Coalpail.com Forum

The wet coal will cost some heat and probably condensation in the chimney, but will burn.

I think you are right about not clearing enough ash. Many stoves don't do a good enough job and need some help from a poker used in one way or another and that includes the Chubby.

Had a nice burn, kept burning strong all night, shook, & rodded then filled. Burned all day and was still going after 13 hours but loads of ash build up. Went through the same procedure but I probably was a little too aggressive in my rodding and shake. The burn coded and I had to restart. Not too bad being that it was left unattended for that many hours.....

Good, you're playin with her & gainin on her:)

It was sooooooooo nice to wake up to a warm house and nicer to come home to the same........

I've had it burning for several days and I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge. Extended burns without a great deal of attention allows too much ash build up. It bridges the slots in the grates. I rod from the bottom to get it to drop into the pan and establish air flow. After some experimenting I've found that a delicate technique works better than a more aggressive method. However, the delicate touch doesn't drop enough ash and the burn will eventually coed. I'll have to increase the frequency of shake and rodding and see where that takes me. Still don't have a mano but I don't believe it's a draft issue. I do have a non contact IR thermometer on the way so I can see what temps I'm running at.....

In summary, I believe it's a cocktail mix of design limitation and pilot error. Now to find the magic elixir to resolve this......

CH, how long between tending are you talking as far as EXTENDED goes?

Fred, When home, I'll shake/rod it at 8 hour intervals, or as needed (read - when it's intensity was visually dropping)......

Yep, you're gonna be real happy with that CHUBBY next winter

Epilogue - Even with rodding the grates as I was doing, it seemed that the ash build up would eventually choke the burn. As suggested, I took a 1/4" steel rod, bent one end at a 90° and in doing so, it allowed me to clear the grates more effectively. Using a soft touch (like I tickle it) , the bent rod persuades the ash to drop, even from the back & corners. This made a HUGE improvement........
The learning continues......

Yep, a lil ticklin never hurt a thing CH For the record--I'm still learnin after 6 seasons--actually, after 68 yrs & this is GOOD

There is no finish line where we break the tape, grab a lounge chair and watch the rest of the finishers. The learning never ends...

A mind is like a parachute. Neither work well unless they are open.....

CH, how do the grates move? I went back to the other thread and saw the pic of the empty firebox but I couldn't tell if the grates rocked back and forth or how exactly they moved. From your description I think you are doing about as much as you can with the stove to get as good a burn as possible, some grate designs are just limited.

This is the proper way to shake

titleist1 wrote:CH, how do the grates move? I went back to the other thread and saw the pic of the empty firebox but I couldn't tell if the grates rocked back and forth or how exactly they moved. From your description I think you are doing about as much as you can with the stove to get as good a burn as possible, some grate designs are just limited.

The grates slide left & right. I tend to agree with you. I think I'm approaching the limit of it's performance envelope. I'll keep tweaking my technique but I'm really pleased with the burns now. Being warm without having to chase firewood and all the work that it entails. I'm a happy camper! Only wish I had done this sooner.....

Just got a non contact IR thermometer (Raytek ST) and it will be interesting to see what the temps are. 400°-600° for stove? 200° for pipe?

And "The Boyz" are enjoying the new found warmth.....

This is the proper way to shake

Apparently I'm doing it all wrong.......