Not New to Coal but Need HELP!!

[/quote="Larry.E"]Hmmmmm. Maybe I could tack weld a little wire stop on the OUTSIDE of the top of the flapper that would catch it before it went over center....anyone ever tried anything like that? [/quote]

That will alter the curve that the baro is tuned for, I would not do that. If you have the unit in the lower picture, I would throw it out and install the RC. It is coal rated and has positive stops at both ends of its travel. This ensures that the bats can't get in.

The wire stop sounds good. Why didn't I think of that? Of course, I can't tack weld or any other weld, but I can drill a hole and put a self-tapping screw in to hold a short length of copper or aluminum wire to serve as the stop.

coaledsweat wrote:

rberq wrote:Trouble is, there's nothing to stop the damper from flipping to the horizontal position, at which point the counterweight would be holding the damper full open and reducing draft through the fire way too low.

This is a potential problem with a lot of baros, and should be checked out on every install. The RC from Field Controls is the reccomended damper for coal. It has a flapper stop to prevent this, but it still needs to be checked and adjusted (just a little bending of the tab) to see that it functions properly. Recheck it every time you have your stovepipe off, it can be out of setting after monkying around with it.

I recommend the Type RC as well, the limiter tab on mine was a little off, it did get stuck once, a little bend of the tab took care of it. If it did get stuck in the open position the draft up the chimney would continue, the gases wouldn't exit into the room through it, but the coal fire would slow or die out. The only excepting would be the rare instance of a strong gust of wind and a downdraft, but when the gust subsided the normal draft should resume.

coaledsweat wrote:[/quote="Larry.E"]Hmmmmm. Maybe I could tack weld a little wire stop on the OUTSIDE of the top of the flapper that would catch it before it went over center....anyone ever tried anything like that?

That will alter the curve that the baro is tuned for, I would not do that. If you have the unit in the lower picture, I would throw it out and install the RC. It is coal rated and has positive stops at both ends of its travel. This ensures that the bats can't get in. [/quote]

I had a bat in the Harman this past summer, it somehow got past the screen on the chimney cap and found it's way into the stove. The cats stared at the stove for 2 days until I looked inside it. The RC baro kept the little bugger from flying out into the house.

I wouldn't mess with the baro you have now. get the Type RC.
Harman recommends the draft be set at .06 to 1.0 inches of water column for their hand fired stoves. I'm running mine at .05.
You really need a manometer to get an accurate reading on the draft. They are not expensive and take the guess work out of setting the damper.

I wouldn't have been able to bring myself to sell the old stove, it's just too nice!
An interesting point that you made with out even realizing it was that you didn't have this problem with the old stove. If the grates are anything like those in my Andes stove (cylindrical, crank goes on one, gears drive the other) that may account for it all. Shaking the coal in those stoves seemed to jostle the coal bed quite a bit more, the new stoves probably don't shake up the bed as much.

You're right out there near the "good stuff"!

BTW, I have everything for the Andes, except one of the gears for the grates, as of now I can only shake one of the two.

Wood'nCoal wrote:I wouldn't have been able to bring myself to sell the old stove, it's just too nice!
An interesting point that you made with out even realizing it was that you didn't have this problem with the old stove. If the grates are anything like those in my Andes stove (cylindrical, crank goes on one, gears drive the other) that may account for it all. Shaking the coal in those stoves seemed to jostle the coal bed quite a bit more, the new stoves probably don't shake up the bed as much.

You're right out there near the "good stuff"!

BTW, I have everything for the Andes, except one of the gears for the grates, as of now I can only shake one of the two.

Yeah, parting with it was bad but it was relegated to the garage (wooden plank floors) and I thought it might get a bit corroded no being used.....so some guy that bought it came and took it away in his horse trailer.....he was going to use it in HIS 250 year old house!! YAY. So I felt better then....and the horse trailer had a ramp so we just pushed it up in there on a dolly....it must have weighed 600 lbs.

Yes, the grates of the old stove had one driving the other, and you're probably missing a gear on your grate because it was meant to be removed to take the grates out at some point and it just got lost. That's how mine was, I'd crank away and the other gear would disengage and I'd have to smack it back on with the crank handle (removable). And yes, it only seemed to really get the bottom 4" of the pot shaken up, the rest would sort of hover as a mass and I'd have to take the handle to the burner covers and push the hot coals and remaining ashes back down on to the grates. It was a small pot compared to what I have now of course, but it would get that whole top surface of the cooking area going and WOW, what a heat!!! No blower but I never even thought I needed one. OK enough reminicing....

I'm thinking my coal might be some of the good stuff because now that I'm burning the fire hotter and filling the pot and perfecting the shaking technique, I"m getting almost all ash or flat little ash like slivers, no unburned or partially burned stuff and so far no cold spots in the fire. We'll see if this keeps up a week from now. I still want to burn it for 5 months like the old one without have to outten it to get the clinkers out....so stay tuned for as the grate turns....

