A Few Questions on a Hitzer 503 Insert

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otter
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Post by otter » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 5:07 pm

Just joined up today,as we just had a hitzer 503 installed a few days ago and have a few questions on its operation.
1. exactly how high can the coal be in this unit ? the highest I have the level, is a little lower than the door glass.
2. The highest stovetop temperature I have achieved is 200 degrees. I have read a few posts that indicate the temperature should be higher to heat a 2400 sq.ft. old,but well insulated farm house.
3. Where should I have the air controls set at to get more heat ? currently, the ash door vent is wide open,as is the vent under the glass.
The top control (i think is called the flue damper) is set half way out.
Currently , the lower floor is holding at 68.F. the outside temp. is around 10 above.
Thank you in advance for answering my rooky questions,as this type of heating really is new to me.

 
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grizzly2
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Post by grizzly2 » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 6:38 pm

The firebox should be filled to the top of the firebrick. Sounds like that is about where you have filled it to. The stove temperature taken on the stove body in an area that is NOT double wall, can be run up to 600*F. I have had my Hitzer 30-95 up to 550*.

Hopefully someone running the same model Hitzer that you have can give you better answers about air control for more heat. Good luck. Hitzer makes a great stove. I am confident that with proper operating procedures and settings you will be able to get all the heat you need. By the way... did you read the owner's manual :?: The manual on the Hitzer website for my stove was pretty complete with initial adjustment recommendations. :)

 
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topper
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Post by topper » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 7:20 pm

I have run a 503 since October. I fill the hopper pretty to pretty much full twice a day - once in the mornig and once in the evening. A pretty much full ach pan out once a day. I am running 40 - 50 lbs of coal through it daily.

The hopper is designed to have the proper coal depth in the stove when filled - the hopper. I don't fiddle with the coal once it has dropped down from the hopper into the burning coal bed. Like I outlined - I believe the stove hopper is designed to deliver caol to the bed as necessry - so - filler up!! The coal burning up into the hopper area is not an issue.

I shaake my stove down aggressively in the morning and again in the evening. I rake it one a week in this cold weather to get the embedded ash out of the coal bed. That day 1 plus ash pan is taken out.

After the coal bed is burning well I push my top flue damper all the way in - as you probably know there is still a stove pipe opening left by the damper - you can't (at least mine) close the upper damper completly - safety, etc...

I keep my ash pan sliders one half to a quarter open. Our homes/drafts are all different so you will have to experiment.

Stove top of 200 sounds to cool. Make sure you that your stove full of coal (not enough coal is an early learning mistake).

Good luck & have fun. Keep me posted if you wish.

 
jjfcars
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Post by jjfcars » Sun. Jan. 25, 2009 10:41 pm

put mine in dec. 9 has been running since then rite now it is 70 inthe house top draft is all the way in and ash pan vents are open almost half way this seems to be the best setting for me everyone is diffrent stove temp on top of stove stays around 275 to 300 keep looking on here these guys know more than me this the place to learn my heat pump hasnt been on since it was installed you are going to love it. just take your time good luck


 
CapeCoaler
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Post by CapeCoaler » Mon. Jan. 26, 2009 1:44 am

What size coal are you using Nut or Pea?
Do you have a 6" liner or is it just dumped into the flue?
How big is the flue if you are not using a liner?
Inside or outside chimney?
The fan is on right?
Close the air wash/glass vent.
Temps best measured above glass door, front of stove.
If you have a strong draft the damper can be pushed all the way in.
If the draft is weak pull the damper all open.
You need to get the body temps up to 325-375.
Heating 2000 sq ft insulated 30 yearold gambrel to an average 72* at 325* stove body tempature.

 
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baldeagle
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Post by baldeagle » Mon. Jan. 26, 2009 12:49 pm

To: otter as mentioned by topper, stove should run to about 290-300F .... that is with the fan operating. It will get warmer with reduced fan speed/no fan. The window air wash should be off/ capecoaler is correct. I only use mine while shaking. I have an older model with no upper furnace "damper" so only air control is in the ash door. You should get good heat with the slots about 1/4 open. When set there we use about 30#/day, at 1/2 open we use more than a 50#/day and will use about 80#/day if we shake 3 times/day. Buy a thermometer (I just use a digital meat therm. rated to 350F), check the outer stove temperature and the air exit temperatures - the air will go over 300F when running hard. By the Bye,
if you dump the ash after it cools(before next shake) you get near zero dust. We heat the bottom 2 floors of a weeinsulated
3 floor to comfort levels to about 15F, temperatures below that we turn the gas on once or twice / day. baldeagle

