Hitzer 254 and New To Coal Heating

zachary193 wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 05, 2023 6:10 am

I built these drop boxes opposite end of my stove . To direct the cold air down . I have 2 in so far upstairs . I’m around 1200 sq/ft upstairs and heating from the basement . I also thought about adding a few more at the upstairs doors to harvest some more cold air. I notice it’s easier to get the cold air to the stove than the hot air upstairs .

I may try that too. I built an open stairwell for two reasons. I wanted to hear the kids playing down there and had hoped to allow heat to come up freely. I believe that some of the heat gets trapped in the joist bays and may be heating the floors a bit. We have vaulted ceilings and use a fan to move air back down. One more idea is to cut a vent near the top of my chase for the flue heat to get out at top of vault.

BigT wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 05, 2023 8:16 am

I may try that too. I built an open stairwell for two reasons. I wanted to hear the kids playing down there and had hoped to allow heat to come up freely. I believe that some of the heat gets trapped in the joist bays and may be heating the floors a bit. We have vaulted ceilings and use a fan to move air back down. One more idea is to cut a vent near the top of my chase for the flue heat to get out at top of vault.

I wouldn't. I would think heat rising up through room would benefit more than air bypassing and going straight to ceiling. What's the phrase YMMV?

You could put some decorative floor vents in depending on how things are built. Also give you the eye in the sky for kid watching.

BigT wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 05, 2023 8:16 am

I may try that too. I built an open stairwell for two reasons. I wanted to hear the kids playing down there and had hoped to allow heat to come up freely. I believe that some of the heat gets trapped in the joist bays and may be heating the floors a bit. We have vaulted ceilings and use a fan to move air back down. One more idea is to cut a vent near the top of my chase for the flue heat to get out at top of vault.

This works for me , my kids are older though. 5 n 9 so they don’t mess around too much . I want to put a screen door on

waytomany?s wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 05, 2023 8:30 am

I wouldn't. I would think heat rising up through room would benefit more than air bypassing and going straight to ceiling. What's the phrase YMMV?

It would definitely , my problem is my master bedroom is right under the stove . And it would be hot as the hinges , when I sleep during the day . You know nightshifter issues. Although the kitchen is beside it may work there .

Lightning wrote: ↑

Sat. Feb. 04, 2023 9:06 pm

Yeah man.. Sealing off bypassing primary air was a MONUMENTAL breakthrough with the Clayton hand fed furnace I modified the hell out of. When I replaced the bricks in the 503 I also made sure there was no place for any air to bypass the fuel bed..

Same here my factory stove had some voids in the rear corners behind the bricks , it was only occasionally apparent with a small jet of flame about 4-5” above top of coal , outside never got any hotter in those areas but it didn’t make sense , until I did my complete tear down rebuild and mod , for anyone wondering , I believe every stove out there can be improved, with chinking gaps using ceramic batting or adding rigid ceramic panels when you can in addition to brick it completely changes wood burning , for 50- extra , night and day difference with heat generation at the same primary position

Righto, because it's making the best use of the available oxygen. True there needs to be some "excess air" but once past that point yer just heating more nitrogen to go up the chimney, there is no avoiding that. Unless you block the bypassing primary air.

I don’t believe that there’s enough room for a brick at the front of my stove. There’s maybe a 1/2” ledge and if coal got underneath, and it will, when I shake it the brick will move as well. Maybe a different material?
I commented on an old thread to moderator Rob hoping that I can bring the info here to discuss. It talks about flue draft being too high and causing the over firing. It also said that Hitzer recommends a baro. I need to buy the tools to measure draft and get some thermometers yet. Nobody near by has what I need.

Here ya go..

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Mon. Nov. 28, 2022 10:37 am

It sounds like you got some fresh coal with higher than normal volatile content. What happens is when you add fresh coal to the firebox, the temperature drops and the bimetallic thermostat opens the inlet flap to "rev up" the fire. Coal like you are burning will respond quickly, and the bimetallic thermostat will close the inlet flap before all of the volatiles have burned off. This causes volatile gasses to build in the firebox, and when the inlet flap opens again, the gasses ignite and you get the huffing sound.

You can avoid this a few different ways:

• Shake the ashes down more often so there isn't as much fresh coal entering the firebox at once.

• Leave the loading door cracked for a few minutes after shaking down the ashes.

• Crack open the slider vent on the ash door so you can see a half moon through the holes.

Hitzer recommends the use of a damper (manual or barometric) only if the draft is too strong.

A draft of more than -.06 (inch wc) will waste some of your heat by causing it to be drawn up the
chimney too quickly. The higher the draft goes the more heat that is wasted up the chimney. A very
strong overdraft can also cause the stove to over fire. Over firing can cause the stove to develop
extremely high temperatures resulting in possible damage to the stove or a fire. Draft should never
exceed -.08 (inch wc). Over drafting can be controlled by installing a damper in the stovepipe. This
damper can be a barometric or manual damper. It is recommended to have this damper installed
during the stove installation. The damper may be installed in the vertical or horizontal portion of the
stovepipe. The stovepipe damper must be installed and calibrated according to the damper
manufacturer’s instructions.

Where does this big gap lead to? Is it sealed from the ash area? Will a brick laying on its side rest on that edge in the red circle while being pinned in place beside the side row of bricks where the red x is?

Lightning wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 05, 2023 3:40 pm

Where does this big gap lead to? Is it sealed from the ash area? Will a brick laying on its side rest on that edge in the red circle while being pinned in place beside the side row of bricks where the red x is?

The red circle is the top of the frame angle iron and is approximately 1/4”. The gap leads to ash tray and is slightly warped due to over firing at nuke temps. It has been straightened to the best of our ability. The gap isn’t very wide at the sides either but I can cut to fit.

I sent you a private message. Let me know if you don't know how to find it.

That big gap is a warped grate frame and/or stove front. The warping can be seen in the first picture.

If it wasn’t warped those bricks can sit right on the grate frame.

I would think about ordering a new frame directly from Hitzer. They have magnet thermometers in stock too. Might as well take advantage of shipping costs. They have stove pipe damper also; and maybe even a barometric damper…though it may be pricey from them. Just have to ask.

First order of operations may be to let stove go completely cold, empty it and survey the damage to grate frame and stove by removing everything, then showing us pictures so we can help.

Oliver Power…where are you???? He has your same 254 stove.

Topic title has been revised.

I just noticed something…and it’s one reason I keep hoping Oliver Power chimes in here…

If you look at your bent grate frame picture there is an upright ledge on that grate frame.

Now go to page 3, I think it is, and notice how my 354 grate frame is flat…no ledge.

I’m wondering if the newer 254’s have a flat grate frame like mine? I’m sure I looked at new 254’s while at Hitzer but I can’t be certain they had front bricks…although I think they did. That means if they did have bricks there the new grate frames are different from yours and you may need the new frame.

I believe I would remove frame from the stove, check for warpage, take measurements of the frame and pictures of measurements and send them to Dean at Hitzer. If it is warped you’re likely going to need a new frame anyway so talking directly with Dean would be my best suggestion. Have your serial number ready to give to him. You’ll find it on the tag on the back of the stove. They’ll look up the number, tell them you want to be able to install bricks up front, talk to him about front of stove getting red, and he’ll get you what you need.

Phone number at bottom of link page…
https://hitzer.com/contact