Efel Montana Stove Without Shaker Grate

Hello, I have an Efel Montana wood/coal stove. I bought the stove used 3 seasons ago and used it almost exclusively with wood. I want to burn some coal in it this season but I do not have the necesary attatchments that came with this stove to burn coal most importantly the shaker grate. This stove is old and parts are expensive. Finding them all and installing would be a nightmare. I did burn a pail of coal in it last season and it heated the whole house beautifully but with no shaker the fire choked itself right out in a few hours. i thought id be able to just agitate the coal with a poker to shake the ash off but that just doesnt work well at all. The stove has 3 entrance points, 1 thru the main glass front door, 2 thru the side, and 3 a top entrance where you would insert some sort of hopper as an accesory for burning coal. As i said i have none of the coal accesories and cant aford to buy them all either. My plan is to make a shaker grate wich i would manipulate with a hooked piece of rebar thru the side entrance. The bottom grate presently in the stove measures aprox. 8 x 14 inches, i want to get this grate

http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/4867/2 ... Grate.html

and have someone cut aprox 1/2 to 3/4 inch off each side in the 8" direction so theres some wiggle room in the bottom of the stove to shake and agitate the coal bed i guess kind of like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60I1t9eX6T8

This stove is made for wood or coal, it has a grate and draws air from underneath with an ashpan below the grate so i dont think I'll have a problem just cant shake the ash down. Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or see anything wrong with my plan I'd love to hear them.

Thanks alot,
Don

Don

Don't see why it couldn't be done BUT depending on your location you might be able to find a used coal stove for around $100. Then you wouldn't have any possible headaches or problems if this idea didn't pan out. By some chance the place you bought the stove would they have the old grates?

What state are you in?
Have you looked on Craigslist for a cheap coal stove?

I am sure some more experienced people on this wonderful forum will chime and in and give you some ideas as well. That being said... WECLOME to the forum!

Welcome to the FORUM RAU. Sounds like it should work to me. Just an old farmers thoughts, but I personally don't like the combo stoves, they seem to be designed for primarily wood with just some grates & sometimes ashpan thrown in. Try it, if you're happy with the outcome, that's all that matters

If the stove presently has a fixed grate that is all you need. You will need a slot or two at grate level in the front of the stove to insert a flat poker over the grate to clear the ash. the slot or slots need a cover when not in use.

This system which is used by Efel, Surdiac, and Franco Belge works very well and is simple.

Poker 1/8 by 3/4 by about 20 inches long. Can be offset at the end for better coverage.

The grate in the video will not work. Waste of time.

You need to construct a fire pot to hold the coal out of fire brick.

Submit a picture of the present grate.

Thanks for the replies. Heres a pic of the inside of the stove. Ive used it burning wood like this for 3 seasons now. I think i have it assembled right. The dimensions of the firebox shown are roughly 8 x 14 X 3 1/2" deep. Maybe i dont need a shaker grate and just a better fire tending poker or rake and some practice burning coal

also the 2 times i tried coal burning last season i had a big mound of coal 3 1/2 inches deep around the edges of firebox and much deeper in the center. I got a small wood fire going first and started gradually adding coal. (Nut) I had it going good and throwing off great heat, few hour later stove is cold and fire is out. Im going to do some more experimenting, hopefully with some practice I'll get this running as is

You need a fire box of brick on the sides and probably across the front. You have to slide a flat poker at the level of the grate to clear the ash. Nut coal should have a bed 5 or 6 inches deep at least to work well.

Hi and welcome to the forum.
As said in the previous message, anthracite burning loves to be in a confine space: round, square or rectangular but all around closed. If not the combustion air coming from under the coal bed will go to the easiest path and by-pass the place where it SHOULD go.
If possible you could try to place fire bricks all around the combustion chamber/fire pot. I made it in my Vig ll and all the ""life"" changed about that stove . But some time when modifying at one place, it brings other modifs somewhere else...

ok I'll try the fire bricks, it just seems like the space im working in is cramped allready before filling with bricks. The very bottom is only 8 x 14 inches. Im going to try this tho. Also in the above pick of my stove you can see that bar across front of the stove. there is just enough room under it at grate level to insert the offset flat poker i just discovered that came with the stove. If i stack bricks behind this bar how will access the grate to shake down? Also do you guys recomend i mortar these bricks with some sort of refractory cement or something? Im a little concerned about knocking a loose brick while tending the fire and cracking the glass. Thanks for the replies

Use split brick which are 1 1/8 inches thick not full size. See how it works out as to the need for mortar. At least do the sides. For the front the brick could be notched for the poker or if there is at least 3 1/2 to 4 inches depth try it that way and bank the coal toward the back.