High Gear and Low Gear..
I was wondering if anyone has converted their stove from hard running winter use to spring and summer use..
I have and owb running stove coal... Almost 40inch long by 12 wide bed for coals...I have six shaker grates running along the width of the bed connected in pairs of three front and three back...I want to shorted the bed to cut the bed in half and run much longer. I typically shut down around mid march as I get some over firing and fire outs as the demand for heat is much less....I do use the coal to heat my hot water in the winter ...in the summer I heat my water with oil...I want to try to virtually eliminate the use of oil...just for the beginning and end of the heating season along with a summers of heating the water with oil I spent 1300 bucks!!!
My two thoughts were to build up the back of the firebox with some firebricks to shorten it...I also was going to switch to nut coal..I currently burn stove coal which provides better aeration to get a hotter and deeper fire for me, the relative Inefficency of nut coal would be an advantage I think....
Any ideas??? Or previous success stories or stories of utter failure would help. I have a feeling that with the current oil situation...pol whom use coal to supplement in the winter are going to be looking to do extend their coal use indefinitely .
I have and owb running stove coal... Almost 40inch long by 12 wide bed for coals...I have six shaker grates running along the width of the bed connected in pairs of three front and three back...I want to shorted the bed to cut the bed in half and run much longer. I typically shut down around mid march as I get some over firing and fire outs as the demand for heat is much less....I do use the coal to heat my hot water in the winter ...in the summer I heat my water with oil...I want to try to virtually eliminate the use of oil...just for the beginning and end of the heating season along with a summers of heating the water with oil I spent 1300 bucks!!!
My two thoughts were to build up the back of the firebox with some firebricks to shorten it...I also was going to switch to nut coal..I currently burn stove coal which provides better aeration to get a hotter and deeper fire for me, the relative Inefficency of nut coal would be an advantage I think....
Any ideas??? Or previous success stories or stories of utter failure would help. I have a feeling that with the current oil situation...pol whom use coal to supplement in the winter are going to be looking to do extend their coal use indefinitely .
- freetown fred
- Member
- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
I'd be curious to see a pic of the stove before I said anything
- freetown fred
- Member
- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
I think it tells you when you click -- upload attachment----???? I believe it does it automatically.
here are two pics... the first one is in the firebox... the usable area is about 38-40" deep. the shaker grates are connected by bars as seen in the second pic... left bar shakes the front three grates and so on. you can see in the first pic that there is a plate in the back that removable.. I can pull that out easily... it is there to create a firebox effect so coal doesnt lump up underneath the chimney pipe. the is one in the front too that is not pictured that is a few inches higher...let me know if you need more pics... I have some from the first trial of grates.... u are seeing version 2.0 heehee!
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- freetown fred
- Member
- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
I've cut my Hitzer fire box in half w/ brick-- it was a pain in the arse-- --last season fastcat & I shared some thoughts & can now idle down the whole unit so she runs well even in warmer weather. But back to your question--yes, I think cutting your box in half will work well being that you have that shaker set up
that is what I was thinking of doing... it will be a pain in the arse...will need alot of firebricks....I am going to try to plan on using the draft fan which is forced air from the bottom on demand.... in the winter I just natural draft by varying the opening of ash pan but I think that this method will be problematic in the warmer months as it might overheat the water...
what did u use to "button-up" the little gaps that draft will likely bypass the fire???
what did u use to "button-up" the little gaps that draft will likely bypass the fire???
- LsFarm
- Member
- Posts: 7383
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 20, 2005 8:02 pm
- Location: Michigan
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Self-built 'Big Bertha' SS Boiler
- Baseburners & Antiques: Keystone 11, Art Garland
The firebox in my retired 'Big Bertha' boiler is 54" long.. I reduced it to less than half that.
You must cover the unused grates with either a plate of steel or layers of firebrick.. you don't want any combustion air snaking around the coal fire, or you will have out-fires and other issues.
I used a plate of 1/2" steel to cover the rear grates in my firebox, then made a brick rack to stack the firebrick in, the rack was made from Stainless Steel, so it would hold up to the fire better.
It will work, but you may need to do a lot of experimenting before you are happy with the results. I'd suggest lining the sides of the shortened firebox with firebrick as well, you want to keep the smaller fire hot as you can, it will idle longer that way.. having the fire right on the steel waterjacket pulls a lot of heat from the fire, you probably have some unburnt or partially burnt coal along the sides of your coalbed.
Greg L
You must cover the unused grates with either a plate of steel or layers of firebrick.. you don't want any combustion air snaking around the coal fire, or you will have out-fires and other issues.
I used a plate of 1/2" steel to cover the rear grates in my firebox, then made a brick rack to stack the firebrick in, the rack was made from Stainless Steel, so it would hold up to the fire better.
It will work, but you may need to do a lot of experimenting before you are happy with the results. I'd suggest lining the sides of the shortened firebox with firebrick as well, you want to keep the smaller fire hot as you can, it will idle longer that way.. having the fire right on the steel waterjacket pulls a lot of heat from the fire, you probably have some unburnt or partially burnt coal along the sides of your coalbed.
Greg L
I like the idea of lining the sides of the firebox with bricks....I need to do this not just not but permanently as I do get some unburnt coal and some ash built up on the sides....that sounds like a royal pain the the the boiler...could u give me more details on how u made support brackets for the side...do u think it will improve the BTU output in general by doing this even though I am somewhat limiting the amount of coal...