Coalpail.com Forum

Hello everyone, new member here, but I've been lurking for a while. I purchased a nice Godin French Petit stove today, and it seems to be in great shape. I am going to clean it up and proof it before I get it into the house, but I was hoping to get some tips, info, or advice from anyone that would like to share. I've been burning wood all my life, and for 15 years I burned coal in a Harman insert. I had great success with that, but my current home demanded a much smaller stove, so I found my new Godin. I will be replacing a Jotul clone wood burner and am looking forward to a pleasant experience with my new coal burner.
Two specific questions I do have concern the flue exhaust configuration and the depth of coal in the firebox.
I have noticed some stoves like mine have a sort of double exhaust piece on the backside, mine has just a single flue at the top of the firebox. Is this peculiar to what nation a stove was sold in, or just an upgrade or slight model difference?
Secondly, how full to fill the firebox? Should it be filled to just below the flue, or to a lesser extent? I know that some empty space is needed above the fire for good complete combustion, but I wonder just how much?
FYI, I live in central NY state, and we do get some nasty cold winters here, so I will be hoping to burn as efficiently as I know how.
Any advice will be taken to heart, and very much appreciated.
Thank you all.

Yours seems to be the large round model with the flue at the top. Fill to just below the flue outlet.

The air pattern of the Godin is different from most coal stoves. Air enters from the front and is free to rise up through the bottom grate like most coal stoves, but it is also free to enter the front grate and bypass the coal entirely unless the coal is piled higher than the front grate at which point there is a front to back burn pattern instead of bottom to top as you are used to. The heat output will be excellent once a full bed of burning coal is established.

The shaking grate system does not cover the entire bottom so it is difficult to clear the ash entirely; some Godin owners have resorted to lowering the front grate and shoveling the ash out. this can be dicey as you can imagine. The burn pattern also encourages the bridging of the coal so it tends to hang up, so plan on having a poker handy to poke it down. The ash pan is small and will have to be emptied at every shakedown time.

They are a good looking stove and can put out the heat , but clearing the ash can be very frustrating. Like all batch loading stoves, loading in two smaller batches lessens the chance of puff back. If loading in one large batch be very wary of opening the top loading door until the fire is well established.

Thank you, I will take your advice. It is the large round model, I am going to enjoy it very much. As you noted, and I noticed when I first saw the stove it does have a smallish shaker, but I believe it will still be an big improvement over my old wood burner, so I will live with its quirks happily.
Thank you again, I appreciate your help.

I just installed my Godin and I have no prior experience burning wood or coal. I did connect the stove pipe to the lower connector and it seems to burn well once a good draft is established. To prevent clogging with ashes I used a T- connection with a lower cleanout instead of a 90 degree elbow. Not sure if that was a good idea but I am trying to utilize the best of the ideas I have seen. It has been warm lately and I only did a couple test burns with wood. Good luck with your stove. Keep us updated with your progress or as in my case, the lack thereof....

Joe C.

Hi,

How is your installation going? Have you fired up the Godin yet? Does you stove still have the model plate on the bottom back of the cylinder? Can you read the model number? It looks like a Drolet imported Godin 3730.

KaptJaq