Fire Chief Wood/coal Furnace

Howdy, First time on board, I have a Fire chief wood / coal furnace...burns wood great...thinking about burning coal...does anyone use a firechief for coal?? would like hear about it's coal burning...Thanx redcoals

Could you post a picture or two of your Fire Chief?

if it has the shaker grates/handle and under fire draft/damper ports, you should be able to.

Hey redcoals, is this your furnace: http://www.h2oasisinc.com/Fire%20Chief% ... 20ons/135/

here is a few pics does anybody know if the flue temp is higher burning coal than wood?

The flue will be at a lower temperature with coal, that thing should burn coal well.
It has a very interesting grate design (and lifetime warranty), I'm going to see if I can retro fit my old Steel King with those since I can't get the originals anywhere.

http://www.h2oasisinc.com/Fire%20Chief% ... 20ons/135/

Your furnace has a lot of similaritys to my Energy King .
I switched to coal and once you forget what you know about burning wood its the BEST!!!
75% less trips to load the beast and when it is loaded you can control the heat almost as well as an oil furnace.
I like the grate set up .that should make shaking down a breeze.
Do you have access to a steady supply of anthracite coal?.
Mine takes 190 lbs. of coal for initial filling and I add about 50 lbs. in AM and 50 lbs in PM.
If its real cold maybe a little more warmer days a little less about a ton and half a month.
I have only had to shut it down once because I displaced a firebrick while poking . I like the no having to restart a fire if i am gone for an extended period . I think I could fill it way up and leave for 24 hours and return to a still going fire.

Well after about 3 hours of getting the hang of it i have a nice coal fire going...i had about 4 inches of wood coals and added to it some coal and about every hr. i added more until I have about 4 inches of blue flame coal burning....cool...from what I gather I need to have more air under the coal then burning wood, I bought 4 bags of 40# for $5.00 each that seems a little much...it is http://www.blaschakcoal.com/html/thankscontact.htm the only coal in my area...does anybody know of other brand names...I am opened to any suggestions on burning anthracite coal...RC

It takes 50 of those 40# bags to make a ton, so at $5/bag you are at $250/ton, that 's actually a very good price for Michigan. Many people are paying $6-$7/bag for the same coal.

Greg L

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I have a fire chief 700 and am very pleased with it. I have gone as much as 24 hours during warmer weather and still was able to open ash pan door and get fire to take off again. I have found that it likes to bridge up with coal and not fall onto the grates so I poke it from the top to break up bridge and have made a poker for the bottom to slice between grates I get down and look in ash pan door and slice between the grates til I see red glow the length of grate. The over fire draft holes in the front of the stove need to be blocked off I made a plate that can be removed to cover the holes. I am burning Kimmels stove size coal have burnt blashac nut coal but furnace does better on stove coal.
I tend fire 2 times a day normaly 12 hours apart but during this cold weather will tend it every 8 hours or so. I also added a second fan temp control and tied it into my oil furnace fan so I can control oil furnace fan indepently.
I run with .08 draft measured with manometer this furnace likes alot of draft and needs a barometric damper.
Any questions you can PM me and I am willing to help you.

Hi redcoals
How do you like those roller grates in your furnace and how do they work? Do you just rotate them or do you rotate them and when they get stuck you change direction?I'm thinking about trying to fit a set of them in my hotblast furnace.
DON

LsFarm wrote:It takes 50 of those 40# bags to make a ton, so at $5/bag you are at $250/ton, that 's actually a very good price for Michigan. Many people are paying $6-$7/bag for the same coal.

Greg L

.

That is good to know...I have a lot of amish near here and this one fellow has a saw mill and sells lots of coal both the nut and rice coal...Greg where abouts do you live in mi.? RC

BIG BEAM wrote:Hi redcoals
How do you like those roller grates in your furnace and how do they work? Do you just rotate them or do you rotate them and when they get stuck you change direction?I'm thinking about trying to fit a set of them in my hotblast furnace.
DON

Don...well i guess the roller grates are ok..I usually just rock them back and forth..usually burn wood with my furnace and tonite is the first for the coal..I am thinking i need more draft or maybe i am to use to burning asha nd oak...RC

jimbo wrote:I have a fire chief 700 and am very pleased with it. I have gone as much as 24 hours during warmer weather and still was able to open ash pan door and get fire to take off again. I have found that it likes to bridge up with coal and not fall onto the grates so I poke it from the top to break up bridge and have made a poker for the bottom to slice between grates I get down and look in ash pan door and slice between the grates til I see red glow the length of grate. The over fire draft holes in the front of the stove need to be blocked off I made a plate that can be removed to cover the holes. I am burning Kimmels stove size coal have burnt blashac nut coal but furnace does better on stove coal.
I tend fire 2 times a day normaly 12 hours apart but during this cold weather will tend it every 8 hours or so. I also added a second fan temp control and tied it into my oil furnace fan so I can control oil furnace fan indepently.
I run with .08 draft measured with manometer this furnace likes alot of draft and needs a barometric damper.
Any questions you can PM me and I am willing to help you.

Why can't you just close the window on the draft blower? and what the heck is stove size coal? thanx..RC

Stove size is about the size of an average medium size potato.