Coal safety!

IMG_1892, IMG_1893, IMG_1894, IMG_1895, IMG_1896, IMG_1897 Here are some pics of my stove, the brick that is breaking off and inside of the stove.i spoke with the people that have serviced it before and they told me to just simply go to any fireplace shop and get new refractory brick.I spoke with someone there and they asked what size I needed. I said ????? he then asked about the stove I told him that it was a Godin coal and wood stove (although I found burning wood brought the stack temp way too high) anyway i also told him I thought it was at least 10 years old and was oval shaped.He then proceeded to tell me that he did not think that that style of brick was made anymore because it had to be curved.He told me he had not seen this in about 20 years.This troubled me because the person I have service it said it was a simple job no troubles.After being at the stove shop I'm not thinking so. They also felt the need to show me the new style of coal stoves of course, but this makes me wonder if he just wanted me to just buy new instead of helping me repair it.If anyone knows anything about this style of brick or other proper and safe way to fix this I would greatly appreciate it because I have been using gas now for 3 days straight, thats the most I have ever had to before.

Ohhhh, the pictures didn't make the trip. Did you click "add the file" after each pic?

The brick are commonly called stove brick, or half brick. I think the salesman may be right, the curved ones are a thing of the past. Buy a $8 diamond blade for a skill saw & , with care, you'll be able to cut angles on the sides of the brick and make them fit. You'll also fill the entire county with dust so do it outside & wear a decent mask.
I saw some at a local hardware store for $5 each, but the brickyard has them for $2.

I'm hoping that there is some help out there for me...

I'm a coal newbie, bought a 12+ year old Alaska Channing 2, in good shape. Cleaned up nice all blowers seem to work well, bored out the combustion air holes, built a tile pedestal to set it on, and I'm ready to go.

But now for the flue, I need(want) to buy an outside negative pressure direct vent (for safety) but the ones I've looked at say I should be getting a 3" or 4" based on my BTUs, my top vent Channing is 6". Does a guy just neck it down??? And I guess I need an additional air damper somewhere inside but how do I set it? How do I adjust the direct vent so it's not just over-cranking the combustion fan and making the stoker run faster than it should?
Wish I had a real flue set up, but I don't. Gotta go horizontal out the wall.

Can anyone help with some "how-to" links or something step by step?
I am only going straight up from the stove about 2', then a 90, then another 16" to the exterior wall.

Also if anyone has a scan of a manual for a Channing 2, I would REALLY appreciate that.
Thanks for ANY help!
-Carter

PS Is anyone willing to recommend an outdoor power vent model and indoor damper model, I would appreciate it!!

Wow there are some nice people on this forum!!!! I have been reading about a barro on my new harmo. I dont have one? The stove burns hot and fast and what little I have burned it it could be burning to fast. Anyway by reading the specs on one on this sight i dont have the space? I have vented my stove in my masonary chimney with six inch stanless flex.the stove has a 17 inch pipe out the back into a tee and up the masonary fireplce it goes. I am getting a little scared after reading some of the post. Anyone in the odenton MD area?

Halleys5 wrote:PS Is anyone willing to recommend an outdoor power vent model and indoor damper model, I would appreciate it!!

I use an Alaska power vent myself. Think it was $500 two years ago. It is all stainless steel and comes with an internal damper. It works well with my Alaska furnace.

Wood'nCoal wrote:

I always keep a barrel of sand around so if I ever need to put a deep bed coal fire out quick

I have a 50 lb. bag of Sodium Bicarbonate.

Where does one get a 50 Lb bag of Sodium Bicarbonate?

grumpy wrote:Where does one get a 50 Lb bag of Sodium Bicarbonate?

II never did find a 50 lb bag of baking soda but I got a 10 lb bag at Costco. Personally, I think 50 lbs for my Harmon Hand fired stove would be over kill; 10 lbs and cutting the air off should do it for me. I think you could probably find the larger bags on the internet. Fire fighting professionals apparently use them to put out chimney fires by dropping them down the chimney. Just do a search on fire safety equipment or the like, hopefully, something will pop up. Good luck, Lisa

grumpy wrote:

Wood'nCoal wrote:

I always keep a barrel of sand around so if I ever need to put a deep bed coal fire out quick

I have a 50 lb. bag of Sodium Bicarbonate.

Where does one get a 50 Lb bag of Sodium Bicarbonate?

Swimming pool supply, used to adjust the PH in pool water.