 
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Jim503RI
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Post by Jim503RI » Mon. Jan. 26, 2009 1:52 pm

Here's my 2 cents. I am new coal burning this year after 30 years of burning wood , hopefully some info will help. I learned it all from here. There are a bunch of good people here willing to help. After about 12 hours of burn I will open all vents to get stove hot before touching it. I open the top door and poke a rod into the front corners down to the pan.You need to clear some ash to get a good draft. Although You need some ash on the greats not to warp them.I close the top door and open the ash door (one door open at a time for dust control).I will shake it down until I see bits of glowing coal drop or see a glow from the greats.In the morning I will fill the ash pan, pull it out and mist to keep dust down. At night I will do a light shake. I also mist my coal when filling my bucket. Close the ash door and open the top door. I use a black formed shovel And fill both sides of the stove along the hopper high in back and taper down to just below the glass. I close the door and leave vents open until you get the blue flames dancing. Open the hopper lid slowly ,you might get a puff a flames at first and a small pop. Open the hopper and fill to the top. Close glass vent and top vent all the way. Ash vent 1/4-3/4 open depending on the outside temps. I like at least 300* stove top temp.in order to put
out any heat. I use between 40 and 50 lbs. a day.I'm new but this stuff works for me. Good luck with your Hitzer 503. It's a great stove and can do the job.

 
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baldeagle
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Post by baldeagle » Tue. Jan. 27, 2009 11:06 pm

To: Otter I agree with Jim, like to keep stove at about 300F, seems to be most efficient there ... keep the air wash closed except when shaking. Only difference we have is -- after shaking a GooD fire we simply fill the hopper to the top, we use a coal"scuttle" (bucket) and although a full bucket may drop a piece to bump back into the fill, it works quite well.
Two scuttles hold a bag (40#) of Blaschak coal. We also use a Hitzer ash tote sized for the 503's ash tray that sits next
to the 503. That gets dumped about twice a week into a 3mm contractor black plastic bag liner and on Monday out to the curb. Best Regards, baldeagle


 
otter
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Post by otter » Wed. Jan. 28, 2009 7:33 pm

Thank you all for the tips on burning coal.... I can now easily achieve 300 degrees with the flue damper all the way in ,and the ash door vent 1/2 open.
I shake it down twice a day,push the coals back, to pile them up a bit onto the fire brick. Then just fill the hopper,put the air to it for 10 min. or so,then set to the aforementioned settings.
One question:what do you mean when I read the phrase,"raking the bed of coals" during the shake down process? I have noticed that at the very front of the grate,the ash doesn't always go down to the pan. So, I am learning to poke the grates...seems to increase the air flow
Think I will get one of those ash totes that fit the 503 ash pan ...using the little round trash can we now have.... you really have to pay attention when dumping,or you can raise quite a bit of dust...tough at 4:45 A.M.

 
CapeCoaler
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Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Wed. Jan. 28, 2009 8:10 pm

To rake the coal is to jostle the coal a bit, shaking off extra ash, filling in the low spots, from above the fire.
This wakes it up a bit and preparing it for some new coal.
You have a hopper fed stove so not much need for this unless you need to 'load up' the stove.
I used a steel poker to 'load up' the coal bed when it was extra cold out.
By pushing the coal up level with the top of the fire bricks I was able to get an extra 16 lb hod of coal into the stove for a longer overnight burn.
Keep the hopper topped off if you can.

 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Thu. Jan. 29, 2009 8:08 am

Otter hi,

I’ve been running my 503 since November of this year. Regarding the operation, it’s straightforward but will take some time to get the hang of it. Regarding the raking, in time you will notice that ash will build up in the corners and in the back of the unit. By raking, you stir up the ash, making it easier to fall through the grates when you shake it down. Also by poking you open up air passages in the coal allowing a more even burn. You’ll know you have to rake and poke when you see dark spots in the corners and sometime on the sides next to the fire brick.

I’ve had a great deal of luck with the unit, since I fired my unit up, my oil consumption has been “0 gal” in a 2,100 sq ft 2 story house.

Stay with it and keep asking questions, you’re going to love the unit.

Tom

 
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baldeagle
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Post by baldeagle » Thu. Jan. 29, 2009 11:46 am

TO; Otter & tfaath -- I also poke from the top(rake) along the edges and front -- maybe every other day when running hard.
When we want a fully loaded grate I push an old poker with point and hook removed down into a fully loaded hopper, we do
that after the fire has been shaken hard and the fire is recovered - you can often add another 20# of coal ... we do that when we want to leave and are looking for a +30 hr. burn.
tfaath - on the other thread, I forgot to mention there are 16 baffles currently in the 503's heat exchanger.
baldeagle

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