first season was very frustrating, and no forum like this for advice. Yes, you can poke down the ash, particularly along the front edge and side of the burning chamber, but don't get too carried away or you can do more harm than good. When riddling with the tool as Franco describes, you can begin with a sawing motion and then swipe side to side. You will want to keep going until you begin to see hot embers falling into ash pan. I usually leave the ash door open until the coal bed recovers before closing it. Once you get the shaking down process perfected, you'll then eventually learn just where to set the dial to keep her alive until morning....and how to perform "CPR" when she looks hopeless. Believe me, nobody learned this in the first few weeks (or even their first season) so hang in there...

jasius wrote:I am having a particularly difficult time in keeping my Franco Belge going. I load half of it with Kingsford Match Light and then when it's hot keep adding thin layers of coal, no problems, very nice and hot coal.

Jonas

May not be your problem but why so much matchlight? 1) expensive, 2) gasses can go boom in an airtight, 3) too much ash too quickly to clog the air flow. I think most people that use it just put a thin layer, add 1 layer of coal to the reds and when the coal iights fill-her-up.

this is the thing that makes it go. Nothing else does. Coal would not fire up any other way, I already stopped trying when tried matchlight

jasius wrote:this is the thing that makes it go. Nothing else does. Coal would not fire up any other way, I already stopped trying when tried matchlight

That seems like a draft problem with a cold chimney. Venting into a fireplace on an outside wall is not the best arrangement if that is what you have. Presumably it is going OK now?

Nah, it got extinguished overnight for the umpteenth time. Today due to the approaching cold weather I am trying again, just started it going nice. I noticed when was cleaning that last extinguished fire that half of the bed was ashes. I think shaking does not remove it properly, I am still somewhat unsure how to use that special tool. I will try that in 8 hours or so, now I have dial on 6. Could somebody post some more pics on how to shake the grate and use that tool to get rid of ash? Remember, some of your terms are somewhat advanced to me, I am not a native English or proficient coal stove user... Thanks

Hi..

You may want to look through a long thread here titled "Diary of a Surdiac". These stoves are very similar to your Franco Belge except that they have no front shakers...only the slots for riddling. The author of this thread also posted an excellent video of how to properly shake down these stoves. It's not complicated, but has to be done properly so the coal bed received enough air from below.
I also wonder about your chimney...can you tell us about it? You should be able to easily start your coal with a wood fire if you have adequate draft. I've never used Matchlite...sounds stinky (I wouldn't want that lighter fluid smell in my house). Hopefully, we will solve your problem soon because its rather fridgid this weekend....glad mine is keeping the house in the mid 70's.

OK, chimney. It's some sort of standard pipe in the brick chimney. I had an unrelated problem over the Summer as long as we talk about the chimney - perhaps somebody could advise - I had lots of condensation inside the house below where the pipe comes out of the wall. When it would rain it was moist and now brick looks ugly. I called a chimney guy he said condensation was the problem, chimney was clean, he checked it. How do I deal with this damn condensation? he checked the roof, flashing, said it was OK. Could anybody suggest how do I plug that chimney since it corroded all the steel tube that is connected from the stove to the chimney.

Anyway, back to the shaking the grate, I will check out the post, thanks!