Shutting Down Stove

Howudoin2427 · Post by **Howudoin2427** » Fri. Mar. 11, 2011 4:34 pm

Hey guys yes I just got my stove going, but the weather actually doesn't want me to keep burning I guess. my question is what is the best way to go about shutting down my stove. I currently still have coal in the hopper. should I wait until it all burns down and just not add any more or do you just shut down the air and it wil gradually go out. im worried about just shutting the air with some unburned coal in there. I just want to do it the safest way possible I did pop my cherry this morning and don't want a repeat lol Any advice would be appreciated

Rick 386 · Post by **Rick 386** » Fri. Mar. 11, 2011 6:14 pm

If you want a rapid shut down, dump sand over top of the coal to eliminate all of the air pockets. The sand will smother it rather rapidly.

But since you just got it going, I would just let it burn out by not adding any more coal. Enjoy your success at starting it and watch it die.

As Bill Cosby said in 1 of his bits " I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it."

Rick

fastcat · Post by **fastcat** » Fri. Mar. 11, 2011 8:38 pm

Howudoin2427 wrote:Hey guys yes I just got my stove going, but the weather actually doesn't want me to keep burning I guess. my question is what is the best way to go about shutting down my stove. I currently still have coal in the hopper. should I wait until it all burns down and just not add any more or do you just shut down the air and it wil gradually go out. im worried about just shutting the air with some unburned coal in there. I just want to do it the safest way possible I did pop my cherry this morning and don't want a repeat lol Any advice would be appreciated

Ok, How come you want it to go out? Just turn your dial down to 2 or 3 and see if it will hold the fire there, it should bring the stove down to around 150 or so and the stack temp may not read for the stick on thermometer, you should be able to hold your hand on the top of the stove. This way when the evening chill comes you just turn it up and have heat. What are your outside temps? It is only March.

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Fri. Mar. 11, 2011 9:28 pm

fastcat wrote:
Ok, How come you want it to go out? Just turn your dial down to 2 or 3 and see if it will hold the fire there, it should bring the stove down to around 150 or so and the stack temp may not read for the stick on thermometer, you should be able to hold your hand on the top of the stove. This way when the evening chill comes you just turn it up and have heat. What are your outside temps? It is only March.

I agree. Use the warm temps to discover just how low you can burn the stove without losing the fire. Knowing that will allow you to idle the stove for days at a time in case you decide to go away for awhile. I haven't seen a any posts of long burn times but I know my stove can go at least 48 hours without my touching it if I have the air valve set just right and use pea coal . Set that way the stove is burning at about 150* and the house's temp is about 65 but I'm not here anyway. If you leave it idling during the day you can bounce it up for the night and never hear the whole house furnace kick on. For my location its cheaper to burn the 15 lbs of coal a day and open the windows if necessary then to run the furnace. I'm down to once a day tending and I'll do that to the end of the month when I'll have to close the windows due to the pollen. Something to think about anyway. Lisa

unaslob · Post by **unaslob** » Fri. Mar. 11, 2011 11:25 pm

I agree... Take a moment to experiment with running a low fire....I think this is where the real art of a coal fire is. Mastering this is worth etching in stone! Anybody can add coal and open the draft to make great fire that puts out a ton of heat... It takes a real man to run and keep a viable fire running on the warmer days...shutting down is for suckers!!!

Howudoin2427 · Post by **Howudoin2427** » Mon. Mar. 14, 2011 4:55 am

Yeah that is a good idea guys I had to just order a couple new thermometers. The one I have is off I think its starting at like 175. so I was having some higher temperatures but it was fine because they were actually much lower. Is there a point where you will ever have trouble with draft because of warm weather or basically you could keep it going as long as you don't heat yourself out. I know its the height of the stack which effects draft as well as difference in air density.

SMITTY · Post by **SMITTY** » Mon. Mar. 14, 2011 10:35 am

Definitely less draft in the warmer weather, but that just means it will burn slightly lower at the same settings. In other words, my stove at 2 turns out on the air intake, will burn very hot at that setting in the dead of winter ... but on a warmer 40 - 50 degree day the stove temps are quite a bit lower (but still too hot for that outdoor temp).

My draft never goes below .02" -- even on a 95° summer day. When it's that low, the stove takes forever to get going. It's usually only that low here if the fire has been out for a length of time -- long enough to cool the chimney. I've never had it go out for lack of draft, as long as I spend the time to let the bed start burning.