Very Excited About Our Coal Stove - Thanks King Coal!

Awesome news! Enjoy the heat!

hunterseat wrote:This morning it's going strong.

Congrats on the overnight burn!!! That's what your shooting for because that tells you it was filled up with enough coal and you have some level of control over the combustion air with the adjustable flapper!!!!! You are probably correct that the smoke detector was triggered by the burnoff of the new metal & paint.

Now that you are at this point its a matter of fine tuning it as you learn the burn characteristics of the stove and chimney draft you have. The ash clearing will be a learning process with how much to shake and when you'll need to scrape with a poker to adequately clear the ash. From the one post above it seems that stove needs the scraping frequently.

Where to set the air control for the needed temp output will also have a learning curve. Less under fire air, lower temps but longer burn time. More under fire air - higher temps but shorter burn time. A temp gauge will be useful to help with that. I have a cheapo IR temp gauge to point and click for stove temps (and to drive the cats nuts) and a cheapo 2" barbeque temp probe threaded into the flue pipe to watch exhaust temps for comparison. (If you want to see some real cool instrumentation on a stove check out Lightning's stuff.)

How much coal fit in your firebox to fill it up - 40lbs? In these warmer temps some people use pea coal which is smaller than nut to cut down on air flow through the coal bed which gives lower temps but longer burn times.

Congrats....you're on your way to being hooked on stove tending!

It is addicting, right? Plus it just feels good to finally figure it out. (should have started sooner)

It's a small stove so it's probably 20# all told. Because I added to what was already there, it didn't take a full 20#. I might be wrong about that, I'm not a numbers person. I got (10) 40# bags at TSC last night. $5.99/bag. I can see how long a bag lasts.

Wish ya had access to better quality coal! TSC seems so iffy according to way to many posts--BUT, glad ya seem to be gainin on her!

20lbs is not much coal compared to what some stoves hold, it will be tricky getting it to burn through the night and put out enough heat on real cold spells.

Fairly small house but I'm curious about the performance when it's cold. We haven't done much research on coal suppliers in this area. We aren't set up for bulk at this time.

Getting back to the air control, Those I have seen of that type can be operated manually when turned to the right position, which I think is about 180 degrees of turn.

Look at the setting knob carefully for any indication. To have it work automatically would be very helpful in adjusting the fire. As the fire ashes up the flap should gradually open up to maintain the temperature of the stove and be fairly open at tending time with plenty of air for the fresh load, and then gradually close as the stove heats.

Also examine the upper door for any provision to add air at that point.

The bad news is, I almost burned down the house. The good news is, the temperature control device works.
I'm embarrassed and ashamed and angry at myself for being so careless.
It's gotten so warm and I had it going really well. I've got the ceiling fans going wide open, the pets are stretched out on the tile floor panting. lol

BUT I added coal and opened up the air flow, including the lower door.... and walked out. We took the dogs for a run and when we came back it was so hot the top plate was cherry red. The smoke alarm was sounding and I thought for sure something had caught fire. At least now my other half understands how to handle it. It's all his. At least for now. I'm just so glad the house didn't catch fire.

Very lucky H. I bet ya learned a good lesson!! Put it to use.

Those are lessons you don't forget.

Lisa carries a small timer alarm whenever she leaves the room with the ash door open.

Glad things turned out ok that sounds scary.

franco b wrote:Those are lessons you don't forget.

Lisa carries a small timer alarm whenever she leaves the room with the ash door open.

Yep, I've been carrying a small, clip on kitchen timer with me whenever I have the load door open since I had my "overfiring come to Jesus moment" when I first started burning coal. I never start it for more then 10 mins so I never get very far if I've forgotten the stove was open. Everyone has a story about the time things got out of control. That's also when you learn the fastest way to cool down a coal stove is to add more coal.

I also have a leaving the house or going to bed routine that includes physically touching the door handles and checking the air valve as the last thing I do before exiting. That way I know for sure the stove is safe to be left. Lisa

lowfog01 wrote:

franco b wrote:Those are lessons you don't forget.

Lisa carries a small timer alarm whenever she leaves the room with the ash door open.

Yep, I've been carrying a small, clip on kitchen timer with me whenever I have the load door open since I had my "overfiring come to Jesus moment" when I first started burning coal. I never start it for more then 10 mins so I never get very far if I've forgotten the stove was open. Everyone has a story about the time things got out of control. That's also when you learn the fastest way to cool down a coal stove is to add more coal.

I also have a leaving the house or going to bed routine that includes physically touching the door handles and checking the air valve as the last thing I do before exiting. That way I know for sure the stove is safe to be left. Lisa

This is the best advice!! For me, routines have been a big part of it. The dogs even know my stove routines at this point. They wait at the door when they know its time to empty the ash pan. Kind of funny actually. I do the same thing with the door handles and air valves/dials before I leave or go to bed.

Thank you, Lisa, and everyone for making me feel less like an idiot. Looking at my TSC coal bag, oh. I thought it would have the originator but it just has "distributed by TSC".

Wow, this is a good read and thanks for your faithful contribution here. You are on your way to being a coal expert The most of it is just trial and error and paying attention to what's going on. Some people use a Jornal and take notes. I'll use my cell phone to take pictures of readings to compare with.

As for routine, you'll find your own, lots of great advice here. I always double check the stove before bed and leaving the house even if I haven't done anything to it since the last time I checked it. It's been reported that pets will bump and adjust primary air controls for you lol. I even keep a brick against the ash door so my cat doesn't open it. I remember reading about a member whose dog would paw at the air control spinner after he couldn't figure out why his stove was getting too hot.

As for fail safes when it comes to operation there are a few ways to go about it. You could use a kitchen timer or set the alarm on your cell phone. I use a remote BBQ thermometer that sounds an alarm when the flue pipe reaches 320 degrees. At that point I know the fresh batch is burning good and it's good to close the ash door and set the primary air for the heat output that I want.

You may run into more unknowns, don't be shy about posting them. Adequate ash clearing is a big one that many new coal burners stumble with. My routine is quite extensive because my stove is handicapped in that area. The best advice is to shake until you see some red embers fall and an orange glow illuminating the ash pan from above. You may also need to poke down thru the top of the coal bed to loosen ash along the sides and then shake it again. The trick is to not wait too long between tendings, and you'll figure out just what that is.

Keep up the good work and thanks again for the great posts...