Hitzer 254

Slickheadhunter wrote: ↑

Mon. Mar. 01, 2021 9:39 pm

At one place I was told 330 a ton, not sure if that delivered or not.

Ouch, I hope that's delivered. 250 or so for a ton of bagged picked up around here.

Spacecadet wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 28, 2021 10:40 pm

If I’m not mistaken the 254 is the same as the 30/95 just without a hopper. My house is 1200 sq ft. My stove keeps my cathedral ceiling living kitchen and dining room 80 all winter long. The bedrooms on the opposite end of the house are high 60’s low 70’s. According to your layout that stove will most likely do a fine job.
I used to burn wood also. As a not as young as I used to be individual, I understand the not wanting to do wood anymore. I’ve been burning coal for 5 years now. Best decision I’ve ever made. No more felling, loading, emptying, splitting, stacking, carrying, restocking, and waking up every 2 hours to refill the stove. Phew I’m tired thinking about it. Lol. Tending time on the coal stove is every 12 hours. Anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 a bucket per fill.
Once you switch you’ll be wishing you did earlier.

The 30-95 and 254 share the same physical exterior size stove body. The insides are completely different. The 254 has a straight sided fire box, two grates, a baffle, and a built in damper. It's very efficient. I tend mine every 24 hours in the dead of winter. Any other stove I've had is every 12 hours in the dead of winter, including the 30-95. The 254 is a great stove. I run mine between 400* and 500* degree.

I’m wondering if it will be able to be dialed back enough not to be too hot. I’d hate to have to let it go out.

Or just open all the windows and doors! Which I don’t like to do.

oliver power wrote: ↑

Wed. Mar. 03, 2021 10:43 pm

The 30-95 and 254 share the same physical exterior size stove body. The insides are completely different. The 254 has a straight sided fire box, two grates, a baffle, and a built in damper. It's very efficient. I tend mine every 24 hours in the dead of winter. Any other stove I've had is every 12 hours in the dead of winter, including the 30-95. The 254 is a great stove. I run mine between 400* and 500* degree.

Just to give efficiency of the Hitzer 254. I just finished tending it. After everything settled out, The stove body temp was 550*, and stack temp was 100*. I won't touch it for 24 hours. After 24 hours, it will have plenty of hot coals left for tending. I'm guessing it would go another 4 - 6 hours, maybe more. So far, this little 254 has been by far, the most efficient of all my coal stoves. Next would be the 50-93, then the 30-95. The worse being the D.S. 1600. I'm not counting my vigilant with the coal kit. I consider that stove more of a novelty stove, not a house heating stove.

Lets take this a little further; This time of year, tending time for the 50-93 would be every 12 hours. It'd go out 18 hours with no problem. Tending time for the 30-95 would be every 12 hours. It may go a little longer. But, for the most part, you'd better be there to catch it. Tending time for the D.S. 1600 Circulator is 12 hours. Yes, the D.S. would keep a fire a little longer, but is lacking in performance. The 30-95 will blow it away. The 254; Very impressive!!! I don't even think of a 12 hour tending. It goes 24 hours without breaking a sweat. and it does it on less than 40 pounds of coal. Like I said, Very impressive.

Thanks for the input, it definitely seems to be the one I’m leaning towards.

Can it be dampened down or is that body temp as low as it will go?

Slickheadhunter wrote: ↑

Thu. Mar. 04, 2021 9:38 pm

Can it be dampened down or is that body temp as low as it will go?

I have run it low enough to lay my hand on top, and could leave it there for hours if I wanted. It shines on the low end like the 30-95. And for it's size, it's a little power house. It will crank a wall of heat similar, but not quite what the 50-93 will. However, it does it with half the coal, and double the time between tending.
The tending is a little different than a hopper fed stove. First thing is to pull the manual damper rod out, and empty the ashes from the previous tending. Shake it down good, and poke (fluff) coal bed only if needed. Open the ash pan door and let the fire liven up (A Lot). Then throw a couple shovel full of coal into the middle of fire bed. Let that catch and roar. Then fill in the sides, front, etc. Leave the ash pan door open, and let the fire rip, burning off the gasses. close the ash pan door, and wait a minute or two before pushing the manual damper rod it. DONE!!! If you close the ash pan door, and immediately push the manual damper in, it will create a vacuum in the chimney, suck gasses back to the stove, and Ka Boom!!! Them gasses are ripping up that chimney. After closing the ash pan door, give those gasses a chance to slow down before pushing the manual damper rod in.

Sounds like a perfect fit for me.

