Coal Fireplace Insert Hitzer 503?

ColdHouse wrote: ↑

Sun. Nov. 20, 2022 5:38 pm

I don't know much about coal or wood stoves but I think the 503 might just be the best stove ever made.

I know right? I sold the wood pellet stove insert and replaced it with this 503 that I found on Facebook marketplace for $85.. even came with a replacement blower. Awesome stove man..

Lee, those pics are phenomenal. I can't pick a favorite, outta the 4. Randy, (and all his photo talents), would be proud.

Thank you Joe! I'll be letting the 503 burn out. Even though I'll shake the grates but not add anymore coal, I'm sure it'll still produce heat thru tonight and into tomorrow.. not sure how long after that. Last loading was half a bucket yesterday.

Purring along low and slow. 213° at grate level, 178° over the load door, -.05" draft, no wind outside this bright morning, clear and 11° OAT.

11°!!!!

I believe winter is "there".

Yep... Pretty cold last night! Although this week it will be milder. I shook the grates and let it rev up a bit but didn't add any coal. The fuel bed is thinning, only about 4-5 inches deep. Got a few more nice pics of the fire lol.

The perception of pleasure is amazing. A working, grateful person can be extremely pleased with some heat that they control and some simple things they acquire. The entitled person is much more difficult to please and their pleasure is only for a brief period of time until they move again into their state of dissatisfaction. I will be happy all winter long working to keep my coal stoves going and enjoy the heat the provide and the money saved. The working man is a satisfied man.

Those are some great words of wisdom there, ColdHouse!

My 503 finally lost its fire sometime Tuesday overnight. I burned a total of 90 pounds from Friday afternoon to the wee hours of Wednesday morning, 108 hours roughly, .83 pounds per hour. Factoring an optimistic 80% efficiency would be around 8300 BTUs per hour of heat output at the very low and slow setting that it was running. Those figures are good guesses at best. For such a little stove it seems like the fire box is massive lol. I'd like to fire it back up later this season during a severe cold spell, if we get any.

Those lbs/hr are almost right on what I got for the entire season last year with the 354.

I think my numbers were .88lbs/hr for the entire season. Either way, those numbers are less than the 1lb/hr that they are advertised to burn, so that’s not too shabby the way I see it.

Got the 503 lit for the cold blast. Not that we actually need it with the Axe in the basement, but I love running a hand fed that much lol.

The chimney is performing very well since connecting a pipe and sealing it up into the flue

waytomany?s wrote: ↑

Fri. Dec. 23, 2022 6:34 pm

Performing very well? Looks like a vacuum cleaner.

It is! Funny thing about vacuum cleaners is that they can't clean anything if air can't get thru them..

Before sealing a pipe in it would only get .01-.02

I sold NASA 10 vacuum cleaners last year.

Suckers.

I dunno what that DWYER scale is but I want to see it get to 3

davidmcbeth3 wrote: ↑

Fri. Dec. 23, 2022 8:07 pm

I dunno what that DWYER scale is but I want to see it get to 3

At 3 I'm thinking coal would start to levitate if I were to open the ash door

Great pictures, Lee.

I get worried revving my stove if I see more than -.08” … … and it was gusting to -.1” today and this evening … .

Now I don’t feel so bad after seeing your mano and the inferno in that stove, Lee .

At -.08” mine is barely running it seems.