Godin Leaky Lid

 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Sat. Jan. 10, 2009 9:57 pm

Thanks for the great advice! I'm learning a lot here :)

The wood is only piled there because 20 minutes before the pic, we had a big water spill, and the stove area was the only temporary dry safe haven from the water...basement is dry, and wood is safely piled near the laundry area. I appreciate the concern :)

My wife and I bought this old fixer upper house as a foreclosure, and it has taken 10 times more money and time than expected...and we've only just begun. Burning coal instead of using the hot water oil furnace/wood will be a welcomed savings. Thanks for helping us get started!

Shad

 
rberq
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 1300 with hopper
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Anthracite Nut
Other Heating: Oil hot water radiators (fuel oil); propane

Post by rberq » Sun. Jan. 11, 2009 10:53 am

Shadscbr wrote:bought this old fixer upper house as a foreclosure, and it has taken 10 times more money and time than expected
I feel your pain. I tried to rehab a 1787 cape ten years ago. It was in sorry shape, and I would have been tens of thousands ahead of the game to bulldoze it and start fresh. I ran out of both time and money and had to sell it to someone with more of both.

Your chimney looks like it has the proper height above the roof so wind won't blow down it. The cold winds probably affect it most simply by cooling it and therefore chilling the flue gases. You could consider boxing it in, with some insulation around it. Yeah, I know, there are a hundred other things with priority now to spend your money on. Also I don't know if there are building codes that would forbid enclosing it, for fire-safety purposes. I shouldn't think so because lots of chimneys are interior and boxed in behind interior walls.

 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Wed. Jan. 14, 2009 10:12 pm

The baro is in and I bought a few bags of nut coal to start off- tonight is our first coal fire....now I have some more questions :)

Is a little sulpher like smell normal when adding coal?

It's hot, but I would like to get it hotter. Are the two basic ways to do this by opening the air inlet on the bottom door more to increase the air to the fire, and/or to close the manual damper more to keep the heat from going up the chimey? What happens if you close the manual damper all the way?

I was reading some of the damper threads, and I may be more confused now. Some say not to use a manual damper at all....wouldn't all the hot air go right up the chimney?

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it! I hope my fire is still going in the morning.
Shad

 
djackman
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Post by djackman » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 12:49 am

Shadscbr wrote: Is a little sulpher like smell normal when adding coal?
Mine did the same thing.
Shadscbr wrote: It's hot, but I would like to get it hotter. Are the two basic ways to do this by opening the air inlet on the bottom door more to increase the air to the fire, and/or to close the manual damper more to keep the heat from going up the chimey? What happens if you close the manual damper all the way?

I was reading some of the damper threads, and I may be more confused now. Some say not to use a manual damper at all....wouldn't all the hot air go right up the chimney?
The baro damper maintains a constant the draft for the stove. This way you won't need to readjust the air inlet when conditions change (eg high wind, outside temp changes, etc) I would remove or lock open the MPD now that you have the baro. My old Godin would sometimes make the chimney warm to to the touch until I put a baro in. Kinda obvious where the heat was going :lol:

The Petite Godin manual says .06-.08in/wc as a target draft. IIRC mine was happy around .03

If you close the MPD all the way little or no air can flow thru the coal bed, it will go out or put out a miniscule amount of heat regardless of air inlet position. (Think "banana up tailpipe" )

Does your stove have upper and lower exhaust ports in the fire chamber?


 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:31 am

Thanks djackman! My stove only has one exhaust port towards the top rear.

The good news is that it stayed burning all night, but not very hot, I guess that's because I had the manual damper closed off a good bit. I'm going to keep it open this morning and see what happens.

keep the good advice coming :)

Shad

 
rberq
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 1300 with hopper
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Anthracite Nut
Other Heating: Oil hot water radiators (fuel oil); propane

Post by rberq » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:15 pm

Shadscbr wrote:to get it hotter ... two basic ways to do this by opening the air inlet on the bottom door more to increase the air to the fire, and/or to close the manual damper more to keep the heat from going up the chimey
As djackman said, don't close the manual damper; leave it wide open. Adjust the barometric damper to give the appropriate draft of .06 to .08. Best way to adjust it is with a manometer, but if you don't have that, then use the markings on the sliding weight scale of the baro. My recommendation is to start high, say .08, then as you gain experience you can experiment with lower settings. In theory, the lowest setting where it still burns well is the most efficient. But if you set it TOO low, heat output may suffer.

And yes, once the baro is set, increase the heat by opening the air inlet more.

 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:22 pm

Thanks rberq!

I left the manual damper wide open while I was at work today. It's 16 outside, and it is 68 inside on the first floor. Wood could never do that in this stove.

I can't thank you guys enough for all of your help. It's nice to be warm :)

Shad

 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:28 pm

One more quick thing...about the sulphur smell. Does it have more to do with the specific coal type i'm using, or is there something I can do to reduce it?

thanks!
Shad


 
djackman
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Post by djackman » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:39 pm

Coal is gonna smell like coal - not much you can do about that.

Mine didn't stink up the room when reloading, it was just a quick whiff of the scent of saving $. Not sure how you're reloading but on mine the lid was only open for 30 seconds or so - open lid, dump in from 5 gal bucket, close lid.

You could try covering the baro with a sheet of AL foil when reloading, more draft might help keep combustion gases in the stack.

 
rberq
Member
Posts: 6445
Joined: Mon. Apr. 16, 2007 9:34 pm
Location: Central Maine
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 1300 with hopper
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Anthracite Nut
Other Heating: Oil hot water radiators (fuel oil); propane

Post by rberq » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 6:59 pm

I assume you are talking about sulfur smell inside the house. I sometimes get a very slight smell when I open the loading door, but my stove loads from the front, and the stove geometry and the chimney draft tend to pull the gases into the chimney even with the loading door open. Yours loads from the top, I think???? So there is less to keep those hot gases from just rising up into the room when you open the top.

I have three suggestions that might help.
(1) The chimney draft creates a suction. The suction causes air to be sucked in through the air inlet, which is why the coal burns in the first place. So, completely close the air inlet just before opening the stove top. That means the suction will tend to draw air into the open top of the stove, because it can't draw any through the air inlet. If you're lucky the flow will be 100 percent in and zero out, therefore no smelly gas escaping.
(2) Before opening the top for loading, open the air inlet all the way for a few minutes to get a good draft going. Higher draft, higher suction in aid of suggestion number 1.
(3) Your new baro damper will also let air in, reducing the suction caused by the chimney draft. So lock the baro shut temporarily before opening the stove top. I have the Field RC baro, and I took a large paper clip, bent it into a "C" shape where the top of the C hooks over the face frame of the baro, and the bottom of the C slides into the little hole in the center of the weight scale on the flapper. I just slip it into place before opening the load door, then remove it after loading.

 
Shadscbr
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Post by Shadscbr » Thu. Jan. 15, 2009 8:02 pm

I've been opening the bottom door for the max-suction technique. I will try closing lower air inlet and see how it works. Ultimately, I think you're right, being a top load, it might be a tough thing to overcome. But as was mentioned before, the cost vs heat output makes it worth a few candles :)

thanks again!

Shad

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