Need a SMALL Coal Stove to Heat 300 Sq. Ft. Cabin
- D-frost
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BuffaloBob,
Try using matchlite charcoal to start the fire, instead of wood.
Put a scoop of briquettes in there, light it, wait 5-10 minutes, add a thin layer of nut, open the ash door, and let it rip to 300*-350* on the barrel(usually 5-10 minutes, because the briquettes have pre-heated the stove/chimney with the damper wide open),fill with coal and close the ash door, set the air intake and draft damper. In my Chubby, briquettes take about 30 minutes to get going. Wood takes about an hour.
Your chimney looks ok to me, unless you have some fir trees close by. The leaves are off the trees for Winter, so they shoudn't hurt the draft. You have a great looking cabin there. Hope this helps you.
Cheers
Try using matchlite charcoal to start the fire, instead of wood.
Put a scoop of briquettes in there, light it, wait 5-10 minutes, add a thin layer of nut, open the ash door, and let it rip to 300*-350* on the barrel(usually 5-10 minutes, because the briquettes have pre-heated the stove/chimney with the damper wide open),fill with coal and close the ash door, set the air intake and draft damper. In my Chubby, briquettes take about 30 minutes to get going. Wood takes about an hour.
Your chimney looks ok to me, unless you have some fir trees close by. The leaves are off the trees for Winter, so they shoudn't hurt the draft. You have a great looking cabin there. Hope this helps you.
Cheers
- Sunny Boy
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Beautiful cabin. You certainly won't be lacking for heat with that stove, even in the coldest weather.
Paul
Paul
- windyhill4.2
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My opinion is that the chimney is too low & the trees are too close causing a reduction in up-draft. A draft gauge would be the only sure way of knowing what the draft actually is tho. I went from a cold stove to hot coal fire in 25-30 minutes by using a little bit of wood with lots of paper & cardboard as we found out yrs ago building wood fires that paper & cardboard are the quickest way to get the draft roaring .
- Sunny Boy
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Dave,
In a cabin that size, with a stove that size,....... to keep the occupants from being cooked,... not having a real strong draft might be a good thing.
Paul
In a cabin that size, with a stove that size,....... to keep the occupants from being cooked,... not having a real strong draft might be a good thing.
Paul
- windyhill4.2
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Paul,that is true as long as the draft is high enough for the stove to work decently.
- warminmn
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I think its a chimney/draft problem. I can light my JR using split soft maple instead of hardwood and it will take right off. I get the wood going really hot then throw a scoop on. Add another scoop in maybe 5 minutes, then fill it after its all going good. Im using Blaschak nut. For what its worth, I get pretty good burn times in shoulder seasons with wood if I use pieces that just fit in the door.
- freetown fred
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Yep, that MATCHLIGHT works real well for me BB--usually 1/2 hr before I got a good coal fire going:)
- freetown fred
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Ahhhhhh, good point Rob!
- Photog200
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The cabin is not insulated so I would guess that it is not very air tight. My money is on the chimney / draft issue.
Randy
Randy
- Pancho
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Granted with wood, there is a lot more heat/volume going up the chimney, if it ran good with wood it should still draw with coal.....heat has to go up.buffalo bob wrote: im a little disappointed in the performance of the chubby... it takes forever to get it going...i think its a draft problem...wood goes like hell great draft but coal,reading nut, very slow..
Try the charcoal (get some heat in the chimney before adding coal) and mix in some stove coal if ya can.
A taller chimney would probably perform better but what you have looks like it should get you through until spring when you can add to it.
- ONEDOLLAR
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BB
In case this helps here is the Chubby video on starting and tending a Chubby. http://www.vimeo.com/8506320
Each stove install is different and after reading this thread again I agree with others, try the "matchlight" charcoal and when you are ready to start adding coal crack a window a bit. That chimney has alot of thermal mass in it and may just need to get warmed up.
In case this helps here is the Chubby video on starting and tending a Chubby. http://www.vimeo.com/8506320
Each stove install is different and after reading this thread again I agree with others, try the "matchlight" charcoal and when you are ready to start adding coal crack a window a bit. That chimney has alot of thermal mass in it and may just need to get warmed up.
- Rob R.
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Fair enough...but unless you are using spray foam, insulation does basically nothing to limit air infiltration.Photog200 wrote:The cabin is not insulated so I would guess that it is not very air tight. My money is on the chimney / draft issue.
Randy
The chimney might get "cold" in the transition from the wood fire to an established coal fire and lose draft.
- windyhill4.2
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The coal is too old,it lost its punch Isn't it amazing ,with all the crap fuel issues that surround at least us repair shops,coal is 1 fuel that age or sitting unused has little effect on it.If the draft is marginal for coal,& if there is a mpd installed,it would be best to leave it wide open to keep more heat in the chimney.