New Old Crane 404 Stove

 
kevinjohn
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Post by kevinjohn » Fri. Nov. 29, 2013 8:11 pm

I don't have a crane stove but I do have 50 plus years of hand fired stoves,you must find a happy medium between waking up to a out fire and the amout of heat that you need for the space that you are trying to heat.that said ,if you must run at full out to meet your heating requirement your stove is too small and you will soon wreck the stove,another option is to try firing the stove at 8 hour increments instead of 12 hour incrementsand do your level best to tighten up the house to the outside and let your other heat source pick up the difference.I lived in a similar house,except it was aPA stone farm house.it was hard to heat and when the weather got really cold I would have to feed the stove 3 x a day instead od 2x
.that's my 2 cents worth
Kevin

 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Fri. Nov. 29, 2013 8:28 pm

kevinjohn wrote:I don't have a crane stove but I do have 50 plus years of hand fired stoves,you must find a happy medium between waking up to a out fire and the amout of heat that you need for the space that you are trying to heat.that said ,if you must run at full out to meet your heating requirement your stove is too small and you will soon wreck the stove,another option is to try firing the stove at 8 hour increments instead of 12 hour incrementsand do your level best to tighten up the house to the outside and let your other heat source pick up the difference.I lived in a similar house,except it was aPA stone farm house.it was hard to heat and when the weather got really cold I would have to feed the stove 3 x a day instead od 2x
.that's my 2 cents worth
Kevin
smart advise & certainly true... GG Kevin
Ive found its more efficient to maintain an even steady 12 hour burn cycle instead of trying to overfire the stove 24/7 (on a Crane 404 you can overfire it with little consequence since its 1/4 steel solid welded and the hanging grate is bullet proof and baffle is removable to replace for $20 every 10 years if you use the stove like me... the only thing ive ever hurt is the firepot that I will hopefully have a reasonable fix for soon)... but you will burn through a lot of coal doing this and its probably wiser to maintain a 500 degree surface temp as supplemental heat instead of primary heat. When im running mine at 600-700 degree surface temp im doing exactly as Kevin says (Im loading/shaking every 8 hours!)

 
ASHDUMP
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Post by ASHDUMP » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 10:50 am

I've been able to maintain a 600d top of stove temp consistently - I'm trying to stay below 650 at all costs but so far the stove is holding up very nicely. When I shake down the ashes and load back up the stove does cool down considerably and seems to take a while to get back up to temp again but I guess that's expected. With that said, I've been getting 12hr burns now with no problem. We had some high winds the other night night so I had to really adjust my MPD and front control knobs. I've been maintaining a 65 to 72d basement which I believe is helping out the rest of the house. As mentioned elsewhere, my basement has a positive draft which considerably cools down the rest of my house.

With natural gas being relatively inexpensive (compared to oil) I'll most likely only use the stove Friday night to Monday morning (the time when we are most home).

I've been trying to find a good way to get my ashes from the bin to the garbage bag without making such a mess. So far, the best solution I've come up with is lining the ashpan with heavy duty aluminum foil. If done correctly, you can pick up the foil full of ashes and place to the side to let cool. Once cooled, you can wrap up the foil and toss in the trash can.

This is all new to me, but the ash part of the job has got to be the worst.

 
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michaelanthony
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Post by michaelanthony » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 11:21 am

I consider myself a young buck in regards to coal burning. I know it is not a good idea to line an electric oven with aluminum foil because the reflect intensifies the heat and can burn out the heating element and the same might be true for your grates...my 2 cents.

p.s. too bad you can't put the 404 in the living quarters and occasionally heat the basement with the gas furnace :)


 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 11:40 am

Ive left a second ashpan that will help you out in terms of ability to "let cool" before tossing in trash bag, I personally just walk my ashpan outside and dump in a large depression im trying to fill (another 10 years I might have it filled). One of the best solutions ive seen for someone like you is lightnings post regarding a customized steel barrel & customized ashpan... let me try to find it

EDIT heres one: Emptying the Ash Pan...Tricks/Tips?

OK folks... this is a perfect example of why titles are so important to work well! :mad: I cant find lightnings thread about his custom cut ash barrel lid and custom cut ashpan :( I know lightning reads my posts every day so'z he can strike me with a lightning bolt :lol: please someone find that thread and post up a link here (i know your out their lightning! :mad3: )... TY

 
ASHDUMP
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Post by ASHDUMP » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 12:55 pm

dcrane wrote:Ive left a second ashpan that will help you out in terms of ability to "let cool" before tossing in trash bag, I personally just walk my ashpan outside and dump in a large depression im trying to fill (another 10 years I might have it filled). One of the best solutions ive seen for someone like you is lightnings post regarding a customized steel barrel & customized ashpan... let me try to find it

EDIT heres one: Emptying the Ash Pan...Tricks/Tips?

