Lighting up

Hey IOF, am I missing something? Seems like your chimney is maintaining a draft and the stove is running fine??

If I close my loading door tight the draft drops to .01"-.02". I'm afraid to lose the draft that it does have. It'd be nice if it'd be at .04".

I hate to sound reckless, but I would quit staring at that gauge and let it burn...it doesn't take much draft to remove the flue gasses from an idling stove. My chimney pulls -0.01" during the summer when the boiler is idling, sometimes a little less...but the boiler runs fine and the CO detector gives it the green light to keep running.

Crack a window in the stove room, watch for condensation in the hopper, and keep a CO detector nearby.

I worry. My wife is home all day with the two year old and she doesnt really know how to tend the stove so if something should happen she isnt going to know what to do. I don't work close enough to where I can swing home and fix the issue so it bothers me thay the draft is low. Im afraid something'll happen. Even though I know it probably won't. Sometimes I create my own issues.

You know what. I'm an idiot. I haven't looked in the stove since I lit it last night. I haven't shaken it down, haven't topped it off. I just went over to it and saw my draft is .02" so iI peeked inside it.

THERE'S NO DAMN COAL LEFT IN THE HOPPER NOR THE BED. It used it all up. No wonder my draft is low. It's starving. LOL

I swear I'm pretty brain dead. I knew I put too much Cowboy Coal in it. I didn't have enough anthracite in it. Well I can't do anything about it right now without making a huge racket and waking my already cranky daughter. I'm pretty sure I've got enough in it to last me the night and I'll reload it in the morning.

Too early for me to start up here in northern CT. Maybe in 2 weeks or so. I usually dont burn when the daytime high is over 52.

Last year I waited until Halloween to fire up. This year the plan was the same. However I ran out of diesel in the oil tank and decided to fire up early.

I've decided I'm not going to let the stove go out I'm just going to start mixing nut in and phase the pea out.

Also, Bootstrap your avatar is fitting to your screen name. Nice.

Bootstrap wrote:Too early for me to start up here in northern CT. Maybe in 2 weeks or so. I usually dont burn when the daytime high is over 52.

I'm with you.
I never start mine up until mid November, unless it's really really cold!
Just too many situations where a day after a chilly day, it's like 63-65.
and the house is 80+ if you are running the stove..
It cost me about a buck a day for gas this time of year, as long as
the sun is out.
I can't burn coal, and mess around with it for a buck a day.

Dan

I know. Right now the gas furnace kicks on maybe twice a day. I'm probably not saving a fortune as compared to gas. I know its cheaper though, I ran the numbers coal is cheaper than gas for me.

I started the Hitzer on Sunday, but not to heat the house, just to start my learning process on how to operate a hand-fired coal stove. So I agree that October is too early, next year I will wait till Halloween night and that will become a family tradition for as long as I live. The stove is happily humming along on PEA and the draft never fell below .015 even on a warm day.

My family tradition is going to be as soon as anyone ars gets cold, the stove gets lit. Its just too easy and cheap of a fuel to burn not to be comfortable, I mean isn't that why we all burn coal in the first place? just sayin.

36 here 901am been burning wood so far want to hold off on the coal as long as i can or till i get tired of feeding wood every 3 hrs wood is free and iam a cheapo

I'm with the rest of the Halloween crew. The minute I light up it will warm up so I'm (for once in my life) being patient and waiting. I'm going for the one match club this year. It's not like I don't want to try out the newly refurbed Glenwood, I do but I am no longer "grasshoopah" and have matured in my coal burning zealotry .
It was William, (As usual) that got me into the Hallow' s Eve tradition. Everybody's seen the Glenwood Base Heater #6 video's with Will, firing up on Halloween.

"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and maintain our traditions" --------Winston Zee--------

My plan was Halloween as well but I ran out of diesel in the oil tank so the stove got lit.