Hitzer Operation Question

Hi forum folks,

I have a Hitzer 503. Its has 2 shaking grates (operated independently). Can one fill up 1/2 the firebox with bricks and then use the other 1/2 for burning? I was thinking of trying this to lower the stove output (lowering the air intake can only accomplish so much)?

So, I envision having 1/2 the stove burning & 1/2 not....its should work well for the days where the daytime temp is OK but at night a little heat would be good..

If you have experience in actually doing this (pros/cons) I would like to hear.

I have the same stove. I tried it to see if I could lower consumption. It seemed to use the same amount of coal, 20 lbs. every 12 hours. Including the hopper at full the stove holds close to 80#. No drastic change, So not worthwhile.In the spring I use range coal ,( nut & pea ) A more controlled and even heat. It lasts longer , specially with the Spring temperatures.

Must be more dependent upon air flow then....you dog in that pic looks like he's guarding that stove well.

Thanks for the post.

I have been using Pea coal with the air vent almost compleatly closed. Only using 15 lbs in 24 hour peroid and it give enough heat to keep the chill out, when it cools off at night I just open the vent for a bit more heat. Only shaking it down once a day with very little ash.

Rather than fill the unused section with firbrick, some folks just stop shaking one of the grates.. the ashes accumulate and the firbox is in effect reduced by half. Then if you want to change your mind, and use the whole firebox, an agressive shaking will get you back to a full fire.

This way you can just try it and see what your results are.. Also, if you shake only once a day, this will slow down the burn rate and heat production.

Greg L

I ran my Hitzer 354 with a reduced firebox from last October to December 1.

I disconnected the linkage to the back grate but because the grate swivels so easily, I had a local steel shop cut me a piece of 1/4" steel plate ( see photo) to cover the grate. I also think this help keep unwanted air from entering the firebox.

Along with covering the grate, I setup 5 firebrick soldiers across the back against the regular brick. I also set a row (maybe 2 and some broken pieces) of firebrick down flat in front of the the 5 firebrick to hold them in place. The final thing I did was set 5 more firebrick against the center bar between the two grates and leaned them back at the top. This creates a hopper/funnel effect when you shake it down. In the photo you can't see the front grate.

As someone mentioned, I didn't seem to save that much coal but my main concern was to have a smaller fire so I wouldn't over heat the house and I worked great at doing that.

Larry

Outstanding Amazing how simple works so well You done good

Photo of the first Spring fire with the reduced firebox (described above) with my Hitzer 354.

Felt good with the outside temps in the 40's this morning but back up to 56 degrees this afternoon. Stack temps are motored down to 150 and the house is 78 - warm but it would be too warm without reducing the firebox.

With less draft because of the warmer outside temp, the trick is to keep the fire going without overheating the house. It worked in the Fall, we'll see how it does this Spring. I'd still rather experiment with things like this than turn a thermostat on the wall.

Larry