newbie questions, Gibraltar reviews????

mntbugy · Post by **mntbugy** » Sun. Jan. 06, 2019 2:24 pm

You can get away with just a fractional drill index and a feeler gauge. The feeler gauge will give you very fine adjustments.
Might want a notebook to write down the what drill and shim gives you a certain stove temp. Eventually you will not need the notebook once it is burned into your memory.

3/8 and smaller is all you should need.

TOTP

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Sun. Jan. 06, 2019 10:13 pm

mntbugy wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 06, 2019 2:24 pm
You can get away with just a fractional drill index and a feeler gauge. The feeler gauge will give you very fine adjustments.
Might want a notebook to write down the what drill and shim gives you a certain stove temp. Eventually you will not need the notebook once it is burned into your memory.

3/8 and smaller is all you should need.

TOTP

i dont think a feeler guage is going to work unless i cut them thin, i dont think they will fit in the oval shaped holes... but im definately going to buy a drill bit set!! i also have a vernier caliper i mayyyy be able to use, but im not sure if i can fit it in the holes very well either, and i want my wife to be able to change the setting while im not home so i think the easiest and fool proof way to go is the drill bit set.... and honestly im sure they will come in handy as drill bits also!! hahaha

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Sun. Jan. 06, 2019 10:14 pm

mntbugy wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 06, 2019 2:24 pm

TOTP

what is that? lol

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Mon. Jan. 07, 2019 4:14 pm

i ordered a 115 piece drill bit set and index... goes in 64th inch intervals and has wire guage sizes. goes up to half inch. i also ordered a 100lb postal scale to measure how much coal im actually going through, i figured that was also important to notate lol both should be here in two days.

Post by **Lightning** » Mon. Jan. 07, 2019 7:12 pm

Cool, I used a hanging luggage scale to measure coal and ash with.

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Tue. Jan. 08, 2019 10:17 am

oh damn i bet that would have been cheaper hahaha ooops.. soo i have been getting upset with the amount of red coals i loose during shake down... i burn nut. i am debating on switching to stove if that would help me not loose any coal in shake down.. i try to shake down to the point where there is an even glow across the grates everytime... maybe i should only shake until i see a couple glowers drop? i feel after a week or so of that ill have a build up of ash on the sides..... im loosing a decent even layer across the entire ash pan. spread out a little closer then cookies on a cookie tray.

Post by **franco b** » Tue. Jan. 08, 2019 10:27 am

You have discovered why a round fire pot is best at distributing air evenly.

Most with a rectangular or square fire box resort to poking from above the problem areas to avoid excessive shaking.

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Tue. Jan. 08, 2019 11:06 am

franco b wrote: ↑
Tue. Jan. 08, 2019 10:27 am
You have discovered why a round fire pot is best at distributing air evenly.

Most with a rectangular or square fire box resort to poking from above the problem areas to avoid excessive shaking.

i do poke once in a while if i feel there is a build up... i normally poke from the bottom on every shake a little just to brighten up some dull spots, but if that doesnt work ill drag my poker down the sides, i never poked through the coal bed tho i feel thats not a great idea?

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Wed. Jan. 16, 2019 12:20 pm

i do how ever poke and drag down the sides by the fire brick about once a week or so because i notice some build up on the edges. i have been mixing nut and stove coal together and a small layer of pea over top lol i know its a little much i just wanted to see how it worked out, seems to be pretty awesome honestly! i have about ten bags of stove and ten bags of pea just wanted to play a little and ill be using more pea on the warmer days and more stove on the super cold days if im home. anyone else play with sizes?

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Tue. Mar. 12, 2019 1:13 pm

i was able to run a steady 260 stove face, with a draft of .02 around 40 degrees outside using pea. took a very long time to get her screaming again but i feel like i could even run lower, the primary was set to a 1/4" drill bit and i removed some of the rope gasket from the bottom of the load door to keep air flow moving helping maintain draft.

just thought to share.
cheers!

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Fri. Mar. 15, 2019 8:42 am

yesterday was 55 and today is going to get up to 65, stove face was 180 yesterday! with a draft of .015 got a little nervous about loosing the fire so i opened the ash door for a few minutes and shook her down good. didnt have to add coal. with today getting up to 65 i cracked the window down stairs and opened the primary a little more... left the house with the stove face at 210. hope shes still lit when i get home because its going to be cold tonight! havnt added coal in over 2 days!! doesnt even look like i lost any haha

ohabanero · Post by **ohabanero** » Sun. Feb. 09, 2020 3:08 pm

So if you are handy with a drill or better yet a drill press! Let me know and I can tell you about an easy modification for the Gibraltar that would take a couple or 3 hours to do that would make de ashing your stove super easy and effective losing less coal and getting a better burn. Let me know if interested.

ratherbeflying · Post by **ratherbeflying** » Sat. Feb. 22, 2020 8:37 pm

ohabanero wrote: ↑
Sun. Feb. 09, 2020 3:08 pm
So if you are handy with a drill or better yet a drill press! Let me know and I can tell you about an easy modification for the Gibraltar that would take a couple or 3 hours to do that would make de ashing your stove super easy and effective losing less coal and getting a better burn. Let me know if interested.

yes very interested!!!!

CorrosionMan · Post by **CorrosionMan** » Sun. Feb. 23, 2020 10:21 am

Oh boy, another one bites the dust.

There is no going back now, you are hooked.

Welcome aboard the coal burning crazy train.

ohabanero · Post by **ohabanero** » Mon. Feb. 24, 2020 3:50 pm

ratherbeflying wrote: ↑
Sat. Feb. 22, 2020 8:37 pm
yes very interested!!!!

Ok. Great. I'll have pictures and a description of work post before the night is through.