Hopper or hand fed: Cleaning out

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 11:47 am

1. What’s your stove?

2. How often do you clean out and what is your process?

3. How do you know when it’s time to clean out?

4.Is it something you plan ahead to do, something you anticipate, or are their signs?

Just wondering what some of you do.


 
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warminmn
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Post by warminmn » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 11:58 am

1. any stove I use.
2. only if going to work on it or end of burning coal. I do sweep horizontal pipes mid year.
3. When Im done burning coal but before I burn wood as I want to leave some creosote in stove and pipes and dont want coal ash in the way.
4. Nope. I do scrape the inside of stove walls once or twice during season, or hit the outside of stove just to get ash off the walls but not often.
5. Feel free to complicate it all you want. lol Its not something I want to do more than needed. I do remove the bottom cap on my stainless chimney and wire a screen in its place so there is air movement thru the summer. That is when heating season is all over. On my Chubby which is on a masonry chimney but has maybe 15 feet of black steel pipe before it, I leave the bottom vent of stove open to try to keep black pipes dryer. I dont spray anything with any product but some people do.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 3:51 pm

It depends on the coal actually. There have been heating seasons that I had the One Match Club membership, which means exactly what it sounds like. One fire for the whole season. Then there were other seasons where the fuel bed would load up with incombustable material, slate or clinkers (fused ash) and had to clean out and refire every month.

 
CapeCoaler
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 9:48 pm

one match club....
Starts in September if house wont stay at 65* by itself...
Start the 503...
Once we hit April and the house can maintain 65* by itself...
Stop the 503...
If oil is cheap enough might stop in late March...
Really depends on the weather for start and stop times...
Love the radiant heat of the stove...
Oil just does not give the same love...

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 10:05 pm

Harman Mark One, lit up the second week of November, still burning, 2nd year in a row I'm in the "One Match Club", I've run at least 2.5 ton thru it this year so far.
Looks like some warm weather on tap next week, might let it go out, not sure yet.
I usually do a complete cleaning at the end of the heating season.

 
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Spacecadet
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Post by Spacecadet » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:22 am

Hitzer 30/95 & 50/93
clean out at the end of the season... except partial clean out and restart - wasn't feeling well and forgot to tend them on the 12 hour cycle - was about 18 hours and just couldn't get them to recover. It was easier to shovel most of the unburnt out and refill with charcoal and restart the process.
Overall planning on burning for another couple weeks - that is … according to the weather. I have only 12 bags of wood pellets. I'm not ready or looking forward to the drone of the pellet stove motors. Once the night weather is @ or above 50 then ill let the coal burn out. then clean them out, up and maybe a repaint.

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 12:45 pm

CoalHeat wrote:
Sat. Mar. 07, 2020 10:05 pm
Harman Mark One, lit up the second week of November, still burning, 2nd year in a row I'm in the "One Match Club", I've run at least 2.5 ton thru it this year so far.
Looks like some warm weather on tap next week, might let it go out, not sure yet.
I usually do a complete cleaning at the end of the heating season.
What is “complete”?

I thought about repainting as well. We’ll see.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 2:35 pm

Come on H--you know complete means COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES, even takin out fire-bricks!! Don't forget inside pipes + I run a cleanin brush up from bottom on triple wall. Paint never hurt a thing. :) I use Rustoleum high heat flat, might use gloss this time around just to break the monotony!!--has worked well for 10+ yrs.

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 3:10 pm

I was referring to going to the trouble oil inside of stove or pipes. What kind of oil, etc.?I’ve only seen one person mention this, so that’s why I’m asking. Some have said they like to clean and then burn some wood to coat with creosote....trying to find out if that’s valid also.

I could think of lots of things, but then you’d tell me I was over thinking it, Fred.😉

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 4:02 pm

Hoytman wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 3:10 pm
I was referring to going to the trouble oil inside of stove or pipes. What kind of oil, etc.?I’ve only seen one person mention this, so that’s why I’m asking. Some have said they like to clean and then burn some wood to coat with creosote....trying to find out if that’s valid also.

I could think of lots of things, but then you’d tell me I was over thinking it, Fred.😉
I used motor oil to coat the inside of the fire box. Keep in mind though that my hand fed furnace spent each summer in a terrible environment. Cool, damp, wet, humid, stagnant basement.. Yours being up on the first floor I would think a coat of creosote and uninstalling the stove pipe would be plenty. Taking off the pipe is important so that cool damp humid air doesn't infiltrate the stove when conditions are right for the draft to reverse during the summer.

 
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Post by Toddburn » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 5:52 pm

Good evening fellows. Am I correct? It looks like I have to lift up the retaining top 3 sided piece then slide the bricks out on the 983 Hitzer. There’s stops welded on the sides in the front that keep the retainer from lifting all the way out. I like the pointers of soaking the inside stove in motor oil for summer. I’m hooked up to a liner so I think I’ll leave door open a bit and buy a container of that dry pellet stuff for inside. I do run dehumidifier in game room area all summer.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 7:44 pm

All I do after vacuuming stove REAL well is spray with WD-40--pull black pipe clean with 6" wire brush W/poles--run brush up triple wall & put it back together--I leave ash door vents open all summer & that's it--I have a really good draft & have never had a problem with pipes or stove rusting/ moisture or what-ever.

 
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Post by Hoytman » Mon. Mar. 09, 2020 12:13 am

Toddburn wrote:
Sun. Mar. 08, 2020 5:52 pm
Good evening fellows. Am I correct? It looks like I have to lift up the retaining top 3 sided piece then slide the bricks out on the 983 Hitzer. There’s stops welded on the sides in the front that keep the retainer from lifting all the way out. I like the pointers of soaking the inside stove in motor oil for summer. I’m hooked up to a liner so I think I’ll leave door open a bit and buy a container of that dry pellet stuff for inside. I do run dehumidifier in game room area all summer.
Pics would help since I’m not familiar with the 983. I’d like to see those stops you’re talking about.

My 354 you just raise up the brick retainer, remove the bricks, let the retainer lay in the bottom of the stove, remove the baffle, then remove the retainer.

I’m curious to see how much fly ash is above my baffle along the back where the baffle rests against the stove back.

 
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Post by Toddburn » Mon. Mar. 09, 2020 4:44 pm

Hoytman wrote:
Mon. Mar. 09, 2020 12:13 am
Pics would help since I’m not familiar with the 983. I’d like to see those stops you’re talking about.

My 354 you just raise up the brick retainer, remove the bricks, let the retainer lay in the bottom of the stove, remove the baffle, then remove the retainer.

I’m curious to see how much fly ash is above my baffle along the back where the baffle rests against the stove back.

 
Toddburn
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Post by Toddburn » Mon. Mar. 09, 2020 4:47 pm

Hoytman guess I’ll prop up ring and slide bricks out.


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