Cookin' With Coal

 
ReidH
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Joined: Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 2:12 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada
Hand Fed Coal Stove: AGA 47/10 Cooker, Heartland Oval Cookstove

Post by ReidH » Tue. May. 18, 2021 5:12 pm

I remember reading about you shaving off much of the scale off the bricks. That was a while back now.
Building moulds and casting bricks sounds like a worthy task

I plan on starting the range up again if some cooler weather is predicted. But with 30C temps today, I'm getting some flak.
The cooking has been great. A perfect roast chicken on Sunday.
I also need to sort my coal into sizes or get some smaller grades to mix with the nut. The bags of nut I purchased have a large proportion of larger pieces. Closer to or actually stove size. I need a better mix, or keep the fire box ashed up longer.

It's running at 300 degrees on left top now with the coal supply dropping and 8 hours since it was shaken this morning. Probably could have skipped that shaking.

Reid


 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. May. 19, 2021 12:39 pm

If that's "300" Celsius at the plates over the firebox, that's about average for idled down. What are your mano readings like ?

Because ranges can extract so much heat before the exhaust reaches the stove pipe, don't be shocked when it's idled down and in indirect draft if the mano readings get below .01. As long as they are steady and stay showing some draft reading, that's cruising at idle speed.

Until you get to know how the range and chimney system react to damper settings and coal size, keep checking it every hour or so to make sure the low reading you see is stable and not just very slowly decreasing.

Also beware of turning on any kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans, or clothes dryer, when it's running that low and the house is closed up. With a well-sealed house that may be just enough to cause a draft reversal. :o Not a risk here because my old house is so leaky that it's tough to keep a candle lit on a windy night. But, we never lack for fresh air. ;)

Paul

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. May. 19, 2021 4:06 pm

Sunny Boy wrote:
Wed. May. 19, 2021 12:39 pm
If that's "300" Celsius at the plates over the firebox, that's about average for idled down. What are your mano readings like ?

Because ranges can extract so much heat before the exhaust reaches the stove pipe, don't be shocked when it's idled down and in indirect draft if the mano readings get below .01. As long as they are steady and stay showing some draft reading, that's cruising at idle speed.

Until you get to know how the range and chimney system react to damper settings and coal size, keep checking it every hour or so to make sure the low reading you see are stable and not just very slowly decreasing.

Also beware of turning on any kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans, or clothes dryer, when it's running that low and the house is closed up. With a well-sealed house that may be just enough to cause a draft reversal. :o Not a risk here because my old house is so leaky that it's tough to keep a candle lit on a windy night. But, we never lack for fresh air. ;)

Paul

 
ReidH
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Posts: 154
Joined: Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 2:12 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada
Hand Fed Coal Stove: AGA 47/10 Cooker, Heartland Oval Cookstove

Post by ReidH » Wed. May. 19, 2021 5:41 pm

300F at that time, but that was with the coal supply mostly used up in the firebox and a ash layer on the grate, It was down to 150F later with some coal pieces still glowing and still enough draft. Below 300F, I moved the stove damper to direct.

Could idle it down to 400F under normal operating conditions when not letting it go out.

I was checking the draft values pretty often and usually set or reset the MPD to keep it at 0.01 in deference to the high outside temps.
It would move around a tiny bit from there on occasion as would be expected but was pretty steady. Expect it could idle at 0.005 quite nicely particularly in cooler temps.
As it was loosing temp while "going out" it could still maintain a steady draft of 0.01.

I did notice that the ash door is not perfectly flat so it will allow a tiny bit of air on the ash door primary when screwed down "tight". The side primaries are on very flat surfaces. With that in mind, I will use the ash door spinner and the side spinner closest to the rear for adjusting the fine draft settings. These two will distribute air evenly to the front and rear of the grate. The side spinner closest to the front I will use for ramping up draft for reloading. Once reloading is finished, I can get back to the low air setting by fully closing the side front spinner.

The current house on the original foundation was built about 1884, so leaks abound.

Reid

 
ReidH
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Posts: 154
Joined: Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 2:12 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada
Hand Fed Coal Stove: AGA 47/10 Cooker, Heartland Oval Cookstove

Post by ReidH » Wed. May. 19, 2021 5:50 pm

At have attached a youtube video I found of an old Findlay Oval. The video shows the stove damper operation somewhat. The range is set up for Anthracite as many/most Findlay ovals would have been set up for in Ontario. Appears they are using wood. Some statements are a little incorrect, but what can you expect...
This being an old Findlay so has slide primaries. Most Elmiras and all Heartlands have bell dampers AKA spinner primaries.
Reid


 
ReidH
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Location: Ontario, Canada
Hand Fed Coal Stove: AGA 47/10 Cooker, Heartland Oval Cookstove

Post by ReidH » Mon. May. 31, 2021 7:22 pm

It was cold enough last week end to allow me to do some cookin' with coal.
I started the range Thursday evening to take the chill out of the house. By Friday morning, it was hovering around freezing outside, but a very comfortable 73F indoors.
Was able cook a few delicious meals on Friday and Saturday on the Oval.
On Sunday, I had to let it run down as the temps were rising quickly.
Only 72 hours of running, but worth it!

