Surdiac MCK508 stove

I just bought a Surdiac 508 coal stove. Does anyone have any information on this? I am looking for an instruction manual specifically. I have no clue how to use it. It looks pretty similar to some of the Franco Belge stoves.

Rob, I also have a surdiac that I have been using since 1984. My Model is the 713 Gothica but I think they should be very similar. First make sure the stove is in good working order. Take the stove apart and clean it all out with a shop vac. Make sure to take off the 2 clean out ducts on the rear heat exchanger, and get the shop vac in there to remove all that fly ash. Make sure the heat exchanger is in good condition (no Holes) Once the heat exchanger goes you can use the stove for a great planter. Parts that go are the grates and the Hopper. The hopper is 2 heavy cast iron parts, they have a tendency to bow in with time (maybe 7-10 years) when this gets severe, you need to change the hopper. Also change the gaskets on both the viewing door and the ask pan door like once every 2 years. You can get parts at http://www.woodmansparts.com.
Here is how to work the stove:
Obviously fill the stove from the top door. As the stove burns the coal in the fire box the new coal will fall in. You still need to shake the stove 2-3 times a day. You should have a long flat tool that looks like a poker. This is the tool to use in shaking. Behind the ash door there are 3 slots. Insert the poker into these 3 slots and using a stabbing motion to the right , left and center, This will cause the ash to fall and the new coal will replace the ash. Do not pull the poker back and forth as this will cause the ash to pile up on the sides. Also once in awhile open the viewing door and move the ashes tthat pile up on the front and sides by stabbing the ash from the top. Do this for all 3 slots. Keep the hopper full. Empty the ashes 1 time a day. Make sure you have barametric damper installed between the heat exchanger and the chiminy. The damper should only move when the stove is on and the door should flap open on windy days. I usually dont go above #2 setting on the thermo bulb, But thats just me. I dont want to overfire the stove. I heat a 2,400 ft colonial with 3 tons of pea and am extremely happy with my old surdiac. Cant tell you how much money I have saved over the years. Let me know if I can be of further help to you, justy ask
Larry

Thanks for the input however I could not get that link to work for the parts website.

Does anyone have a users manual for this stove?

I bought a 508 new for my first house in the '70's. It was a sweetheart, which we found to be pretty easy to maintain. I don't have the factory manual, but do still have a copy of the instructions provided by the dealer. I've scanned and attached them for you & anyone else. I also have a replacement firebox grate (never used) which I'm planning on listing on eBay.
=-> Doug

Surdiac parts and accessories are available at http://www.myersfurniturepa.com.

Hi,
I have a Surdiac Operation and Maintenance Manual. It contains a dozen pages. I could copy it if you want a copy.
Commissioner

rrob311,
Just curious, how much is a Surdiac MCK508 worth?? Thanks

Hello, My name is Rich. i live in Londonderry Nh. I have been using a Surdiac Gotha 713 stove for the last 15 years. It came with the house we bought and has been a life/cost saver ever since we moved in.

I just wanted to take a minute to describe my starting method. I hope it helps any novices who will run into some typical problems.

Drafting is the first step. Because these stoves pass the heat and smoke thru a manifold before exiting thru the flu, if there is not an adequate initial draft, smoke will just leak thru ever hole and loose seal there is in the stove creating a nasty stinky mess in the house. Opening a window or door helps, but getting the flu hot first is the best thing to do. Sometimes a propane torch blowing a flame directly into the flu draft control valve will work. I'm lucky that my house was built with a downstairs and upstairs input into the chimney. The upstairs parlor stove took up too much space in the living room, so I removed it and capped the pipe insert with a removable cover. Now when I want to create a draft, I pop off the cover and insert a foam adapter that holds a 1500 watt hair dryer that blows hot air into the flu. This runs for about 10 minutes as I prepare the stove for lighting.

The downstairs stove has been thoroughly cleaned prior to the start up. Without placing any coal into the stove, I crumple up 4 wads of newspaper into very tight wads and place them into the two ends of the stove. two wads per side. Then I build a little Teepee of dry Oak kindling over these wads of paper. My intent is to create a flame that will run up each side of the stove and allow the heat to run directly into the exhaust pipes and into the manifold as quickly as possible. I will light a match and blow it out to see if there is a draft pulling air into the stove before I light the paper. If the draft is positive, then I will light the paper and close the front door. I adjust the thermostat to 8. All of the doors are closed tight.