Are you looking for a gear for your Andes? I know a guy near Harrisburg, PA that will cast stuff for stoves.....or at least he recast my firepot walls a couple of years ago.

Lory

Wood'nCoal wrote:

coaledsweat wrote:[/quote="Larry.E"]Hmmmmm. Maybe I could tack weld a little wire stop on the OUTSIDE of the top of the flapper that would catch it before it went over center....anyone ever tried anything like that?

That will alter the curve that the baro is tuned for, I would not do that. If you have the unit in the lower picture, I would throw it out and install the RC. It is coal rated and has positive stops at both ends of its travel. This ensures that the bats can't get in.

I had a bat in the Harman this past summer, it somehow got past the screen on the chimney cap and found it's way into the stove. The cats stared at the stove for 2 days until I looked inside it. The RC baro kept the little bugger from flying out into the house.

I wouldn't mess with the baro you have now. get the Type RC.
Harman recommends the draft be set at .06 to 1.0 inches of water column for their hand fired stoves. I'm running mine at .05.
You really need a manometer to get an accurate reading on the draft. They are not expensive and take the guess work out of setting the damper.[/quote]

OK I guess I'll call my dealer and see what the deal is with him putting this baro on when the other one is better.....we'll see what he says.....and then I'm sure I'll have to pay him more to swap this one out LOL. And then I'll check back to your post to revisit the specifics of setting it's draft.

We only have bats in the barn.....but thanks for the heads up on following up on cat behavior in the summer months which may indicate a bat is about. We never had a problem with the other stove....but with the tiny wood stove in the bedroom I had about....ummmm, 10 mockingbirds go down there one summer....and it took me a couple of days to work up the nerve to find out what all the noise was....and by then there was no noise....got a cap right soon after that!!!

Thanks again, you've helped me a ton.

Lory
ParkerFord, PA

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Are you looking for a gear for your Andes? I know a guy near Harrisburg, PA that will cast stuff for stoves.....or at least he recast my firepot walls a couple of years ago.

Lory[/quote]

At some point I'll need the gear, I have everything else, the crank handle, the handle for the lids, even the ash pan. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

John

Larry E. wrote:

WNY wrote:Here an RC damper from Field controls, the Stop Tab is located on the Right Side that goes thru the sheet metal and will prevent it from opening too far.

damper_rc copy.jpg

Some may have this setup, which is a much cheaper version and could possibly over center and jam, since there is no stops and I don't believe is recommended for coal.

B-34T.gif

OK so the stove dealer that claimed to know what the Harman manufacturers recommended installed the one in the picture that you state is not recommended for coal.....Hmmmmm. Maybe I could tack weld a little wire stop on the OUTSIDE of the top of the flapper that would catch it before it went over center....anyone ever tried anything like that?

Lory

Hi larry you also might won't to check the sizing chart Plus all the other info on there site here you go

http://www.fieldcontrols.com/draftcontrol.php#sizingdi

Hey All Ya'll - It's day #2 and I've modified my techniques for burning (hotter) and shaking (less vigorously) and VOILA......the shaker handle has not become stuck once!!! YAY. And I must have pretty good coal because it's not yielding tons of ash and now almost zero chunks. Cool beans. And the house is pretty darn toasty when we come home.....I've still gotta work on the baro thing this weekend of course but that will take a visit to the stove shop. So now I've gotta go find a squirrel-be-gone bulletin board because there is a squirrel in the eve of the house and I need to get his buns out of there pronto before he chews his way into the attic.....he'll have to go through 1.5 foot of stone wall first, but I'm confident that's not an issue for him!! OK gotta trot, thanks for your help, keep it burnin'.

Lory

A bulletin board???

Just shoot the squrrel and be done with it!

Bk

bksaun wrote:A bulletin board???

Just shoot the squrrel and be done with it!

Bk

If I could get a shot clear of the roof, I'd do it.....but he's doing enough damage to the roof without me blowing a hole in it too!!! LOL.

L

Hi Larry:

Years ago I had a whole family of squirrels living in the attic of my office. They chewed through electrical wires and dragged all of my ceiling insulation out into the eaves. They can make quite a mess so you'll wamt to get rid of them ASAP.

I found the two spots where they had chewed through a board to get into the eaves. I had been told that squirrels will vacate the nest each morning to forage for food. So, I waited for a nice sunny day and watched a bunch of them leave. Then I quickly bound up the ladder to their entrance holes, nailed on two layers of aluminum flashing, and finished it off with 3/4" board.

Before the week was out, they had done a good job of chewing through the new board, but there was a lot of squirrel blood on the sheet metal. They gave up and moved into the building next to mine.

The sooner you take care of those critters, the better. Good luck.

John C.

I believe, you'll find out they are "red squirrels", as greys don't usually come in. ??