Running out of coal? Safety Problem?

I wanted to know if I left the house and couldnt make it back for a few days will this pose a safety problem? I have a Pioneer so if I filled the hopper and went off to my sons' house and got stuck there in a storm what happens when the hopper runs empty?

You can, but it depends on how warm you want to keep your house and how much you burn.
The hopper can only hold so much and the ash pan also. It will just keep running until it's empty and flame out. It won't hurt anything. We have gone on overnight trips before and it's still was keeping the house warm.

Wire a temp switch or 110V thermostat in series with the stove for maybe 60 or 65 degrees, it the stove goes out, the room cools down and shuts the stove off. Have your furnance set to a certain temp below that, so it will still keep the house warm.

My main concern is a fire in the hopper The coal always gets that funnel over top the exit at bottom. Im worried it will burn back up into the hopper thru its exit hole when coal is low and set the coal on fire that clings to all the corners in the bottom.

I tried to do a search on this but couldnt find anything, would have thought this would be a concern. Maybe Im just all wet when it comes to my theory.

Thanks for your reply WNY

My pioneer has run out a few times. The fire will go out but the fans will still run which kind of sucks but i was never worried about a potential fire hazard. Ive always woke up to mine out so maybe the fans shut down at a later time but that hasn't been my experience.

61hawk wrote:My main concern is a fire in the hopper The coal always gets that funnel over top the exit at bottom. Im worried it will burn back up into the hopper thru its exit hole when coal is low and set the coal on fire that clings to all the corners in the bottom.

If you have the proper draft set you will not have a hopper fire.

yes, calibrating and setting up your draft is a must to prevent hopper fires, they are not a very common occurrence, but has happened, they only burn so far back, it's not like the whole hopper is on fire, usually just smoldering near the bottom when it does happen and then the smoke start to come up thru the hopper.

When I bought the stove I ask the guy (stove dealer) I bought it from to come over and check everything before I started it for the first time. All he did is put a lighter under the flue inside the stove and said you have good draft you will be fine.

I guess I better do a search on here and read up on how to setup my draft.

Thanks for all your responses

Will this measure my draft? UEI EM 150 Digital Manometer. This is the response I got from the guy selling it

Yes. I believe you would measure the draft below the barometric damper (via small access hole) after it is installed. The range of the meter is as low as -20" of WG. The resolution is .05" for anything up to -9.95" so you should be able to display a reading in the correct range which is usually a minimum of .05" WG of draft on natural draft system. However, you would only be able to see changes in increments of .05" of draft at a time due to the resolution. Hope this helps

How about this one........ Dwyer Mark II Molded Plastic Manometer Model 25

61hawk wrote:How about this one........ Dwyer Mark II Molded Plastic Manometer Model 25

Get the Dwyer!!

That would work, but probably overkill.

yes, the Dwyer Model 25 is what MOST of us use on here is. it's cheap and easy to use.

Do a search on Dwyer Model 25 on here, there are numerous places posted online to buy them, Avg. $25-35, the show up on Ebay too.