The heat of the flame, being directed directly into the exhaust manifold pipes, quickly heats the manifold, which heats the flu pipe and then quickly reinforces the draft into the stove minimizing any smoking of the room. My wife hates the smell of smoke.

When the kindling gets close to burning out, I will (slowly) open the front door and place more (thicker) kindling into the stove, equally distributing the wood around the whole area, then close the door again. The idea is to get the stove very hot before putting any coal into it. At this time I will go upstairs and remove the hair dryer and cap the flu. When the second load of wood is starting to burn down, I will (slowly) open the top hopper cover. When this top door opens, a strong draft should inhibit any smoke from exiting. I will drop in some (thicker) kindling so that the inrush of air down at the bottom of the hopper acts like a bellows thru the kindling. I will follow this up with a quart can of room temperature pea coal, then close the hopper door. It only takes a few minutes before the wood is burnt out and the coal is well lit. At this time I will re-open the hopper and load enough coal to fill just over the hopper bottom. After I get a well distributed red glow of burning coal along the whole length of the stove, I will fill the hopper and then turn the thermostat down to 1 or 2 depending on the outside temperature. Setting 3 will make it too hard to sit anywhere near the unit.

I typically shake my stove every 2 - 3 hours while I'm awake, but have no problem with letting it go 8 hours overnight. But if you want it to run at optimum performance, you must shake the ash down frequently. When the weather drops down below 20 degrees F, the draft increases and makes the stove burn quicker, even at lower settings. Over extended burn periods, say about the third day, ash starts building up in the corners and edges of the stove. It's a function of the three small ash shaking ports inhibiting access to the whole bottom of the stove. This will inhibit the ability of the stove to burn at full capacity. To correct this, I will stop putting in coal until there is only a very shallow layer of burning coal left in the stove. I will then (slowly) open the front door and use my poker to get as much of the corner and edge ash into the center of the grates so that it can be dropped into the ash pans. I will again place a few pieces of (thicker) kindling onto the still hot coals and when these have burned down, repeat my coal filling method. When I am running my stove non-stop thru a very cold weather spell, I have to fill it with coal and empty the ash pans twice a day. This is a little bit more than a 50lb bag a day, and at close to $8.00/day, this is not an inexpensive way to heat, but as a suppliment to our oil burner, and by never turning our home thermostat over 65. it has allowed us to burn thru only two tanks of oil during the winter months.

Occasionally, due to unforseen circumstances, the stove will seem to have burnt out, but there may still be hot, glowing coals just above the bottom of the hopper. A quick ash cleaning and opening of the ash doors may keep these coals burning
and re-light the stove. If the stove is out, I will have to remove the coals from the stove into a Metal bucket and restart the stove again. It's a pain when this happens, but it's par for the course. I have not had a problem pouring ashy coal from the bucket back into the stove when it is running strong again.

I make my kindling from old oak pallets by cutting the top and bottom slats off of a pallet frame with a skill saw. Then I sit for hours listening to classic rock while I sit with my trusty boy scout hatchet and split these boards into stove size peices. I keep these in two piles close to my basement door where they stay dry and ready. One pile of slivers and thin pieces to start a fire and one pile of thicker strips.

On occasion, because it's available, I mix in small quantities of nut coal into my pea coal for use. It never seems to cause any problems.

Dirty glass can be cleaned when the stove is cold using vinegar. A new wood flame will mess up the glass with soot at first, but the soot should drop off when it is heated and dried by the hot coal.

I have had to replace the fiberglass rope seals around my doors rwice since we moved in. It is an easy task.

Grates burn up quickly. I am on my third set. Unfortunately I cannot seem to find them any more. My order from stovepartsplus.com was made in April and I still haven't received it. Does anyone have a reliable source?

I hope this helps someone

Rich,Thanks for the in depth rundown on the care and feeding of the Surdiac stove.I bought one brand new in the 80's [Surdiac Southport] and only used it for 2 years due to constant fire-outs.I will admit a digout before a relite with a full hopper is a royal pain and since I was working 12 hour shifts at that time especially so.That is what caused me to take it out of service.The stove has been hi and dry in the barn for years and years.Your advice will come in handy for someone thats for sure.I wish I would have been able to read it 25 years ago. Mike