Reid

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Wed. Jun. 02, 2021 10:10 pm

ReidH wrote:
Mon. May. 31, 2021 7:22 pm
It was cold enough last week end to allow me to do some cookin' with coal.
I started the range Thursday evening to take the chill out of the house. By Friday morning, it was hovering around freezing outside, but a very comfortable 73F indoors.
Was able cook a few delicious meals on Friday and Saturday on the Oval.
On Sunday, I had to let it run down as the temps were rising quickly.
Only 72 hours of running, but worth it!

Reid
It's a good start !

Paul


 
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mntbugy
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Location: clearfield,pa
Hand Fed Coal Stove: D S 1500, Warm Moring 400
Baseburners & Antiques: Art Garland 145,GW114 ,Clarion 115, Vestal 20 Globe,New Royal22 Globe, Red Cross Oak 56,Acme Ventiduct 38,Radiant Airblast 626,Home Airblast 62,Moores #7,Moores 3way
Coal Size/Type: stove and nut and some bit
Other Heating: Propain

Post by mntbugy » Fri. Jun. 04, 2021 8:22 pm

Butter pat cast iron pan. Starting at 395.00 dollars. Comparable to favorite stove and range pans.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insidehook.com/a ... erview/amp

 
WesLee43
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Post by WesLee43 » Mon. Aug. 09, 2021 9:17 pm

Hey all, I was cleaning out my 1850’s horse barn in southern N.H and came across around 200 limestone bricks what I now know are 1880-1930’s firebox liners with most being Glenwood, Magee Grand, Elm, Starhub, Good.Time, and some fleet. Ive been living here with my mom for around 20 years and never knew that they were liners and not bricks haha. They were put there before 1930 bc I found a couple 1920’s Prince Albert chewing tobacco cans underneath. Believe me it was a job to move them so I don’t blame the guy who placed them. I’m thinking about casting them to make or sell them as molds because they’re in good shape. So far I’ve made 2 sets of a Gleenwood H.8.93 (1893 stove) that’ll be put on eBay. Again not sure what I should do with them, my gut says cast them In cast iron or refractory ceramic cement. Would stove owners like to have recreated original liners that are cast iron or limestone enhanced with refractory ceramic ?¿

 
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jedneck
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Location: South Central PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DSM Antramax
Baseburners & Antiques: Florin 20-12, red cross oak double heater, 3 columbians a epoch, emblem and palace
Coal Size/Type: nut or stove
Other Heating: Southbend Banner range

Post by jedneck » Sun. Oct. 17, 2021 6:18 pm

:clap: :clap: :clap:
Back to using gas range as a serving center
Roast chicken n gravy
Mashed taters sweet n reg
Cheesy broccoli n cauliflower
Biscuits

And maple glazed applesauce cake for dessert

Maybe I’ll gain the 15# back that i lost over summer. :D :D

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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 11:09 am

Sounds and looks wonderful, Jed !! I see your well on your way to enjoying that range for more than just heat. :yes:

Paul

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 12:35 pm

This year I finally got around to making new firebricks to replace the original fire clay bricks that were so badly cracked after over 100 years. Plus they have once again built up a thick layer of clinker scale and melted iron. I shaved that off a few years ago but the bricks are so cracked by now that there won't be much left if I do that again.

That scale build up has not only made the firebox almost two inches narrower - thus reducing coal capacity and heat output volume, it also has reduced the length of time that the firebed will burn. Plus, it makes shaking ash tougher because of the very rough firebrick surfaces.

I had started on this project a number of years ago with Wilson's help. He has lots of firebrick molds that came from a business he bought out that specialized in that. In that collection were molds for a Sunny Glenwood, but after he made some it turns out they would not fit my 1903 Sunny. There are only about two years that mine was made before Glenwood again made changes to it when they came out with their "Modern" line of ranges in 1905. So back to square one.

Since the original fire clay bricks were 3/4 inch thick, it was easy to make patterns out of pine boards.

Each of the original six bricks are all slightly different. Rather than make six molds I simplified the patterns a bit so I only had to make three molds. Then I only need two bricks from each mold to make a complete set. A 25 pound bucket of castable refractory was enough to make one and a half sets. When time permits, I'll get more castable and finish making a backup set, like I did for my GW #6.

I'll post pix when they dry and I get them installed.

Paul

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 3:46 pm

Raining, so it's a good day to do some grinding out on the back porch.

After grinding on the backside of the corners to fit around tabs and curved castings, the new bricks are in place.

And it gained back about 2 inches in firebed width and length, compared to the heavily scaled original fire clay bricks. Going by the measured volume difference, that's almost a 25 % increase in coal capacity..... which means about the same increase in BTUs.

Paul

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Wren
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Other Heating: Drolet woodstove, gas

Post by Wren » Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 3:59 pm

The bricks are quite thick. Because you make them yourself I suppose they transfer heat better than woodstove bricks? They don't hold in too much heat and throw it up at your range top?

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25567
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 4:21 pm

Wren wrote:
Mon. Oct. 18, 2021 3:59 pm
The bricks are quite thick. Because you make them yourself I suppose they transfer heat better than woodstove bricks? They don't hold in too much heat and throw it up at your range top?
The bricks are 3/4 inch thick - same as the original fire clay bricks that were in the range,.... and those that were in my GW # base heater.

I don't know how the heat transfer is of castable refractory compared to wood stove bricks, but the castable are denser and heavier than the bricks in the wood stove I had (#2 daughter has it in her house now). These castable bricks are more like the density of the original fire clay bricks.

Paul


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