Hitzer 354 double door coal stove.

H, ya don't need to make ANY kinda modifications--what ya do need is to get the stove hooked up & as stated---go through the learnin curve like 1000's of us have on here!! It ain't magic but with that stove of yours--it sure is user friendly!!

You will learn..
While ya burn...
Plus you got friends here...
But will need pics...
LOL...

I will certainly do pictures.

I am going to spray the screws down on the doors and let them sit for a few days that way I won’t or shouldn’t have any issues pulling out the glass on the doors. Will also replace glass gaskets, and all door gaskets.

Not sure if these gaskets are good enough for a test fire or if I should replace them before a test fire. I’ll need to buy several sections of pipe to mimic my chimney. Open to suggestions. Will be doing the test fire outside.

Also need to make a choice for 7” or 6” pipe. I’d be okay with the 7”, but I’ll likely have order it online or through Hitzer if they offer it. Indoor masonry chimney with 8” thimble. Again, open to suggestions. For the wood stove I bought some cheap pipe at TSC and have ran with it for one winter. For now, I’ll keep that pipe with that stove until I figure out what I’m going to do with that stove. I have some repairs to do on it and will hang onto it for a year or two just to have it around in case something happens.

Also need to buy a manometer as well.

I haven’t really researched whether or not I’ll need a barometric damper or not for this stove. I suppose I could always cap it off if not needed. Of course if I don’t need it no need spending money on it or having to look at it.

Get it working before even thinking about a baro, then forget about it anyway. Your manometer will kinda tell you if you even need to think about a baro, but you really dont need one unless you have a super draft, way above normal, but even then it isnt required with your stove. a manual damper is a decent idea if you think you might burn some wood. Hitzer bi-metallic air intake opens when the stove cools down, then closed when it gets hot, keeping it a steady temp. It will amaze you how well bi-metalic works and keeps the stove the temp you want.

Get it working with coal before you start changing to many things.

Burning wood in it will not tell you anything. The manometer will run higher with wood than it does with coal so is meaningless with wood, but helpful with coal. Kind of a useful gadget with coal.

Once you get a coal fire going and have the stove full, get the bi-metallic set how you want it and its a 12 hour tending time. No poking, stirring, prodding, the stuff you do with wood you dont do. Once every 12 hrs and thats it. Maybe every 24 hrs during mild weather.

Your stove may or may not work well outside burning coal in the summer as the draft may not be high enough and your pipes wont be tall enough to create draft either. might work, might not, but its not going to tell you much anyway.

i'll bet a vigillant style slotted front basket jobby would be cool in the Hitzer. they are very similar in many aspects.

if you've ever seen one running on coal and the front all lit up you know what i mean.

steve

Not sure if I recall seeing one of those or not, Steve. I know where a VII is if it has a similar basket. Never seen a VI that I know of.

I suppose as long as test fire of wood is ok outside, I'm thinking I should be good to move the stove inside for a wood fire, then start adding coal. That being the case, I better fire it soon outside, then wait until the temps drop enough for a wood/coal fire in the house and have my manometer ready and hooked up, as well as a manual damper.

I'm going to hang out here and wait on some other comments and just see what's advised, plus I am waiting on my manual and I can always call Hitzer as well.

My wood stove currently has 7" outlet, reduced to 6" with a 6" pipe into an 8" thimble.

I've got to clean my chimney as well and inspect it also.

Sounds like a Busy time while waiting there, Bill.

Same size of the stove outlet...
Then increase to thimble...

Steve, you had brought it to my attention how shallow the firebox is on the 354...and I mentioned it’s the same on the others too...

...was reading about cook stoves today on the antiques sub-forum and someone mentioned the shallow fire boxes on cookstoves being about half the depth of a normal heating stove of the day...the comment was the cookstoves had shallow fireboxes in order to more quickly adjust to the heating demands of the user...the cook.

This makes me wonder if Hitzer designed this stove with the same thought in mind...quicker response to heating needs/adjustments.

I am assuming of course by you mentioning the shallow box that most of the D.S. Machine stoves have a much deeper firebox like the Harman/Legacy stoves.

H, ya hooked up yet?????????????????????????????

Shoot no, Fred. Too busy admiring it in the garage. Lol!!

Trying to get some other things done around the house here before I start that project. Still have to order my pipe, Mano, gaskets, and a baro...even though I may not need it. I’d like to have it all on hand in case I do need it.

There are baro's that can be added onto your existing pipe by cutting a hole, so you really dont need to get one unless you end out needing it, which is unlikely anyway with that model stove. In the odd chance you will need one, your stove will still run fine while you wait for one to arrive by mail.

But I suppose you could put one on now, and if (or when) it ends out you dont need it, leave it covered. Your out the expense though.

Hoytman wrote: ↑

Tue. Aug. 27, 2019 6:34 pm

Steve, you had brought it to my attention how shallow the firebox is on the 354...and I mentioned it’s the same on the others too...

...was reading about cook stoves today on the antiques sub-forum and someone mentioned the shallow fire boxes on cookstoves being about half the depth of a normal heating stove of the day...the comment was the cookstoves had shallow fireboxes in order to more quickly adjust to the heating demands of the user...the cook.

This makes me wonder if Hitzer designed this stove with the same thought in mind...quicker response to heating needs/adjustments.

I am assuming of course by you mentioning the shallow box that most of the D.S. Machine stoves have a much deeper firebox like the Harman/Legacy stoves.

maybe not, the firepot is 9" deep in the DS 1400 and all below the door and completely surrounded by fire bricks. this is fine if you you are doing a suspended firepot that is surrounded by exhaust gasses and radiant surfaces on the outer skin of the stove like i did but......

the Hitzer carries the fire higher in the stove to start with and like i said puts the heat directly in contact with the door glass and the upper stove body making for very good heat transfer out of the stove.

simple and effective, not much left to want or need.

i'm sure you are going to like and get along fine with it.

Bump nearly two months later.

Finally went back up to Hitzer today. Showed pics of the stove to Dean and his son. They were impressed by the condition of the stove given it’s age. Both said it had only seen a few fires. Even said the door and ash gaskets were fine...just by looking at the pictures.

Oddly enough the new 354 (with a single door) actually has a slightly deeper bed than my stove does. That is, the new 354 grates sit lower in the box.(I’ll correct that statement in a moment.) Actually, the new door don’t seem as tall as my doors making the door lip higher above the ash lip.

Anyhow...
Like some have said, Dean said would be fine to run the stove as is...with the shallow bed. The new 364 actually has the grates sitting lower and there are two “long” bricks that sit below the single door. The grates really don’t sit any lower though. The new door is not as tall as the double doors are, so the area above the ash lip and below the door is taller...it’s not cut as deep as my stove is.

This leads me to the modification I had considered doing to the stove similar to what (Glenn) ...aka...grobinson2...had done to his 364 double door, that modification being adding the two long bricks in front of my doors. Here’s what Dean seemed to think about that:

He said it wasn’t necessary, but it also wouldn’t hurt...it would just allow for more coal in the box and added burn time...though slightly changing the looks of the stove behind the glass doors...seeing the bricks. The grate frame is a little different also on the new 354 as it’s designed to help hold in those two long front bricks. They told me to just tack weld a short vertical plate...and showed me what they were talking about. Nothing to it really, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already worked a way around doing that. In fact, I doubt if I even attempt to put in and use those bricks, but at least now I have the option to add them if I want. Only cost me the $12 bucks to have the option...

Gotta get my manometer ordered and get the stove in place while I’m waiting on the manometer to be shipped.

Any reference to a 364 was due to my fat fingers trying to type on this phone. I meant “new 354”...