Hitzer 82FA Maiden Voyage 1st Burn!

This is the perfect time to start your coal burning journal, take notes and leave it in the stove room. Outside temp, inside temp, how much coal you loaded, time of day for each shake and load, how long the fire lasts, name and type of coal etc. This is something you can reference until you're sick and tired of asking us questions just kidding this is a good way of creating a routine and understanding your stove.

The fire looks great how was the heat last night? Now is the time to shake and load. I would open the mpd. lift the deverter handle and shake until you see a red glow along the grates. Open the primary air vents, load one end of the fire bed as high as the bricks and allow it too catch meaning the blue flames show. As the new coal burns of it's volatile gas I would load the other half of the coal bed in a couple stages making sure the flames continue as you load.

Ya did good, I knew it would go for ya. You probably should have done a little shake this morning, we'll get it the next tending.

Once you get the fire bed built up you won't need to be so careful with layering. Next tending tonight you'll wanna just shake it down good and fill her up to the top of the bricks.

There are other methods to keep away the puff backs also. You can keep an area exposed like you did this time or you can level the coal bed and crack the load door a hair. This will keep gases diluted until they are ready to ignite safely on top the coal bed.

Good job.

To expand on what they said, shake with short choppy strokes because the grates can and will open far enough on the Hitzer to jam the grates wide open with unburnt coal. And don't shake too much because you can dump the fire.

Thank you everyone!

Oeespo, if it will help out, here is how I fire my 82. It's a great furnace, but comes with quite a learning curve. First, with coal, I never mess with the diverter handle. Been studying this for three years and it serves a purpose with wood, but wastes heat with coal. I just leave it up for coal.

When I light mine, it takes most of the day. You definitely want to run it full or almost full. The first day I fire it, I just add another bucket of coal every hour or so until it is full. It will hold at least 160 lbs. So this takes a while.

I tend every 12 hours no matter what. It saves time in the long run. When tending, I open the mpd, ash door, and shake. While I dump the ash pan, I leave the ash door open. Then I open the load door and check that the fire is very red and hot. At that point, I will throw a bucket of coal on. Try not to cover the front of the box. I mound it in the center and leave the corners low. This helps with ash build up as well. After a few minutes, I shut the ash door, crack the load door, and if I see blue ladies, I shut the doors, the mpd and go upstairs. I don't touch the temp setting unless the weather changes.

I hope this may be of some help. If you have any other questions a about the 82, let me know.

Thanks again. I'm a newbie and in the curve. Got through the first night thanks to everyone, and now through the first day.

This firebox is huge! I'm having trouble when filling, flue temps go below 200. thatsevery 12 hers maybe need to tend more often till I can get it full

My flue temps are always below 200*, what is your stove temp? I would load in a couple stages, maybe an hour apart if you can.

Ok ill try that, I have a chimgard thermometer and below 200 it says "low". Also on right side the flue diverters outlet. Is ik ok to fill above that steel plate. If I don't I get the blue flames there if I fill above seems light stove temps go down to where I can hold my hand on the top.

I would try some stove coal in that beast.

oeespo wrote:Ok ill try that, I have a chimgard thermometer and below 200 it says "low". Also on right side the flue diverters outlet. Is ik ok to fill above that steel plate. If I don't I get the blue flames there if I fill above seems light stove temps go down to where I can hold my hand on the top.

If the thermometer says 'creosote' anywhere on it it is designed for wood burning. It will still work on your stove, just ignore the 'optimum burn temps' as it describes.

Rob R. wrote:I would try some stove coal in that beast.

Been burning coal since the end of the first day. Problem is house too hot or too cold. With 200 degree flue temps fan hardly kicks on and I can hold my hand on top. At 350 she is cranking it out.

What is the stove temp? I would put the temp gauge on the top of the stove, run it up 450* - 550*then drop the diverter handle and see what happens temp wise. My flu temps with my 2 very different stoves run 110* - 140*...140* when it's 0* or below outside and the stoves are 600* or so.

Will try but outside temps last night 19. Today supposed to get above 50! So I may wait to try.

oeespo wrote:

Rob R. wrote:I would try some stove coal in that beast.

Been burning coal since the end of the first day. Problem is house too hot or too cold. With 200 degree flue temps fan hardly kicks on and I can hold my hand on top. At 350 she is cranking it out.

I know you are burning coal, I meant 'stove size' - which is larger than the 'nut size' you are burning now.