OK folks... this is a perfect example of why titles are so important to work well! :mad: I cant find lightnings thread about his custom cut ash barrel lid and custom cut ashpan :( I know lightning reads my posts every day so'z he can strike me with a lightning bolt :lol: please someone find that thread and post up a link here (i know your out their lightning! :mad3: )... TY
I think I found his custom ashpan while I was doing a search for it last week. Custom garbage can lid too I think.... Right now I have my ash in a contractor bag. Its full enough for the garbage man monday morning.

 
ASHDUMP
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Post by ASHDUMP » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 12:56 pm

michaelanthony wrote:I consider myself a young buck in regards to coal burning. I know it is not a good idea to line an electric oven with aluminum foil because the reflect intensifies the heat and can burn out the heating element and the same might be true for your grates...my 2 cents.

p.s. too bad you can't put the 404 in the living quarters and occasionally heat the basement with the gas furnace :)
If a bit of tinfoil somehow destructs the Crane 404 I will be impressed!

So far the aluminum foil seems to be working good actually. hmmm...

 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Sat. Nov. 30, 2013 1:35 pm

ASHDUMP wrote:
michaelanthony wrote:I consider myself a young buck in regards to coal burning. I know it is not a good idea to line an electric oven with aluminum foil because the reflect intensifies the heat and can burn out the heating element and the same might be true for your grates...my 2 cents.

p.s. too bad you can't put the 404 in the living quarters and occasionally heat the basement with the gas furnace :)
If a bit of tinfoil somehow destructs the Crane 404 I will be impressed!

So far the aluminum foil seems to be working good actually. hmmm...
your not going to hurt the grate system on the 404 (its a hanging system that is well below the interior of the coal bed, unlike most coal stoves)... but tin foil is expensive and their is a better solution with dual ashpans, metal barrels, etc.etc.

EDIT: found the thread I wanted you to read through (since lightning evidently went awall :mad3: ) Ash Can Modification


 
jford39
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Post by jford39 » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 9:08 pm

I was so excited to find this site. We have owned a crane stove since we bought brand new in 1982, I remember buying at a store in Bridgewater. We have never had a problem with this stove, then two weeks ago something broke and of course it has been so cold. my husband has been shaking it down somehow. I thought we would have to get rid of it, because I could not remember the name of the stove, I began searching, and there it was, the 404 model. Then we found out we can get parts and will continue to use. We love this stove.

 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 9:53 pm

jford39 wrote:I was so excited to find this site. We have owned a crane stove since we bought brand new in 1982, I remember buying at a store in Bridgewater. We have never had a problem with this stove, then two weeks ago something broke and of course it has been so cold. my husband has been shaking it down somehow. I thought we would have to get rid of it, because I could not remember the name of the stove, I began searching, and there it was, the 404 model. Then we found out we can get parts and will continue to use. We love this stove.
Glad to hear of an original 404 buyer out their! Im not sure what parts you need (beware those theivin' bastards at woodmans), their 3/4 nub shakers will work but their liners are horrible and their 44 grates don't fit.... let me know what you need and ill see if I have it left over.

 
jford39
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Post by jford39 » Sat. Mar. 15, 2014 8:52 pm

Now that winter is almost over, the stove is out. My husband found a large rock that was mixed in with the coal. The only part broken is the stop shaft, the rest of the parts are fine as is the fire liner. Let me know if you have the part. I did not see on the Woodman website. We only live in plymouth

 
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dcrane
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Post by dcrane » Sun. Mar. 16, 2014 6:41 am

jford39 wrote:Now that winter is almost over, the stove is out. My husband found a large rock that was mixed in with the coal. The only part broken is the stop shaft, the rest of the parts are fine as is the fire liner. Let me know if you have the part. I did not see on the Woodman website. We only live in plymouth
Stop shaft is a part that NEVER brakes (not sure how that could have happened unless you used a money wrench as a shaker handle toothy , I'm very sure I have some of these since they were never needed as spare parts (they may have surface rust from following me around all these years)... I would be happy to drop one by anytime as I'm in Plymouth often for work and I have relatives in Pine Hills and my son works at Marshland 3a, so just PM me an address and I will leave one on your door step without bothering you.

 
jford39
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Post by jford39 » Wed. Apr. 09, 2014 10:06 pm

Thanks so much to dcrane for not only giving us the part for our stove, put delivering. We are so lucky to have this forum. We love our stove, and the though of not having it for next winter, was frightening. I will post pics as soon as we get the stove back together.

Thanks again

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