983 red hot

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 8:25 pm

Toddburn wrote:
Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 8:19 pm
3rd season Billy. Brand new from Hitzer when I got it.
When did you get it?

 
Toddburn
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Joined: Wed. Aug. 28, 2019 7:38 pm
Location: Southwest P.A.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 983/ Hitzer 55
Coal Size/Type: Nut anthracite/pea
Other Heating: Heat pump/forced air

Post by Toddburn » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 8:52 pm

Wildmandt as far as the holes in the bottom of the stove it was recommended by someone here to fill them I simply took some stovepipe cement and a putty knife to them. Pull out your ash pan, flashlight and you will see them. I do believe however over time they would fill up with ash. No need to pull stove out. Billy I got my stove August or September of 2019. Next time your at Hitzer see what they did to hold the front bricks in,must be a four sided retainer now.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 9:13 pm

Are you talking about the lip that keeps the bricks from moving along the side bricks and back row bricks?
That back lip to hold in the bricks you see along the back row at the bottom...mine was warped slightly in one place. I asked Dean about that too. Apparently the newer models no longer have that lip along the grate frame top. I guess it warping presented an issue.

Oddly enough, the section of bottom brick retainer where mine is warped, that brick breaks every year.

Also, the second picture is taken from the inside of the stove looking out the load door. You can see the side bottom brick retainer lip as well as the mew 14” long bricks I bought while at Hitzer. Notice there is a section in each front corner of the stove on each side of the load door that has no bricks up along the sides of the door. If I’m not mistaken, and I’ll check again next time I go to Hitzer, I’m pretty sure this area still has no bricks on all stoves. You can see the long bricks go to the corners, but air can still pass up through the actual corners on the front of the stove.

Also not that the front of my grate frame has no brick retainer lip and originally was made that way as well as contained no front bricks. Dean said they found the top retainer holds the bricks in place enough so when you load the coal it pushes the bricks up against the steel anyway, so they found that bottom brick lip on the newer grate frames isn’t needed anyway. Apparently they no longer weld that lip on.


 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 9:34 pm

Below you can see how the front side of the door and stove from has no bricks. I’m not sure, but I think all box stoves still have those sides unprotected.
AC064A3A-7DCC-48CF-8A61-812EB3479D99.jpeg
.JPEG | 825KB | AC064A3A-7DCC-48CF-8A61-812EB3479D99.jpeg

Below you can see the long bricks installed under the door lip like in all newer stoves, but the corner is open and above that brick up the front side of the stove, still no protection. Notice no lip in the older stoves in the front to hold the brick. Newer stoves are the same way...except no lip around the entire grate frame. Once a stove is loaded with coal there is no need for it because the fuel load pressure holds the bricks in place. Also, removing the lip means no more ash packing between that small lip and the bricks.

Notice how my bricks are on their sides and are a full 4.5” tall on their sides. Blocks the view through the glass a bit but the trade off was slightly more coal in the fuel bed.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 9:38 pm

On new stoves those bricks are cut flush with the load door lip.

Would be easy enough to put bricks in the 983 across the front to protect the steel from hot fires like that.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2021 9:47 pm

Below you can see how those long bricks look across the fronting the stove. In this picture they are NOT pushed into the corners. Here you can see I pushed the bricks into the corners and caused a gap between the bricks. Also, take a look at the gap between the grate frame and the front steel of the stove.
This picture shows the gap between the bricks and the front steel of the stove and this concentrates air that bypasses the fuel load and this is where I can get blue ghost flames that rise above the bricks but are not over the fuel load. I also get them on the sides of the stove between the bricks and the steel...or between the steel and the top brick retainer.

Hoping this guy gets his 983 burning well.


 
Wildmandt
New Member
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Joined: Wed. Feb. 24, 2021 7:23 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 983
Other Heating: Regency i2400 wood stove

Post by Wildmandt » Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 4:10 pm

I’m burning pretty good right now. Just did a refill and I still believe I may have some air sneaking in there so I am going to keep playing with it.

 
Toddburn
Member
Posts: 804
Joined: Wed. Aug. 28, 2019 7:38 pm
Location: Southwest P.A.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 983/ Hitzer 55
Coal Size/Type: Nut anthracite/pea
Other Heating: Heat pump/forced air

Post by Toddburn » Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 6:14 pm

Yes Billy you would think the front bricks would need to be held in not just sitting there. I’ll make something to hold them if and when I decide to do it. Looked like Barry cut some angle steel welded nuts to the side and used bolts as set screws to hold in place if I remember correctly.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6003
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 10:24 pm

Actually, I am finding Dean’s comments to be spot on. No need for the little welder lip to hold bricks on the grate frame...anywhere in the stove. My bricks are staying out just fine and the coal holds them in place in the front...even with some poking along the front. Precisely why Dean and the gang removed that lip from the entire grate frame. The coal bed pushes outward. How simple is that? Makes it easier to get bricks out of the stove also.

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