Wonderful review and explanation Oliver!

oliver power wrote: ↑

Thu. Mar. 04, 2021 10:00 pm

I have run it low enough to lay my hand on top, and could leave it there for hours if I wanted. It shines on the low end like the 30-95. And for it's size, it's a little power house. It will crank a wall of heat similar, but not quite what the 50-93 will. However, it does it with half the coal, and double the time between tending.

Are you shaking down your 50-93 every 12 hours? Ours gets a good shakedown first thing in the morning. Before bed I'll use the poker to pull some fresh coal forward to level out the bed but that's about it. Average 1 40 lb bag a day during cold weather, less when temps get into the mid 30's & above. Empty the ash pan every 1.5 days on average. We run it in the 350*-400* range most of the Winter which keeps our large Colonial in the 72*-75* range.
The 254 sounds like a nice stove but I consider the gravity feed hopper a must have after 6+ years with the 50-93.

JohnB wrote: ↑

Fri. Mar. 05, 2021 9:34 am

Are you shaking down your 50-93 every 12 hours? Ours gets a good shakedown first thing in the morning. Before bed I'll use the poker to pull some fresh coal forward to level out the bed but that's about it. Average 1 40 lb bag a day during cold weather, less when temps get into the mid 30's & above. Empty the ash pan every 1.5 days on average. We run it in the 350*-400* range most of the Winter which keeps our large Colonial in the 72*-75* range.
The 254 sounds like a nice stove but I consider the gravity feed hopper a must have after 6+ years with the 50-93.

The 50-93 is a great stove. I'd recommend the 50-93 to anyone. I'd go 24 hours during the shoulder months on 40 pounds. Once winter settles in, it's 40 pounds every 12 hours. That's why this little 254 amazes me. It easily goes 24 hours.

I use to think the same as you as far as the 50-93 with hopper. I still think that way. Tending is quick, simple, and almost fool proof. and the hopper pre-heats the coal. Perfect for the working person who has to be out the door, and punch a time clock every day. also less of a learning curve with the 50-93.

That being said, member grobinson2 tried to tell us how happy he was with the Hitzer 354, and how he'd choose that stove over a hopper stove. If the 354 performed anything like it's kid brother 254, I now know just what he was saying. That being said, there is a little different learning curve. I really like this 254. I also liked the 50-93, and 30-95 as well. Very happy with the Hitzer products I've had. Doubt I'd ever leave Hitzer again.

oliver power wrote: ↑

Fri. Mar. 05, 2021 8:19 pm

The 50-93 is a great stove. I'd recommend the 50-93 to anyone. I'd go 24 hours during the shoulder months on 40 pounds. Once winter settles in, it's 40 pounds every 12 hours. That's why this little 254 amazes me. It easily goes 24 hours.

I use to think the same as you as far as the 50-93 with hopper. I still think that way. Tending is quick, simple, and almost fool proof. and the hopper pre-heats the coal. Perfect for the working person who has to be out the door, and punch a time clock every day. also less of a learning curve with the 50-93.

That being said, member grobinson2 tried to tell us how happy he was with the Hitzer 354, and how he'd choose that stove over a hopper stove. If the 354 performed anything like it's kid brother 254, I now know just what he was saying. That being said, there is a little different learning curve. I really like this 254. I also liked the 50-93, and 30-95 as well. Very happy with the Hitzer products I've had. Doubt I'd ever leave Hitzer again.

Just curious, are you using any type of damper in the stovepipe or just the stoves internal damper??
Jim

Oliver, I Wonder if the extra heating performance from the 254 is a result of more radiant heat being thrown out the glass door since you don’t have a big hopper inside blocking all of that radiant heat off the top of the burning coal

coalder wrote: ↑

Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 7:10 am

Just curious, are you using any type of damper in the stovepipe or just the stoves internal damper??
Jim

In my 354 every time I fill the stove the built in damper in the top of the stove gets closed full...every time.

I do have a pipe damper as well.

When it got down well below freezing, 10F down to negative temperatures, I took the advice of KingCoal and also used my pipe damper. It did keep more heat in the stove when the draft would creep up to .03, and kept it at .02. When it was real cold like that and real windy I could tell it helped just enough to keep the draft from fluctuating so much in the windy conditions. If I didn’t use it in those temps the pipe at the thimble would creep up to 110-115 and using the pipe damper kept it 95-100. Normally, when the weather is a bit warmer and there is normal breezes outside then the stove damper alone keeps the pipe at the thimble around 90-95.

I don’t need to use the pipe damper at all, but I did find this year in the coldest and windiest temps that it helped me maintain my normal tuning temps on the stove and the pipe.

I will note that I will not put the pipe damper in as additional check when burning wood, a suggestion by the man that makes them. He said it’s not totally necessary, but that I might like it for that purpose. He had a pipe damper hooked to a 50-93 in the showroom while burning nut.